Gingham HEART OF GOLD REVIEW & THOUGHTS....

GINGHAM HEART OF GOLD Fragrance Notes:
- crisp golden apple, creamy vanilla bean, warm sandalwood - 

Starting off the New Year by taking a look at my collection of Bath and Body Works products I've collected since 2019. There's ALOT to go through, and inventory is going to take time, let alone all the pictures I'll need to take! I just don't have the space to display everything nicely. Most of my product lives in categorical boxes. The soaps with the soaps, the mists with the mists, etc. I pull them out based on mood and season. Today I pulled out my Gingham Heart of Gold 24 Hour Moisture Body Lotion I got from my last order and here are some thoughts on both the product & the fragrance.

First off: The Product itself is silky smooth and takes less than a minute to soak into my (admittedly dry) winter skin. It's not greasy at all and yes it softens as it scents. That being said, this is not heavy duty lotion I would recommend for dry feet, though it works perfectly fine on my somewhat scaly elbows. The color of the lotion is a nice, feminine creamy white shade, and it doesn't stain your clothes. 

The Scent: Out of the bottle, the "crisp golden apple" note jumps out at me and right into my nose. Pleasant, inoffensive, clean, w/ apple scented salon shampoo vibes. Maybe nothing special, unless you are an apple connoisseur. One BBW reviewer said this is more of a sweet red apple smell, and I would have to agree with them. The apple in this lotion is more sweet than crisp. It is not a "fall" type of apple. It has no spice notes to it, and the warmth that accumulates later comes from the vanilla & sandalwood notes. Another BBW reviewer said Gingham Heart of Gold reminded them of the old Heirloom Apple Candle. It smells good out of the bottle, but even better once you start wearing it. The scent out of the bottle, without skin chemistry mixing in, would be a great home fragrance. I will be on the look out for if/when BBW brings back Heirloom Apple. I already have my Winter Apple Scents for the home with Bath and Body Works Winter Candy Apple and Goose Creek's Snow-Covered Apple, but the only wearable apple scent I had was BBW Sweater Weather. I plan on pairing the GHOG body lotion with SW today to see what happens. I predict those two scents together will create some cozy, apple magic.

On the Skin: Now that I let the lotion settle for a few minutes, the "creamy vanilla bean" has taken over. Good thing I'm a Vanilla Vixen, because I probably own over 50 fragrances that include a vanilla bean note. Some people think they can smell amber, but I'm not sure. Amber tends to have a powdery, feminine essence, and GHOG is more clean than powdery. My guess is that most people are smelling the "warm sandalwood", but it's been stripped of all it's familiar masculinity, so it's hard for them to recognize. Would I have known there was sandalwood in this WITHOUT reading the listed notes? Probably not. Bath and Body Works mixed an apple-sandalwood candle in 2020, and it was nowhere near as pretty as this scent. That was a one-and-done non-repurchase candle, and it did not make it's return in 2021. Bath and Body Works should try again, and make a Gingham Heart of Gold Candle. I have no doubt THAT would be a hit.

Longevity & Sileage: It's not really fair to say this body lotion doesn't project. It's BODY LOTION after all. It isn't supposed to kick the door down, announcing it's presence. The body lotion settles into mainly a skin scent. I kind of like the intimacy of slathering this on, throwing on a favorite, worn-in sweatshirt, and getting whiffs of vanilla bean and sandalwood whenever I move around. Yes, to make the scent last, you will probably have to reapply several times a day. The scent is so light, applying the lotion to my hands isn't quite strong enough to overcome the smell of my hand sanitizer, so plan accordingly when layering fragrances. I also noticed the smell of my laundry detergent/fabric softener keeps peeking out, underneath the freshly applied GHOG, which smells nice together, but occasionally over-powers the soft scent of the lotion.

Mix-it-Up:  I layered this with Sweater Weather, which has notes of "sun-crisped apple, autumn leaves, and orchard wood". Holy crap.... I smell AMAZING. SW really brings out the crispness of the apple note, and tames down the sweetness. I am reminded of fresh laundry and clean hair. This is good my friends. I like to wear SW on it's own, but now I've found a way to personalize it. I highly recommend this combo for almost any occasion. It's still a skin scent, but OH what a skin scent!

Conclusion: I'm not sure if I like Gingham Heart of Gold enough to buy the fine fragrance mist, unless it goes on sale. I already have my eye on Almond Blossom for my next free item purchase, so GHOG will have to wait... for now. It's a nice combo, but for me it lacks that special something fragrances like Sunset Glow and Dahlia have. That special something that makes you keep sniffing yourself for the joy and endorphins you feel, knowing that pretty lady you smell is YOU. My SO's interpretation of this fragrance was, this is something a hippie wears, and he specifically noted SANDALWOOD. I have wore this lotion a few times now, and he only notices when I stick my arm under his nose and demand to know what he thinks. I KNOW I have a keeper when he mentions how much he likes something unprovoked. Raspberry Jam Donut & Whipped Vanilla Chiffon I'm looking at you! ​

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