Have you ever reflected on a past passion, obsession, or other strong emotion and realized that you no longer feel the same way about it. Maybe you’re merely going through the motions with it or you’re over it entirely but aren’t ready to confess it. That’s how I feel about B&BW, and more specifically, that’s how I feel about reviewing bath and body works online.
I’ve already noted that I quit routinely posting on Instagram. I would occasionally check in on social media during the lockdown of last year to keep in touch and demonstrate that I was still alive, only to notice that my posts weren’t getting as much attention as they once did and that my followers were starting to unfollow me one by one.
Producing Everyday Material
Evidently, no matter what is going on in your life, if you aren’t producing everyday material, people aren’t interested in you. As of a few weeks ago, I had 4,980 followers, down from a little over 6000 in the beginning of 2020 (even that irked me because accounts who started later than me and without my thorough knowledge/acumen and ability to actually describe a scent, still had 10x more followers). I had enough after seeing that bath and body works online, so I canceled my account last week.
Operating On Life Support
Then there is this blog, which currently seems to be operating on life support. Due to the pandemic still gripping the country like a vice, I am unable to regularly visit my local store to sniff products for reviews. If I am unable to do so, this review blog becomes redundant and worthless. I could create filler content to fill the space, but people visit this site to read reviews and express their opinions. And what’s the point of having a blog that is just bath and body works online of scents I’ll never smell?
Soul-Searching And Introspection
I’ve chosen to give up the ghost after much soul-searching and introspection. I’m permanently standing down from my role as a critic and bath and body works online. Prior to the epidemic, I had already begun to consider it; I only resumed writing as a diversion from the pandemic. But in all honesty, it seemed like a hassle. When I used to write and edit anything in an hour or two with an electric charge of excitement, it would suddenly take me 4-5 hours with breaks because I was getting sidetracked because I wasn’t feeling it. Which gets me to my next issue.
BBW No Longer Makes Me Happy
bath and body works online no longer makes me happy, if we can get a little Marie Kondo in here. The lack of novelty, the repeated packaging and releases, the appeal to the fundamentals, the “style over content” mentality, the poor burn quality, the shortened burn time, the price increases—why am I wasting my time and money on this garbage, especially garbage that no longer makes me happy?
BBW Was Actually Thrilling At First
bath and body works online was actually thrilling when I first started this blog, around 2013. They offered us something to talk about, and I wanted to talk about it, which is why I first started this site. After a while, BBW just started to feel more and more boring, and I started to lose interest in reviewing anything.
It would have been one thing if BBW was truly paying attention to me and taking what I had to say into consideration, but that wasn’t the case. I got bored of evaluating so many smells that I didn’t like or was already tired of, as well as of always complaining and criticizing. With everything rushing back in my face, I’m sort of just peeing into the wind.
The Atmosphere In The Candle Community
Additionally, the atmosphere in the candle community has changed significantly in recent years, and I no longer feel like I fit there. There are a lot of newcomers in the fandom who don’t know any better and believe that bath and body works online current items are the best things ever. Additionally, there are those who joined BBW after the Golden Era (especially on social media) and hype up every subpar, low-cost candle that leaves the warehouse in an effort to garner influence, likes, and followers.
The Distinction Between A Reviewer,
I don’t seem to connect with either of the groups who a) don’t understand the distinction between a reviewer, an influencer, and just a fan with a smartphone, and b) mistake my well-founded critique for being “negative” and “hateful”; I’m just being honest. I could write an entire essay or diatribe about how our culture prefers half-truths, alternate facts, and nebulous gibberish if it makes them feel better rather than truth and honesty with bath and body works coupons 20 off $50 supporting evidence.
Fixation And Addiction
Last but not least, I’d like to talk about fixation and addiction, two topics that simply don’t get explored enough. Although it is a running joke among us that we are “candle obsessed” and “addicted to bath and body works online ,” many of us—including myself—are in fact both fascinated and addicted. To be clear, there is nothing unhealthy about having a habit or following it by purchasing items to make yourself, but there is a thin line where mania and fixation lie.
Visit There More Than Any Other Location
The fact that I was visiting bath and body works online frequently, if not every day, to look for products to review; the fact that I went there before work, during lunchtime, on weekends, and in my free time; the fact that I wanted to visit there more than any other location; the fact that I felt obligated to constantly post on this website or on Instagram despite the fact that doing so was unpaid.
the fact that I felt the need to stock up when I hadn’t been doing so previously; the fact that, at
I feel sick to my stomach when I consider how much money I spent on BBW merchandise between 2011 and last year, especially candles. It makes me feel more worse when I consider the alternative interests I might have explored instead of reviewing.
It Just Doesn’t Look Nice Overall
bath and body works online already know how I feel about people who buy candles simply for the labels, but I felt that in some way I was endorsing, sponsoring, or perpetuating some problematic practices within the candle community
