COLUMBUS, OH — Bath & Body Works rolled out its 2025 Mother’s Day collection Sunday, a 14-candle line called “Mother-Coded” anchored by scents including “Resentment Vanilla,” “I Asked for Nothing, Honestly,” and a three-wick titled “Just Five Minutes,” all available in stores one week ahead of the May 11 holiday.
The collection, retailing between $26.50 and $42, also features “Sensible Cardigan,” “Garage Door Closing at 11,” “Lukewarm Coffee Reheated Three Times,” and a limited-edition diffuser called “She’s Fine,” which the company describes as having “top notes of bergamot, base notes of a single tear nobody saw fall.”
“We did extensive ethnography,” said Marlee Houghton, VP of Seasonal Olfactory Storytelling. “What kept coming up was that mothers don’t want lavender. They want a scent that acknowledges the dishwasher hasn’t been unloaded since Tuesday.” Houghton said the brand conducted 4,200 in-home interviews, 91 percent of which were interrupted by someone asking where the charger was.
Companion products include a body lotion called “Fine, I’ll Do It Myself,” a hand soap called “Don’t Touch the Good Towels,” and a wallflower plug-in marketed under the name “I’m Going to Bed at 8:45 and Nobody Can Stop Me.” A scratch-and-sniff card released alongside the line is said to emit the fragrance of a minivan that once held a fifth-grade soccer team and has never fully recovered.
Competitors scrambled to respond. Yankee Candle announced an emergency reissue of its “Mom & Merlot” tier, while a Brooklyn boutique debuted a $68 soy pillar called “You’re Allowed To Be Tired,” which sold out by Friday despite smelling, per the shop’s own product copy, “essentially like a candle.”
Reception among actual mothers has been mixed. “I lit the ‘I Asked for Nothing’ candle last night and my husband texted me from the couch to ask what was burning,” said Dawn Pelletier, 47, of Westerville, who received the gift set early from a daughter she described as “trying to make up for a lot.” Pelletier confirmed the candle smelled like vanilla, but a vanilla that had clearly read the room.
Internal documents obtained from a since-deleted LinkedIn post indicate the company tested but ultimately shelved a candle called “My Mother,” which one focus group participant reportedly described as “too much.” A spokesperson said the scent may return in 2026 if the cultural moment softens.
Bath & Body Works confirmed a Father’s Day follow-up is in development. The line, tentatively titled “Garage,” is reportedly just one candle.