NaughtyNancy

And see, I've never even been in the practice of doing that much. If I spilled I bit on the counter or kitchen table, I'd just wipe it with a kitchen rag and call it a day. But these past few years I've been making candles, so always using FO at 10% at most in my items. So I had never seen anything like this before in my life until this past week. Trying to make these incense sticks again I was using FO at 50% with that DPG. I had no idea how powerful these fragrance oils can actually be as chemicals. I am SHOOK, Y'ALL. Like I am still in a little shock that it straight up chemically melted plastic.

Soooo I'm just sharing my story here, to serve as an example and maybe help some other newby out there avoid the same terrible mistake. The short version is that I was careless with and totally underestimated some chemicals, and the result was a mini disaster. Decided to try to make my own incense sticks, because I wanted certain scent types that I was having a hard time finding on the market. Bought blank sticks and some fragrance oils. At the last minute, I discovered some discussions online (including some here) about DPG, so I ordered some of that to cut the fragrance oils with. Also ordered aluminum baking pans with plastic lids to use for soaking my sticks in the oil. So I mixed by FO and DPG 50/50 to test that ratio first, knowing I might need to up the DPG in later tests, but wanted to see what I could get away with first, if anything. Filled my aluminum baking pans with the blank sticks, then added my FO/DPG mix, then covered them with the plastic lids to contain the scent, and then set them all up on a shelving unit to soak for 24 hours. About 5 hours later I come back to check on them, which I don't even know what I would have been "checking" but I guess my intuition was giving me a red alert, because the plastic lids were MELTING into the oil!!! Like straight up melting into a plastic goo! In a panic I put on some latex gloves and started removing the half-melted plastic lids and putting them into a garbage bag, the whole time just cursing at myself for wasting SO MUCH FO ($$$) on this botched experiment (since I am assuming the sticks are a complete lost, can't burn then since they probably have melted plastic in them now). Couple hours went by of me just simmering down, telling myself that mistakes happen and that I can try again next week. But I also went outside and checked the trash out of curiosity, and yes, the oil mixture was MELTING THE GARBAGE BAG. Holy hell. And to think I used to shrug it off as "no big deal" when accidentally getting undiluted FO on my SKIN. So that's my dunce story lol. Don't be like me, newbies. Do your research and be safe!

Wondering if anyone here has done this with success, before I order some molds. So this sounds legit in theory, but again just want to ask first lol.. If I make little flat wax pieces using silicone molds, and then dip the flat-smooth backs of the pieces in very hot wax, can I sort of "glue" them (using the hot wax) to a pillar candle? Will they actually stick and not fall off, if I do it well? (Such as not trying to use pieces that are too large, using enough hot wax as adhesive, holding them in place long enough, etc) I'm making candles for everyone for Christmas this year, I imagine everyone has about had enough lotion bars for a while haha. I have a very basic plain pillar mold and want to spiff up the pillars a bit, so was contemplating this idea of trying to wax-glue some flattish leaves, flowers, snowflakes, etc onto them. Another idea I had for an aunt who loves cinnamon scents, was to do a cinnamon scented pillar candle, and then try to "wax glue" some wax cinnamon sticks around it, after I found this silicone cinnamon sticks embed mold. Would this actually work, does anyone know?

Initially I couldn't choose, honestly, and ordered so much from several different companies, and wound up with a big FO stash but half of which I didn't like. I honestly had to learn through several stages of trial and error what the "signs" were that I wasn't really going to like something. If the word "ozonic" is mentioned anywhere in the description, I'm going to swear it just smells like laundry detergent when it arrives and be very disappointed. Pass. Wood "notes" just about never mean that a FO smells woody. Even the word "woody" means nothing. There needs to be a chunk of wood in the name, itself. Fire WOOD. CEDAR and saffron. Crackling BIRCH. LUMBERjack. And even then I still need to check the notes to make sure there isn't any citrus in it. Citrus. My second nemesis after ozone notes. "This is an invigorating citrus blend with teakwood, jasmine and-" NOPE NOPE NOPE "Well then how about this Twilight Pine FO, that starts with top notes of balsam, black pepper and lavender, and middle notes of eucalyptus, orange- "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Fruit notes in general are questionable when sacrifices must be made. I always look to see if there are reviews from weirdos who talk and describe things like myself. "This cedar vanilla tastes like moth balls you want to eat!" - Awesome. "This cedar vanilla slightly discolored my soaps and seized after 10 seconds." - An actually-useful review for 90% of customers, but not me lol The daring or unorthodox use of spices is a win for me at least 50% of the time. Also a prominent tea note makes everything potentially appealing. Yes, even citrus. Looking at you, Bergamot Black Tea. There is no such thing as a truly amazing sandalwood FO, all of them have to be blended with other things to help them along, so I will never pay super high prices for one. Try our lavender FO or patchouli FO, $7 for 2 ounces, or consider this sandalwood FO, just half a million dollars for the same 2 ounce size, even though there is no real sandalwood in it, and it's as weak and weird as always! Or how about no. I still read the negative reviews, because sometimes the underdog was made for me. "This witches brew smells too strongly of patchouli and can barely smell the other notes, 2 stars!" Out of my way, earthy-haters, dirty hippie coming through.

I love actual smokey aromas lol! I have a "Fireplace" FO from natures garden I think, and I have blended a wee bit of it with several other FO's to give them a slightly smokey quality. I will add a wee bit of birch tar to a body product's blend to get a smokey effect, too. The smokiness is very, very subtle after a couple hours post-application, though strong (sometimes too strong) initially. Somewhere in the middle it smells wonderful, and then the birch tar seems to work as an amazing natural fixative for the other notes as the day/evening goes on.

What sort of vetiver interpretation are you seeking? Like what I mean is, vetiver is one of those aromas where the FO is typically nothing like actual vetiver, such as vetiver essential oil. To me vetiver EO smells extremely earthy and damp, yet paradoxically a bit fresh, think like cool and damp potting soil, or freshly turned up dirt in Autumn after it rains. So to get close to the real deal using FO's, I would more so recommend something like one of those "potting soil" or "dirt" FO's, and adding a tiny touch of something camphoraceous, such as just a wee bit of tea tree EO and rosemary EO (both very affordable) to the "dirt" FO. All of the "vetiver" interpretation (blend or simple) FO's I have tried, don't smell like vetiver EO, though. Some of them are closer than others, though, but they tend to smell uh.. "greener"? I guess, in a more so.. "fresh" kind of way, like generically "herbal" or they smell more like a smooth cologne. Now to me some of these FO's smell good, but would disappoint someone looking for a more authentic vetiver scent. It's sort of like how there are a hundred and one slightly different interpretations of Sandalwood out there... more woody, more powdery, more perfumey, more earthy, etc. None of them are inherently good or bad, but like for example if someone wants me to make them a "sandalwood" lotion, I have to ask them more questions to figure out what exactly they have in mind, personally. Vetiver strikes me as that sort of scent, too.

Same here! As far as being pretty happy so far with the cold and hot throw from wholesale supplies plus FO's. Some of the FO's I am hooked on from them have better pricing, too, and get the job done.

I think it is hit or miss, like with most companies. I use a handful of different FO's from bulk apothecary for my own use in body products, occasionally some for close friends or family. In my own experience, most of the FO's are indeed very strong when used in items like this (solid lotion, solid perfume, body butter, etc). Some are extremely strong, while others are simply decent. However, I recommended this company to someone making candles on here not super long ago, and they reported being less than thrilled with the hot throw. So with some of their FO's might be a difference based on what sorts of items you are making, too. The main reason I will pay a little extra for some of their FO's in addition to being decently strong, is that their interpretations tend to lean earthy and woody, which I personally really like. A lot their patchouli/saffron/wood stuff is to my liking, and their blends like tobacco vanilla or cardamon cedar blossom have some serious oomph. I put those in some potpourri and it's like goodness gracious lol. I tried their oatmeal stout one for a foodie in my social circle, and that FO about blew my eyebrows off when I opened the bottle. But again that is cold throw / OOB strength.

Cera bellina has been a little miracle worker so far for pretty much all of the types of balms and bars I make (lotion, perfume, body butters, etc) ever since you recommended it to me (when I was getting the creepy texture patterns on the solid perfumes lol). I add a small % of it to basically everything now. Keeps everything pretty smooth and with a nice seal of sorts prior to use.

Christmas Bliss hands down best Christmas/holiday theme fragrance I have ever smelled in my entire life. It reminds me a bit of a head shop incense rack smell, but in a really, really good way, with a slight festive twist to it. It's flippin amazing. Cuban Tobacco smells nothing like tobacco but it smells hella good none the less. Warm, a bit masculine, mildly sweet, a bit of spice. Lots of versatility in naming something you use it in, but smells great. Their "just peachy" peach FO also impressed me, since I usually don't like synthetic fruit smells at all. It smelled like genuine ripe peaches and was strong. I can't personally gauge the neroli FO because it's not my cup of tea, but I ordered the sample size for someone else who loves bergamot/neroli type smells, and she really liked it. Purple Sandalwood is THE BOMB, hard to describe it but it's super nice. They somehow managed to balance that sort of earth/wood+flower thing without it coming out like some cheap baby powder incense smell. I add a drop of cedar EO to it for a little extra depth and it's awesome.

That's pretty flippin cool! What FO's do you have in your current stash, that you want to use? I've noticed that a lot of people seem to draw correlations primarily between color and scent. So for fantasy blends, it can usually be as easy as starting with the color(s) you want, and then just using whatever FO/s correlate to those colors. Like, Red - apple, cinnamon, cranberry, clove Yellow - lemon, honey Orange - oranges, dragon's blood, pumpkin etc etc etc So then pretty much any comic character can have their color/s on a candle, with a scent that "makes sense" to someone just happy to have a gift basket lol. But can get fun with it, too.. like one of those "new car" FO's could be the Batmobile, or a Thor thunderbolt candle could be ozonic (clouds) with a touch of lemon (yellow-lightning) and maybe a little masculine-themed FO blend undertone. Dragon's Blood works with pretty much anything space/cosmic-related for whatever subconscious reasons. Something herbal and generally green-correlated could be used in a Poison Ivy candle, and could add a splash of something "red" for her hair.. like raspberry, apple, cranberry, whatever.

I made solid perfume for one grandmother using rustic escentuals' lilac FO, and she really loved it. Made a solid lotion bar for a different grandmother using bramble berry's lilac FO, and she really liked hers, too. Best I can subjectively describe the OOB scent differences, rustic escentuals' lilac FO smelled more flowery, softer, while bramble berry's smells a little more like the actual plant flowers so it has a mild earthy and rainy aspect to it (best I can word it) like smelling the real thing but distinctly lilac. While again rustic escentuals' was a bit more mellow and soft, not soft as in weak scent, but just soft as opposed to a very distinct scent. In the items I made, the rustic escentuals' lilac FO was good for the perfume since again it was softer in its nature and more mellow, just a soft floral with some lilac character. The bramble berry lilac FO worked well in the solid lotion since it was very distinct, crisp and a bit strong, and that grandmother has a very weak sense of smell, so it turned out well even at the lower dilution % for lotion. Personally I like bramble berry's because I tend to favor earthy scents, like authentic earthy, so I liked that their lilac FO really smelled like being outside with my nose in the flowers. Rustic escentuals' lilac FO was more of a lady-like floral scent, lilac but again just mellowed out.

I have no experience using Brambleberry FO in candles, specifically, but have tried their bergamot black tea in wax melts. I don't know hardly enough about the science behind candle making to know what differences that makes. However, I can say that in the wax melts I tried with it, the throw was decent. I just have a basic wax warmer that plugs into the wall, ceramic and shaped like an owl. Used it with the bergamot black tea wax melts in a bedroom, and about an hour later the aroma was noticeable in the room. That is the only one from brambleberry that I have tried in wax, though. Double checked and the other ones were from different companies.

Well dang. I was honestly a little excited to try some new formulas without the citral, as I am a woody-earthy-incense-musk fan, and not much into citrus at all. But now some of my favorite FO's are probably taking a hit! 😬

Really like the look of that candle, reminds me of amethyst.

Cedar essential oil (the Juniperus virgiana type) in my own experience tends to have a pretty potent aroma, and it is also one of the more affordable essential oils. My favorite place to order essential oils is mountain rose herbs, since they have a lot of organic options and are also into fair trade, and one of the few essential oil companies who have a lot of integrity. Their Juniperus essential oil is $20 for 4 ounces. There are some even more affordable options out there, too, like brambleberry's which is $15 for 8 ounces. This is really one of my favorite essential oils because it blends like a champ, can make more authentic and stronger smelling sandalwood interpretations with it, for example, and tweak it to get it just right to personal preference. With the cedar chest smell, again can add just a few drops at a time of other essential oils and/or fragrance oils to get the exact interpretation that you like, and have it smell strong and more authentic. The cedar chest I grew up with was an older one made by the nearby Amish community. It had a definite cedar-woody aroma, but was also a little musty, like an old and damp cabin in the woods, and was also mildly sweet smelling in a way, plus it was located in the "tool room" in the basement of my childhood home. So to get the sort of nostalgic interpretation I personally like, I have had the best results starting with cedar EO and adding just a little blop of patchouli EO, a generous splash of vanilla musk FO and just a couple tiny drops of birch tar (very strong, so just a wee bit will do). I eyeball it all, so no idea on exact ratios.. but again you can tweak it and experiment and get all sorts of personalized interpretations of things starting with cedar EO as the foundation.

I found rustic escentuals peach FO to be extremely good. I'm not normally into synthetic fruity smells, I just don't like them, but that one actually smelled like legit ripe peaches and was strong, too. Worth sampling IMO if someone wants a good peach and is trying other things from RE already.

The couple of cannabis themed FO's I've tried smelled nothing like actual weed, at least not good weed, like that dank yet herbaceous sweet-diesel smell. Hard to describe it very well, but it's very distinct unto itself. One FO I tried smelled more like old, icky burnt residue and bong water, reminded me of birch tar a bit, but mixed with something a bit foul. The other one smelled simply herbaceous (and pleasant) but nothing like real weed. It's a funny thing, I guess. People who know what really good and fresh bud smells like, might actually be drawn to a product that smells similar. I may or may not have a few very lucky and magical experiences in my personal history, to know the difference. On the other hand, people who are more familiar with poor quality bud and bong water smell, would probably be hoping a FO smells nothing like the real deal lol, because yeah it's a bit nasty. Just the 2 cents opinion of a finicky delinquent lol.

Haha truth. I wore a so-so reject FO in my hair the other day. Sniffing the FO in the bottle I had thought, "Meh, not bad, but nothing special, will pass for now," when it showed up in the mail, has been sitting on the shelf for some months. Figured eh, why not, and took a q-tip and just added a few streaks of it to my hair. 3 compliments+inquiries by the end of the day on my "shampoo" lol. It was just the egyptian musk from naturesgarden, too, haha.

I noticed on Etsy (only market example I've monitored, though) that the type of incense that is meant to be tossed over a charcoal disc burner can actually sell pretty well, if 1. The marketing is thoughtfully tailored to the new age, neopagan and esoteric earthy/nature sorts of folks. 2. The physical mix of things looks aesthetically interesting or even pretty (or otherwise appeals aesthetically to the above folks, thematically). 3. There is a little esoteric/mythos/folklore background on some of the ingredients (again marketing for the folks who like that). 4. The price is a little high when considering the volume of product and what is actually in it (marketing psychology, i.e. this is "better" than "regular" incense, implied). It's basically like a potpourri you burn, and while the number of customers shopping for it is significantly less than those shopping for the usual sticks/cones, the demand strength is still there, likely due to limited number of suppliers and the perceived special factor. (Which in their own way, some of these products are special from the thoughtfulness and artistic angle on top of smelling good.) Basically the folks who want to actually burn something on a charcoal disc tend to be really into the whole thing, so they appreciate the marketing factors and will even pay more for their items. From one of the fellow crafters I learned about "Kyphi" which was an Egyptian style of incense/resin balls burned on the discs. This seller had their own modern touch and spin on it, their items were really neat and if I had the spending to money to spare, I'd order some of their stuff, myself, to try lol.

Uh oh, indeed.. they have several that are right up my alley.. Woody Leather & Brandy Cedarwood & Vetiver Oud Patchouli & Resins (oh my lawd...) Saffron & Tobacco Pink Pepper & Vetiver (oh my LAWD) Would definitely love to read any reviews on these scents. Truly woody, earthy and spiced FO's are so hard to find. Many that are wood-themed wind up smelling like generic cheap cologne and such. I'd pay a higher price for some good stuff.

I have no idea how similar or not the scent is, but I tried Indonesian Teakwood from wholesale supplies plus in some simple wax melts to try out this owl shaped wax warmer I received as a gift. Their scent description of it is, "A rich and intriguing blend of falling leaves, fresh citrus, fireside warmth, indonesian teakwood, patchouli and amber." I honestly don't like the first impression smell of this FO, like how it smells in the beginning after application in a product. The fruit aspect is just jarring and off to me with the background stuff going on (sort of a cologne smell with a little wood and earth?). However, once it gets going, the fruity factor neutralizes into something much more subtle so that overall it's like a mildly fresh, very slightly sweet wood sort of smell. Throw was strong from the electric powered wax warmer after about an hour in a room approximately 12x16 feet I'd guess it.

I tend to love the earthy, musky and head shop scents. Patchouli EO is a favorite of mine (though it can be tricky as heck to blend with FO's, sometimes resulting in this weird and unnerving porta-potty smell - dead serious - so I always do tiny sample tests first). I have a love/hate thing with citrus in all of its forms (grapefruit, orange, lemon, pineapple, etc). It's not my sort of thing, and it's by far the most popular request I get as far as themes of blends. So to me it's boring and just sort of ugh. On the other hand, it's super easy to blend with damn near anything. When making a small gift for a lady, I know that I can blend Hungarian lavender EO, orange EO and a FO such as bergamot black tea and have a 99% chance she will like it. It's a classic sort of staple, I guess. In the rare case I get a request for something like a custom dragon's blood, I'm just like YESSSS. I'm basically a scents-weirdo in love with anything that smells like dirt, actual leaves/wood, smoke, musk, etc, in an area where this sort of theme is somewhat popular, but I seem to mostly attract the classy middle age lady demographic who want flowers and citrus lol.

Curious about this one, myself. It's on my list of FO's I want to try eventually when funds permit. The description sounded appealing, but never know with FO's haha.

I also really like rustic escentuals' Cuban tobacco. It doesn't smell like actual tobacco to me, but then this seems to be the case with the vast majority of tobacco themed fragrance oils so far, anyway. Seems to be a shared goal throughout the FO market to focus more on the fantasy appeal of naming with such things, and then for it to simply smell good. But all of that said their cuban tobacco does smell extremely nice to me. It's mildly masculine, mildly fruity, mildly warm. A lot of women I've had try it really like it, as well, as a potpourri/atmosphere sort of scent. If going for an actual smoky smell, though, I have personally found that I don't care for it much when blended with a tiny bit of something for a little smokiness, such as some birch tar oil or naturesgarden's fireplace FO. All on its own, though, the Cuban tobacco one smells pretty flippin good. My favorite coffee FO so far hands down in bulk apothecary's coffee beans FO. It smells like a really good cup of fresh strong espresso x10, and blends well with many other things so far (cinnamon, pumpkin, vanilla, etc) to customize it. I can't speak to its performance in candles, though. I use FO's mostly for solid perfumes/colognes, solid lotions/balms/butters/etc and for some heat-less room aroma. Someone I recommended BA to had less than stellar results when trying some FO's for candles.