lisabeth13

Thank you, Sarah! I am checking her page out now! I also haven't heard of Windy Point, so I will check them out too!

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I was on here, but I was hoping someone might have some suggestions on where to buy CO's in Canada. Shipping from the US is SO expensive! 😩 I could potentially have them delivered to my parent's in the US and bring them back with me when I drive... but that seems like it would be a hassle as my business grows... not to mention dealing with the border agents. I'm not sure what the regulations are for that kind of thing. Flying with them would be even less of an option. Anyway, I know New Directions is a popular choice here. I've used a few of their oils recently and I'm just not sure I love them. One of them was pretty rancid... so I guess I'm worried about the quality of their oils. Maybe this was a fluke though? And I should disclose...it wasn't one I purchased directly from the store, it was from a local company that had a skin care class. So maybe they had it in their stock for too long? Can anyone attest to the quality being good?? Hoping for some hidden gem that I don't know about yet. I've done so many google searches, but either the oils are too expensive or they don't carry a big selection (e.g., 7 or less CO's listed on their site). I really love MRH but the shipping (even in the US) is just way outside of my current budget. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I will be driving through knoxville in a week-ish so I'm definitely going to stop in the store and check these out!

I realized after I posted in here that you had probably already seen his post. Maybe it'll be helpful to someone who hasn't seen it yet though.

What are your favorite scents from Aztec for candle making?

@Brad Ford posted this article in another thread: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-basf-forcemajeure-aroma/basf-declares-force-majeure-for-certain-aroma-ingredients-idUSKBN1D21AB Hopefully this is something that will be fixed quickly.

I wonder if the coffee could be improved by mixing it with something else?

Has anyone tried the coffee or creamy chai latte?

I'm thinking of placing an order for fragrance oils from Fillmore Container... What are your least/most favorite from them? I'm not that picky about scents so all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks @GoldieMN !

I think all cats are pretty amazing. I joke with my husband all the time that if he wasn't around, I'd just be a cat lady. haha! I hope I can have my sweet fur baby for at least that long! She's around 10 now. She seems to like the lavender but I don't put a lot in the diffuser so I'm sure it's pretty diluted.

WOW... 18 1/2 years!! That's amazing! That sounds like an awful/scary experience to go through. I would've been terrified. My cat doesn't seem to be bothered by the EO's in my diffuser but dust makes her sneeze a lot. If I run just lavender in my diffuser she will often go sit in the same room near the diffuser. When I made the candles with FO, she was in a separate room, and I only made the one batch with 1lb of wax. So I don't think I was using it long enough to really fill the house with the scent. She didn't seem bothered with it but I will definitely take more precautions going forward.

YES!! Last year I ordered several FO's for the first time and I really didn't take any kind of precautions with them. I didn't know I needed to. I didn't wear gloves... no respirator... didn't open the windows. I had a horrible headache for hours and felt really dizzy. It was awful. I almost didn't want to use them ever again. I think that situation made me really want to look into them more. That said, I obviously didn't take the necessary precautions as I should have. I do wish they labeled the bottles with how to handle them properly.

Yeah, they are definitely way too expensive to waste. My favorite company is Simplers Botanicals. They're definitely on the pricier side but out of all the brands I've tried... these smell the best. They smell so pure. I will definitely get a respirator though and wear gloves. I was going through a lot of lavender and still am... but rose geranium is probably my new favorite. I can't get enough of it! haha. We don't have kids yet but I will definitely be extra cautious using these things around them when we do. Ideally, I'd like to have a space to make products outside our home but we just aren't at that point yet. So I'll have to make do and just be very careful in the meantime. Also, I had no idea there was coffee EO!! Where have I been??? I need to get some ASAP! haha.

Oh wow... 6 months! lol Poor guy! I don't think my husband would ever agree to live anywhere else, even if I said I was going without him. hahaha. I'm sure I'll adjust to the winter and we will find things to do to make it more bearable. I'd love to try cross country skiing, although I've heard it's pretty challenging. lol... that's funny. I've been to a Titans game and a Vols game. Once was good enough for me... I'm not super into football but I sure had to hear about it constantly in TN. Most people there are obsessed with the Vols. There is orange everywhere. It was worse when I lived in Knoxville (home of the vols) for awhile. Game day traffic there was the worst!

Yeah, so far it hasn't actually been too bad. lol The first time I visited Toronto was in February so sadly, I know it gets much worse than this. He actually bought me a Canada Goose jacket for Christmas several years ago to entice me to move here... but it took me a long time to make the move. haha. I do need some ear muffs and a nice warm hat though. But yes, the plan is to sit around and make candles all winter. Are you a Titans fan?

I looked into shipping from some of the suppliers I've seen in the U.S. and the shipping is brutal!! One place was $41. And I'm sure there are extra costs for it to go through customs and all that. I'm from Tennessee (I don't fit any stereotypes of the south though...lol) - born and raised, so while I didn't experience hot weather year round... our winters were very mild in comparison. We went out the other night for his work's christmas party, I had to wear a dress without leggings and told him I'd head back outside again once it was summer. Once it gets below freezing... I'm for sure not going out anywhere. lol

@Gary in Canada Thank you for all the great info, Gary! I will definitely check out those places! I'm trying to make it feel like home here as best as I can. It's going to be an adjustment for a bit (can we say cold??!) but I think my hubby is worth it.

@Sarah S Yes, you are right. It will be up to me to decide and honestly, I'm not as worried for the consumer buying my products since they would only be exposed to minimal amounts of FO. I am more concerned for my own health and my family being exposed to large amounts for hours at a time. Perhaps nothing at all would happen but I do still have some concerns. I guess I will need to think on this some more and try to find some peer reviews if there are any.

@candlesinflorida I agree with everything you've said! There should be more research done on FO's and the long term effects. I also agree that I would be willing to pay more for the EO's if I could get them to work in candles. Unfortunately, it just seems like they don't. I also don't really have the money to waste testing them to get mostly failures - if I did... I would!! My stepdad had cancer and went through chemo for a year... I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. When cancer hits so close to home, it really makes you start questioning the things you expose yourself to on a regular basis.

Wow! Was the hole in the bottom of the pour pot? I use water to melt my wax but I put a cookie cutter in the pot of water so that the pour pot wasn't sitting directly on heat. I never would've thought about it getting a hole in it though. Good to know!

@ChristinaD I'm so sorry! I know how frustrating this must be! Your candles are beautiful btw!

I'm new to candle making myself but growing up in extremely humid areas... it sounds like humidity might be the culprit here. Unfortunately, this might be an issue in shipping because it seems like the candles are very sensitive to humidity changes. I'm sure there is a way to fix that by using additives or something but I'll let someone else chime in on that part. I'm no expert there. I imagine that might also require a lot more testing.

@Jcandleattic, @TallTayl - I was just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt... buuuut yes, you're right. lol I cringe when people start talking to me about those companies. Not to mention the fact that they are way overpriced. There are better quality and more affordable oils elsewhere. And you are so right about them not educating their reps. There was 3 reps at our party and I asked one of them what makes DoTerra's oils safe to ingest (hint: they aren't!), when everything I've read says not to... she gave me a very blank stare and couldn't really answer my question.

@Gary in Canada Hi Gary! I just moved to Canada myself from the U.S. I'm pretty bummed about the high shipping charges and not as many options here. My parents are still state side so I may just have things shipped to their house and pick it up when I go there. I am curious though, I saw you mentioned in another thread, a FO supplier in Canada called New Direction Aromatics... have you tried that one out? We don't live too far from there so would it be worth checking out? I see they supply to Lush? Although, I'm sure Lush has custom scents made just for them too.