tlayne

I do know that he doesn't make candles so I am not sure why he had the wax. I think he gave it away because he had no use for it. The wax is rather opaque, hard, and it doesn't really feel greasy so much as it just feels sticky/tacky. Maybe slightly greasy, you can feel a light residue on your skin after touching it. When you press your finger into it, it sticks to the wax a bit.

A friend gave me a slab of paraffin wax. I have no idea what brand/kind it is, it is just wrapped in white paper, no information on it. I've never used paraffin before, only soy. Any ideas or suggestions for what I could do with it?

I am going to get some of the Acqua di Gio, for sure! I love that fragrance.

When I first posted this thread, I was having a terrible time working with PB and XceL, but I realized that I was overloading the blend with too much FO *hangs head in shame*. I cut the FO down and I have had no trouble since. My tarts are looking smooth, creamy, no noticeable frost, and they throw good, imo. They also pop out of my silicone molds just fine. I still want to try paraffin. I am new to working with wax, and I have yet to try any paraffin, straight or blended.

I am ordering some 1oz testers. This will be my first time trying NG's oils. I have heard many good things about Cracklin Birch. I am excited to try that one out for myself! I'm also getting Satin Sheets. I'll have to add Lavender Apple to my list, it sounds like a good one.

Would some of you recommend some good scents from NG that fall into these categories (that work well in soy)? Thank you!

I really like ICS's Zucchini Bread. It doesn't seem spicy to me. It is the best ZB I have tried so far. I have heard a lot of good things about the Southern Scentsations Grandma's Zucchini Bread. I am going to try that one soon. BCN's Zucchini Bread wasn't good, imo. It did not smell like any sort of bakery at all. I got JS's ZB recently and it smells like sweet potatoes...

Melted you definitely can pick up on both notes. But I would say that the chili pepper is dominant in the CS version. I have not tried this scent from NG.

I just made some tarts in this scent from CS recently. I have not melted them yet. They smell mostly like Chili Pepper to me. The "orange" is *almost* non-existent to my nose. I've been reluctant to melt it, I can't decide if I like it or not (based on CT), but I have heard a lot of people say that it's a great scent. I think I will melt one today and see how it is warm. I'll report back...

Thanks so much for the replies and advice everyone. I need and appreciate it. I knew I was pushing it with the 3oz...but it seemed like a fantastic idea! Super tarts! But, for my tarts (and my wallet), I'm going to cut back on the amount of FO. Hopefully doing that will get my tarts to look like I want them to, and I will be able to make a lot more.

I haven't noticed any weeping. But I am going to chill out on the FO, lol!!

These were made with 3oz/lb of some Just Scent oil. Perhaps the amount of FO is too much, I hadn't really thought of that because it was working fine with straight PB. I am going to try a batch with less FO...I bet I see a difference. I feel kinda silly now... What is "weeping"?

I have used metal molds. At times I had the same "frosty" appearance, but it was more uniform. I hope that makes sense. This is happening even when I am sure my molds are not too cold. I have to be doing something wrong I am just not certain what it is yet.

I am getting great throw from the PB/XceL blend that I recently started...but the tarts looks horrible, imo. (I just posted a new thread with some pics of some problem tarts.) I have only tried these two waxes, I have never worked with Paraffin before. But I am betting it will make the wax much easier to remove from molds and will be less messy with packaging. These tarts that I have been making smear like crazy when I bag them. Worse now that I added the XceL into the picture. But they perform pretty good, so I am not sure what to do. If I can find a paraffin blend or straight paraffin wax that works just as well AND looks MUCH better, I will likely switch.

Here is one of my recently poured tarts. It is made with Ecosoya PB and XceL. 60/40. They were poured ~150-145° in room temp silicone molds (~70-75° room temp at that time). Is this just normal "frosting"? This is the first time I have had a tart do THIS: This one was made with PB/XceL 70/30. I heated the molds a bit before I poured these in, but not too much warmer than room temp. They were poured at the same temp as the tart above. Can anyone explain to me what this is called and what causes it to happen? I tested these tarts and they throw pretty good, it is just the appearance that I am not happy with.