jennhalcyon

Hi everyone! I know some of you played with J225 back when it first came to market. I happen to be near C&S and they carry it. I finally decided to get a slab and satisfy my curiosity. I have to say that I don't think what I received could possibly be J-225. Either that or their principle selling point is completely fabricated!!! It says: Astorlite® introduces the latest and greatest scent wax on the market! J-225 is a premium wax blend that holds more scent than any other wax. J-225 also allows the candle maker to use fragrances that, until now, have been off limits or considered to be of limited use because of fragrance leakage. J-225 has superior hot and cold fragrance throw, is smooth creamy and has excellent jar adhesion so there are no wet spots. Try your most difficult fragrance in Astorlite® J-225, you will find that it does not leak. If you want your candles to be stronger than anything else available - USE THIS WAX!!!! So, I poured 1.5 oz of Snowtop Cinnamon Buns and 1.5 oz Hansel & Gretel (CS) into a warmed jars. Heated wax to 200, added fos each at 180, stirred for 2 minutes with wire wisk. Poured into warm jars, covered under a box. Both leaked oil within a day and both pulled almost completely away!! I called C&S and they said that if they are both very heavy oils that maybe it can't hold 1.5 oz pp. They said try to cut it back. I did. Same thing (tried Cinnamon Buns only) same process but 1.25 oz pp. My j223 can hold this much, but this one leaked in less than a day and no adhesion. Called back questioning if I got the right wax. They said try 1% and pour into room temp jars. SERIOUSLY??? Here is what the IGI site says about this wax: Level pour blend with good adherence to jar under optimal conditions. Can hold up to 10-12% fragrance, including difficult fragrances (i.e. Vanilla, Cinnimmon, and Spice types). Use higher dye concentrations to achieve vibrant colors. What the heck? It is harder than J223 and it does pour up perfectly level (I liked that but that is about it!!). Jenn

I think zinc gave a great throw, plus with all the contraction and shrinkage of this wax, I always thought the zinc held up the straightest. Other wicks (especially smaller sizes) didn't end up straight even with wick bars. ETA - I also thought the superior 600 line of wicks did perform extremely well in this wax!

I love ST's Creme Brulee too and it IS super strong. DH loves it...one of his favorites, but it didn't sell well for me.

ICS Cactus and Sea Salt is very clean and refreshing. And, surprisingly, Vanilla Pear from BW smells very clean to me too (although food isn't what most would typically call "clean").

Agree on both VV and H&G...fantastic! H&G is one that I could never get rid of.

Hi all! Just wondering what soy would be a good choice for mixing with my J223. I would probably mix no more than 20% soy in. I am looking to improve the look of the candle (better finish...less wet spots if at all possible), help minimize sooting (although I don't get much right now unless I power burn), and to help in oil retention. I would also love to get the soy to hel give me flatter tops with one pour if possible (in two of my jars I get dips). I am lucky enough to have quite a few options available to me locally, so I was looking for a bit of advice. Here's what I can get: C-3 415 GW444 GW464 CB-Advanced Pure Soy CB-135 I think from reading old posts I would probably immediately eliminate 415 and pure soy. I think I am leaning toward CB-135 (no repour?), 444 or 464 (10% fo load?), or CB ADvanced (nice finished look). Any ideas? THANKS!!!! Jenn

I posted this in the classy's too, but I was wondering if anyone might be willing to sell me some of OT's Bug Off. I don't need alot, and there is a minimum order there plus shipping to me (PA) is over $10. Really can't afford to spend over $25 on this project. Please???

http://www.candlewic.com/Store/Search.aspx?keyword=lemon+lavender

OMG Jen I LOVE LOVE the donuts!! Oh but my 2 year old son would SOOO try to eat one!

Aw if hubby would watch the babes for a week, I would so be there! Thanks everyone...I am going to try OT's bug-off with C&S bases. Hope for the 2 year old that it works!!

Thanks ladies! I checked it out...I will definitely get some. I have NEVER done B&B so can I ask where you prefer to get your bases? I see alot of people like WSP. I'm near Candles and Supplies and I know they carry some bases, although I don't know if those are good or not. Thanks!

Hi there...sorry it's been a while. Three little ones and work have kept me jumping! I need to ask for a little bit of help. I did a quick search but most posts were last year or older so I thought I would re-ask (in case there are new products). I desperately need to come up with a bug repellant spray for one of my sons. We are going on vacation 4th of July and will be staying at a lake camp. He is allergic to mosquito bites...poor thing gets bit and gets golf-ball size hard lumps for days. I don't do b&b so I am totally unfamiliar with spray bases, and I have never made citronella so I have never tested any of those oils. Can anyone give me an idea how to make an easy, effective, and safe (for a two year old) spray that doesn't smell too nasty? I would also consider a lotion/cream/moisturizer as well. Thanks so much for ANY help! Jenn:)

Hey everyone! I keep wanting to try some Candlewic Fos since I can pick up. I have been over and over the board and I have seen some threads about Candlewic oils, but not many! I am thinking of red apple peel and lemongrass sage, but I am also eyeing up a few others and was wondering if anyone had ANY experience with these: canella bark blackberry brulee fruit smoothie peach and sweet berries pumpkin ginger streusel snickerdoodle sugared vanilla shortbread tahitian orchid wild berries I remember reading about a couple of these too. TIA! Jenn

I had tried in in J223 several years ago and thought it was NASTY!! But that is just me. Definitely smokey, but not in a good way to my nose. Don't go by me, you should try it. maybe if I had backed off the fo % it could have been great but I was turned off so I didn't bother. HTH!

There are MANY kinds of pear FO's...which is your favorite and/or most popular? Gingered Pear, brandied pear, pearberry, Vanilla Pear, Bartlett Pear, honeyed pear..... Jenn

These are new for me...I used to use balmoral and honeypot jars, so both required label on top of jar. I think I want to put a label on the front of the jar, but I was wondering what kind of labels you all use? I was thinking a rectangular white high gloss from labels by the sheet, but I fear that might be boring. TIA! jenn

No, I was using 1.2 oz pp and cut back to 1 oz. Could it be your dye? I a guessing you would have dyed it a cranberry/dark red/burgundy sort of color. Maybe try one without the dye to see if that is the problem? It could be clogging the wick.

I had this problem with ST's Cranberry Orange Spice which smells very similar to CS Cranberry marmalade (to my nose anyway). I cut back on the oil and voila! Wicked easily and threw like crazy. Good luck!

And I should add that Snowtop's Cinnamon Buns is great and super easy to wick. AND I placed an order at 4:45 yesterday and it was shipped by 9:45 this morning! ICS/ST rocks! I ordered samples of the Cactus & Sea Salt, Raspberry Guava, Pink Sugar, and Aloha Pineapple. Jenn

Hi everyone...hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! I know Snowtop's Creme brulee is not the traditional CB scent because of the chocolate note, but man does this scent rock! I poured up an 8 oz apoth jar with 6.5% fo in J223, cured 1 day, and I can smell it through my whole 3200 sf house!!! And, this sample I had is well over a year old. I just wanted to share because I am blown away by the throw on this one!

So I have successfully double-wicked a few 10 oz apoth jars with J223 and (2) 44-32's and (2) 51s depending on FO. But they keep drowning in 5 oz apoth jars, 2-1/2" wide, 6% FO. I tried 44-14s and 44-32s. I haven't tried 51z yet because they just seem to big for this small jar. I don't mean underwicked, either, these are just drowning...tiny flames, not a full MP, barely any scent throw.

Yes...the ones mentioned are great! Just wanted to add Indiana Candle Supply/Snowtop.

I don't use that wax, sorry, but what FO is it? I am having a similar problem with J223 with Vanilla latte and Baked Apples at 7%. Both are on the heavy side, so I am repouring at 6%.

No, sorry I wasn't clear. I am testing with different wick sizes, of course, but what I am wondering is if someone might use zinc wicks in a 10 oz apothecary jar because the zincs but use LX or CD in a small single-wicked jar. Two different types of wicks, in sizes relative to the diameter of jar, wax type, FO used, etc. The double-wicked zinc is kicking butt in terms of throw and burn, but the single-wicked zinc jar isn't giving off much throw.

I am curious if any of you use different types of wicking in different applications. I am testing J223 in 10 oz and 4 oz apothecary jars, and I really like using zinc wicks in double-wicking the 10 oz...getting good throw, etc. But in the small apothecary jars, I don't feel like the throw is there (of course testing them in a smaller area). I threw a CD in one and even underwicked it threw MUCH better. Do any of you do this? TIA, Jenn