Gypsyjen

Thanks for the warning - I just ordered a sample of this last night so I guess I won't bother trying it in wax!

The only Just Scent FO I use is Chestnuts & Brown Sugar. It throws like crazy in any soy (even CBA) at 1 oz per pound.

So it looks like you remove each "cup" as the candle burns down.

I like the idea, but I think they're butt-ugly. It's funny how they slam Yankme candles on their website.

It sounds similar to CBA, but they claim an "excellent" throw. I'll be sure to try it for fun, and will probably try blending it with paraffin as well. I wonder what "new technology allows for top surface re-melting" is supposed to mean.

If you're interested in a parasoy, I'd recommend trying a pre-blended parasoy wax before attempting to blend your own. That will give you a feel as to whether that is truly the direction you want to take. IGI 6006 is a parasoy sold by Peak and other suppliers. Kentucky Candle Supply and Just By Nature sell their own parasoy blends.

It's not just you. They didn't answer the email I sent them either, a couple of months ago, asking if they were going to start carrying Maduro. I had to find out on here that they do. I'm very hesitant to order from them now, even though I really like Maduro. I do not take kindly to being ignored by companies I plan to do business with.

I don't use the permanent adhesives because I would like to give people the option to recycle their glass containers easily, either for personal use or to send to a recycling center. I can imagine someone trying to force the wick tab off the bottom and shattering the glass, cutting their hands to pieces.

I wonder if the silicone votive molds create that smoothness you're referring to. I have these molds but haven't gotten around to pouring votives yet - still working on my containers.

Oops - posted the info below but just realized it appears that they only do stamps to use with wax, not with ink pads. Sorry!

Regarding the stamps, I've purchased one (non-custom) from Old School Seals - they also do custom stamps - and I was very happy with the quality. Link: http://www.oldschoolseals.com/

From Nature With Love has it, but I've never used their FO's so I can't tell you if they are good or not. Note that they have cosmetic grade and candle grade - but they say the candle grade cannot be used in soy based candles

Here's the link to the cosmetic grade FO: http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/product.asp?product_id=FOVANFLOWERHB

The only place besides Wick-It that I've seen carry the Premier wicks is Coal Creek Candle Supply: http://www.coalcreekcandlesupply.com/Wicks.htm

I second the Gaia suggestion. OOB I can really smell the mushrooms! You can also try Rare Earth from Candle Cocoon. Very deep and earthy, though it reminds me more of spa mud than forest floor.

Today I am burning a blend I made with True Lavender and Oatmeal Milk and Honey.

Mmmm that sounds GOOD!

Right now I'm doing wick testing with MC's Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper. I'm planning to burn a Backwoods' Honey Gingerbread candle later tonight.

They have a dupe of the Guerlain perfume? Wow. Too bad I'm mad at DS. We had a "disagreement" over shipping charges a few years back, so I don't order from them anymore.

Hi Kyme, "white" vanilla is the term I use (I can't remember where I came across it) for vanillas that smell like Tahitian vanilla - more of a white sugar kind of smell. In any case, it is a lighter smell than the heavy, rich, bourbon vanillas.

And, I do like the perfume, I only have a vial of it, but to me it smells really similar to Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, which is half the price. I think DS has a dupe of this scent, also.

P.S. I found my holy grail vanilla perfume - Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille. Now if anyone came out with a dupe of THAT, I'd be doing the happy dance for sure.

I don't have the DS oil but I do have the Tihota perfume. It's a "white" vanilla as opposed to black or bourbon vanillas - just in case someone was wondering.

Burn update: Unfortunately, it seems the paraffin did nothing to improve the scent throw of the CB135 at either 30% or 50% concentration. I can barely smell them burning. Surprisingly, one of the blends that had the most "meh" cold throw - 70% C-3 and 30% 4630 - had an excellent hot throw even with the wick almost drowning out. This will definitely take a bigger wick than the 464, 415, or 135 parasoys. I can't wait to see how it throws with an appropriately sized wick!

I've been working on the same thing Top has - to design a candle in which the wick is completely self-trimming even after long burn periods, with no soot and no mushrooms. I could never get it to work with the 3" diameter jars I was using before, so I moved to different jars. I've been having great luck lately with the new Crisa jars I'm using and several different parasoy blends, using CD and ECO wicks.

In this case though she got a good result using 70% 415 with 4630, which is kinda cool.

I plan to mix up a couple more of these this weekend, just in case it was a fluke :rolleyes2 Still no wet spots on that one candle, though - I'm impressed!

Pixie, I'll be sure to do that. I mixed a bunch of different parasoys - CB135, CBA, GB464, GB415, and C-3. So far the 415 and 464 are running neck and neck for best cold throw, with the 464 taking a slight lead. The 70/30 mixtures have a stronger cold throw than the 50/50 mix. Maybe the hot throw will be opposite, we'll see!

Unlike all the other candles, the 70/30 415 candle had NO wet spots when poured at 165*. So it's the clear winner as far as appearance is concerned. None of the candles have frosted.

Yep, I did this on Sunday. Made a 70% CB135 + 30% IGI4630 candle, also a 50/50 blend. I'm letting them cure before I burn them, but so far the cold throw is only OK. I used 8% MC Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper, no dye. No frosting in either candle, but there are some big wet spots, also a large crack in the top of the 70/30. I poured at 165, so this might be avoided by pouring cooler.

Now I should mention that I haven't poured CB135 straight, so I can't compare anything to that.

The FO's from TSW that I've found work well in my parasoy are

Sanguigno Orange & Patchouli

Red Currant (Shaw Mudge)

Satsuma Guava (also Shaw Mudge) - this one is YUMMY

I tried CBA with several different FO's, and the only one that had an "excellent" throw was Chestnuts & Brown Sugar from Just Scent, at 1 oz/pp. Peak's Amish Harvest had a "good" throw at the same concentration.

Two days ago I tried mixing 70% CBA with 30% 4630, and also at a 50/50 mixture, and neither mixture has produced a good cold throw yet. I used Millcreek's Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper (an excellent throwing FO) at 8%. I did the same parasoy mixtures with GB464 and GB415 and those candles already have a wonderful cold throw.

I plan to use the rest of my bag of CBA to make Chestnuts & Brown Sugar candles, LOL.

I buy mine at Wholesale Supplies Plus.

After having burned Yank's for years, and noticing the alarming amount of black soot that ended up on the jar and on my walls, I tried a soy candle and it didn't have that same black soot and lasted longer than the Yank's. So I decided to go soy when I went into candlemaking. I love that it comes in flakes and is easy to measure out, I love that it smells a bit like vanilla ice cream out of the bag, and I love that I can power-burn it (I have always been a serious power-burner) without getting the black soot. Now I use a parasoy blend because I like the translucency it lends to the candle - soy alone is too opaque for my preference. Also, more FO's throw better in the parasoy than plain soy.

Now I know a poorly made soy candle can soot as much as the Yank's I used to have, but I guess I got lucky when I bought that first soy candle!