bfroberts

Thank you all for the suggestions. I think I'll give Gypsy Rose a try. I'd love to try RE's Fresh Cut Roses also, because I do love their oils, but the shipping is high for a small order.

Can someone recommend a good rose FO? Preferably for candles and soap. I like Rose from CS (not the Golden Rose) but the bottle I have isn't body safe, although I think it has been reformulated since I bought it. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

I thought of a couple more. Fruit Loops is super strong. I don't really care for it, but a lot of people love it. My mom loves Falling Leaves in tarts. It is her favorite and she says the tarts last for days. The Honeysuckle is nice and strong also.

I use parasoy, so I don't know how much help this will be. I think TFC has some really beautiful fragrances. I've had my eye on that Baja Cactus Blossom, too. I'm anxious to try it, but I'll wait until I need to place an order. For candles & clams, I use: Tobacco Caramel (very nice, sweet, a little smoky, this one has wide appeal) Earthen Oak (unique, earthy, but very nice) Patchouli Amber (very strong. It's probably a love it or hate it scent, but I love it and it gets loads of compliments every time I burn it in our store) Blue Sugar (straight up Blue Sugar, super strong) Strawberries & Champagne (sweet, mellow, not in your face strong, but carries super well and the fragrance really lingers for a long while) Tea & Cakes (a different type of bakery scent. Seems more crisp, and the tea really comes thru.) Wild Mountain Honey (this is a floral honey, I don't "love" it, but it fits in with our locale, and it is super strong) Firewood (strong, and smells just like a campfire. We own a campground and this sells, although I don't like it. I smell campfires every day as it is. I don't want to smell one in my house...LOL) Most recently I've poured Havana, and it is a gorgeous scent, but I haven't tested it yet. For B&B and aroma beads, I am in love with Floral Muse. It is my absolute favorite fragrance for personal use. Sandalwood Rose is beautiful, too They send a free sample with orders over $20, and I've tried a bunch of those. You can specify or they'll send a random sample. Ocean Mist was nice, about the same as other Ocean Mists out there, good HT. Birthday Cake, same as others and had a pretty good HT. Coconut Caramel was a little light in my wax, but smells great. Med. Cypress I did not like at all, but I never like anything with "Cypress". They have a nice Butt Naked & Pink Sands. Amish Harvest is strong, about like others I've tried. Lavender Sandalwood went in room sprays and it is very nice, but probably too light in soy. Hickory BBQ Smoke smells just exactly like hickory BBQ smoke. I mean, dead on. I put it in wax, but I'm afraid to burn it. LOL I'm sure I'll think of more later.

If you wanted to add something, I'd say maybe something fruity without the bakery note. I love summer scents so much, I have way more than I need. Right now I have Salty Sea Air (RE), Jamaica Me Crazy (CS), Honeydew (CS), Magnolia Blossom (CS), Strawberries & Champagne (TFC), Clean Breeze (NG) and Spring Rain (CS) on the shelves. I also recently added Grapefruit & Mangosteen from Aztec. I don't usually care for anything citrusy, but I really like that one. There are so many that I love it's hard to choose just a few, so I'll change my up throughout the season. I love the Blueberry Cobbler from CS, but I have a devil of a time wicking that one.

Good point. I've tested a crazy amount of these in all kinds of scenarios. Untrimmed, the wick burns cool enough that the jar never gets too hot. It doesn't seem to be a safety hazard at all, but untrimmed, the flame is more erratic down deep in the jar and the candle gives off little puffs of soot. It's just not as pleasing as it can be if burned properly. I'm not so much afraid of a product liability issue as I am a customer satisfaction issue. You're right though, there's not much I can do about it. I guess I just need to settle this in my own mind one way or another. Thank you.

I've been very pleased with my wood wick candles, and I want to offer them as part of our product line. I am concerned that the average customer may not trim the wick properly. I'm using status jars, and as the candle burns down into the jar, it is hard to trim the wick. I am concerned that the customer who doesn't have a wick trimmer won't be able to trim and will end up with a large flame and soot. Other wicks are easy to snip with scissors, but since these aren't, I'm just afraid they won't get trimmed at all. Is anyone else selling these, and how do you handle this concern? I plan to offer additional burning instructions on the product label as well as the normal safety sticker on the bottom of the jar, and verbal warning when the candle is purchased, but I don't know if that is enough. Most of my candles are purchased as gifts/souvenirs, so the end user isn't usually the one that makes the purchase.

The actual name of the tree is Fraser fir, not Frasier, which is what they have trademarked. I would just change your spelling, sign the letter (or whatever they require) and be done with it.

It is very easy to overspend on shipping if you are not familiar with your options. I could write a book on shipping, but I know you don't want that much information. So, to simplify.....was this a few large/heavy packages or lots of small packages? Generally, shipping heavy or oversize items is more cost effective using UPS or FedEx. USPS is often your best option for smaller packages/weight. Every shipping co. has varying service options, transit times, etc., and if you rely on the person at the counter to determine your service level, you often end up paying for a more costly service than what you actually need. Give me an idea of what types of packages you are shipping and I'll try to help you out.

Yep, I double checked. The oil is $19.99 and the shipping is $18 & some change. The shipping charge is the same whether I order 1 bottle or 5. Comparatively, shipping for 10 bottles is only $22 and change. It's always been this way with them. I love their oils, what few I've tried, and would love to utilize them more, but the shipping is just way too high for smaller volume. I'm in WV, so it's not like I'm across the country.

Sometimes they will discount a few oils by 10-15%, and that will be announced in the newsletter. I don't have a problem with their prices so much, but they're shipping is too high. I need Salty Sea Air right now, but 1 lb plus shipping is nearly $40. I'm not paying that much. Instead, I ordered samples from someone else to try.

It's been a while since I used those waxes, but if memory serves correctly, I believe I used Premier 767 with the square masons.

I use 6.75oz wax for each 8oz square mason. With FO & color, this fills the jar to the top of the shoulders, but not up into the neck of the jar. I do not want the flame to be over the top of the jar when the candle is lit, so even though I could fit more wax in, I don't feel comfortable doing so. Plus, if I fill any higher than that, the wax sometimes cracks a bit around the neck with one of my waxes. I mark my weight as 7oz. I fill my apothecary jars the same way, just to the top of the shoulders.

Another vote for ICS. She does have some great coffee FO's. The Pumpkin Spice Latte is a good fall seller for me. The Caramel Coffee is nice, too.

I almost added Beach Linen as my sample with my last CS order, but I opted for Cotton Tree instead. Those recent reviews kinda threw me off, too. Today I've poured Rain Water, Jamaica Me Crazy and Honeydew (all CS) and Grapefruit & Mangosteen (Aztec). Made up a bunch of room sprays with Clean Breeze (NG).

We are in the hospitality business and sell my products in our office/store. Our customers are vacationers, and they enjoy finding a locally made product to purchase. Many become repeat buyers and we ship product to them. I've had a website built for over a long time, but I've never published it even though I've had numerous requests. It's hard to find the time to do it all. One day.....

I always do Butt Naked in yellow. The yellow fits the scent, not so much the name....in my mind, at least.

You can upload your own images to use with the Avery program. Just click "Add Image" under the Images tab. I use the Avery download software rather than the online version, because my labels never line up right using the online version, but it works just like the online version.

Very, very interesting! No, I did not let the paste cool. A took a glob from the crock pot, weighed it, and took it straight to the stove to dilute. The rest I stored in mason jars to dilute later. I guess that means my next dilute will be a nifty experiment. If it's clear, I'll know to let it cool if I want a clear soap. I actually like the pearly white, but it did scare me a bit. I was very unsure about the borax thing, but I figured it was better safe than sorry, and just went with it. I felt like I was finding a lot of mixed info online, and I took the sum of all the things I read, and smooshed them together to come up with a plan. The soap looks nice, and the process was quite a nice change of pace. It was a fun day!

I made liquid soap today. It was a throw together recipe with olive, coconut, castor and canola oil. I only added the canola because I didn't have quite enough olive oil in my jug, and I didn't want to open a new container. It was probably about 2 ounces canola. Total of oils was 24 oz. 0% superfat. I used half water and half glycerin for my lye water. I hp'd in the crock pot, then diluted and neutralized with borax. Kept it in a pot on my stove on the warm setting until all the paste was dissolved. I then removed it from heat, added FO, and transferred it to a plastic container to cool a bit. I just checked on it and it is pearly white. I didn't expect it to turn white. It's pretty, in fact, it looks just like any other white liquid soap. I just didn't expect it to be white. So my question is, is it white because I did something wrong, or is it the oils I am using, was it that canola shot maybe? Any ideas? Just kinda want to know what to expect in the future. Also, if I chose to color the soap, what would be the best colorant for liquid soap? TIA

If a 3 oz candle is filling a room (assuming it is an average sized room), I would consider that is a success. More fragrance doesn't necessarily increase the throw. Every single time I have pushed the limits of fragrance load, the end result has been a pour burn (i.e. sooting, mushrooming, etc.)

Are you using a votive wax?

Just an FYI for anyone who has problems with this. One thing I found when I finally broke down and downloaded the Avery software.....when I use the downloadable program, my labels print perfectly every single time. If I try to use the Avery online program, they never line up. Ever. This has been my experience on multiple computers and using multiple printers.

Patch Amber (TFC) for candles, and Clean Breeze (NG) for room spray, and Floral Muse (TFC) for my car air freshener, and Aloe & Green Clover (Aztec) for lotion, and Blueberry Cobbler (CS) for a bakery scent, and Oakmoss & Amber (CS) to burn in our office/store, and I like fruit scents most of all and right now I am really digging Aztec's new Grapefruit & Mangosteen, but Pineapple Cilantro (RE) is so nice, too. I couldn't narrow it down more than that if I was held at gun point...LOL. The only scent I truly hate....as in, I can't smell it without the urge to throw up....is RE's Santa's Whiskers.

4630 should be darn near perfect with HTPs. I use that wax with HTPs and have very little trouble with mushrooming. What size HTP have you tested? I would think a 52 would be spot on. Are you using dye?