Lana

On July 30, 2016 at 7:07 PM, Moonstar said:

Im searching old posts about lip balm base + flavor oils and found this lol ! Who is C& S ? Man, Ive been learning A TON about EO in lip balms on here

the only  EO Ive used for lip balms have been lemon -vanilla . Ive never used flavor oils so I don't know where to begin to look 

 

I've used plenty of EO's in lip balm. There are essential oil safety groups on Facebook that offer "safe" dilution rates for lip balms and what not. My go-to is called "*NEW* Using Essential Oils Safely". There's also a lot of adulteration of EO's so I also belong to few groups that test various oils and educate people about the adulteration. Good Facebook groups are "essential oil university" and also "Essential Oil Consumer Reports". 

Yes good luck. I've had the same issues with some of my testers. I'll give the same thing to 5 people and get 5 completely different responses. But I've never had anyone say they couldn't smell the stuff I've made with POB. The NG Sage & Sea Salt is the only one that comes to mind of being kind of light, but it's perfect for my customers that want a lighter background type of scent. 

1 hour ago, CBeardly said:

Thank you. Most of my FOs are from NG. I'm pretty happy using them in bath & body but was wondering if they might be an issue in wax. I'm in a FB group where a couple of people have claimed they're (NG) FOs aren't as strong. Of course one of them is constantly trying to sell his own supplies though, so there's that.  :-)

Lol I know exactly who you're talking about too. I ordered one of his and it was strong but not what I was looking for. Kind of had a fake smell to it (piña colada). I'd probably order more of his but I'm happy with the fo suppliers I already use. 

Back to the matter at hand though, I've liked my NG oils and get rave reviews from family and friends so I think they're doing something right. I use about 6-8% and get good cold and hot throw. 

I've had the same level of success with their FO's as I've had with RE, FC, CS. Very few FOs from them haven't worked for me. The only supplier I've been relatively unhappy with from both fragrance scent and the throw is bitter creek (north and south). 

Any particular reason you don't make & print your own? Especially the warning labels...those are the easiest to design and print. Since they're just warning labels and typically in black and white, you don't really need to worry about the quality of printer. I buy Avery labels when they're on sale and made my own. Cheaper, easier and faster to reprint when I need quick turn around time.  

On August 21, 2016 at 11:43 AM, CBeardly said:

Thanks for the reply. I'm currently melting some that I made 3 weeks ago & I can barely smell it & it's just a few feet away. It's FO from NG & I used 10%. I do the same as you as far as heating, adding FO, & stirring, etc. I've used FO from NG, RE, WSP, MO, & BB. How long do you cure your melts? I know it states that PoB doesn't need a cure, but I still do. They do get better after a really long cure. I mean a *really* long cure, like months long. But my nose doesn't think it's as good as the wax from other vendors.

I cure for about a week to be on the safe side. Maybe cut back on the fragrance load? I wonder if you just have candle nose? Give to a friend or family member to test to be sure it's not just that you've grown accustomed to it. 

That sounds amazing. I come from the food industry for my day job and often times, food/flavor trends correspond with fragrance trends. That being said, I've wanted to find a good spicy fragrance. I've yet to come across a really good chili pepper or peppercorn type FOs that I like. I'll have to try that one. I've wanted to find one where the pepper really smells like a pepper. (Or peppercorn). 

Hi all. I just wanted to introduce myself. I've been a long time lurker, trying to absorb ideas and learn as much as possible. I've been making lip balms and what not as gifts for quite some time and it eventually led me down the path of tinkering with candles and melts. I have a "day job" but looking to sell a little on the side to family and friends. I'm trying to do it the "legit" way by securing the business name and insurance, etc, just in case. I've been testing for the better part of a year and have learned so much from this forum, along with a few others out there. I just want to thank you all and hope I can contribute now that I've finally gotten in the thick of things and beginning to make products I am truly proud of. 

On August 22, 2016 at 1:21 PM, Trappeur said:

For those that make tins and sell here is my question.

I fill to the fill line in container.

I have always trimmed my wicks to 1/4" to 3/8".

I have seen in a number of candles in stores that the wicks are much longer and they are just pushed to lay down so the cap/cover can go on over the wick.

I have noticed on a few of mine when I put the lid tin on the wick was cut a little longer on some of them and the wick sort of gets crushed...you know what I mean?

Is it better to leave them a little longer and let the customer trim (which you know people are not going to do that).....

 

Trappeur

Hi there. I've been lurking and learning a lot but finally wanted to start "meeting" you guys. You're all incredible, btw.

I personally like to treat myself to Diptyque candles and their wicks are always trimmed. My thoughts are, even if we test and know whether the wick still burns properly when not trimmed, why not just trim if that's what we tell people is a best practice? They definitely won't do it themselves. Even though I always have trimmed them before use in my personal candle-burning experiences, I really think people like you and I are in the minority. Most of my friends and family do not follow the "best practices" whatsoever. 

I use POB for my melts and rarely have a FO that doesn't throw with it. I use oils from NG, CS, FC and RE. I heat to 190-195, add FO at 180, stir for 2 mins, and give it another quick stir when it reaches the 155 mark and then pour. I use between 6-8% fragrance load depending on the FO and it's awesome every time.