birdcharm

Well, that's what I get for finding a scent I really like. I ordered from them about a month or so ago and blended two of their scents, really enjoying the result. I wonder how wrong it is to ask how to find those scents, if they would answer, or if that's just not right to do. I guess I can look on the bright side that I got an order in before they closed!

I personally like whipped toppings to burn very slowly so they create an outer shell as they burn and are lit up internally until they melt down. I've never used ecosoya pb, so I can't offer anything about the wick size or type. I think if it forms a full melt pool by the second or third burn, that would be okay. Sometimes wax hang-up on the glass doesn't melt away right away.

What brand/type of soy wax are you using? I know with some waxes, some people pour at 150dF, but with others, it's quite a bit lower than that and the melting pot gets another quick stir just prior to pouring. I'm under the impression soy wax can discolor somewhere over 185dF or so. Sometimes I think the manufacturers guidelines versus how crafters have figured out how to use the products differ greatly!

Thanks for your input!! I've been trying to decide on a few different scents and from experience, I prefer some of my old favorites, but I've wondered if I should try the "thigh lights" (LOL) version instead or not.

I'm curious about any opinions on how you feel the public perception is between traditional scents, ones that include DEP (diethyl phthalate), versus phthalate-free scents. Do you think this is a major consideration with your friends, family, or customers?

One way to try to combat the cologne aspect may be to add something on the rustic side, I think the word I'm looking for is "agrestic" -- scents that come to mind for that are cedar (not e/o, but f/o), and juniper berry (of which an e/o may work), or, as suggested, something very woody or smokey.

Without knowing what the "cologne-ish" part is, it's kind of hard to say, but you could possibly strengthen the woodsy aspect and that might make those aspects stand out more.

Someone gave me a candle years ago and I could hardly stand the smell of it, I don't know what it was or what it was supposed to be. Of all the fragrance oils I've purchased over the years to make candles, including ones that didn't perform well in the wax I used it in, most of them have smelled nice. It all depends on the type of scents you prefer ... woodsy, fruity, berry, citrus, pine, floral, spicy, herbal, sweets, etc.

I wonder how candy foil wrappers might be able to work for that, they are 3" squares with colored foil ... just a thought!

If you have a candle that doesn't work out, just remelt the wax and reuse the wax over again, for instance in a "scrap" type of candle where all of your salvaged remnants are used to make a chunk candle or layered candle, etc.

Hello & welcome to the madness. 😄

That makes a lot of sense. I'm not familiar with Eco16s or the wax, but hidden air pocket sounds like a good place to look.

If it's not something you're going to be marketing, maybe just put something like "my version of ..." or "( your name{'s} ) version of ..." on the label.

Thanks ... I'm going to test this out and see how I do! I had already started with a base layer of hard wax, but I was trying to figure out if it would be worth it to get back to it or if I'd gone off the deep end. 😊

I think I know what you're describing ... some geranium scents have a powdery aspect to them. Also, you can add sweet florals to a baby powder that can come out nice, such as peony.

Okay, so I normally stay away from these, but I'm thinking about a candle design that might work in a container that narrows a bit toward the bottom. So far I've tried to find a wick that's a little too small for the top part, but eventually burns off the wax hang up; also using a long-necked wick tab to put the candle out sooner, but I'm concerned about excess heat near the bottom. Now I'm wondering about using a harder wax toward the bottom of the candle to make it safer, or should I just give up on this one?

Most fragrance oils can easily withstand temperatures that are going to be much greater temps than your wax will ever get to. Also, they don't "evaporate" -- some can lose potency, such as essential oils; but most fragrance oils are made with components that you don't have to worry about if you're melting your wax within safe heating temperatures.

Have you tried this wax combo without any additives (except for fragrance oil) ... also, what oil are you using?

I'm curious as to the temperature of your wax when pouring, sometimes if paraffin wax or blends isn't hot enough, there can be issues.

I've only smelled one sample of VBN, so maybe I'm not the best person to comment on this -- but, I can offer that from what I sampled, it was not what I would consider a "sweet" vanilla or a "foodie" vanilla. I think that possibly a French Vanilla is probably more on the sweet side of vanilla than VBN.

I think this could probably stand some clarification. For instance, there cannot be "anything" placed inside a gel candle if it's within the candle area itself where the flame is present. Since we see way too many items being placed in candles that don't belong there, I thought I'd mention this!

It all depends on the scent -- they have some good ones that I've found in the past. Just as with most companies, there are some that are missing something, or don't perform well in any given application. I've only sampled about a half dozen or so of their designer scents, most of them were very good.

That's very true. There is going to be some research involved as well as multiple blends and testing. It can be frustrating at times, but rewarding at other times, you just have to keep at it. One thing I recently read that makes a lot of sense is not to rush, but to gradually work with what you have. In my own mixing adventures, I find that if I put the bottles down for a few days and then evaluate them later, I get a new perspective on them and can get a feel of what they need in order to go in the direction that they seem to going in. I think when you're mixing scents, that they sort of have a mind of their own and you're just the audience giving some advice, lol.

Thanks, I'm going to try it out one day. I would think that the components of the fragrance itself would probably be the thing to take a closer look at -- there are some aromas that are known to linger, while others don't so much. Maybe you could do a little research in regard to the fragrance oil and perhaps do a little mixing.

I'd like to make these sometime. What is the fragrance oil you are using and what carrier oil? I would think fractionated coconut or jojoba would be good, but I haven't done much reading about it.