Incendia

I am becoming more and more skeptical of scent reviews posted on supplier sites. Can there really be so many 5s? Can there really be that many 'this is my best selling scent'? Or 'This is my new favorite!' Are the reviewers all impartial, or are some of them shills, or ? If I am considering buying a scent, I like to read all the reviews (if there aren't too many). I especially like to read those that are not 5s because sometimes it can be a more fair evaluation. When I buy at Amazon, I especially like reading the 4 star reviews, since I am more likely to get an honest appraisal. I want to know what possible flaws are. The blanket 5s are all too often 'rah-rah, best in the world' sort of reviews. I also like an item that has lots of reviews - more likely to have actual people writing them. I also don't much like reviews that are from people who are in some way compensated for writing one. I think they are less likely to be accurate. When people are grateful to get something in return, they tend to be more generous in their opinion. Also, people in general tend not to like saying something bad about a product. I remember watching a demonstration outside a grocery store, where patrons were given unsweetened lemonade. It was said to be horrible tasting. Yet the unknowing store customers in the test, after tasting this glass of grief, mostly said 'Yummy. Yes, I would buy it.' Is this also true of buyers of FOs? Do most people just not want to say anything bad about something that IS bad? At this point, I've purchased from about 6 suppliers. From one, I was offered a nice coupon to write a review. Which I did. I happened notice that the same date a few other reviews were posted about that same FO. They were 5 stars with very short comments such as 'Great!', 'Best ever!' Were these short, non-specific comments just posted to get their coupon? That would be my guess. I also just noticed at another supplier, with very few reviews in general, that one person posted a review about every single scent I looked at. And I looked at a lot of them to see if this was true. That supplier offers 141 scents, and this person seems to have posted reviews about all 141 (though I have not looked at all of them to verify). And she posted all these reviews on the same day. Really? My nose would have gone dead, lol. Almost all of her reviews of course were 5s, but a couple of 4s too. Yet her comments did not match up with the stars. About one 4 star scent she said 'its my best seller. Really nice.' Ya, uh-huh. Right. Without her comments, the vast majority if fragrances would have had zero comments. Can someone really make a fair appraisal of that many scents? Not to mention all the time that would take to do for free. Call me skeptical. This is what I've learned. Don't blindly trust FO reviews without a grain of salt. Reviews from people here I would believe far more. And... maybe, be more trusting of the larger suppliers with numerous reviews. I am not suggesting to avoid smaller suppliers, but just be careful. All that glitters, and all.

Though it is relatively soft and can corrode more easily than other metals, Aluminum is generally considered safe for humans. Many cooking pots and pans are made of it, as well as most soda and beer cans, and a growing number of other canned goods. All wick tabs might not be made of aluminum, however, but they are likely still safe. Here is what Candles Science says of theirs: "CandleScience wick tabs are made of thick steel coated with tin to resist corrosion by essential oils and fragrance."

Hi Alissa, welcome to the board. I too like Flaming Candle. Here is a thread on favorite suppliers started a few years ago that periodically is updated. You might enjoy reading it. After reading it myself, I've come to the conclusion that there are a good number of trusted suppliers, and people here do use many of them. To a degree, I think it depends on which specific scents you are looking for. Also, after you narrow the field and you are thinking of ordering from someone, the search function here is pretty good. And you can also start a thread asking for opinions on the supplier you are thinking of using.

My laser/infrared thermometer (which I love) (Makes a good cat toy too) gave inconsistent readings when I tried it for hot wax. Part of that I think was my melting vessel, which is reflective, shiny stainless steel. I was thinking of putting a black metal disc (to focus the laser on) in the bottom to lessen the problem. Maybe today. If that works, it would be so easy.

Wow. I had no idea those cute little jars were in such demand. I'm sure you've already checked, but locally here, some hardware stores (not bigbox) carry lots of canning supplies too. They tend to be more expensive however.

I don't know about jars or Walmart, but in the past some of our local groceries would special order customer requests. Ask the manager or customer service.

Thanks for the info, kfin. For the acronym challenged like me, SOS = Save on Scents I think the only savory scent I might be truly interested in would be Roast Turkey. That just spells out the holidays to me. It might drive me crazy however, so I think I'll stick with a conifer scent.

Or what about the videos that show about as much instruction, and then say 'You can start a business selling candles' and make $$$ just by doing this... 'Just buy our kit.' Right..... edit: Opps...pretty much what you just said Trappeur. It's early here. Besides, I just bought my candle-making kit and want to start my business this morning. lalalalaalaaaaalllaaaaaaa

What is unnatural or impure about aluminum? It's a naturally occurring metal. It's not 'organic' in the strict chemical sense (no carbon), but neither is glass (essentially melted sand). What does 'natural' even mean these days? On food products, it's basically meaningless. Totally agree about many of the YouTube videos. I've watched many of them and at times am horrified by what some of those people do. I hope there haven't' been too many injuries.

I've seen scents with names of Leather, Tobacco, Dirt, Gunpowder, even One Night Stand (though I prefer FoHo's, lol). I think I've even seen Republican/Democrat scents. I've seen adult beverages - wines, margaritas, bourbons, etc I've seen all sorts of sweet bakery scents - cookies, pies, cakes, cobblers, waffles... And obviously the staple woodsy, fruits and florals. ....and I'm sure they all have their followers... But where are the savory scents? The serious comfort foods? Aside from the occasional Bacon, where is Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Chicken Noodle Soup, Baking Bread, Peanut Butter, Caramelized Onions, Fried Eggs and Sausage, Roast Beef, Fried Chicken, ...and Stuffed Roast Turkey? What could be a better holiday scent, lol? Especially if one is a serious low-carber. I write this obviously in jest, but have scents such as these ever been marketed, or do suppliers just not want to offend the vegan/vegetarian contingent? More likely, they probably think they wouldn't sell. Which brings us back to 'dirt', 'Gunpowder', etc.

The problem with knowing about so many good suppliers is having to pay so much postage, especially for hobbyists like me who don't use nearly as much/many FOs as the pros here. I'm trying to settle on 2, or maybe 3. At the moment, my 2 favs are Flaming candle, Aztec (esp their monthly sample deal), ...and Candle Science carries a few I really like... but I've got big bottles of those now so it will probably be some time before I buy from them again. . Unless there is a good sale somewhere.... Or so I say now, lol

Yes, I do understand. Thanks. I think because the senses of taste and smell are so intertwined, there are automatic associations with certain scents. I don't think we actually smell 'sweet', but we smell the scent associated with ripe berries and other fruits, and think 'sweet'. Some of the bakery scents too perhaps. I made some testers of a strawberry/rhubarb FO the other day, and it did not seem sweet to me at all. The rhubarb, which was very close to actual uncooked rhubarb, is anything but sweet in real life - quite the opposite. So even though strawberries were present, they were over-powered by the very tangy, mouth-puckering, tongue-numbing, spine-chilling raw rhubarb. (Not sure why I thought rhubarb would make a pleasant candle, lol. Though strawb/rhubarb, cooked, makes a really good jam.) (add another little bottle to the 'not' pile)

Hi, welcome to the board. The board is rather quiet right now, but you might enjoy reading this thread started a few years ago, and up-dated periodically. There are many answers. edit: People tend to use a lot of acronyms for suppliers. Here is a thread that interprets, as well as gives links to them.

LOL... you must have an entire room devoted to FOs. Over various threads, I've been very impressed by how many you have.

Flaming is a supplier I have bought from and likely will buy from again, so I'll probably give that one a try. One of the good things about knowing which categories of scents are elusive, is people like me who simply do not want to, or cannot ($$$) order from many companies to chase a particular scent are spared the expense of buying something that is less likely to work out. I am very grateful for the knowledge that has been shared in this thread. Trappeur, when you say 'sweet', I guess I'm not sure what that means in terms of sense of smell.

I don't want to be responsible for hurting their business. Maybe they are taking a break after Christmas, or maybe someone is ill, or in some sort of trouble. You never know.

The late, great Julia Child used something like that on her Crème Brulees. Every woman needs a blowtorch. ---Julia Child

Trappeur, I'm sorry you have had such an unpleasant experience, and especially when your business is involved. I had been considering putting in an order to FragranceBuddies. I looked at their FB page and there was a message from a woman who had said she had not received her order and had messaged them twice, and now was posting to FB to get info. After days, there still were no replies to her - yet during that time, they posted their Valentine's special. I also had directly emailed them a basic question and never have received a reply. I now will never order from them because of poor communication. It's just not worth dealing with people who seem not to care, or are so over-burdened they cannot properly tend to their business.

I happen to be reading the reviews for Aztec's Orange Blossom FO, which I think has a true scent. Of the 10 reviews, 3 people mentioned that it reminded them of some sort of orangesicle, or whatever it's called. http://www.candlemaking.com/orange-blossom.html?___SID=U

Is it too late to take the name 'MadWoman'? I just took 2 tsp from each of 4 small bottles of various samples of vanilla and close relatives, and mixed them, and refilled a small bottle. They had been OK scents, but not great. Oh, my! The scent of these together is nicer than the scents when separate. There was a toasted marshmallow, crème brulee, a 'vanilla smoothie', and that 'Noel' one. (I did not mix in any vanilla voodoo because I like that as it is.) I had been nervous about doing this for some reason, but then I thought, 'Why not?' Disclaimer: I do not sell my candles. The people I give them to are grateful to receive my scent experiments. Or so they say.

For entertainment purposes: So I asked myself, why am I buying orange scents trying to find 'a good one' (which I'm sure exists) when I have trees with ripe fruits with peels filled with natural, unsprayed essential oils? So I went out found 5 Valencias that the wind had knocked loose... Zested them with a microplane, further mashed the zest in a mortar/pestle, but not so much that I formed an emulsion. Put in a glass jar, then covered with very light almond oil. The mixture was towards the thick side so there would be a higher % of orange oils. It was about the texture of cooked oatmeal. After about 3 hours (it should go much longer) I decided to make a couple candles with it. I decanted some of the oil, which in that short of a time, was already orange in color and smelling fantastic. There were still bits of peel in it, but I was intending to strain them out (which I did when in the hot wax). I did a mix of orange oil and vanilla, 2:1. The candles (votives) are cooling now. And after topping off, I'll burn 'em. No curing, lol. I have no clue if this will work, or if the natural orange scent will last. I might have just wasted some time and wax, but it's been fun. If this works, I've got my eye on the lime and lemon trees.... and the Mexican sage (now blooming), and rosemary, and lavender, and calendulas, and lemon eucalyptus......

One of my favorite scents is Peaks Vanilla Bean Nectarine. And it smells more orange than nectarine to my nose. I would think if you added a bit of good orange scent to it, that would be great. I have Tarocco orange from FC. Meh. Not that great of an orange scent. But then I am picky - I have orange trees. 'Fresh Orange' from Indiana Candle is worse. More like grapefruit, which I personally strongly dislike. 'Orange Blossom' from Aztec, OOB, smells really, really nice. More like orange than blossom, which in this case might be what is better. Later today, with my last bit of precious Vanilla Bean Nectarine, coupled with Aztec's Orange Blossom, I'll whip up a couple votives and report.

Lol, I know exactly what you mean. After years of making candles for fun - without FOs - I had no clue the trouble those little bottle$ could cause.

A little late to the party (bitch-fest, lol), but what about Driftwood? Or Monterrey Cypress. Or Half Moon Bay. Always loved that name. It doesn't have to make sense, just get noticed.

Are the 'toasted marshmallow' scents basically another form of vanilla? They seem very popular. I also like the vanilla voodoo from CC, but I've not tried many others. I've steered clear of vanilla till now - I was once given a vanilla candle that was so cheap and strong I had to stick it in the garage to not gag. That left an impression.