Hello all, new here. I started making my own candles a few months ago. And I decided I wanted to start with beeswax because to me that is the most natural wax. And I wanted my candles to be scented, but with fragrance oils rather than essential oils. I am doing container candles because those are the candles that I like best, and if I buy a candle I would like it to scent the room very nicely.
I am using mason jars with lids. Diameter is 2.75" 4 oz jar. I'm using cotton braided wicks #4 by premium crafts. All the materials I'm using are made in the USA, which is a must for my candles, if and when I start to sell them. I prime my own wicks, 5 minutes in beeswax. The #4 wicks diameter only went maybe 2" after 3 hours. So i must need a bigger wick? I've done many candles with a blend of beeswax and coconut oil. 50/50, or 75/25. Kinda just deciding on all beeswax, maybe 10% coconut oil at most.
I add fragrance to my candles. But I'm afraid maybe it's the FO making my candles smoke after 1.5 hours, which the flame becomes bigger and thinner up top. I know the wick is not too long and having to trim the wick every hours is just annoying to get it to stop smoking.
So, my question is, has anyone used fragrance oils in theirs beeswax candles and if so, what brand? Mine is FRAGRANCES AND MORE. I used LA PALM before and that was a waste of money. Didn't mix at all. The one I use now mixes completely, and the scent throw is amazing at 8-10%. I like stronger smelling candles. But then it stays flickering and smoking at around the 1.5-2 hour mark. Any opinions? Should I just switch FO brands? I had the candle in a room with no drafts, and the melt pool depth by the 3 hour mark was just under 1/2 an inch. Seemed perfect to me. It's just the darn flickering and smoking too much.