The Candle Nook

@Forrest SAME 😂😂 just had this exact same problem....🙄

Any input on how those compare to CS Lavender?  I poured that (for the first time) and am happier than I am with other Lavenders...

On 10/10/2019 at 1:17 PM, RedRoomGraduate said:

 

Shame you aren't getting good results with White Currant! It's been throwing beautifully for me. It didn't replace Red Currant btw, they still have Red. 

@RedRoomGraduate  white currant is now BEAUTIFUL!  At a 6% FO load and 7.5 week cure — I’m in love. ❤️  But. Wow. Waiting for that cure time in my wax....

After y’alls conversation about LS leather — i couldn’t stand to wait and poured it at 10%. Since I want STRONG....at this point, all I’m noticing is it doesn’t appear to be melding with my wax as well as all other fragrances. (And i agree the scent isn’t as strong as I thought it would be...altho I’ve poured 6.5 dozen candles the last couple of days and think my smeller is a goner). All I can smell anywhere in my house is a mix of everything I’ve been pouring 😂

@RedRoomGraduate  thanks - that’s a reformulated red currant And I haven’t bothered to order it yet — guess I will have to try...the white currant is throwing better after a 6 week cure. Still not what I’d like it to be.. Also, one of my cran marmalade people likes the cran apple. After a 5 week cure the apple seems to have taken a backseat and the spicy cranberry is back. Did have to up it to 10% tho...

I think the reason my approach works for me is I don’t make the magnitude of scents some of you make. — if a FO doesn’t work for me, I don’t use it. I move to a different scent. That doesn’t mean I don’t own/buy a ton of FO — just give up if 1 particular FO doesn’t throw. For instance, i have had no luck with CS new white currant....I may mess around with longer cure or try a few different wicks — but ultimately, I give up....I have too many FO that make great candles to get bogged down by testing new wax/containers. This is a small side business I do for fun and I have many other interests/hobby’s that take up time — the biggest of which is a small store located within my church that I manage/buy for/run  that sells religious merchandise, and candles 😉, the candles I sell at cost to the store so church has the profits. 

@TallTayl  i never saw the ruler video 😂 that would be overkill for me!! Pour temp hasn’t seemed to affect my final product — but, I only use 1 wax and 1 vessel and my pour temp is vary rarely more than 2-3 degrees different. I have never branched out because this is a side business for me and I don’t have the time/inclination to make additional product to increase my bottom line or fulfill customer desires.  

@pcbrook - same (about fresh coffee) 

after burning thru the peppermint mocha I have changed my mind. Trying a new wick because the fragrance seems to have gone “off”...I can’t really explain it, not much peppermint any longer just a flat mocha. I hate FO changes in the fall/holiday season. Why don’t these companies change everything in January and February when I’m burned out of massive candle making and have the time to test better....also, changing the wick in White Currant and seeing if anything gets better. So far,  HT hasn’t been much...

Well. Shoot. I just bought LS leather 🙄🙄🙄. Waiting for y’all to “talk this out” before I pour it up. Hope you’re better quick @Belinda

As someone told me recently — you came to the wrong forum to be talked outta that trip babe!  And @bfroberts - have to totally agree with new CS fragrance peppercorn pomm was my “after thought” and was my fav burning!  Peppermint Mocha (replacement for Peppermint Bark) isn’t my jam — now I need to search a good peppermint bark...

5 hours ago, xxxAlpha71xxx said:

I was just reading around looking at wax information that, once I really sat down and thought about it, just seems backwards to me.

 

General knowledge indicates that a soy wax like 464 will require a larger wick than a para soy blend like 6006.  However, 6006 is listed as having a melt point of 133F while 464 is listed as 119F-125F.  

 

I know there's an explanation for this but it escapes me.  Can someone please explain why the lower melt point wax requires a larger wick than the wax with the much higher melt point?

 

I need a book that covers the chemistry and behaviors of different wax types; wick series behaviors, pros, and cons; an outline of proper wick testing procedures with photos of a successful test from start to finish; how specific gravity of a fragrance oil affects wick size requirements; how to eliminate or at least minimize mushrooming; candle safety; maximizing patience and eliminating shortcuts during the curing and testing process; as well as how to make the world's best margarita.  For starters.

Sounds like a master’s thesis to me! 😂

I have a “fill line” (that I mark myself on all containers) that makes my candles look uniform as a whole. My oz may vary slightly but Are always my minimum weight. No one has ever complained. 

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

How much of your original candle science bottle do you have? It takes generally an ounce sometimes 2 ounces to get it duplicated.

I have 2 pounds and am hoarding it 😂😂😂. Altho, what good it does to hoard it I don’t know....actually looking at FB currently, and they have several cranberry’s. One a “cran marm” and one claiming “cran apple peaks” — is FB’s scent a dupe for you? 

@TallTayl  so sorry for you and that Peaks oil. Honestly, if I’d been in the industry as long as some of you — I’d be so frustrated with changing oils 🙄🙄🙄

Thanks @TallTayl and @kandlekrazy

the old CS Cranberry Marmalade was not a cran-apple. (That’s the new one that took it’s place - that I don’t care for). It’s now phthalate free - which i honestly care NOTHING about. I’m sure taking it phthalate free was why they had to switch to a cran-apple.  CS is “committed” to having all oils phthalate free by end of year...they also screwed up Red Currant (another one I loved). But it doesn’t have the same sales drive the cran marm has and other companies sell red currant that I’m willing to test. Just have never found another cran marm.  I’d probably be willing to buy 25 pounds if it was close enough. The FO was that popular. Used it at 6% and threw GREAT in my soy. 

I am bumping this post up as I’m *thinking* of having AFI dupe CS Cranberry Marmalade. It is my best selling fragrance and CS (damn) FO changes are gonna cause me to DRINK!  Wondering if anyone else has done this dupe peocess successfully. 

Ok. Some results on new CS FO in my 464 wax...the cranberry apple sucks...Just saying it out loud. The reformulated Fresh Coffee performs and smells just like old (thank goodness). Still great HT at 6%. The white currant (which I think took red currant’s place) has a very weak hot throw at both 6% and 10% 🙄. Others are ready to burn if I can stay home long enough to test the blasted things out! (Peppercorn pom testing tomorrow)

Also looking to rename Drunken pumpkin @Belinda 😂. Picked it up this afternoon and LOVE it OOB. Also trying Leather on your recommendation and on a whim picked up Ls frankincense and myrrh — think it smells more incense than powdery myrrh. Hope it throws well in wax!  Thanks so much for your recommendations ❤️

@Marleigha @Belinda @Sebleo

I don’t think it is sweet potato/brown sugar. Altho I’ve never smelled that FO — butternut pumpkin doesn’t smell that sweet to me. As sebleo said — the “warm” notes are definitely in the background. And most pumpkin FO have more prominent warm/sugar notes than I get with butternut pumpkin.  

@Kris S and @coffeebean I have the same feelings about lonestar. They are local to me and I routinely drive down for wax and jars — but only FO I have routinely used is butternut pumpkin — so different than any other pumpkin. After reading everything @Belinda says tho— I’m gonna try Lonestar leather and drunken pumpkin next trip...

Yes. Test EVERY FO!  I only use 1 wax and 1 container (for sale/gifts) I do use other containers personally.  That helps me curb the amount of testing I do. I make a test candle at 6% 8% and 10% (I use soy and sometimes need 10%). If I don’t get HT at 10% after a 1 month cure (and I start testing at 2 weeks) I let that FO go... I start with my standard wick and then do a ”wickectomy” up or down depending on my burn..

This is why I won’t go into tarts/clamshells...can’t compete and honestly don’t want to test and test and test for something that is so much work for not much payoff. Now, I have used my leftover wax in a melter in my own bathroom and given leftover wax to good friends for their melters...

When I mix scents - i use a jar from my kitchen (like old mason jar). Tare my scale and measure what I want then just wash out the jar and use it again. (Actually, I have so many, I just wash them all out and run thru the dishwasher...because apparently, FO isn’t the only thing I collect 🙄)

On 6/23/2019 at 1:22 PM, Candybee said:

I have about 5-6 cases of leftover FO I am not using. This does not include the boxes of samples.

 

For the samples we could do a simple exchange post. Send out 20 FOs (or whatever fits into a medium or small USPS flat rate box to a participant, they take what they want, refill with theirs to make up the ones taken, mail it out to the next participant, and so on and so on. I am willing if anyone else wants to do this.

@Candybee  I still want to do this!!

15 hours ago, Sarah S said:

 

I am so in love with their Bergamot Tobacco. ❤️❤️❤️ I made some melts for my office with that, and everyone always exclaims over how good my office smells!

I also adore their Sugar Cookie, so good!

My new favorite is Celestial Seas. So so so strong, and such a beautiful clean ocean smell!

Normally I use 6-7% load in my candles, but I can back down to 4-5% with the PFO oils, so even the more expensive ones are a great value!

I have just poured the Bergamot Tobacco and LOVED  it while pouring. Curing now. Think it will be a FAV!  I am also new to the PFO bandwagon and have been pleased with their oils...