sarahmarah

I’ve been testing C3 with 8% FL in a 3.75 inch diameter cylinder with double HTP wicks.

Wicks here are 2 HTP73’s. Candle started out well but never reached a full melt pool in my tests. The wicks were doing pretty good and I was holding out hope that all this hang up would resolve as the jar generated more heat.

The problem now is that I’m smelling burning wax/FO. That sickly sweet burning perfume smell. Could it be over wicked even though it kind of looks under wicked? I always burn for a minimum of 3 hrs. I had no problems with soot or excess carbon. I’m definitely lowering my FL to 6% in the next batch because whatever is happening it’s cloying right now...

Any thoughts?  

I’m new to soap making and I’m reading up on oils with the goal of creating my first recipe. I see that coconut oil is a hugely popular but I’m trying to opt out of using it a lot because I know so many people with tree but allergies.
 

I’ve read Babassu oil is a good substitute but that it can speed trace? Is it a beginner friendly oil? I’d love to hear what you think of it.

thanks!

I ordered the High Tide, Sea Minerals and chose the Rose Gelato as my free sample. Just got it delivered today and OOB I very much like the Sea Minerals and the High Tide. Rose Gelato is not a pleasant scent to my nose—smells like offbrand cheap candy. I’ll have to see how it all works out in wax.

I’ve been slowly moving away from my previous standard straight sided jars in favor of a more streamlined cylinder. I‘m still testing C3 at a snails pace and I’m wondering if double wicking a 3.75 (base+top) diameter vessel is outrageous?

I’m favoring HTP and Premier wicks lately. 
I went to the CS wick calculator thinking that since they usually always suggest an over wick for me that I might have better luck with C3 than I did with 464 or at least a reasonable place to start. I’ve found previously that whatever it suggested to me for 464 I had to wick down 1-2 sizes and start testing there. The suggestion for this new vessel was CD24 or ECO16. 

Based on that would it be reasonable to assume that 2 HTP73 would be a good be a good place to start testing? 
 

Also is there an equivalence chart of sorts for Premier wicks and how they line up with CD’s or HTPs?

Thanks, sorry for all the questions!

Champagne was all fuel smell in my 464.
CT was stellar...HT was unsalvageable.
I have one more test with it in a mix with some other wicks. Ultimately I’m not upset. BB products won’t be cost effective for me whatsoever. 
 

2 hours ago, Karen Ov said:

Thanks 💖 ...I had know idea... I'm going to check them out soon as i get off of here lol..I'm a big G.O.T. fan..  Have you tried any?

 

I’ve only gotten ‘Milk of the Poppy’ so far and it’s pleasant enough but I haven't put it in wax yet. Seems to me like a weird smell for candles—but might make a nice soap.

I thought soy wax was vegan? 

4 hours ago, Karen Ov said:

I went to the website, didn't look at all their fo's yet but there is one I'm very interested in .its called nights watch (game of thrones) and the fo sounds very intriguing.lol..will definitely be ordering that one..Moonstar thanks for finding that website 💖   

Karen have you tried the line of Game of Thrones FO’s from WSP? They have quite a few. 😊

3 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I hate to say tis, but Lebermuth is just a fragrance lab/compounder.  Having Lebermuth on the label does not guarantee anything about what is in that bottle.  Think of them like Agilex. They have hundreds of recipes for each fragrance.  None are the exact same. 
 

example, I was in a co-op about a decade ago and discovered some powerhouse fragrances that worked exceptionally well for me. One was egyptian dragon.  Could not get enough of it.  Bought the “lebermuth” egyptian dragon from bulk apothecary and it was nothing like the original.  Went direct to Lebermuth figuring that was the problem. Nope. Absolutely nothing, nothing like the original I bought. Neither worked in my soap or candles, the one direct from BA turned my soap butterscotch colored and faded. The ED in my co-op was a custom code.

thankfully I had saved an ounce of the one I loved and sent it out for duping and will hang onto that forever and ever. 
 

I watched their catalog for about a year, and saw some things rotate in and out.  Bought sample sets and was disappointed in all of them in wax.  If you want the “great” stuff, you need to work with their perfumers and order it in specific to your needs. 

Thats super disappointing, I had no idea. When you say 'work with their perfumers' do you mean their in-house perfumers?  Would the minimum be 25lbs on that?

Also I get that they have a limited stock list but they seem to never really rotate or update the out of stock oils—I thought BA was bad but I would be surprised to hear if TCS updated more than twice a year.

I had a whole cartful before the holidays and had to bail on it when I saw the cost of shipping to MA. 😳 

2 hours ago, Candybee said:

 

No it does not effect your wicking. It will help keep your wax from changing color from various FOs and improve the uniformity. Especially from exposure to harsh lighting and indirect sunlight. (Always keep your candles out of direct sunlight if you do outdoor venues.) That's why candlemakers who color and those who prefer not to color both can benefit from using UV Inhibitor. Just make sure you follow directions when using for best results.

Thank you thats such a relief to know

On 1/30/2020 at 10:03 AM, Candybee said:

Are you using UV Inhibitor in your wax? This should help with discoloration. I get mine from CS.

In your experience does it significantly impact wicking? I’m curious to try it in my soy because I’m striving for a more uniform white. 

So far CS’s Blueberry Cobbler gave me the worst  discoloring. Made my 464 look like lemon curd.

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

This sounds weird, but “agile” fragrances is not really a guarantee of getting the exact scent you want. 
 

customers of agilex have their own recipes (codes). You could order a Lemon Verbena and get pretty much “anything” in that bottle. 
 

any lab or fragrance compounder can get you the fragrances you love to your standard. You just need to contact them and establish a relationship. Most will not have annual minimums, but require 25 lbs of each scent per order. 

That explains A LOT about the quality of the first batch of oils I purchased. I know the supplier used Agilex and I couldn’t figure out how the heck Snickerdoodle ended up smelling like chocolate peanut butter. I couldn’t figure it out lol. 😂

No worries. 😊

https://www.glassnow.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Red

What's your name? Sarah

How old are you? 35 

Where do you live? Boston-ish

How long have you been making candles/soap/whatever?  This is the start of my adventure.

How did you get started making candles/soap/whatever? I quit my job of 12 years because I wasn't growing there--I've always been a rather manic creative and I wanted to explore things that I have always loved but never thought I had the time to learn.

Are you married? Any kids? Married 9 years. 3 kiddos and a huge Maine Coon.

If candle/Soap making isn't your primary job, what do you do? ALL THE THINGS lol. I can brand your company, make you an outstanding Old Fashioned, and ref three kids and a cat that thinks its a dog...

Anything else we should know? I have a hopeless audiobook addiction. There, I said it.

Thanks I’ll check it out!

Im putting together another sample order from them...

On 1/22/2020 at 3:52 PM, Moonstar said:

I like espresso from WSP, its not bitter like some can be. BB also has a good espresso. 

Do you find these to have strong sweet/cream notes? I want a great coffee FO but im still searching for that happy medium and I’m nervous I’m either going to get skunky rocket fuel or a sugar bomb. I’ve had my eye on WSP...

On 2/7/2019 at 9:40 AM, CandleMakerWannabe said:

 

Does anyone know where candle makers can get this type of wick to make their own candles?

 

https://candlecocoon.com/collections/candle-making-supplies/products/wave-wick-30mm

Is this it? Maybe searching “wave wick” will get more hits?

Thanks everyone—I’m due for another wick order soon and will be grabbing a few more sample options to test. 

53 minutes ago, CandleRush said:

That’s one of those higher end bougie candles! 

It sure is! I guess I’ve been pretty hard on myself lol

I can not wick C3 to save my life. 
This was a test candle I made 2 weeks ago in a 16oz straight sided jar, 6% FL, HTP 105 inserts in. It started as a proportionally beautiful controlled flame and then turned into a carbon behemoth. Throw is good—maybe a bit more subtle than I’m shooting for though I think that will change as the jar starts generating more heat.

 In the picture below has been burning about 4 hours—I didn’t exactly time it...(accidentally dozed 😬)

Should I wick down you think?

I haven’t had much luck with HTP’s so far...

Candle Cocoon’s is amazing but it’s been sold out for months. It’s STRONG—a little goes a long way 😬 

I think CS reformulated theirs but I havent tried it so I can’t speak from experience.