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moomin3

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Everything posted by moomin3

  1. If you're on Facebook there's a pretty useful group called Essential Oil Candlemaking. They're UK based but the principles are the same & I learned a bit searching through that group. Basically, less is usually more with most EOs - definitely get good quality wholesale ones from New Directions Aromatics or the like - and make sure you have a reliable gram scale that goes to 0.05g. That has been my main hang up so far - I realized my measuring of the oils was pretty off since just like FO weight are different for each oil as their density varies. To answer about Sweet Orange - the reason you aren't getting scent from it is because it's too volatile & you'll smell a fuel scent if anything at all. It needs to be anchored by another middle and base scent. You'll usually see citrus mixed with cedar, vetiver, black pepper, geranium, patchouli, frankincense, any oils that are heavier that can help bind the scent. A nice blending chart for ideas I recently found is here. After the anchoring, of course you will not have a straight orange smelling candle. For that, you will have to rely on fragrance oils. I have more notes I collected from browsing the FB group and random websites if you are curious about anything else.
  2. If you have suppliers close to you that's a huge bonus for saving shipping and forming connections with actual staff and understanding more about potential inventory issues/due dates - something frustrating on bigger websites. For instance, Candlescience routinely runs out of many of their best oils and has "ETA 4/05 West Coast" listed and 4/5 comes and they push it, understandably, to 4/15.. and on and on. Just watch out if you build a line around an oil that you don't purchase in bulk. The FB fragrance destash groups are going crazy with people begging for even sample sized bottles of certain FOs so they can fulfill orders... (I'll withhold my inventory management judgment for now). Candle Cocoon has extremely fast shipping and affordable, strong oils that can be used at lower %. She tests solely in 464 and has wicking guides to go with each oil. Her oils are thicker and therefore may require some additional testing but are complex and take her a long time to formulate. Wholesale Supplies Plus - agree with above poster. Just got another order from them and I like their weekly sales, reviews from customers (really frustrating when sites don't allow this - i.e. Wooden Wick) and while you do have to wait a good week or two longer than most sites to get your order, just factor that into inventory mgmt. Midwest Fragrance Co - super friendly, affordable, fast shipping. Reviews on site and helpful FB group. Rustic Escentuals - purchased by WSP, and unfortunately not treated well by them - recent shipments have arrived with leaky, carelessly packaged oils although WSP takes extraordinary care packaging their own products.... strong oils, but make sure to look on reviews if people are using them more for soaping than candle making (goes for all sites really). Natures Garden - weak, in my opinion. I have never had a good oil from here but others may beg to differ! Flaming Candle - can be complex, affordable, impressive scents. Fast shipping. Northwood - haven't been too impressed with their FOs but maybe that was the luck of the draw with the variety pack sample set I got. People generally like them, the owner is active on social media and transparent, and they have proprietary wax blends & access to hard to find wicks that people love.
  3. Oh I know... the $1/oz fragrance sample sales twice a year from Candlescience and Rustic Escentuals... goodbye forever (probably for my storage space and wallet benefit). You make a good point with recommendations no longer being reliable due to daily changes...
  4. yep!!! I just posted some of my thoughts about supply chain issues in this thread--- it really is a huge issue and I don't see it getting better soon. every day i see tons of brand new candlemakers in the facebook groups and on reddit asking about which wax to get first, and it's always always a specialty proprietary blend. i don't think people realize that they are then at the mercy of those suppliers and their price jacks, not to mention the freight cost. it's so bad as you said, coco83 is selling out within 5 minutes of restock on cal candle supply. i purchased my slabs there last summer for a reasonable price just to play around with. it's not something i would consider building a business around at all at this point because of inconsistent supply and - i have to admit - i never confidently wicked it. using CDN wicks has been a lifesaver but i still feel i'd need to blend with SP486/487 (microcrystalline veggie wax to harden) but - you guessed it - the wax is OOS everywhere except etsy for some insane fee. kinda takes the fun out of it right??? i don't even have a business, this is just an inordinately expensive hobby for me, but it's definitely been eye opening watching the floundering about as people open their businesses only to have no restock of their supplies... and yeah, i'm with you - i have a ton of the older FOs that aren't 'clean' so it's not really worth my testing time to perfect those, i'll probably just do them as melts or just for my own enjoyment for candles around the house. sheesh.
  5. 1. consider supply chain issues - do you have a local candle supply store? not crafts store- not a hobby lobby wax- but a real candle store. what about one within a 2-3h drive? depending on the wax available, it may be smart to stick with the offerings they have at least while you get comfortable following everyone's steps already listed above so you're not hemorrhaging money on shipping costs - chasing exclusive blends/waxes availability has only worsened in the past few months - coconut, apricot, 'virgin' blends are selling out within 5 minutes of being posted and the freight cost for these and certain vessels, including just plain glass straight sided jars (clear and amber) are pushing everyone's patience. all over facebook groups people have tested "extensively" with these proprietary blends and now can't launch their shop because there's literally no wax or vessels for them to buy to fill orders. if you're new, i would suggest starting out with basic items you can get as locally as possible - yes, this could mean simple jelly jars until you master the wax and how it likes to be wicked. then move onto more complex multi-wick or different sized vessels. 2. consistent testing - as those above stated, pick one wax, one vessel and test it without any additives (color, dye, vybar, stearic, beeswax, SCENT, anything) using recommended wick guides as a starting point. - follow cure advice for your wax. if you are tempted to ask random people online if cure times matter, please do a test yourself with your own scents - another person's advice may have been tailored for their vessel, wick size, FO choice, or additives and serve to only confuse you. - pour half-full wickless tester jars, skewer and test. saves wax and lets you know how the convection will affect flame activity further down in the glass. - avoid the temptation to get a full melt pool within a few hours/however many inches your diameter is. it's not going to be good for the lower part of the jar/tin. there's still a ton of misinformation thrown around about this. - follow wax manufacturer guidelines for heating temp, temp to add FO (ignore flashpoint advice - people are misinformed), and pouring temp. some of my best candles ever were those i poured when i had just ordered supplies and followed what candlescience said to do. it was later when i was going through all the well-meaning advice on FB groups that i got really confused with low-temp methods, burning too soon without a cure, etc. - avoid tapered containers. it is not worth the wick headache in the beginning and i would consider these advanced. 3. limit your fragrance oil selections - choose highly rated, very reliable FOs to start with. whatever the top sellers are on the standard websites -- go with a 4oz bottle of those to get started. avoid the temptation to get a zillion 1oz samples of FOs because they will all wick differently and this is not conducive to establishing your baselines. a 1oz bottle won't be enough to test with - only get them as a reward for completing your testing with a standard scent that you may not love, but others do, and now you know what your well-wicked candle can do. then experiment with your other scents! 4. wax blends -if you don't want to stick with a standard 464 or 444 or coconut 83, consider blending your own but beware that including any of those standard blends -and more- can be tricky as everyone can attest that batch lots change slightly. so your formula of 25% 464 and 75% coco83 may work perfectly for those specific batches you used but each batch should be tested as you get them. I would, personally, advise against blending anything unless you're using the most 'pure' form of the wax, whether it be no-additive soy, coconut 1, refined beeswax (still unreliable but more predictable than most) and go from there.
  6. I know just the candle co you're referencing - if my google search was correct. I also had the same candle from them I purchased at TJ Maxx, different scent. The glossy white container they chose really highlights the insane amount of soot their coconut wax blend and wick gives off, doesn't it? I also noticed the wick was migrating indicating to me that their wax is too soft to wick correctly, because it seemed it was centered when I bought it (or else I wouldn't have). I got it to burn for R&D to give myself a boost of confidence for my own candles - it sure worked! It also sooted up my bathroom wall 🙄 Take it from me and know it's not just that one candle and it won't get better even if you trim the wick. I had to dispose of it. I'm not sure I could even salvage the jar.
  7. I've got to get one of the Ari candles!!! I'm looking at all their different scents right now. They seem to have very fair pricing considering the care put into packaging and the materials alone - we all know beeswax and quality EOs don't come cheap. I have also been looking into how I could possibly making EOs work in candles so I'm definitely going to order one of these for inspiration. Thanks for posting!
  8. I actually have no desire to stop, either. I love reading the fragrance descriptions, reviews, and then experiencing the magic of it blooming in wax and then how it burns months down the road... it's an engaging process through and through. Now to maybe sell a candle and not just be an insane hobbyist in my basement!
  9. Believe it or not I have never purchased from Fragrance Buddy... I was just looking at Bitter Creek (haven't gotten any from them either) and they have a few lemons that people seem to like. I know flashpoint is for shipping purposes but my goodness whenever I get a lemon or citrus FO that has a FP lower than 160 it goes to fuel scent immediately when wicked. I know it's typical with citrus terpenes. Most of my lemon scents end up just being melts for that reason. I have tried a few times to mix with vanilla or heavier oils to diminish the fuel scent but it hasn't quite worked for me - I'll keep trying though sinc e I have quite the collection now of not just citrus scents but cake/bakery/vanilla ones to mix them with 🤣 The lemon I use the most is Lemon Souffle by Southern Scentsation only because they're a small place a 45 minute drive away so I can get my 464 there w/o paying for shipping and this lemon scent which we randomly fell in love with. Pretty high vanillin content so extra creamy. That's why I was pretty impressed with the MWFC Lemon Cake - it's brighter and not as bakery. I actually do have Lemon Verbena from FC but I couldn't get it to work for the above reasons. Now I'm wondering if it's just me!!!! I also love CD and CDN wicks, I have tried others and just either can't figure the sizing out or they seem to destroy the HT.
  10. That Cedar Musk & Lavender is awesome. Reminds me of something I'd pay more for from WWC or something. Of course it's sold out!!!! I typically don't like the cologne scents but the lavender undertone in this plays nicely & sets it apart from the rest. I have also burned Lemon Cake in 464 6% and at only after a couple days it was awesome with the right wick. I used ECO8 first and I swear ECOs just suck the scent out - I switched to a CDN8 and, maybe it's that coating on the wick, but wow - great lemon scent. Hard to find. This is probably my 8th bottle of something lemon, LOL. Honey Cornbread is another one - used same formula as above and a tiny candle filled a bathroom up with great bakery scent. I also keep buying FOs and NEED TO STOP!!!!!
  11. I'm a friend to anyone who has a bonfire - I come prepared with many, many homemade firestarter bundles from aforementioned failed candles!!!! 😆
  12. Thanks for the pics! I use 464 with no additives or dye and stick with between 4-6% FO depending on the supplier. Certain suppliers (Scentsational Soaping Supply, Candle Cocoon in particular) appear to me to be much more concentrated than the norm and I follow their wicking guidance. Some scents are just stronger than others and will perform very well for you at those %. Check out the candle cocoon wicking guide (under Candle Wick Sizes) - you can see what she recommends for 3" containers. in my testing following her FO %, her wick recommendations have worked well, providing me a breath of fresh air during the wicking self-doubt cycles we can find ourselves in! it's because of this wick guide I finally ordered CDN and i've been really impressed with them since it's a no-brainer to think about their sizes with CD. I've never had luck with HTP or ECO in 464; I've really only felt confident with CD. I did just use an ECO6 in a narrow jar that is working well when CD6 seemed to leave hang up but CD8 and CDN8 were too hot, so they're kind of my back up when I need an in between size for a hard to burn scent (heavy bakery or patchouli). the HTP pics you posted are interesting- it looks like if you gave this HTP 105 wicked candle above to a friend who didn't trim the wick, they'd soon have no wick at all to light simply because it drowns itself instead of trimming and falling into the wax? Sheesh...
  13. I can really empathize. I also moved on from 464 to coconut83 and blends before I had felt I truly understood wicking for soy, and that sure was an unnecessary headache. I've been struggling like a lot of people to make coconut 83 work well for me. I am a soy person these days again due to local availability and simplicity and feel like a rarity since everyone is going cuckoo for coconut. Anyways, I'm here to recommend CDN wicks if you have not yet tried them! Granted I don't use coco apricot, but...they burn cooler. Candle Cocoon and Sixteen Seventeen have them in stock. The CDN4 is working great for me in a 2.5" straight jar. I like buying from Candle Cocoon because she uses 12" wicks you can easily re-tab and her shipping is usually same day. Also the fragrance oils are amazing but that's another story. I promise I came to just recommend CDN wicks! Like most, I fell victim to a lot of "I found the BEST WICKS!!!" posts and would just buy whatever people said but now my wick graveyard is huge (are you looking for anything in particular?? I MAY HAVE IT!). I realized my favorite wicks to use for both 464 and coconut 83 (neither using additives/dyes) are the CD series. I started with them in my real novice days and while they are not perfect they have meshed well with the way my brain works when it comes to sizing wicks for candles. Does that make any sense?! LX, Premier, RRD, even HTP I get so confused on and I'm always hunting down what I think may be the "equivalent to a CD6" in another series. I feel like my brain did a mother-duck association to CD and won't let go. I have also never been successful using any ECO wick even in soy. I have to say that CDN has been great so far. They curl less than CD, so a 30 degree angle than a 90, and the scent throw has been impressive. Using both CD and CDN allow you to dial in those in-between sizes. Here's a blurb from Candle Cocoon: "CDN wicks were invented in Germany for use in steric acid candles. They are the same size as corresponding CD wicks but they are soaked in a different finishing solution that helps to neutralize the acidic properties of natural candles. You may find that a CDN will burn out an inch further then its regular CD counter part. For instance, the CD18 will burn out to about 3" in EL soy container with Vanilla Voodoo but a CDN18 will burn 4" in diameter in the EL soy container!!!! Due to increased efficiency in burning CDN wicks may burn cleaner in natural waxes.12 inches long make these CD wicks good for pillars, votives or containers. Wicks can be cut to make additional wicks - for jars, votives or tealights - and save money. All CD wicks come pre-tabbed on one end. If you are cut to make smaller wicks you will need more tabs. Additional Wick tabs may be purchased separately."
  14. OK - that is a great example... and wild, especially since you're using the same FOs (unless those somehow deteriorate over the years to be harder to burn?!) I know. I love this forum and have used the search function so much. Maybe one day I'll even create a post 🤣 I've pretty much hidden all FB candle groups I'm a member of now because it's just too much to be constantly inundated and then I start comparing myself and my confidence and blah blah blah. I'm going back to solid testing and my own notes. I am also not appreciative of wax that needs 10-12% FO to throw - who wants to spend that kind of money on top of the wax?! The wicking gets crazier and... well, you already know! I just got a shipment from Candle Cocoon a few weeks ago. Now those are some interesting strong oils she recommends using at 3.75% in 464 and her videos state that other companies recommending 8-10 are definitely cutting their oils (obviously). I liked the Neroli de la Nuit and the Daydreamer but some of the others (Rare Earth, Turmeric Saffron and Oud, Solace) have been strong nos... also as much as I hate to admit it the wooden wick scents I've tried at 6% are performing amazingly well and I'm angry since I wanted to write them off so badly!!! Thanks for the tips!!
  15. Ugggghhhh. What a horror story! I did just buy a new case of 464 and will be baseline testing it in my most reliable jar before continuing testing. I have played around so much with testing coco-paraffin 6046, cco83, my own blends of coconut and soy, different FO %s, a zillion different containers, and I burned out doing all of that over the past few years. Way too many variables of course. Had I to do it all over again I would have picked a set of 3-5 FOs at 6-8% and stuck with a 9oz and 16oz jar and learned my techniques that way before moving on to other waxes and %s the second I got frustrated. I'm just now returning and committed to keeping it simple and... hopefully de-stashing some of my coconut waxes. I haven't done a pan test but will this time with just plain 464 and very spaced out wicks. I was going to do a plain one and then a 6% FO one but maybe there's no point to testing with a random FO. Thanks for the reminder too about pan test MP translating into vessel MP depending on insulation and container depth.
  16. Thank you so much for your update! I've been keeping spreadsheets and trackers for years with my waxes, FO type and % and container and wicks and... now I realize that my notes as a newbie were probably off base since I was so concerned with the FB groups insistence about a lot of things. I won't even go down the list. Of course, I have since realized those groups are full of a lot of misleading info! I have sooo many wicks in the wick graveyard (always getting lured in from a post or exclamation about the PERFECT wick) but time and time again CDs have been pretty reliable. Once I am able to secure some smaller quantities of larger HTP sizes I'll be trying those too. I'm just a hobbyist so I take long breaks from this here and there!
  17. Any updates to give, SRez? Found this thread as I was struggling with wicking my Libby Status jar which is 3.03" vs your straight sided tumbler at 3.06". I think I have also settled on CD18 at 6% FO. I don't test without FO anymore because I found it to be kind of a waste of time because the wax performs so differently with FO. Once there's a baseline then I can go up and down in the series depending on the heaviness of the scent. I also have had issues with ECO fizzling out - most people I find recommend ECO 12-14 for this diameter and I do not know how that's working for them! I know people say ECO is so good in 464 but I'm just not impressed with the performance or hot throw. I tried Premier and LX too and wasn't impressed enough to continue to commit the dance up and down their odd series numbers (just too many for me!!!). I think CD is going to be my best bet. Anyways, would love to see/hear an update!!!
  18. Hi! I quickly received a very well-packed order from Scentsational Soaping Supply a few months ago but have not yet had the time to play with the scents. I was surprised at how affordable these were; I was looking for complex scents that wouldn't break the bank after I finally splurged on Wooden Wick and didn't really care for half the bottles I received. I had heard great things about SSS from others so I took a chance and got the following: Avobath Lush Type (I'm really excited about this being a potential good smelling citrus for candles - I haven't had much luck; this smells amazing) Fruit Loops Mahogany Teakwood Yankee Type Sweet Orange and Chili Pepper (smells wayyyy better than the sample I got for orange sriracha from Candle Science!) Palo Santo BBW Type Tobacco Vanille Tom Ford Type Oud Wood Tom Ford Type They seem very well formulated, not chemically smelling out of the bottle. They're tempting me to try my hand at making soap because the woodsy/masculine ones smell like the local soaps my partner loves to buy - I only dabble in candles Hope this helps. I have probably ordered from 10 different places by now. I looked at her site to see reviews on the fragrances I purchased but it looks like she really changes things up - maybe 1/3 of the scents currently available were not there a few months ago, so I guess if you like the idea of something go ahead and try it now!
  19. First sequence. Source: http://www.atkinsandpearce.com/candle-solutions/product-pages/htp/
  20. I just ordered a bunch to try since it's their 50% sample sale right now for 1oz testers.
  21. 💯 the Wooden Wick Facebook group is full of WW employees posting about that exact thing - checking the flashpoint of the FO before adding it, blah blah blah. As the wooden wicks are getting more popular more people are posting about difficulty using them and customers who have complained and asked for refunds for wicks that refuse to light even with well crafted care cards. The WW employees maintain you should never have to prime/soak your wick. I have also noticed that when people say that they purchased their wicks from flaming candle, elsewhere, that the WW employees immediately tell them to only buy them from WW's website. in other posts, the employees always make sure to tell everyone that the wooden wicks are all proprietary and no matter where you buy a wooden wick, they are all from the Wooden Wick company. Doesn't really make much sense to me. I guess I just lurk too much and have been shaking my head at most of the posts too. I can't help it!
  22. I'm new to posting here and have also searched through almost all previous posts to determine how to best wick coco83. I hope you don't mind me commiserating! I use the Northwoods coco. I agree with previous posters that it's worrisome to do all the testing for a blended product such as this one and potentially have to test it all over again if batches change. I thought I'd use up the rest of my sample pack of the coco by adding it to 464, which I really want to finally work for me, because I can get it locally which would be a huge cost saver, and just to see if I like the effect of adding some coconut. So I have been testing a 9oz straight sided 2.75" jar with 70/30 coco83 and 464 with 6% FO (lemon souffle), HTP 104, and the hot throw has been good for a small room. It's definitely more impressive to me than just 464, but maybe it's because it seems like a quicker cure time since coconut is involved. Approx 8 test burns now and the candle is burning slow, melt pools are good, no sooting or dancing. I kind of want to try 10% FO next. I love the look of it, smooths out the signature curdled soy top after burning and it looks great with colors. There are endless variations. We can drive ourselves truly nuts. I innocently started out wanting to use vessels I had, e.g. repurposed salsa, jam containers since I was never planning on selling. Little did I know then how truly insane I would drive myself by trying to properly wick 25 random diameter and depth glass containers 😵 I seriously don't know why I did that. Now I'm committed to just choosing some straight sided vessels and going from there!
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