I had the same problem. Really irked me too to say the least. I just set them on the counter and eyeballed them and held the base while I bent them where they needed to go. They work pretty well now. I haven't tried adding the wick while cooling but I'm thinking about it.
Ancient chinese secret. LOL just kidding. Let the wax get a little drier than what you have been use a dye dropper and don't stir it a lot. 2-3 times at most. Wait, did you say add dye to the mold? NO, no, no the pour pot.
Swans Candle Supply in Washington carries a blend. I know that a few on this board use their products. I haven't tried it yet but will soon. I know Brenda's wax is the best but it's just not feasible here on the west coast.
Here is some info on the roasters. I don't know how much it differs from the Hamilton Beach one that they use but...... http://www.wicks-wax-scents.com/make-homemade-candles.html
Angela have you tried Brendas Fig Dolce? It's also very good and one of my top five fav's but it is a greener smell than the others. Throws like the dickens too.
Turned that into this today. Turned out better on the color than originally thought. Thought that with the darker colors as the marble it would turn out muddy but this is what I got.
I've never had this happen before. Same procedure and wax and addatives I've always used only this time it looks like the pillar got smacked with a baseball bat.
A good way to check your thermometer is boil a small pot of water and when the water is at a rapid boil take its temperature. It should be 212* and if not then your thermometer is off. HTH
My guess is Oh-My is doing pillars and it doesn't matter how tight you have your wick it's going to get knocked around a bit just by air pockets. I'm curious as to wether or not this helps eliminate the air pockets.
The yellow and purple one does look kind of like old skin I agree. Was just getting rid of some extra wax from another project. The Indonesian Teak & Leather Combo is frigging awesome IMO I buy all of my scents from GreenLeaf. Magic of India is one of their more popular ones but I don't care for it a whole lot. Too much patchouli in it. Thanks for all of the nice compliments they mean a lot as it means for the most part I'm doing something right.