LilFirecracker

Awwww....thank you so much for the offer, but I already ordered a slab of 4636 a few months back. After my experience, I'd be a little leary of those that Aztec has renumbered as their own. I don't know what they're doing. I don't know if they're manufacturing their own and selling as both? It's only a handful of the soft paraffins they do that with. I had ordered some 4633 from them and received one with their number on it. It was more like the consistency of 4630. I couldn't use it for my blend, but I found other personal uses for it. 

Thanks again for the offer! It's truly appreciated! ❤️

On 12/1/2022 at 8:31 PM, Cross-stitch said:

Congrats!!!  Hope all goes well with this!!!!!🙂

Thank you! Fingers crossed! ❤️

On 12/1/2022 at 7:42 PM, Belinda said:

Yay! You go! Congratulations! 

Thanks girl! 🥰

On 12/1/2022 at 7:06 PM, TallTayl said:

Congrats.  You can add a link to your signature line. 

Thank you so much! I couldn't have done it right without all the help from this forum! Love you all! ❤️

Hey everyone! I finally pulled the trigger on my Etsy shop for wax melts last week. I just put up new listing and need to add more pics, but anyway.... I hope eventually something happens! I know it can take a while for organic sales thru search but I'm getting antsy lol. I've received 7 orders so far - all people I know. 

I'm just enjoying the fact that I got my wax blend figured out and 20 scents passed my strict standards for my lineup. Can I post a link or are we not suppose to? Idk I can't remember... Been trolling Reddit and Facebook waaayyyy too much 😂

7 hours ago, Ernie said:

No, because I still have all my wax from before the pandemic. I am just now getting back into making candles again. What I have here is exactly what you described. Hard to cut. I messed a lot with 2281, and its pretty close to 4786 when vybar is added, just not as pretty. Still throws scent pretty good if you need alternative.

Thank you! I've worked on my blend for a year and a half. I hate to know I'd have to start over, but I might have to. 

On 10/18/2022 at 4:36 PM, Ernie said:

Yah I think it is one of the best pre blended paraffin for containers , definitely one of the prettiest tops ( 2 pour unfortunately).  Only problems I have with it is the high flame you get off the first light and it gets tiny bubbles some times. I like the semi translucent look it has. It looks old fashioned in clear jars. Must be a good wax because I see it sold out everywhere.

Have you noticed a difference in the consistency of 4786 lately? The last few slabs I bought from Lone Star has been a little softer than it used to be. I can now stab it with a butter knife and wiggle it back and forth to cut it. Used to be it was too hard to cut but not hard enough to bust up with a hammer - I'd have to freeze it for a while. I had the perfect formula for my melts, but now the longevity is suffering. 

Are there any resident Sandalwood scent "gurus" out there? When I started this venture a year and a half ago, I thought I knew what Sandalwood smells like. I remembered the scent from a long time ago, and I loved it. Fast-forward to now, and I can't help but think maybe I was mistaken because every single sample I've ordered and tried has been different. 

I'm looking for 2 or 3 people who know the sandalwood scent very well and would be willing to receive and test some samples of the different ones I have and tell me which one(s) are closest to being the real Sandalwood fragrance. This would be in the form of wax melts. You wouldn't have to test for any certain length of time or anything, just melt each one long enough to get a good sense of smell for each one and rate them anywhere from "Closest to being the real deal" to "You call this Sandalwood?!?!!" 

If you would be interested in helping me out with this, I would truly appreciate it. All I would need is your name and address. Please inbox me if you're willing to help me out or if you have any questions!

Thanks so much!!❤️

Annette

Pure Fragrance Oils has an awesome Lavender! It definitely doesn't have that strong chemical cleaner smell that some have. 

Yesss!!!! Camilla called Tuesday and left me a message telling me they finally got the few in I've been waiting on. I just got off the phone with her because when I saw your comment it reminded me that I needed to ask her something. She also told me they're getting ready to put up a few fall fragrances too. They might be up by the weekend or the beginning of the week. I've been on the edge of my seat the past few months waiting to see if they were going to be able to settle the pricing conflict with their manufacturer. I haven't even tested Witches Brew yet, but there's 3 others from the Moonworks Collection that ended up being love at first test! I didn't want to be without. All this testing for the past year and a half has made me VERY picky about what I'm going to carry in my line. 

On 8/21/2022 at 4:07 PM, Belinda said:

Congratulations! Good for you! I wish you the best of luck in your new business!

Thank you! 🥰 I've waited so long for this, so seeing it finally coming together is an amazing feeling!

On 8/22/2022 at 8:22 PM, Belinda said:

I usually get motivated when Fall comes around but by then it's almost too late LOL! I have a few days off coming up so I plan to straighten up my wax room and get in there and pour some things. Fall and Christmas always put me in the mood to create. I just wish I was in that mood the rest of the year! Thanks for the talk!

Anytime! I think we can all use a boost now and then! Sounds like the season is coming where you'll be getting your natural boost of motivation! I live the fall and Christmas time of the year, no matter if I need the motivation or not - it's just a natural high for me!

I wanted so badly to be up and running in time to do my fall leaf melts, but I guess that'll just wait until next year. I'm planning on having some type of little curated package for every time of the year and most holidays. I don't plan on doing each for long periods of time, so it would be more of a "limited edition" type of thing. 

Hi all you lovely soapers! Do any of you use a stamp on your soaps? If so, have you ever tried ordering a handmade one from someone on Etsy? Or did you just order from somewhere such as Vistaprint? Would you recommend getting acrylic or brass? I'm wanting to get a stamp of my logo pic to use on certain styles of my wax melts. I'd love to have it done by a small business, so I wanted to see if anyone here has someone they'd recommend. 

Thanks a bunch!

Annette

21 hours ago, Belinda said:

It was always my intention of this being a business but I was working 12 hours a day the first 9 years and have only recently retired. Now I'm just subbing at the school instead of being in the classroom and on a bus every day.  For some reason I thought I'd remember on my own which doesn't make sense beings I can't remember what I had for breakfast sometimes LOL! 

I just wasn't serious about it but always intended for it to be a business. I just planned on really getting serious with it after I retired and now I feel like I don't have as much drive to do it. I defiantly need to get motivated and hopefully I will one day soon. 

I think once you just say "I'm doing this!" it'll bring back the motivation. I noticed in these last 3-4 months, my motivation has waivered a couple of times - once was really drastically, but a lot of that had to do with stress and feeling hopeless that I would never get it together and get things going as I had planned. I finally kicked myself in my own ass so to speak, and shook it off. That got me back on track quickly, and I vowed never to let myself get that low again because if I allow it to get the best of me again I will fail and so will my business. Yes, I did get that low just recently. It was almost as if the devil was trying his best to make me fail and I almost let him win. Never again!!!🔥 I do believe you can be fully motivated again. Having a little support group, such as this forum, can help tremendously! 🥰

7 hours ago, Wicksy said:

Good luck now the hard work begins - but it's rewarding

Thank you! I do feel like I'm in a good place mentally right now, and I'm ready for the challenge! 😃

3 hours ago, Belinda said:

I agree! I think it's good to always want to improve your product for sure and testing is a must. I see people launching too and I am just not that ready yet. I feel good enough about melts to sell those but candles is a whole other story. I have sold several but those were tested so I'm ok with those. Hopefully one day I'll know my product well enough to really go all out. 

And you are so right about taking notes. I am not a note taker and wish I had from the start. Oh I wrote down things here and there but didn't take it seriously like I should have. Now I take better notes on things but still not like  I should. I admire people that take specific notes. I wish my brain worked that way! 

 

I think if you would've had the mindset from the beginning of it being your mission to start a business, you probably would've taken notes. If I had started doing this without knowing I wanted it to be a business and I was just seeing what I could make or just making for myself, friends, and family - I'm almost positive I wouldn't have bothered. 

14 hours ago, Belinda said:

Try ten years here! LOL! I have a friend on here that's been testing for years too. Neither one of us can make up our minds.🤪

What I need to do is order some of all of what I want to try and pour some testers instead of halfway doing it. I need to come to a decision and start making some of the thousands of dollars I've been out over the years! 🤣

Belinda when I first started testing a year and a half ago, I was all over the place too! I started with the 4794 and was so disappointed thinking I was doing something wrong. Some might remember my melts looking like "brains" lol. With a little process of elimination and troubleshooting, I think it was TT who said it looked like too much vybar. Going on that and digging a little more, I went with that theory. There was still the longevity problem too. It had great throw, just didn't last but maybe 6-8 at the most. So my next order I dove in head first and ordered 4625, 4630, & 4633. Shortly after I tried 4786. Since then, I've been playing around with those 4 for a year!!!! I had it just about perfect once. Last December. I was thinking I was finally done! But after having my testers sitting around for a couple of months a couple of feet from a heat source, I realized that they weren't gonna hold up in the summer. Back to the drawing board early this spring! I have found one that by far surpassed any of my formulas. Only problem is it's a little too hard and will break into 3-4 pieces when trying to pop it out of the dish with a butter knife. I tried tweaking here and there by just 5% at a time and it just messed the whole formula up. I have almost 2 full notebooks of notes already. But I tell you one thing, if anyone thinks they don't need to take notes - they should think again. I'd be right back where I was on day one had I not taken any notes! I might not understand half of what I have written down 🤣 but it has saved me many times. 

Long story short - you're not alone! I'll never be finished testing. The day I'm finished testing is the day I'll be closing up shop for good! I have a wonderful formula now, I'll just always be looking for better! I'd rather be the way I am than be like some of these that test for 2 months and have a "perfect" candle and they're "launching" 2 weeks later. Facebook, I'm looking at you!!!

18 hours ago, birdcharm said:

 

 

I've been under the impression that designer scent dupes can be used with the name of the scent as long as it has "type" at the end of the name.  I could be wrong about that, but that's what I've assumed anyway.

I used to think that was the way it worked too, but I found out that using "type" or "inspired by" doesn't cover you if they wanna come after you. This is happening a lot on Etsy, and it's not Etsy doing it. It's the actual companies filing DMCA takedown notices. The fragrance oil suppliers can do this because they're not selling the same type of product as the brand name they're duping. Take Yankees Clean Cotton for example. Someone on this forum said they had their listing removed on Etsy for just having "Clean Cotton" in the tags. The FO suppliers are good to go because Yankee doesn't sell FOs, so they don't have a trademark on it. If we list a Clean Cotton candle on Etsy, they can come after us because they have a trademark on that scent name FOR candles. They can come after you no matter where you're selling it. It just happens more often online because these big companies have their own team that does nothing but search for IP infringements. Disney is another huge one that protects their IP like their life depends on it! It's impossible for them to catch everyone because there's just so many out there to comb thru. Kinda like speeding down the highway. 50 cars going over the speed limit, and the cop can only pull over one at a time. 

This is why the TESS search on uspto.gov can be your best friend in these cases. It will show every type of item they have a trademark on for that name. It might cover candles, air fresheners, body sprays, lotions.... If it doesn't show soap, you may be in the clear to sell soap using that scent name. I don't know that I would push my luck lol, but it's a great tool to see where you stand!

38 minutes ago, birdcharm said:

I haven't smelled that scent, but I looked it up to see how it's described or the scent notes.  One description was something about linen drying on a clothesline in the breeze.  I'm not sure if that's right or not ... oh well, I can't think of anything just now, except for "Breezy Linens" ! 

It's more of a soft floral scent than one of those Fresh Linen or Clean Cotton scents. Cotton Blossom is actually one component in Yankee's Clean Cotton, but I would've never thought it was. I don't pick it up, but others might. Hmmm...makes me wonder how B&BW was able to trademark a name of a real flower. Hell I need to go look. It might not even be trademarked! I just assumed since normally they're all trademarked. Even if it's not, I'm still renaming it. 

33 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

How about “Crazy Sleepover Jammies”? Then use the above story in the scent description. Stories sell the scent. 

Oooohhh I love that idea!!! I'm gonna write that down and see what I can build around that. Thank you, Shannon! 🥰

32 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Is there a childhood memory or place you shared with your mom that fits?

In my mind I picture a name for Cotton Blossom as being a soft and delicate name. Childhood and teen years with mom was anything but soft and delicate. We were crazy together lol. One of my favorite memories would be when I was around 12 or 13 and I'd have a sleepover. We'd crank up the music and dance. We'd pair up and create dance routines and mom would judge. Then they'd all pull her out of her chair to come dance with us. She'd get crazy shaking her ass and all. My friends loved her to death like a second mom. So I can't match up anything like that. It did just make me smile thinking about those times!🥰

25 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

I would not overthink it too much. You will learn through feedback and experience 😊

How long do you personally expect or hope the melts you use to last for? I don't want them to last too long to where they won't need to buy very often! 🤣 But I want them to last long enough to earn bragging rights and get the buzz going around about how great they are. I already know how great these scents are, just looking for enough longevity. You're right, I've been overthinking it. I just have really high expectations about everything and where I want to take this business. Being a bit of a perfectionist and OCD does not help any!

Anyone??

Hello fellow scent lovers!

I was never a really creative person, but for the past year and a half the creative juices have been flowing freely. I've been doing really well with renaming fragrances, but now I have a block. 

I need to rename Bath & Bodyworks "Cotton Blossom." Normally if something doesn't pop into my head within a few minutes, I'll sit there and brainstorm just writing down words that come to mind, then try to piece some together to come up with a good name. I'm completely blocked now trying to come up with this one and I need your help! If you can give me some ideas or even actual names I could use, I'd appreciate that so much! Even a list of brainstormed words I could use would be great! Thank you so much for any help you can give me ❤️

Hi my candle peeps! 

I'm always tweaking my wax formula just to see if I can top what I already believe to be wonderful. I use paraffin and the only ones I haven't tried yet are 4627 and 4636. Money is very tight right now for me, as it is for just about everyone. I'm looking for and asking - no, I'm BEGGING - if someone has a half pound of either or both that they can spare, I would love to be able to buy it from you! Just message me and give me a price and I'll pay for it and shipping in whatever form of payment you'd prefer. I really want/need to test these 2, but can't really afford to buy another slab or that 25 lb block right now. I appreciate any and all help I get ❤️