LMauk

Jillie-Bean, where are you located? That makes a big difference in making suggestions to you.

Someone has asked me if I can find a duplicate or similar scent to a room spray he's found called "Eucalyptus Bleu". It's sold by Esteban (a French company). The scent is described as a fresh wooden scent of the sea. A base of sandalwood and musk; a heart described as woody and seascent; a lead scent of eucalyptus, lavandin and pepper. Bottom line, I'm interested in any recommendations you might have for a eucalyptus and lavender scent. Thanks. Lois

Some time ago, Herb at Alabaster gave me a sample of the 464 wax. I had been using the 415 for a couple of years with good results. Used KY125 prior to that, but when Alabaster opened up a place a mile from my house, I couldn't turn down the savings in shipping expense (about $15 a case). I tried the 464 sample and was very pleased with the results. Ordered a 50-lb. box and have been wrestling with it ever since. Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. The test with the initial sample went great. No frosting, nice smooth tops, good throw, good color, good melt pool, etc. I heat the 464 to 175, sometimes 185, then add FO, color (block dye) and UV. I've tried pouring at many different temperatures from 160 down to the slushy stage. The original sample suggested a pour temperature of 140-145. None of these pour temps work for me! I am consistently getting frosting in every batch. (I'm not talking about wet spots; I can live with those. I'm getting big blotches of tiny bubbles just inside the glass, sometimes an inch or two in length and maybe as high.) I've tried zapping the jars before filling with the heat gun to warm them up; didn't help. I've shut off the A/C in my candle room to raise the temperature above 68 to about 70 or 72; didn't help. I've shut off the A/C and run a space heater to increase the room temperature during pouring and cooling up to 75 or so; didn't help. I've tried omitting the UV inhibitor; didn't help. I've tried not using dye; the frosting was certainly less visible, but it was still there. I run all my jars through a full wash and heat dry cycle in the dishwasher, so I'm confident the jars themselves are dry and clean. I want to be sure they have no moisture in them or any residue, dust or film as a result of the manufacturing process. Right now, I have to zap every single container (mostly jelly jars with smooth sides) two or three times with a heat gun after cooling to release all of the frosting. This is very discouraging and quite time-consuming. I'm not talking about hitting the tops with the heat gun to smooth them out. I'm spending several minutes on each and every jar, holding the heat gun near the jars and melting the outside wax enough for the air bubbles to rise to the top and dissipate. The candles cool and, next day, the blasted frosting returns, sometimes with a vengeance. I've slowly worked my way through about 25 pounds of this 464 wax. I just don't have the time to spent 2 or 3 days melting and remelting candles, trying to get rid of unsightly frosting. ALSO, during these melting/cooling/melting/cooling cycles, I've noticed that most of them have air pockets just below the surface of the tops, usually near the wicks. I've never had this be an issue with the 415 or the KY125. Before I give up on the 464 wax altogether, do any of you have any suggestions? I've run out of ideas for fixing these problems. Thanks. Lois