Candybee

Since we were discussing Fillmore's Christmas Tree FO in another thread I thought we should have a favorites thread just for Fillmore's FOs. Here are some of my favs and some reviews: Apple Jack & Peel - this one has a citrus 'bite' to it. Its a good oil for the fall but has a stronger citrus note than orange peel or apple that I would like Bayberry Cinnamon - It has a strong bay leave note and is a bit medicinal to my nose, but it sells out every fall season. Black Raspberry Vanilla - personally I prefer the CS version but never had any trouble selling this in candles. In CP soap it really sticks with no A&D and ladies loved it. Butterscotch Brulee - every now and then a real winner comes along you just want to rave about. This throws like the dickens in wax and reminds me of those traditional butterscotch candies. Very buttery and butterscothee smelling. Yummy!! Cedar Garland - I have been using this one for years and it sells like crazy. Its a wonderful blend of cedarwood and sandalwood, smoothe, woodsy, chrismasy. I sell a ton of this. I have also used it in M&P and it smells divine. I wouldn't be without it during the holiday season. Cedarwood - very true to its name. I mix this with cinnamon for the holidays. In soy you need to let it cure at least 2-3 weeks then the woodsy notes pop. If you want that single note cedar this one is it. Christmas Tree - The best Christmas Tree I have found to date. I think Trappeur describes it the best. Its a true balsam tree scent. Once I found this one I quit looking. Its the Christmas Tree I use for my candles and its a huge seller. Cocoa Therapy - My absolute favorite chocolate scent out of all the chocolates I have smelled! if you love hot chocolate this one is a must have. It smells just like the Hershey's cocoa powder you buy at the store. Very true chocolate thats a bit sophisticated and upscale. Great in wax and M&P. I am dying to put this in CP but haven't yet. I expect it to discolor to a brown but that's the color I want anyway. Cool Water - I have only put this in CP and was disappointed. Although it sticks in CP it reminds me of a sweet cardboard scent. My customers says it smells fresh and clean like a soap should. Have not used this in wax though so I can't give an accurate review of that. Daffodil - OMG! This is a wonderful spring scent in both soap and candles! It smells like the real thing and customers always smile and go "awww!" when they smell the candle or soap with it. Its strong and true in wax and sticks like glue in CP and M&P. No A&D and soaps like a dream in a slow moving soap oil recipe. I had time to do a 3 color delicate swirl with this. another great seller in the springtime!! Fresh Cut Grass - This version is a bit more earthy to me and reminds me of a freshly mowed lawn complete with the robins swooping in to catch a worm. No there is no earthworm notes but it really does smell the most like a freshly mowed lawn to me than any other grass scent. (Compared to Peaks which is more of a sweet grass scent to me). I have only used it in palm wax and it has a nice strong throw at 6%. Honeysuckle - a dead on honeysuckle like the white and pale yellow honeysuckle flowers you see growing wild on fences in the summer. Not overly sweet but just right. Another great spring and summer scent in candles. A good seller too! Iced Lemon Biscotti - OMG!! You will want to drink this one. Yummy strong lemon accord with cookie and icing notes. Unbelievable in wax. Throws great and customers always go "wow" when they smell it. Lavender, Sage, and Rosemary - love this floral blend in candles. If you want a different kind of lavender for your candles this is it. The sage and rosemary give tame the lavender without drowing it. I love how sage adds a note of warmth. Its an herbal lavender without the dreaded medicinal undertones in it. Lovely in wax and sells really well. Nutmeg & Ginger - Amazing fall scent! Another one you will want to drink when you first smell it. This is the perfect fall and holiday scent. Spicey and warm and definitely chrismasy smelling with a touch of something delishous baking in the oven, is it cookies? spice cake? gingerbread? Its a keeper. I also love it as a mixer. Great in candles. Sadly not good in B&B. You can use up to 3% in soap products but do not use more as it can be irratating. Ask me how I know. Patchouli - I was talking to Keith one day in his showroom at Fillmore when he gifted me with a sample bottle of their patchouli to try out. I was surprized at how good it was. I used it for a 3/6" palm pillar and all I can say is wow! It was a strong and true patch. One of the best patch FOs I have used. Pumpkin Spice Chutney - I have only smelled this OOB in their showroom and fell in love with it. I only have enough money for my list of FOs and jars I came to get so sadly all I could do was sniff the sniffie sample bottles. I made a mental note to get this FO next time as Its a wonderful spicy pumpkin that reminds me of a pumpkiny type of mince meat filling. It smelled awesome OOB! ____________________________ They have a lot more oils and keep getting more in every time I look at their website www.fillmorecontainer.com. You should check them out. I am not saying all their oils are great. They are like any other supplier in that some are awesome and others not so much. But the good ones I raved about are awesome. One thing I want to point out is that they sell Elevance C3 wax and test out all their FOs first before they sell any. They only sell those that throw well in soy. They also have great glassware at good prices. You have to call and ask about their large shipping prices as they are not posted but they do have price breaks for large orders.

I do need to run into BBW and sniff their pumpkin apple. I really have no idea how it smells. Maybe it does smell like apple. Isn't it Slatkin that does the candles for BBW?

Thanks for the reviews OldGlory. I am bummed! I had at least hoped the pumpkin apple would be a good one. Perhaps in wax it blossoms but I guess for now I will stick with my tried and true pumpkin blend.

MzPickles its good to see another Fillmore Container FO convert. Isn't Fillmore's Christmas Tree divine!!! Its lovely in candles. Now you have to try some of their other FOs... I guess we need to start a new thread for just for FMC's FOs favorites now!

Thanks for your offer Jcandleattic. If I had some money to spare I might take you up on it. But what I really want are wooden molds with silicone molds fit inside. This is how my little ED mold works right now but it only makes 11 bars at a time. I want longer production molds. And once you've started using log molds with fitted silicone molds inside its all you want to use. I keep eyeballing the ones from Nurture Soap Supplies. These are what I want: http://www.nurturesoapsupplies.com/silicone-soap-molds/

Those are lovely! Wish I could see the 'glow'. Didn't know there was glow clay. Will it glow with any light or just a black light?

That butterfly is amazing! I love all the work you have done with the clay. I bet the girls will love their barretts. Holy smokes I would love to have one of those! LOL But I can't get over the gorgeous butterfly! I wouldn't be surprized if your next project was a portrait cane you could slice. Can you imagine?!!

You know I still haven't got any soapmaking books other than my M&P books. I know of a couple CP soaping books I want I just haven't gotten around to getting them yet. With money tight this year it will have to wait.

I have two of the 18 bar slab molds from Brambleberry. The first year I got them I used them exclusively until I started getting the wood log molds from SMR. Now I use the slab molds for my salt bars. They work great for that. I also have one of the red silicone molds from ED. I really use it a lot and it was a great buy. I had a wood frame mold custom made for it so I can easily buy more ED molds and use that. I also now have 4 handmade 3x18" round molds I made from PVC pipe. I haven't started using them yet but they are all ready. I also have 2 pringles cans I use for molds for my shaving soaps. The size is just perfect for the little shave soaps to pop into standard size coffee mugs. I use the flexible chopping mats from the dollar store to line the round molds. They work great in them. Lining and unmolding my soaps is easy. But I still want one of those standup molds from Brambleberry with the inserts. I want to make some tai chi swirl types soapies with it.

Anyone see the video on making the sea shell mold for that fabulous sea shell topped soap? I want to try that with sea shells one of these days. I have been afraid to buy one of those acrylic molds from SMR. I thought that the soap would be hard to unmold. But you say its easy? Do you put it in the oven to heat it first like the instructions say?

Well I declare they are winners as far as I'm concerned! Outstanding work. They are beautiful!

Lovely! Do you use M&P for the embeds?

To me a 'crunch' is the crumbly topping baked into a dessert like crumb cake, or apple crisp, or struesel. Usually its made with butter, brown sugar, and a bit of cinnamon. But I think I would want a hint of pastry in that too. So my guess for isolating the crunch scent is a combo of: brown sugar, butter, pastry, and cinnamon.

If you're looking for a great leather scent you'll get some good responses in the fragrance oil section.

Ooh! Do we have moons? Did you decide to do the moonscape? I can't wait to see the cut pics.

For a lot of us that sell its not always about what you like. My customers want 'countryfied' type jars like jelly jars, mason jars, and straight sided 'salsa' jars. I've never had a problem with throw other than if the FO turned out to be a dud or low thrower. But thats why we test our FOs. I've had good throw with apothecary jars and bulb jars and hex jars. To me its more about finding the right jar my customers want and making the best candle I can. I guess I haven't really found a jar I can't get a good throw with as long as the candle it wicked properly and I am using quality ingredients like the wax, additives, and FOs. But smaller necked jars do tend to show up soot much easier so I tend to stir clear of those.

When you are ready you will just know. Then you can start having fun making soap!

PM'd you!

Nice job! Sure are a lot of comparisons there!

I have a request to add.. would you mind taking a sniffie of both the Black Cinnamon and the Black Coconut? I am curious if they smell any different than regular cinnamon or coconut.

Oops! I meant they have the Apple Pumpkin BBW dupe not the apple cinnamon. Yeah-- the black cinnamon does sound interesting.

I started out doing M&P so I have several large boxes full of Milky Way molds and lots of tart molds and several silicone embed molds. Now that I do CP I have a fascination with all kinds of log molds and slab molds, stand up molds, round molds, etc. Then there are the silicone insert molds to line the wood molds and the custom made wood molds. Sigh. It never stops.

I do something similar. I include the tax in the price. Since I do my sales taxes quarterly I figure it out, report it, and pay it then. Its so much easier than collecting change and using a register. On the other hand a register does the recording for you and gives out a receipt. So its up to you how you want to do it.

Wow! Megandarr. If this thread hadn't been bumped I wouldn't have seen all the work you did condensing these FO comparisons. Nice work. Thank you!!

Are you sure you want to use them in your candles? Did you see the prices? Yikes!! $63 for a lb of lemon verbena, $50+ for either a lb of Kentish Rain or Lavender. The prices for their carrier oils and soap & B&B additives seemed reasonable. But I don't think I would buy any FOs at their prices.