firegirl

Hi KMommy.. I am currently mixing J223 and Golden Brands 415.. I LOVE it!! I get minimal to no soot on 10 and 16 ounce Apothecary jars. On my 26 ounce jars it seems almost an impossible quest to have "perfectly clean" jars, but when trimmed or wicked properly, they have a tiny bit of soot on jars when burned to the bottom. My scent throw is awesome. Both cold and hot. I don't think you would be disappointed with this blend. It took me a long time and a lot of money to finally make the switch.. but now I am glad I did. Christy- I am glad to hear that about the J223 alone. I was thinking about pouring it straight to see the difference! I was worried about it sooting too much..

Yes sirreee I am WEAK and cannot pass this one up either! ASS- my thoughts are: I want to get as much of it as possible!! From ol' DH of course!

Top... Thanks for the info! Sounds like it is just the parasoy blend. A lot of my candles used to do that when I was using IGI 6006. They used to sweat like they had just been sitting in a sauna.

Sorry it took so long to respond.. been gone all day! My answer is yes to only being able to see the swirls when I tilt the jars a certain way and catch the light just right. The candles are burning perfectly.. throw is awesome.. just these little swirls. I am not overloading the wax. I am using 75% J223.. unless I am incorrect on this one.. I believe it can hold 8-10%, and unless the soy is effecting its ability to hold the amount I am using? I really appreciate the responses! I am a dork and have not posted pics here yet. I too am anal about my candles and am certainly my own worst critic! I have found these swirls on every variety of f/o used. I will look at the candles that I added f/o at a hotter temp.. My candles set up with these swirls after hours of burning, all the way down. You guys are all awesome! I truly value and appreciate you taking the time for us newbies! ( and Henry.. I love your posts and pics.. I learn so much from what you share! My favorite time is reading through all the posts and finding yours in particular.. thanks!) Teri

I am using a parasoy blend. I use ony 1.3 ounces of oil per pound. I heat to 190 add oil at 170, mix for a few minutes and pour at 150. What would cause little oil swirls on candle surface once candle is set? Do I need to add the oil at hotter temp? I poured 2 more today and tried to add oil at 175.. It does not seem to effect burn, but I just want some advice if this can potentially be hazardous. It almost seems like the oil is not completely blended with the wax. I have no seepage at all.. I appreciate any advice. Thanks Teri

I am using the j223 with soy added. My results are wonderful. I have found that I can use the 44-32-18's , 44-36-18's and on the really heavy oils.. 51-32-18's. Again.. this all depends on how much oil and what kind of dye you are using. I am using 26 and 16 ounce apothecary jars as well and I have very little soot if I keep the wicks trimmed.

I am really happy to hear that you gave Save on Scents a try. I can't tell you how thrilled I have been with over 15 fragrances that I currently buy from them. I keep reading peoples thoughts here on this board, but I rarely hear them mention that they are buying the Ultra Concentrate grade. I know it is a pain for some when you have to see the 3 different grades, but all of my dupes and many of their originals are super strong and kick butt in my parasoy blend! I have a ton of samples, and my only problem is narrowing down which ones I like the best! Thanks for posting your results!

Okay.. could not help chiming in. I have personally been on 2 fires that were related to home scenting that were not candle related.. one was a plug in, and the other was a potpouri simmer pot..

The kids and hubby are camping and I am goingt to play!!! I think I will pour my Henri Bendel Vanilla Bean Dupe first.. hmmm then on to some Pikaki next, then on to Pumpkin Spice and the list goes on and on!!! It is 106 here today! Very hot.. we have a very bad fire in my neck of the woods.. probably on the news.. I can see it from my station (I am at work) and from my house.. it is HUGE! I hope everyone stays safe out there!

Hmmmm I can pull mine apart too.. When I measure it out I sometimes tear pieces to get my exact weight.. I love this wax either way. Mine burns and throws great, so I don't mind as long as my end results stays the same. I got all paranoid when I read about the "new" J223... wasn't worth the stress..

That sounds DIVINE! Thanks for sharing! I am really getting some great ideas.. it is nice to think outside the same ol' same ol' box!

I got my idea to make my personal mix from selling something similar for a big company here on the West Coast. . We were moving it out by the cases in 26 ounce jars.. I am sending out one of their candles to have it duped so I won't have to hassle with mixing it anymore. If anyone is interested...let me know.. I will send out sniffie samples if the dupe comes out as great as the candle is. I have never met anyone who did not like it.. I loved reading everyones mixes.. They sound wonderful!! This is why I love this board.. thanks for sharing! Teri

WoW... that sounds awesome! Sometimes your best ones are the ones you mix up yourself!

Okay..I wasn't going to say anything..but .. I cannot help it! I am sitting here thinking of "Ass Crack". Maybe a nice Chocolate fragrance? At least they would laugh and enjoy burning it.. everyone wins.. just a thought. I know.. I am sick..

I was reading about everyones favorite fall/Christmas scents and I was curious if anyone blended their own? Here is my favorite and it sells like crazy!! My number one seller in the fall and at Xmas time! I buy all of these at Save On Scents in the Ultra Concentrate version..I am sure you can use whaterver supplier you like best! I started mixing these with their one ounce samples an it was a huge hit. You can even play around with the amounts depending on what you like and the strength you prefer. I call this one NOEL. .6 ounce Mac Apple .6 ounce Cinnamon(regular warm cinnamon and not the red hots type) .3 ounce Pear Another good one is swap the Pear withe Mac Apple and you can call it Christmas PEARadise! I can't wait to hear if anyone has some personal blends they like to share! Teri

I like to mix my own personal favorite.. I call it NOEL. I mix .6 ounce cinnamon, .6 and .3 ounce of Pear... you can rearrange this mix to fit whatever you like more of.. it smells fantastic!!!! You can swap the pear measurement with the Mac apple and call it Christmas Pearadise:D I use Save on Scents Ultra Concentrate and they are fantastic!!! Teri

I use to sell a lot of car fresheners.. the ones with pre-cut shapes that you soak in your f/o.. they use to sell for 1.99 each ... they sold like hotcakes.. affordable and they make your hot, summer car smell nice.

I am happy to hear this about the J223.. I too bought my wax from Lonestar. I wrote to IGI and commented about the complaints I have been hearing regarding the "new" J223. I was told by BCN that one of the new batches were low on the "acceptable allowance range" for quality, but that the wax was fine. :rolleyes2 I have been testing exclusively with the "not so great" batch and am looking forward to pouring with the better quality batch. I have not had too tough of a time with it, but I would not know the difference because this wax was new to me. My results were not the same as what few other testers were experiencing with the same f/o, additives, etc.. were and it was driving me crazy! Thanks for the update.. maybe enough people commented to IGI about the quality of the new J223 and they made some changes for the better!

If you look to your left you will see "Basic Instructions".. try there..

Not to hijack the thread, but have you smelled the Henri Bendel Vanilla Bean? MAN OH MAN.. it is the bomb! I have not seen it anywhere except from IFT where it was duped.. I would really encourage you to try it if you like his version of fragrances.. It is worth a trip to a White Barn Candle store just to sniff it.. smells nothing like vanilla.. just a fabulous masculine smell.. it rocks!

Hey Holly.. If you ever want to go in on having it duped, it really is not expensive.. I want to say 15 dollars.. you just have to buy 10 pounds of it which you would have no problems doing... You would need 4 ounces unburned.. which I have.. I for one would buy some, and I know that there would be many others interested too. If you bought 25 pounds, the dupe would be free... Just a thought.. As for Days of Xmas.. this was my inspiration to make candles.. This is hands down my all time favorite scent. I have mixed my own and been very close.. this is what I mixed... Mac Apple, regualar Cinnamon, and Pear.. all from Save On Scenst..but you can use anything similar.. If I recall correctly, it was equal amounts mac apple and cinnamon and a little less pear.. I would try in a baggie.. 2 qtips with mac apple, 2 qtips with cinnamon, and 1 qtip with pear.. see what you think.. I am going to call this NOEL... I thought it was pretty close and smelled fantastic! I can send you a baggie with these in it if you want to try.. Let me know! Teri

Hey Freezin' I just looked up NG's Christmas Cabin and it sounds just like what you are looking for in the Gold Canyon Xmas Presence.. take a look.. tell me what you think.

Hey Freezin'.. I have been meaning to pm you!! I got one from NG called Country Chrismas and it is exactly like Cozy Xmas.. however, I have not found your Xmas Presence.. I ordered a whole bunch of samples and went to compare to my only sample of Xmas Pres. and it was mislabled top and bottom.. it smells exactly like their Pineapple one.. so now I don't have a sample to compare it to yet.. I will definitely let you know when I do find it!

I just posted a thread on Majestic Mountain Sage oils. All of these are really strong and most are different than anything I have tried.. that is why I made a point to write a review on them.. I thought they smelled awesome!

I have not had any success in SOS scents that were not Ultra Concentrate.. Some people here have, but I have found that I can use less oil if I buy the Ultra Con. version..