mysticalsoaps

Thank you all for the replies!! I will do some playing around. I am not 100% sure its the wax yet. I am going to take several fo's, from different companies and make test tarts. I am going to give them to my best customer and she is going to test them for me and give me her opinion on them. The ones I am thinking of that have had the most complaints -- they are from a company that is very reputable, and I know some of the fo's I personally have been overly pleased with, but there have been quite a few that are just not as strong as they could be. I also have not been the only one to comment on the company. There was someone else who had gotten alot of their fo's and she had noticed they had been seperating. Now, I do know some of the ones they mentioned not as good are not fo's from this company. I sometimes feel this way - they want me to make them tarts that smell super strong, they say they do not care how much fo i put in, even if that means i put in extra (i know wax only hold so much) fo, then they want me to put in extra. I prefer to buy top quality very strong out of the bottle scents. I have gone above and beyond and got them special requests, paying alot of money for them but yet they order that scent one time and then thats it. I dont sell enough to always have a million different fo's. And to buy the good fo's that are super strong and worth the money, it tends to get costly. I do this more for a hobby for me, but its nice to make a few extra bucks when your low on cash. I am planning on doing 2 craft shows in oct. I dont want to be putting any junk out there, I am hoping to gain a few new regular customers (i'm not looking to where I can quit my real job...evn though that would be nice ) but a new customer or 2 that regularly orders would be fantastic!!! Sorry, just kinda ranting here....i mean there are days I just want to thow in the towel and just say the heck with it, no more selling, but there is a part of me that makes me proud when I get an order, or I hear ooo your stuff smells so good, or it feels so good on my skin, etc.... (and in my head I am saying well why arent you buying more!!! LOL) Annette

I recently got some plam wax- the stuff I have been using for a long time.....customers have recently complained lately that it doesnt hold scent like it used to, when its halfway through a melt it get a weird smell. I noticed most of the Fo scent disappears. i have not done or changed anything n the way i mmake tarts. So, I'd like to possibly switch waxes. I need something semi to very easy to work with and something that has the best of the best scent throw - both hot and cold, specifically hot. What can ya recommend to me??? Thanks in advance - Annette

Thanks so much for the thoughts!! I'll be concocting something by monday!!

ok, I am drawing a big big big blank here. I had a co-worker, a guy, request a soap for the face. ideas of ingredients? of of course i was thinking of - oatmeal, and I have a pinch of lime butter, an was thinking some lemongrass EO, but any other thoughts on some good facially things? Thanks!

I am searching for the following- A good strong vanilla that doesn't have or get that weird chemical smell to it. I have gotten some vanillas, that smell good at first, but after they sit for a few mos, they get this weird smell to them. I do want something strong enough so i can use it alone too and not just a mixer scent thanks! Annette

I used mystic woods in the past in soy and its pretty strong. Maybe you need to let yours cure....odd your not getting a throw on it. trop white musk- i agree with you, very lovely but light!! annette

awhile back I posted about silk fibers in soap. I had gotten some red silk. Here are most results- I added it this time right to the lye water as i mixed- the silk disolved right in. Also, it ended up being colorless, so that a good thing. now, I don't know how it actually feels to be in the soap, since its cp, I got about 4 weeks till i can actually test it!! Annette

I wasn't to thrilled with it either. I didn't think anything special about it, but thought maybe it was just me. Guess it wasn't!! annette Silk and shea is a type of their melt and pour soap base

cool, thanks for all the suggestions. I already have lots of castor, so i'll look for the other stuff and play and see what works best!! Thanks! Annette

Hi! Thanks for sharing how to use it, not I didn't use it yet, hopefully this weekend. I will try it first on an uncolored batch. As soon as I use it, i will post pics!! keep checking back- we are due to get a new kitten sat am, but i may batch up fri eve, I'm waiting on some fo's to come in the mail!!! Annette

Can someone direct me to a reliable website for making liquid soap. What I found so far isn't helping me much. thanks!

What is the best thing I can to a lotion base to help with excema? Or what is really good to use for excema? I heard emu oil is good. I don't normally make lotions,creams etc. Just soaps and candles. thanks!

I just got a bunch of silk from a garage sale. How do i use this in soap. It wasn't what I thought it would be. I looks like some took yarn and balled it up kinda. do I just cut some and add it to the lye water? Its also red. I guess I was expecting white. No wonder why an oz was only 5.00!! Any thoughts/advice is appreciated

That is one pretty swirl!!!! Maybe some day i'll acheive that!! LOL I like the double heart. As usual --- they are AWESOME!!! Annette

its not the mold they are sticking to, its the wick pin its self. The wic pin rests inside the mold. Once hardened, i pull the whole thing out by the top of the wick pin. then I have my votive outside the mold, with the wick pin still inside it and the wick pin is stuck.

I recently got an order from the owner of the place that allows me to sell my candles. He would like 24 votives in x-mas scents. No problem, I decided to do 4 sets of six, so he will get 4 different scents. I did the first batch- a pretty forest green in pine scent which i renaming to something, haven't decided yet. first time- I lightly sprayed the votive mold with mold release and then stuck in my wick pin. poured them, waited till they set and they popped out nice. well, i couldn't get the freakin wick pin out of them!!! I took one of my butter knives that i use when creating stuff and started prying, of course, it ruined each votive. ok, so i resprayed 1 mold with the wick pin in it, I even sprayed the pin itself. Remelted one votive and repoured. this was about 3 hrs ago, i just went out there, popped it out of the mold and that darn pin was still stuck!!!! I put it in the freezer for less than 5 min, i didn't want the votive to crack. I was then finally able to get it out without ruining the votive to bad. Is there any other easier way? am I doing something wrong? I was going to switch over and just use Palm wax for this order, but I really wanted to use soy. I don't know if i have enough palm to make 24 votives. I appreciate any advice!!!! thanks annette

What FO scent did you use? You would be amazed at how many fo scents will discolor mp soap. Ask me how i know- Its happened to me many times!!! I'm waiting for the most beautiful chocolate mint soap to discolor. I learn to take picas asap before the discoloration occurs.....LOL it could be your choice of fo. strawberry discolors, chocolate does, coconut, etc...... annette

I use soy wax, so i always look for strong fo's. I am trying to find a true blueberry- one that smells like blueberrirs not a fake scent. Dear Bf always says the blueberry reminds him of pipe tobacco.... Then, I am trying to find a good vanilla. I don't know if vannila is supposed to have a weird chemically i can't describe smell oob? Seems like the ones i am getting do. I'd like to get some small samples and test them out. Thanks for your suggestions! Annette

I know the difference between using pillar and container wax. My question is- can i use the pillar wax for making jar candles? I seem to always run out of container wax, so when I need a jar candle in a bind, using the pillar wax will work ok? I use ecosoya wax and add in 1 lb of ecosoya advance and 1 lb of pur soy to 10 lbs of container and use the same formula for my pillar wax also. thanks! Annette