Fern

I had to go back to NG's website to remember them all. I only buy florals, fresh and clean and citrus fruit scents. Here's what I buy on a regular basis from them, minus most of the fruits, since you didn't ask for those: 4-Leaf Clover Balsam Bayberry (Extremely Strong) Butterfly Garden Clean Crisp Air Cool Spring Country Clothesline Downy Clean Breeze (Very Strong) Downy Morning Glory and Honeysuckle (Very Strong) Ginger Bergamot Green Clover and Aloe Jade Lotus Blossom Nantucket Briar (very strong) Niagra Falls Orchid Rain Pearberry Spa Spring Rain Storm Watch Sweet Grass Tayberry and Teakwood or Twigs-n-Berries (They smell exactly the same) Tranquil Oasis (Smells just like Yankee's Ocean Water) Watercress and Aloe All throw quite strongly, but noted the ones that were extremely or very strong.

I use the shrink wrap because I think it has a more professional appearance.

I think palm wax is a beautiful wax. I've made many pillars with it, however, I really don't like how they burn and their lack of scent throw is disappointing. They can be somewhat difficult to wick and you have no choice but to maintain a shell of wax otherwise you'll have wax dripping and/or pooling everywhere...you can't hug this wax and have it burn down completely like paraffin. It's not all bad though. The cold throw is usually quite good and they're very nice to have for decoration as opposed to actually burning. That's my take on it anyway, I'm sure there will be others that will agree and disagree with me so....

I think it really depends on the scent itself. I've had a tea light that kicked ass in a fairly large room (Peak's Amish Harvest)...also, a 4 oz tin that was very strong that could be smelled on the whole lower floor of my house and was creeping up the stairwell. Pillars don't throw a whole lot of scent unless your burning three or more...at least that's been the case for me. Votives I use strickly for smaller rooms as I've not had much luck in getting those to throw real strong...it's usually a moderate throw at best, except for a few scents that filled a small-medium sized room very nicely. So, it's really a test it out and see...

I didn't think soy was so great. I started out using it when I first started making candles. I got all caught up in the propaganda and felt it was the right type of product to use since I was environmentally conscious. There's nothing wrong with it, if you don't mind waiting for a long period of time to cure in order to get any throw, or in some cases, when it won't throw certain scents at all...which is just the nature of soy. When I switched over to paraffin, I rarely had problems with throw, and with the pillar blend, I could make interesting candles with it. The soy pillar wax was alright, but was not versatile at all. The most you could do with it was make different colored layers and I believe some people did some marbling. I preferred to make mottled and rustic pillars, which you can't do with soy. Anyway, there are many people who use soy and love it. So I guess it all depends on what you're looking to do with it and how patient you are for it to cure.

Save on Scents or Wholesale Supplies Plus would be your best bet if you're looking for an accurate dupe, based on my experience.

I've got three I never get tired of pouring: Herbal Ecstacy (Tradewinds) Mandarin Bamboo (Tradewinds) Juniper Breeze (Peak) I've got a lot more favorites, but I guess these would be my top three.

If you are trying to stay true to the actual fruit, you can go anywhere between a deep purple, purpley brown color, brown or greenish brown. The color changes as it ripens, so any of those will do. Or...you can be totally creative and make it any color you want.

It is spelled "Bergamot." I use Ginger Bergamot from NG and I don't get a fuel smell with this particular scent.

I use LX's and HTP's for the most part.

Quite a few suppliers offer dupe's, however, the one with the most dupe's that I have seen and used, many times, is www.saveonscents.com. They've got a huge selection of designer dupes to pick from. In my opinion, the SOS grade is more for B&B applications, although some do good in wax. The Ultra grade is better suited for candlemaking...and the Extreme grade, to me is a waste of money...I won't buy it. Check them out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

I have used both. I used J223 for a couple of years and then switched to J50 simply because I could buy two of the types of wax I use from the same supplier, so it saved me money on shipping. The difference between the two? I'd have to say there really isn't much. They both throw great, the J50 seems to be a tad firmer than the J223. To tell you the truth, there really isn't much of a difference between the two, and if there is, it's so unremarkable that I didn't notice. Either one would be a good choice.

I think it looks good too. I agree to keep the wick trimmed, but also hug the sides a little. It looks like the wax is going to hug itself from the picture, but I think if you helped it along a little bit, it would take over on it's own. In case you don't know what it means to "hug" the candle, it means to gently turn in the edges by cupping your hands around the top of the candle while the wax is warm and pliable and gently turning in the edges. This will cause the candle to consume the most wax, which means less wax waste. I think you're on the right track...good job.

I have to agree with Eugenia too. I had much more trouble getting good rustics in the tin molds...a good deal of the time they came out too smooth, exactly what I didn't want.

Oh yeah...that is a strong one. I'm amazed that mice actually ate it!

Nantucket Briar, Clean Crisp Air, Orchid Rain, Moonlight Path, Pearberries...to name a few.

I always though mulberry was a deep purpley red color.

I've been using OK6228 for about 3 years. I don't really like this wax for pillars because it's a preblend and doesn't rustic or mottle. I'm just not into plain pillars, but I do use it for votives and I mix it with J50 for my tarts. This wax has got great throw, however, it does shrink a great deal so you will have to do multiple repours.

I've had great luck with NG. I've been doing business with them for about three years now and have only had a couple not throw very strongly in my waxes...and I've purchased ALOT of FO from them. If you're using Soy, I don't know how well these will work for you. Soy users should stick with suppliers that list FO's that do well in soy.

No, you really wouldn't want to use that old wax because of the debris that's in it...bits of old matches and wick can catch on fire, so you're better off just making firestarters, like Luci said, if you have a fireplace to use them in. I suppose if you melted down the old wax and strained it somehow to catch the debris, you could reuse it...but then all I can see happening with that method is that the wax will begin to solidify and clog up the strainer any way, but I could be wrong. Maybe someone else has some ideas on how to do that.

I haven't tested Herbal Ecstasy from Tradewinds in soy, but it's one of the best herbal scents I have ever smelled. It's similar to the original Herbal Essence shampoo only WAY better. Very fresh, clean and heady...I love it! It just might be worth it to try it in soy.

The combination of pillar and container wax does help a great deal...also, pouring at a cool temperature will help to eliminate that dip you hate so much too. I use OK6228 and J50 and pour around 150-160 degrees...gives me nice smooth tops every time.

I must be the only one who doesn't like Satin Sheets...to me it smells like old ladies perfume...so I didn't dig that one at all. Hummingbird was pretty good, but I wouldn't buy it again...it didn't WOW me. I haven't tried the other ones.

I could never get a label to stick to any of the natural waxes, however, they always stuck on my paraffin candles. Are you using a natural wax?

I get Herbal Ecstasy from Tradewinds too and have tried a couple others, but they do not compare in strength, nor in it's uniqueness, as you said. It's truly the best herbal scent that I have found. I just recently moved to South Carolina and Tradewinds is close to me, but I don't know if they have a store front to pick it up instead of having it shipped. Wish there was another place that I could recommend to you.