modhatter

Interesting. It is an adiction that I have tried to put my finger on. I think for me it is not wanting to miss the perfect scent that I know I will be crazy about. Just have to know what every last one of them smells like and who has the absolute best. It is a driving force that makes no sense. Glad I am not suffering alone.

I frequently order from Candle Sceince. They usually always pack well, so I don't think it is their doing. But I'll tell you what did happen to me with one of their orders. Lucily it was a small order of around $30 for some tea light cups. Anyway, I never received it. They are usually the quickest shippers of any I order from, so after many days I decide to check with the tracking link. And it says order was delivered 5 days earlier. Well, I never got it so I called them. They read me the note that said. "Raining, left in garbage can by the road." Do you believe that, they put it in my garbage can, and of course it went out with the rest of the garbage. I'm supprised the driver even had the audacity to write down what he did with it.

I'm with you on the pomegranate. I have ordered so many, but they are all the same. Just got Peaks and poared it but haven't tested. I think I am smelling fuel though (not sure yet) Will report back if I'm pleasantly supprised, but this is the same sweet smell, more like strawberry than anything else. I too got one at Illuminations once. It also had a tart/sweet base and it was really powerful.

CandleBuddy is right on. A votive or tea light will usually only scent a small to medium bathroom or possibly a small bedroom in some circumstances. The only ones that I can say do more would sometimes be your florals. These are generally stronger than others and will give off more throw. That is why I generally reserve my florals and those scents with a very strong throw for my votives, teas, and pillars. If you can barely smell a votive after it has burned for a couple of hours in a closed up small bathroom, then this is not a keeper. If you can smell it pretty strong, then it's doing what it should do. If you can smell in your small bedroom pretty strong, then it's doing better than it should. Hope this gives you some Idea how to test. Also, keep one important thing in mind. If you keep using the same room to test, you will have too much scent in the air to test the next candle, and you will not be able to smell it as much as if you put it in a vergin room. So try your testing in different rooms giving them (the room) a day or two rest inbetween if you can.

I want to try ICS's Pink Sugar, but don't want to order just one bottle cause of shipping, and I'm sampled out right now. As I have read that you do need to sample their scents, I don't want to make a 16 oz. mistake. Can anyone make some recommendations to me that are sure to have a good through. I use both 4627 parafin and Golden soy. I am partial towards sweet smelling scents, lke fruits, and some fruits and florals if it's more fruit than floral. Any sure bets I won't get burned on if I buy one lb. size. Not interested in any bakery scents right now.

Have any of you tried any of the following from TCS. Sugar Cookie French Vanilla Warm Vanilla Sugar I have never smelled warm vanilla sugar. I see a lot of you soapers use it. I however make candles and wonder if this is a suitible scent for candles. Can anyone describe the scent. I don't like harsh scents (strong flowers). I prefer sweet and love vanilla. This is their discription but you know how descriptions sometime are. Do you smell much vanilla? "African vanilla beans sweetened by hints of sandalwood & coconut on a subtle background of white flowers."

Would someone PLEASE tell me what EL stands for. Not on the list.

Candlebuddy, Why do you use the 50/50 as opposed to a 100% soy. What is it you prefer with the blend to 100% soy?

Was somewhat puzzeled as to where to post this one. Anyway, I am curious about something. For those of you using a 50/50 blend (1/2 soy & 1/2 parafin) what is your thinking? You can't say it is a soy candle for marketing purposes, as it is only 1/2 soy. As I have not tried a blend, do you find that adding 50% parafin cures the ills of soy (problems with wicking and texture) I have recently tried a soy GB444, and other than having to contend with rougher surfaces, what bothers me most about it, is waiting for it to cure. However, in a 50/50 blend, I believe you still have the long cure time issue don't you. Only thing left is the scent throw. Do you find adding the parafin improves the scent throw? Is it for environmental reasons. Didn't care for 100% soy, so using 50/50 is at least half way environmentally friendly? And last, those using a blend, are you buying it all ready blended or just mixing your own.:undecided

On recommendations posted on this board I purchased a sample from Millcreek. I put it in 4627 parafin container wax, and got ZIP scent throw. In fact there is NO Peach scent what so ever, so I'm going to melt down the wasted wax I think to use for tea lights. (Not done that before) Others on this board have recommended Peaks, but I just placed an order with them and it's too late to order without more shipping. I'm ordering wax from Candle Science tomorrow. On their board they say they have a strong Peach. Has anyone tried it?

How many ounces do the shallow tins hold. If it is less than 4 oz. then the cost of the tin might make the candle cost too high for the burn time.

My mistake. I went back and read your post again. Shouldn't be doing this when I'm this tired. You are using Parafin, so no cure situation. And you bought your fo's from Solas. I have not ordered from there, and I know some love them, but many have said that you need to buy the extra streangth in their scents. But I think the main problem is that you are using a pillar, and not enough scent.

Pillars are not going to be the best judge of scent throw. You would be better off testing for scent throw using a container, or even a votive in a small room like a bathroom. Second you don't go by tablespoons you go by weight. It takes at least 1 oz of fragrance for each pound of wax. So you need a little scale. You can pour wax into a measureing cup and weigh it until you have 1 lb of wax. (You have to weigh your measuring cup first and subtract that weight from the wax. Actually if you buy the right kind of scale and read the instructions it will minus off your container for you. You do the same for the fragrance. Now where you buy your fragrance makes all the difference in the world. If you picked up something at a hobby shop, then you will for the most part have just wasted your money, as those oils usually suck. Are you using a parafin wax or a soy wax? If you are using a soy way, then you will have to give your candle about a week to cure. (Means you have to wait a week before you can test for scent throw) This is not true of parafin wax however. So give us more information and we can help you better.

I make container candles and so far I have used in the past a parafin 4627, and now also trying a soy GB 444. The scents so far that I have tried from Peaks are: Mango & Papaya (My very favorite) Sweet Pea (My second favorite) Pink Sugar - very good Amish Harvest - very good Cream Brulee - good Lavender (mixed it with Vanela) good Jamaca Me Crazy OK, not that strong Casaba Mist - OK Reminds me of a mens after shave, not crazy about scent Here is my next try list. Any comments on any you have tried? Pomegranate Honeysuckle Honeydew Mellon Lovespell Frosted carrot cake Fruit Slices Mac Apple Bird of Paradise Brown Sugar & Fig Caramel Apple Cinnamon Buns Green Tea & Clover Any others you think are terrific in candles or that you have tried on my list?

Well, I'm ordering wax tomorrow from Candle Science, so I'll order a 8 oz. bottle, and then get a sample from Peaks and KY.

Excuse me, that was JBN you said. I also am unfamiliar with EL. What do the both stand for? I bought the Pomegranate from Illuminations. It was very strong, almost too strong. But I think it had something else in it. It was pretty good though. Imagine, I paid $20 for a jar of someone else's candle. (But I just had to try one of theirs to see how they were)

I looked on the Wick Your Wax site in Canada. You can go to it through the Soy thread - top thread "Fo's tested in Soy" where they list all the suppliers and go down to WYW and click on the link. It will take you to her site. JBL. What does that stand for? Not familiar with it.

Yes you got a point there Donna. Same goes for Califonia I guess. Someone in Sacramento or San Francisco wouldn't want to drive to San Diago (if they had a supplier) for wax.

Remember, they were free samples that you could see what the jars looked like close up and in person. It may just be their policy when sending free samples to send their "irraegular" jars. Otherwise too many people might be asking for samples. Just a thought. I don't really know.

I have researced this board and have seen the recomendation for WYW for Pomegranate, but spending $32 or $38 for a 16 oz. bottle just kills me, though I know there oils are terrific (I have bought some) Again I don't want a combo (mixed scent) I prefer a straight Pomegranate and wondered if there was a good second choice for one that has a good throw from another supplier that you might have tried.

How long have you let candle cure before you tested it?

Maybe for you folks who live up in cold country where you can't open your windows, you could install a good bathroom type vent fan, and when it's not on, you could buy one of these magnetec vent covers I see advertised in some magazines that you put over your heat/ac vents to stop the flow of air. I think that might work.

Well, the larger the melt pool, the more scent is ommitted. However, in my experiments with tarts and 4 oz. wickless tin candles, I seem to feel that I get a lot more time out of my 4 oz wickless candle (per ounce). In other words, I find that my tarts are usually good for either 4 hours, and some real rare ones up to 8 hrs (two tealights) Well, if I go by the one tea light (4 hr. burn) per tart and the tart is 1 oz., then in theory I would get at leat 16 hours out of my 4 oz. tin and up to 32 hours out of a better one. HOWEVER, the tin is burning more scent and giving me a stronger fragrance, so theoretically it should not last as long as the tart. HOWEVER though I have not timed them, I feel they give me equal time if not more than the tart. So now I see, I am going to have to test burn one until it loses it''s fragrance to settle this hypothetical question here. I agree by the way by another poster. I thought the idea strange until I picked up a cheepy candle warmer at WalMart and made my first wickless candle (4 oz tin) Now I'm hooked. The convenience of just swaping tins whenever you feel like a new scent is great. No more taking tart warmer to kitchen and putting in freezer so you can get wax out, and then have a freezing cold tart warmer to have to put a flame to.

Possitives: 1. No flames to be concerned with burning house down. 2. No soot from wick burning. 3. Better scent throw Negatives: 1. Loss of any flame ombiance 2. Shorter life on candle scent ?? (seems reasonable but jury is still out on this one) 3. Not portable. Must be on top of plugged in candle warmer. Question: There is some talk about candle burning causing cancer. I am not sure what is immited in the air that might cause cancer. Is it the soot from burning or the fumes from the fragrace oils, or both. Correct answer might make for another positive in the columns above.

Well, I guess I'm the only one in the whole wide world that likes Honeydew Mellon.