Traveler

HI - Food-grade paraffin wax is very real. There are probably multiple instances of food-grade paraffin all throughout your home and car. It's been used in all sorts of products for years. (Got batteries in your home?) It is not a marketing ploy. 🙂 What is a marketing ploy is anyone who markets a soy wax candle (or coconut wax candle) as "environmentally-friendly". Or organic. Or all-natural. Or healthy. (I've seen ALL of the bad marketing at local craft shows.) The commercial soybean growers in my area openly joke about "Round-Up Ready Soybean Lights" (soy wax candles) they see being sold at local craft shows. They'll tell you all about the chemical pesticides and fertilizers they and other commercial soy and "veggie" farmers are putting on their acres of crops. And that's just a small part of the veg-to-wax story. So go ahead and have fun testing food-grade paraffin wax. Wick it so it burns safely and throws a lovely scent. If you love it - use it. If you hate it, don't. 🙂

I've enjoyed Leather Jacket from Nature's Garden. I thought I would hate it - some leather FO's have a bit of a bite to them when you first smell them OOB - but when I put it in wax it just blossomed - it turned into a really nice smooth leather without being overpowering. It also blended nicely with black cherry. I'm guessing it would do well with tobacco or whiskey or maybe even a mulberry...

I've always loved a good sugar cookie scent - CS used to sell one that I couldn't keep in stock. It used to be one of my top holiday sellers from them - right behind Mistletoe. I just tested the Sugar Cookie Royale from Flaming Candle and it's got that same warm, welcoming sweetness to it. It doesn't smell plastic in wax. I'm wondering what would be fun to blend with it. (Speaking of CS - their Bayberry is on Clearance and will be discontinued when they run out of stock - in case anyone has it in their holiday line up.)

6006 is awesome wax. I wait 24 hours and then start my test burns. wthomas57 is correct - two weeks is completely unnecessary. And if a fragrance doesn't throw between 7%- 8% I move on. Like Sarah S said - there are so many great FOs out there - don't struggle trying to force one. Years ago I started with only ten fragrances. I had two sizes of candles and the rest in tarts. And I sold out at my first holiday craft show. I spent 9 months in R&D just to get to that point - so don't feel stressed about time. It takes time to craft a candle that burns properly and safely. Customers will buy from you even if you only have five holiday scents ready - simply because you've created the very best Pine, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Cranberry, and Pumpkin scented candles. Customers know quality when they see it and smell it. And they'll hear it in your voice when you talk to them - because you'll exude 100% confidence in your products. Just focus on your best candle/scent combos. Don't feel rushed. Make your display and packaging as professional looking as possible. Offer a nice holiday stocking stuffer special. Something affordably irresistible. :-) And be ready with your business story. People really LOVE knowing Why you do what you do. It helps them fall in love with your product even more. And it helps them see you as a real person - someone working hard to make your dream come true. The number of fragrances you offer won't matter. The quality and appearance of your product will. It sounds like you're really working hard to do this right. So don't try to rush testing. It will drive you crazy. Focus on what you have that's genuinely good to go. I think you'll be a hit. Just my two scents. ;-)

Toasted Marshmallow from Rustic Escentuals smells more like a straight marshmallow to me. I don't smell anything "toasted" or "toasty" or "burnt". I have customers who love it and it throws great in 4794 and 6006. (I haven't tried RE's new Campfire Marshmallow yet.) There are several Vendors that pop up in a Google Search for "Butter Rum Fragrance oil" https://www.google.com/search?q=butter+rum+fragrance+oil&oq=Butter&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0j69i59j69i60l2.1423j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 I see a Hot Buttered Rum at Nature's Garden. I've never tried it - but it has some good reviews. NG has had more hits than misses for me so it might be worth a try. (And the price is reasonable.) I hope you find one - hot buttered rum Lifesavers were my favorite flavor as a kid - I bet it would be terrific in candles. :-)

I have to say, the Honey Gingerbread from Backwoods is still my #1 seller - all year long! lol. It's got just the right amount of spice and sweet. If Backwoods has another Gingerbread FO - try it. They have some wonderful fragrances - and they perform well in IGI 6006 and IGI 4794 as well as the Golden Brand 464 and 444 (now AKA?) waxes.

Bitter Creek North has a very good Dreamsicle that I have used for years. :-)

Maybe check out The Candlemaker's Store - they have a huge selection and I noticed several Tobacco scents on their list. Did not look for mushroom, but then, I've never had a request for that one ;-)

Thank you everyone! I shall get some samples and start re-testing my products again...keeping my fingers crossed. I'll let you all know if I find one that works!

Rats. CS has added some FO's to their clearance page...and lavender vanilla (one of my best sellers) is on it. They keep getting rid of good stuff. Grr. Could anyone recommend a lavender vanilla? Years ago when I tested the CS lav-van, everyone who used it fell in love with it, so I never tested others. Lesson learned. I use parasoy and paraffin waxes right now. I'm open to any supplier. A huge thanks in advance!

TallTayl, Thank you so much! I really appreciate the links - I just wanted to be certain I don't do anything wrong. Thanks again! Traveler

Hi, Do any of you ship these types of products through the US Mail? I normally just ship candles and I have always seen the big warning poster in the post office about NOT shipping perfumes and certain other liquids deemed hazardous. In order to ship body sprays and scented oils (for warmers) is there a process i.e., paperwork, additional payment, special type of packaging, etc., that one needs to comply with? I just figured some of you are experts at this and can offer some guidance on what I need to ask for (labels, paperwork?) at the counter without sounding like an idiot. Thank you

I tested 464 and 444 extensively and kept having issues with it "growing". I don't know the technical term for it, but after I made candles the wax would puff up and literally cover the wick. This was usually several days after they had cooled. I followed CS's instructions and ongoing advice to the letter, poured multiple batches; I also ordered cases of wax from different suppliers just to see if the batch # had something to do with it. Nope....it was exhausting. And expensive. After a year of total bafflement I decided the universe was sending me a message and I better just knock it off. lol! (Oddly, the other soy wax brands I poured and tested did not behave this way.) Truly a weird experience. I am glad that others have had no problems with the 464 and 444.

Backwoods had a Pumpkin Apple Butter fo that I used to love. As for scents that go with the color blue - I use blue for scents related to water, air, clean laundry, and masculine scents (I just vary the shades of blue). Blueberry, any blue floral, blue candy, etc., are also. hth with ideas :-)

A dupe of "Ocean" by Pier 1 - Willow Woods carried one that was spot on. No floral notes. Just salty ocean. That and her "Clean Cotton" Yankee dupe. They both threw like crazy in my wax so I could use less FO. To this day I have found Clean Cottons that smell the same oob but die in my wax. And absolutely no one carries the Ocean...every sea/ocean scent has some sort of floral note in there which just makes it perfumey. And I would love a Pumpkin that is really pumpkin instead of cinnamon and clove. The search continues...

That's right, Candybee. I forgot to add that. But it looks as if Peak is sending a free 1 oz sample with orders? They choose the sample...but then, I like being surprised. Same as when I order from RE and I open the box and find some little goodies tucked in there (candy or a cute little lip balm sample). When I had my business I used to add a free sample wax melt with every order. Customers enjoyed it. I think in this day and age with so much competition it's nice to give a little freebie, if it's an affordable option, of course, as a form of "thank you".

Free 1 oz Fos are now available with orders of $25 or more only. Makes me a little sad. I really appreciated their free samples. But most of my orders are more than $25 anyway. And they've added USPS shipping as an option in case that helps anyone with shipping costs.

Ky - ky - ky ;-)

Aztec is now carrying a Spicy Apples & Peaches. I have not used it yet but OOB it smells nice.

In our parasoy wax their Eucalyptus Spearmint smells like mint. We don't pick up any eucalyptus...but it is very nice so we burn it anyway just for ourselves. Perhaps the Eucalyptus notes come out more strongly in a different wax? :-) Tea Rose (FCC version) -VERY strong in candles. Ocean Mist - strong in candles and popular with both men and women. Strawberry Jam - an old standby and delicious in candles. They sent a small sample of their Cinnamon and Clove Bud with my last order and it smells like a wonderful pairing of the two scents. I cannot wait to order a larger sample to test since I have been looking for a new Spice scent which is not bakery related. Their Vanilla Velvet is yummy too!

Most shows we do are just too big (arena types, like Candybee mentioned) or are outdoor shows where the scent just pretty much dissipates with the breeze. BUT on those few occassions where we have been in a smaller, more enclosed space we have noticed that customers LOVE BW's Honey Gingerbread - which smells identical in our wax to AH/RE's Amish Quilt and Celtic Moonspice so if you have either of those scents...maybe give them a try. :-)

@Candybee - I test burned Pink Magnolia last night and it threw like the dickens! I have white Magnolias (Grandiflora, maybe?) blooming outside and they do have a citrusy note to them...so this fragrance, although not a real dupe of those Magnolia blossoms, smells like a very pretty, citrusy floral (to my nose). I lost my best selling Southern Magnolia when Willow Woods closed and I have not been able to find a good dupe of it in terms of scent characteristics and strength of HT, the fact that I really enjoyed this Pink Magnolia surprised me. (Florals give me headaches :-( ...I am going to seriously consider adding this FO to my line - I think floral lovers might really enjoy this one.

@Horsescents - I think my nose picks up more of the citrus than the citronella...but then I still need to put this one into wax and see which fragrance notes really come to life. Maybe you could add some Citronella FO to it to create a unique mosquito repellant FO :-)

OOB they both smell very nice. The Pink Magnolia seems to have a bit of a "peach" note (maybe a citrus) to my nose. Cannot wait to have time to get these into wax but my first impressions are positive.

I'll be the sixth vote for CS Vanilla Lace Type. (I used to use the real thing until I got the CS sample. It's wonderful!)