blt212

I was recently diagnosed with rosacea and haven't been able to find a facial moisturizer that doesn't sting because all of the additional ingredients. I've bought over the counter sensitive skin types and even bought one online that was supposed to be really good but it still stung. Can I purchase a product like straight shea butter or glycerin through one of the B&B suppliers or does someone on the board sell something that would be really moisturizing and not hurt I don't know anything about making B&B products since my specialty is candles but I'm hoping someone has some insight. Thx

Jadewicks (Christine) on the forum did mine and she was wonderful to work with....I highly recommend her....

Testing has not been going well and I'm deciding if this just isn't the jar for me. I continue to have problems with the flames getting very weak 1/2 through the jar. I've tried 2-ECO 4's, 6's, 8's CD 12's 14's (these all get weak, the CD 14's are the best but not great. Tried single wicking with HTP1312, ECO16, CD22, #2 Square Braid. I can't believe this jar is so difficult. I've been testing with CS's Pumpkin Souffle which isn't a troublesome FO. Before I give up, any ideas??

Thank you everyone for the feedback....as always I appreciate the willingness of the members to help each other..... Will make some adjustments, continue testing and provide results.....

This is my first attempt at a 4" diameter jar and double-wicking and I could use some advice. I've tried, 2-ECO 4's, ECO 6's and CD12's and the flames get weak after only a couple of hours of burning. I'm using straight C3, 6% FO. I've placed the wicks about 1" away from the sides and about 1 1/4" apart. The apothecary diameter is smaller at the top 3"ish and then opens up to 4".... Thx

Thanks....I did check out Fillmore and Candlescience and I haven't ruled out the Jellies but would prefer a match to the 16oz smooth sided mason in an 8oz size but I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist except for the 8oz square mason. TV Glass has a 12oz as does Candles and Supplies but once you get down to the 8oz it changes to the Jelly Jar shape. Again, I appreciate all the feedback, you guys are great!

The thought of labelling on the backside just occurred to me as well....I'm going to purchase some and label and see how they look side by side with my 16's since I'll use matching lids.....I think wick testing will be pretty easy since the diameter is about the same as the 16's versus going with a totally different jar and I like the 8oz square mason better than the 8oz jelly. I sell my existing jars both at retail and wholesale prices but I think in this economy having a jar with a lower price point for both types of sales can only be a good thing... Thanks ... and Happy New Year!

Thanks everyone for the input...I used the smooth sided 16oz mason but I don't think there's a 8oz to match just the 8oz with the ball embossing or am I missing something?? No really objections to the 8oz square mason except for trying to label consistently....

I've been thinking about adding another jar to my candle line...currently I offer an 11oz tumbler undyed and the 16oz smooth mason dyed. I want to add a lower priced jar but not sure how the jelly sells or if I should go with a smaller tumbler. It would be nice to have a line that kind of flows with jar styles but it's a bit late for that... Appreciate your thoughts...

Ok, if you use C3 and have some wick suggestions for Peaks Red Clove, I'm all ears. Started with an ECO10, too weak, went up to a 12, still not burning great....wick is turning into a topiary. Tried a 14, the best so far but I'm hesitate to use that big of a wick in the 16oz mason.....any insight would be great appreciated. Oops, also tried a CD18 and 20 without any luck.... Thx Brenda

I've been pouring a large order and never thought I needed a mask or exhaust fan until now. Purchasing a good respirator and having an exhaust fan or hood installed asap. Looking back to last season, I came down with a bad case of bronchitis right around the busy season and the light bulb just went off that it was most likely related to pouring. It's just not worth taking the risk...

I'd like to make a pillar, preferably out of soy pillar wax and embed small rocks on the sides of the candle. Would I use a hurricane mold to do this or is there another method.... Thanks

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback....they all sound great and this customer is a clove freak so I'll check them out.

Anyone tried this one that has some feedback.....I have a customer that wants a spicy scent with the accent on the clove.....I use C3... Thx Brenda

Just to clarify he didn't tell me directly, he said this to another person who told me. I do know for sure he purchased one of my candles because his employee actually placed the order. Unfortunately I didn't know it was his employee until after the fact otherwise I would have declined his card ....He also has tons of scents, like 100+....that's alot of scents to test....

Thanks for the response. That's what my friends have said, take it as a compliment and I guess I do to a point but this guy has been in business for alot longer than me by years. He started out with paraffin candles by purchasing an established business. Then I heard when he switched to soy he ran into problems with wicking...what a surprise :smiley2: Anyway, guess he couldn't figure it out and took a shortcut.... Actually since he bought the paraffin business, he probably never had to develop much. His latest ploy is to drop his prices lower than mine. My husband and mentor says, just keep doing what I'm doing and ignore his type because there will always be someone like that......

I haven't been in business that long so maybe I'm naive but feel that there should be limits to how far another local candlemaker should go to come up with a good product. I found out a few months back that a competitor candle company in Connecticut purchased one of my Macintosh Apple candles, "dissected it", his words, and then revamped his whole line which now ironically looks alot like mine. Of course, alot of candle companies use mason jars so my point isn't about being unique. I just think it was sleazy for him to circumvent his testing by using someone else hard work.... Thoughts, am I being naive?? Anyone else have this happen with another company so close to yours? Last note, I think I would have respected this candlemaker more if he just asked me for some help.....like we all do here

She has the best customer service of any supplier I use and is a pleasure to deal with........

I received a sample and poured a couple of testers. Heated to about 190F, added FO and Dye and poured at about 170F. I did not preheat the jars as they recommend. Supposedly you can skip that step if you pour hotter. I used a 16oz mason and an 11oz tumbler. I dyed the mason with CS red dye chips to test for frosting. Both candles setup nicely....the tops were smooth with a little concave dip in the center. No cracks or sinkholes....It's pretty common for me to get a sinkhole near the wick with the 16oz masons using C3. As I poked around with a toothpick to check with air pockets in both candles, I was surprised at how dense the wax felt. So that seems like a good thing. However as they cooled and I saw the complete pull away thing, I'm not so sure I like that look. It doesn't look awful in the mason but in the tumbler, it gives it that strange curved bottom you get if you get a really big wet spot. For the heck of it, I heat gunned the top of the mason and the melted wax poured down the side of the glass in the air space that's shrunken away from the jar. Based on that I think a full MP is going to create a strange effect but I guess that will wait until I test burn. I'm wondering what kind of containers this wax is used in most often. I will report back once I test burn for HT. The CT is good.......oh, and so far no frosting in the red but we all know that can change at any time especially with temp fluctuations. I actually have it solved when I store them but have had a retail customers report frosting. He did admit his store temp fluctuates quite a bit between a/c on and off times. Pause... Have begun to test burn.....The HT is good. the mason jar wicking is about the same as it was with C3...would have to wickup in the tumbler but I've already decided I would not use this wax in the tumbler because of the complete pull away. However, it really does burn nice in the mason...the tops are also smooth after burning. The MP didn't run down the sides of the jar...the adhesion kind of comes and goes as it burns and warms up but it doesn't really look that much different than C3 with some wet spots. I just love that there's no sink hole. It also burns slower than C3 and the flame was nice. I'm going to make a few more candles in the mason with scents I know throw well and compare. Negative right now is Genwax is the only one carrying it and I'm in CT so that might be a problem.

They have been giving me 1 ounce samples to test.....there sales rep is really nice and very customer service oriented.....pm me if you want her contact info since I don't think it's appropriate to post in the forum Brenda

Thanks for the reply.....they actually contacted me because they belong to IGCA as I do. They are based out of NJ. They have a ton of scents and will also custom make. Initially I ruled them out because they had 10 lb minimums but when I found out it was actually 5lb, I thought I could probably do that with some scents. They mfg so their scents may very well be offered by some of the middle suppliers. I did receive a couple of samples...one Vanilla Cake Mix I burned today and it has a really good throw. I've requested a couple of more samples Patchouli and Henri Bendel Firewood which I'm very interested to get in wax and see how they perform. I did find one thread on the forum about them that was positive. I guess I will just continue to test scents to see how they perform. Brenda

Bumping up, no one??

I would love a copy as well if you could send to blt212@yahoo.com Thx Brenda

I'm thinking about trying some of their scents. Does anyone have feedback positive or negative. Thanks Brenda

There were some boxes that I had gotten that were really bad with the bubbles but I haven't gotten one in awhile. I did find that heating a bit higher helped as well as pouring really slow from the melter and from the pouring pots into the jars. I would also use my heat gun to heat the top of the wax in both the melter and pouring pots and it would remove the surface bubbles. I do not get frost on my undyed candles but just can't seem to make the switch to having everything undyed....when I see a Mac Apple candle, I want it to be red but that's me.....