Beverley

It is greasy but no more than a regular oil salt scrub....problem is that when I try to make it, it looks just like the base I purchased but doesn't rinse off the same. I swear they are putting a small amount of emulsifier in it even though there is none listed.... I will try it again asap and try a variety of emulsifiers and see what happens. I just didn't want to have to do that if possible...

That would be helpful..... unbiased information, like consumer reports for candle making!

I use photoshop CS3 for all of my design work but it's pricey....there are alot of graphics software programs out there (Walmart, officemax, staples) that are alot less expensive and offer some of the same features as the more expensive software programs.

Well, I specifically asked for strong fragrances and gave them some examples of brands of candles that I use regularly that have a great scent throw. They sent what I asked for.

Maybe you are right. All I know is that when I received several samples from the mfgr, they worked in every tester......

Look, I have the time as well as the resources to work on this alot! It's practically all I have been doing for the past several months. Just because I just started posting here doesn't mean that I am completely new to this. I mentioned in another thread that I got the help of a supplier/chandler in my area and it worked...... I don't understand why anyone has a problem with this???? I have a formula that works for me. I would be thrilled for anyone new here to have come up with a formula that works for them...... Did it ever occur to you that I just might have a candle that I'm happy with and managed to achieve that by asking questions, trying alot of products and not giving up? Why anyone has a problem with that is beyond me.....

I apologize if I came off less than tactful but I thought these boards were here to post our results using different methods, wicking, and fragrance oils as well.... I have found alot of good information here (um the purpose of the forum correct) as well as some not so useful information. I'm just trying to make candles. I have a certain standard that I aim to achieve and simply wasn't getting the results I wanted from the many suppliers I tried. I did however post my successful results on what I tried from a mfgr and got attacked for it by some. Am I not allowed to say that I am unhappy with certain suppliers or do I have to kiss somebody's a** to post here and be "allowed" to express my opinion? Why can't I just say what is working for me without all of this BS? I'm very happy for you that you like the FO's that you use..... and now I'm happy with mine too!

Got my FO!! Its really nice working with the mfgr on candle fO's! Was a blast going in a smelling a pile of fragrances. I will definitely be buying direct on all of the popular and specialty FO's I need.

Hi Leisa, Thanks for the response. however, it seems as if I need to be an active member for 6 months before I can post in a co-op. In the meantime, I am just going to get the FO's from the manufacturer that I need and maybe if people are still interested in the given amount of time I will post a co-op.

Well, I have used samples from CS (which had a nice Mistletoe) but the others I tried werent great - some were good but lacking the greatness in the HT that I am looking for and found recently with the samples I received from the mfgr. I had the same experiences with the other recommended suppliers that are constantly mentioned on this board. I won't mention all of their names.... I did get a couple good ones from Scented Nest though. Like I said in my original post, 90% of the FO's I tried from all suppliers combined were awful but I did get lucky with some of them. That said, I will more than likely continue to try oils from various manufacturers as I go along but will be purchasing the 5 needed for the collection I am releasing this spring direct from the local manufacturer. They have duplicated a few fragrances for me in the past for the body care line and since they are local (ie no shipping), I will most likely have them handle all of my future additions, duplications, etc...

Thanks! I tried reading all of this yesterday and couldn't get the link to pull up the info....

Vicky, This is what I get when I click all of the links that you supplied above.... "Beverley, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:"

Queen, I have an opinion. Is that okay?

Wow! Seems that some of you got a little worked up about the fact that I am doing well with this in my short time here. (looks like some of the posts have been removed).Here is a little history..... I have been working for years off and on to create "my" perfect candle and in the past 8 months or so I have worked on this almost daily going through several cases of wax, wicks and FO's from a multitude of re-sellers. In the meantime, I found a manufacturer of candles in my area that I was happy with and private label those. I am adding one or two of the candles that I make at a time in order to avoid having to purchase 80 Fo's at a time. So, it's with the private label candles that I am doing the fundraiser and parties with and now I am able to add a couple of my own to the mix and will keep building my inventory from there. [edit] Vicky, I might have known that I couldn't do a co-op had I been able to get the link to the rules page.... I emailed the administrator last night about not being able to pull up the page. I doubt I would have even given a co-op a thought in the first place had someone else not suggested it to me. Off to the FO mfgr!

Does anyone know how to formulate this so that it rinses off enough not to leave too much oil on the skin? I have tried to re-create this formula for butter scrub that doesn't contain any e-wax for a very long time. I just can't seem to get it right. The product is a thick butter scrub that has a soft cookie dough consistency when I bought it. Light and fluffy! Any advice on formulating this would be appreciated!! Thanks! Sodium Chloride (Sea Salt), Butyrospermun parkii (Shea) Butter, Prunus dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Soya max Oil / Aloe barbadensis Leaf Extract (Aloe Oil), Limnanthes alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Persea gratissima (Avocado) Butter, Garcinia indica (Kokum) Butter, Mangifera indica (Mango) Butter, Cocos nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Sucrose (Turbinado Raw Sugar), Cannabis sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil, Rosa mosqueta (Rosehip) Oil, Oenothers biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Aleurites moluccana (Kukui Nut) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Oleoresin, Azadirachta indica (Neem) Oil.

Does anyone know how to formulate this so that it rinses off enough not to leave too much oil on the skin? I have tried to re-create this formula for butter scrub that doesn't contain any e-wax for a very long time. I just can't seem to get it right. The product is a thick butter scrub that has a soft cookie dough consistency when I bought it. Light and fluffy! Any advice on formulating this would be appreciated!! Thanks! Sodium Chloride (Sea Salt), Butyrospermun parkii (Shea) Butter, Prunus dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Soya max Oil / Aloe barbadensis Leaf Extract (Aloe Oil), Limnanthes alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) Butter, Persea gratissima (Avocado) Butter, Garcinia indica (Kokum) Butter, Mangifera indica (Mango) Butter, Cocos nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Sucrose (Turbinado Raw Sugar), Cannabis sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil, Rosa mosqueta (Rosehip) Oil, Oenothers biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Aleurites moluccana (Kukui Nut) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Oleoresin, Azadirachta indica (Neem) Oil.

I went to synergy, Aroma Creations, Aroma Tech, Alpha etc.... I am going to stick with Alpha as they are 45 minutes away and I have worked with them before on my bodycare product line.

I recently ordered fragrance samples straight from a few different manufacturers rather than through a supplier and this is what I found..... Every one of them performed like the luxury brands. I have ordered roughly 30 fragrance samples from re-sellers in the past 6 months and tested each. I am disappointed to say that 90% of them didn't perform well at all. Either the scent throw was crap or my candle burned all wonky. Interesting how when I test straight from mfgr., everything seems to work out just fine in all areas. I can actually say that I am getting the same scent throw now as the big luxury brands as well as a clean burning candle. Shout out to all the re-sellers of fragrance.....please stop diluting your fragrance oils! I know you say you don't, but I can say from my comparisons that is a downright lie! I just may get into the fragrance business and finally offer a quality product and reasonable minimum orders......

Nevermind.....Figured it out.

Does anyone out there know of a fragrance supplier that goes by the name or has gone by the name Merrimac's? I'm unsure if that is spelled correctly. If anyone knows of this supplier, I would be grateful for any information! Thanks and Happy Holidays all

BTW, just checked and you are right..... Yankee doesn't make 100,000 candles a day. It's approx 270,000 per day. "Today, the original one-man operation employs 3,500 people — 1,000 in its supply chain alone — and produces 100 million candles a year out of a 294,000 square-foot facility in South Deerfield, Mass. Its 160 different scented candles are sold in more than 260 retail shops and 14,000 wholesale locations throughout the country, as well as through direct mail catalogs, its Web site, inter-national distributors, and a distribution center in the United Kingdom."

I didn't know they were here! They are called Early American Candle located in Pittsburgh. I only found them when searching for some Libby glass that I am using. As for the "BS" response, they do put out about 100,000 candles a day (they have contracts with Walmart and other large retailers as well as some smaller companies) they have their wax trucked in daily in heated tankers and have one of those automated systems that mass produces everything. However, they have a very nice selection of supplies for small time chandlers like me! They carry French Color and Chem FO's (and he actually lists the FO# on the bottle of those FO's so if you get big, you can order that same exact FO from the mfgr.) He was a huge help to me. Told me the exact wick I needed to use with the wax I am testing and YES, it worked out!

Thanks coconut. I went to a local supplier today and spoke with the owner. He was a wealth of information so I am now testing a new container wax and wicks this evening. It was nice to meet someone who was really willing to help! This from a company that makes over 100,000 candles a day! Good to have someone like that handy to chat with...

Thanks for your response! I haven't yet purchased any of the WYW fragrances but want to give some "higher end" Fo's a shot and see if they are worth the cost. I did buy some fragrance from French Color and Fragrance and tossed it into some wax earlier. I won't test burn till tomorrow evening. Has anyone used The French Color and Fragrance FO's?

Thanks so very much for all of your input Tootie! I am heading out now to the supplier here in Pittsburgh to grab some wicks, fragrances and some more wax to play with. I will post my results sometime tomorrow. Thanks again! I feel a newfound sense of confidence!