GailC

Well the Autumn Lodge is interesting. I didn't think I was going to like it at all when I poured the candles, but it didn't smell bad when burning. My daughter loves it. You can definitely smell the tobacco. Kind of a cozy smell, and different, but there are many more I like better. But to each, her own. A new customer asked me today if I carried Patchouli, Sandlewood, or Nap Champa...no, no, and no. Or rose......NO! I love real roses' smell, but nothing else that smells like roses. A friend of mine mentioned sandlewood, and I recently saw a sandlewood candle at a shop so I sniffed it. Ewwwww. But see, that's just me.

Oh wow, what a find! Congratulations! I just asked the same question the other day, since some of my FO's are 5 years old now. The consensus was that as long as they still smelled good, they should be all right. Some had FO's a few years older than mine.

I thought I would be content with the suppliers I've used these past few years, but in 2014 I have added Aztec Candles and now Cierra Candles. For one thing, the customer service at Cierra is awesome! I emailed her to ask if she knew if Midnight Jasmine was close to YC's Midnight Jasmine because I had a special request for it. Kimberly actually drove to a Yankee Candle store to compare the two. Although the store didn't carry that fragrance, I thought that was above and beyond customer service. She did give me some information about the scent they carried, how it was a popular fragrance for her customers who liked florals. For another thing, I ordered in the middle of the day sometime, and my order was shipped that same day. Free shipping too, with $100 order. Here are the fragrances I got. Midnight Jasmine - I don't usually care for florals but this one I like. I'm not good at describing scents, I just know when I like them. Very nice. Twilight Woods (BBW type) - I did a survey on Facebook before I ordered, asked my fb friends which ones they liked from Cierra's designer fragrances, and this one won. Once I smelled it, I could see why. It smells wonderful! Home Sweet Home (YC type) - My kind of FO....love it. Autumn Lodge (Yc type) - This one has a smokey smell, which I've never used before, so I'm anxious to see how it smells burning. "A nostalgic blend of country woods and spices, a warm cozy fireplace, and Grandpa's pipe. This fragrance always reminds us of smoky flannel, wrapped in warmth." Sea Island Cotton (BBW) - This one smells the lightest OOB to me. But it is a clean, nice fragrance Butterscotch Brulee - Yum!! Buttery, butterscotchy...kind of like a Butter Rum Lifesavers tastes. Blueberry Cobbler - One of their best sellers, and I can see why. Two great reviews on the site. Lily of the Valley - I was intrigued by this fragrance. Not many suppliers carry it that I have seen, so I got a one oz sample. It does smell like the flower to me, and I'm sure it will smell nice in soap.

Oh, well then, it will probably languish on the back of my shelf awhile longer then. I got Pear Spice and Spiced Plum from her. I wasn't crazy about the spiced plum, but my cousin loved and requested a candle made with it.

Sensory adaption, who knew? Makes a lot of sense though. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? http://www.candletech.com/candle-making/tips-and-tricks/comparing-scent-throw/

I have VBN from Indiana Candle Supply, and it is very good in my opinion.

Old Glory, I went to Home Depot and checked out some jar candles. I think they were 10 oz. for $11.99. Anyway, all of them had wet spots and two out of the three I took the lids off of had off center wicks. Brother! You'd think a candle factory would have a way to get the wicks centered.

Well, it's Pear Spice and it DOES smell good. It's been languishing in the back of my cabinet for a few years now.

I didn't know Bert's Spiced Pear was so popular. I still have some. Guess I should dig it out and use it!

I'll have to check out those candles at Walmart. I just realized I can't edit a post once I've posted it. Bummer. Because I misspelled 'they're' somehow, and that drives me nuts too. You know, like when someone uses the wrong form of there, their, or they're. Or loose and lose. Or your and you're.

A new customer wanted two fruit candles. Well, I wanted them to look nice for her. The first batch of Apple Berry is the one I was talking about with the wet spots. So I made another batch of Blueberry that came out nice. I think zapping the jars with a heat gun works. I took 2 of each scent of candle for her to smell and showed her the wet spot on one. She said she wouldn't have even noticed. So maybe customers aren't as picky as we are. ( She wound up picking one of each fragrance, wet spots and all. ) I think it's like crocheting. I'm making a baby afghan and I'm pretty sure I messed up on a round somewhere, which drives me nuts. But I know when I give it to my granddaughter for her baby, she sure won't notice any mistakes. (But I'll always know it's there.) I made a batch of undyed candles yesterday and forgot all about warming the jars first. Guess what, wet spots...but there kind of swirly, so it's all good. I guess I figured I didn't have to worry about smooth tops since I wasn't using dye, and forgot to worry about wet spots.

That's good to hear Belinda. I placed my order yesterday. The FO's I ordered were Midnight Jasmine, Twilight Woods (BBW dupe), Sea Island Cotton (BBW dupe), Butterscotch Brulee, Home Sweet Home (YC dupe), Autumn Lodge, Blueberry Cobbler, and a 1 oz sample of Lily of the Valley. Also order a few labels, dye, etc, and got the free shipping with $100 order. Yay!! I listed a few fragrances on my facebook page and got some input on what my fb friends liked before I ordered. Twilight Woods was popular. Oh, ordered yesterday and it was shipped yesterday. Wow!

Well, now that I bragged on my nice candles, the next batch will probably have wet spots. I use GW444. So it also makes a different where you pour the wax? I don't have much of a choice with my jars because the opening is small. I try to pour slow, because I read that somewhere too...but don't really concentrate on that part much. Thanks for your reply.

Is that bad? Since I made the switch from plain white soy candles in cups and mugs you can't see through, to dyed soy candles in clear jars, I've been agonizing over wet spots, and bad tops with craters around the wick. I made a small batch of candles this week that were really bad with wet spots. I couldn't stand it. I tried a couple of remedies like using a heat gun on the jar, that fixed the wet spot but created frosting. I've been reading and researching all over, about warming jars, wiping the jars out with windex or washing them, pouring cooler, pouring hotter, putting candles in a box to cool, or just living with wet spots. The craters I think I've figured out, just pour the candles (I pour really cool), saving enough room in the jar to pour a little more wax on top. That worked great today. Anyway, I saw some soy candles today that were made by an individual, and examined them. Nice jars, nice labels, but there were wet spots and frosting galore. One candle even had a crack all the way down the side. I didn't take the lids off the check the tops. I also saw a candle made by a company, and it had wet spots too. So you all are right. Wet spots are hard to avoid sometimes. That being said, I took some advice I read here and wiped my jars out with windex, Then zapped them with a heat gun just before pouring, So far, they look wonderful. Nice tops and no wet spots (yet). Yay!!! Of course, it could be because I used a different FO or different dye or who knows what else, but right now, I'm a happy camper.

So nice of you to offer, but I think for now, if I order any pumpkin, it will be Harvest Pumpkin. I searched Cierra on this forum and that one came up a lot.

Thanks for your reply. I'm still debating. I've heard so many good comments about Pumpkin cornbread FO, but the combination just doesn't sound good to me. Right now they have a small percentage off your order promo...(not sure if I can say that here, but there are no sales listed in the sales thread.) The Candlemaker's Store has the YC type Midnight Jasmine, but I JUST received another order from them this week, and would like to order from someone else for a change. Glad to hear good things about this company.

I just found Midnight Jasmine at New Directions, but there is a $100 minimum order. Has anyone tried this one?

One of my friends wondered if I had a dupe of Yankee Candles Midnight Jasmine. The only one I found was Cierra Candles'. Does anyone know if it smells like YC? Also, if I do order it, you know I have to order more than one FO to make the shipping worth it. Do you have any recommendations?

Whew! Thanks! That takes the pressure off. I have a few years left to use up those FO's from Heaven Scent. (I miss that supplier. Good FO's at good prices and from good old Indiana.)

I started making candles in 2009 and still have a few bottles of FO I bought that first year or thereabouts. Plus I bought some from an individual and have no idea how old they were when I bought them. I was going through my cabinet and smelling some of the old stuff. It still seems fine to me. I have one bottle with some 'sludge' looking stuff at the bottom which I'll probably never use, except maybe for myself. Just wondering if you use FO's that are a few years old. If I could quit buying new fragrances, I'd have to get to the old stuff sooner or later, but we all know how that goes.

I guess there are worse things to be addicted to. It helps to know that I am not alone. Thanks!

I was just thinking about that...single note scents. I was browsing over at the Candlemaker's Store with his 1000's of FO's and wondering, just what does Cornucopia smell like? Or Autumn Lodge, or any number of other scents. There are no scent descriptions at TCS, but customers don't have scent descriptions either. So maybe they are asking for a single note fragrance because they have an idea what it will smell like. I have had requests for Gardenia, Cinnamon, Lavender and Lilac lately. My latest request was a little more vague, something fruity. But people will always want Apple and Pumpkin Pie, I'm pretty sure.