jeanie353

I use Eco's but did read recently where another person who uses them has very good luck with LX. My container wax is CBL130 with the Ecos but it does have some soy in it. If you prefer to not use soy, the 125 is strictly paraffin for containers and tea lights. Or if you like a wax that pulls away from the jar the 129 can do triple duty for containers/tarts/votives. They have a little video clip on the site about that. I use the 125 for tea lights and mixing in with my votive and tart wax.

Sometimes I feel like I am a self proclaimed sales person for them. I would suggest as the others did to definitely begin with a slab of the ones you are debating between. What I personally can tell you is I have used CBL130, CBL129, CBL125 and CBL141. I am so pleased with them I do pay extra for shipping from PA to WI. Each to their own...some have patience and work with a wax until they get it dialed in... they can get from a local supplier to save shipping and some do as I do and pay extra to get what worked from from the onset without having to try to find that patience I seem to keep losing. As one poster mentioned...each have their own specific characteristics. My opinion....is that all four have fantastic scent throw and wick easily. I had tested wax after wax for almost 2 years before I stumbled upon these blends. My search is over...finally. However, I will admit....being the addict I am...that I do still play around with some other blends when I am bored or get a whim. HTH and GL to you

Oh wow...losing $200 in raw materials? I thought candle making was an expensive hobby and soaping would be easier on the pocketbook. Do I ever have a lot to learn yet! I'm still reading and researching. I am following the thread 70%CCO 30% Shea Butter. It seems to be an easy recipe and the comments/questions are many that I have wondered about such as adding milk and when, to gel or not to gel and stuff like that. I tried the soap calc at a site with this recipe and I can't even figure out how to use that yet. I've got more to learn before I make a batch but the worst part of working with the lye has been taken care of since I have someone who offered to do that for me. After a time or two I'm sure I will be comfortable doing it myself. The cheapie wood mold I bought is a 2-3 lb size. I will stay with that until I am comfortable making easier batches but after that I'd really like to get one that doesn't need to be lined. In the meantime, it will give me time to save up for it

I think because it says your package was accepted on October 6th means the company you purchased it from did actually ship it. It might be a shipping issue and have to be taken up with them rather than PayPal but it wouldn't hurt to ask PayPal anyway. I've had fake DHL delivery tracking numbers given to me for items (not candle related) by sellers from other countries. DHL is actually USPS once it hits customs or something like that. Anyway, PayPal has been beyond great in getting my money back to me in a short time when it is an obvious rip off....like where it shows the package never actually being accepted but only says the sender has notified the US Postal Service to expect the package and the package not arriving in a past reasonable amount of time or USPS never showing anything from the sender telling them to expect the package. What I've done when it happened is open the PayPal dispute and go straight to the next step to escalate it. I believe you have had to have tried communicating with the seller to go to immediate escalation..which you did. I also called PayPal each time and have had my money refunded back to my PP account within a week. They are one of the few I've found where it is not a run around to try to talk to a human. Hope it all works out for you.

I have a success story that doesn't pertain to money yet to me it is a success. A car accident caused me to stop working many years ago. I was not devastated because of the loss of car, the injuries but I was because I was no longer able to work. I loved working, it gave me a purpose and I felt I no longer had one. A few years later I began playing around with making candles. Soon it became a serious hobby/little business for me. I don't make much - if any - profit yet. What is so very important to me is I am a success because I now have a purpose and a goal even tho' I may never reach it, I won't stop trying. noname...I understand your OP was about making money from candle making but you did use the word success and I define that in many different ways.

I am assuming the SC above means "super concentrates" but I can't figure out what ST is... Yes and ST was scent throw. I could be wrong, but I think you may be confusing yourself and your results. Until one can get a consistent burn and HT from "normal" FOs, throwing concentrated FOs into the mix will only confuse the issue. My advice is to get the wicking down FIRST on EACH container you plan to sell before jumping all around on the FOs strengths. I was using only regular (not sure I like that word but for lack of thinking of something better at the moment.......) scents from the suppliers so many of us use (which are good..no disputing that) until I found one who specified all their scents were SC's where less was needed to achieve the same or better ST than "regular" scents. I thought ok...I'll give it a try with a few samples. That went great so I ordered more samples and that went great. After that I just moved on to 8oz bottles and lb bottles since there was no disputing the claim was backed up. They just don't carry a ton of scents to choose from so at this time of year (and when I get a whim) I'll order from my other favorite places. The other one did not back up their claim...at least not in my wax and the 3rd one appears to going to back theirs up as well. The 3rd one does not say use .5 oz pp except in paraffin and says use 1 oz in soy but say they are VERY strong. I am finding that to be true. Since I use a parasoy blend I went with .75 and I am extremely pleased with the throw with some of my wicks during this testing thing. Sooo, I think I should correct myself from earlier when I think I stated I tried 3 places that say they use SC's and only .5 oz is needed. Only one says that across the board where the other says it for paraffin. However, that one does produce some kick butt fragrance oils. At .75 oz pp, I am not saving much money - if any but the quality is there. The other where I use .5 oz/pp I am actually saving money along with a darn nice throwing candle. Did any of that makes sense...? It is past my nap time and have no coffee in hand.

On the ones I use they put the recommended usage on the label and highly suggest not to go over that amount. It was very hard for me not to pour the usual 1.0 oz/pp but got used to it. They do throw awesome at .50-.75%. I honestly have to say they do truly smell TWICE as strong as most I have purchased from the well known suppliers that call for 1 oz pp. The couple that didn't throw for me wouldn't even throw adding 1.0 oz. They seemed to just not like my wax, I guess. I am not downing other suppliers by any means and I do use them...I am saying at the rate suggested to use on the super concentrates vs the rate suggested to use on "regular" scents, the SC's are stronger on those I was able to get to throw for me with one supplier for sure and looks to be another one I am testing now. I use other suppliers but need to use anywhere from 1.0 to 1.5 to get a somewhat comparable throw unless we are talking pine or something that throws crazy strong from many, many places. I was skeptical as well when I first went that route but I really can attest that they do work at half the amount..or 3/4. Here comes the but....I recently ordered 2 scents I needed from a supplier I had not ordered from before. They were said to be very concentrated, the reviews on them were great and I got next to nothing...ended up using both 8 oz bottles for tons of tarts. I just ordered from a 3rd place who also has very concentrated scents. I ordered 3 scents I needed for the upcoming seasons not in my main line. These are the ones I posted about earlier that aren't behaving themselves in wicking......or it could be the new jars. Jury is out on that one. I used .5 oz on both can get a wonderful ST with some wicks but cannot get the MP. If I get the MP, I can't get the throw but that is another discussion at another post As always in candlemaking....what works for one may not work for the next. What one prefers, the other may not. I must admit tho' I do like the challenge in this hobby/business. Well, most days. I also believe/found out not all fragrances labeled as super concentrates are created equal. It definitely is not a straight across the board thing for me to suggest...hey go out and buy these b/c they work better. Nope..not at all. I have not used WYW to offer an opinion even tho' BCN is right here in my state.

I don't have much to offer on the wick except I have found it can make a difference but only on a candle already throwing. Changing the wick can sometimes help it throw better. More on topic for your dilemma possibly....What I have found on the super concentrated fragrance oils, which is about 85% of my line....that even tho' they are so very concentrated not every one will throw great in my wax. Like 90% do but I have run across those few that do not. At the same time, I've read rave reviews of others having great success on the same oils that wouldn't throw for me. GL with your mission

It is a para/soy blend with what I think is more paraffin than soy. The supplier doesn't give the ratios but it is pretty obvious it burns more like paraffin but looks more like soy just not as much of a deep creamy look. That is why I thought I'd only be going up one wick size. If I was dealing with soy I'd have to double wick. I did have pretty good luck on one test with a 60c but it was a tad too big. I don't have a 51c. The CD 20 didn't work out...very little throw. I may have gotten a full mp but the throw was lacking compared to some others so I pulled it fairly early. I only have a CDN 14 here but a bunch of CSN's I hadn't thought of trying. Dbl wicking with RRD 34 was way too much. My RRD 29's are short little guys so that is out. I'm thinking of trying a zinc even tho' I am not fond of those...jmo...I know others love them. I am beginning to think this has to do with the fragrance oil more than the jar...possibly only b/c of the wax type being more paraffin. It is a super concentrate and those always cause me to wick up from regular scents. Just may be it is such a wicker-upper that it is going to wick as a soy. Thanks Stella...I know to just keep going by trial and error but thought I'd toss it up on a post just to see if anyone wanted to share any thoughts. Test, test, test...I will be doing until I get it. I'm going to try a 44c to see if it gets sorta near the 1" per hour thing and if so then I'll order some 51c's. The throw isn't too bad at all on the cotton wicks...enough that is worth purchasing them if seems they may work. I also have some flat braid wicks here I may be forced to try. Never used them...don't even know why I have them actually. Have a nice week

So midstream, I decided I'd use a different apothecary jar. I know...I know..bad move. They are from CS and not only do I really like them but they are much less expensive than the ones I was using. The ones I was using were 16oz apothecary but did not reach the dreaded 4" size (they were about 3 1/2 - 3 3/8). So I'm all set to go up one wick size and move along with some quick testing and on to production. Wrong! I went up one size in my normal wicks (Eco) and it isn't working. They are tunneling. Went up 2 sizes and have too fast a burn. Wait...I need to explain further.....On regular scents maxed out, that are not super concentrated, I can go up the one size and they are perfect. It is on my super concentrates I am having troubles. Is there anyone who uses CBL130 with 4" apothecary jars who would like to give up their wicking secret? I've tried LX...cannot get a full MP without torches, HTP won't give a decent ST so I pulled those out b4 finding out if they would give a full MP, RRD won't single wick without torching either. I have a CD 20 in one now to see how that does. I thought on para/soy blends we wouldn't have to double wick even with the super concentrates. I may have to go back to the other jars if I can't figure this out soon and time is a wasting with Fall here. TIA Jeanne

Have you considered entering these in the contest Peak is holding? I think you would win. They are gorgeous.....nothing like I've ever seen before.

Maggie....I'd never thought to try LX for either 130 or Palm. I'm going to play around with them off and on to see if I can get a better HT. I'm not complaining by any means but if I can get a little more out of a candle...I'd like that When you use them in your palm pillars do you have to twist them? I've used them over the years and while I love the wick itself, I found they tended to burn kinda sideways. Maybe it was just my wax in my containers at the time. I'm using CSN now on the palm pillars but I have a ton of LX wicks here so would like to give them a try. Thanks for putting that info up and sorry to butt into your conversation with njcandle.

What I found is I had to go down from CW's sizing for ECO's. Might be my oils, jars or might be the wicking chart. My 16 oz apoth. with a 3-5/8" opening are usually taking an ECO 10....sometimes an 8. With the ECO 8's they started out looking like they might be under wicked but as burning time went on that was not the case. But... if the 1" per hour rule was not done...an 8 would tunnel on my particular jars. I've tried using a 12 which is the size CW recommends for this size jar but they did not work for me. I have some new 16 oz apothecary jars coming from CS that I'll be using from here on out b/c I saved a lot of money over the supplier I was using. The measurements on these are a bit larger than the ones I've been using. I'll let you know if I find I have to go up to a 12 on these. I'll know that by like mid next week or so. I also found I could not use RRD wicks which is what they list as a first suggestion in my jars. They torched on me. This wax wicked quicker....way quicker than any other I've tried even with the variation in the ECO 8-10 on these jars. Also, my testers and buyers have said they "love" how my candles burn so I think it is a good combo. Good luck. That is the only wax I use so I'd be happy to help if you have any questions.

Oh sure, I think those will single wick for you.....Could try an ECO. I used those in 415 several years back and liked them. I was using 16 oz small mouth mason jars. I don't remember the width of the main part of that jar. I've always wicked for the lower part and a 14 was good. The opening was like 2-3/8 or something along those lines.

Guinevere's Attraction is one that is calling me. It sounds really, really nice. I did eye up sugar cookie royale b/c I don't have a sugar cookie yet. So far, I have not found one that was just a bit different than the crowd and threw well. I haven't tried CW sugared vanilla shortbread. I usually try a couple of their extreme ones when I order my wax. I also want one peppermint as a staple for mixing or whatever..... like sugar cookie is a staple type thing. The ones I have now are too frosty for mixers. Moonworks says it has a bit of sweet to theirs.

Autumn Embers didn't call out to me from the description. I'll go read it again. Maybe it is one of those where it is totally different once it is in wax or than it sounds. I don't want to miss a winner Are you familiar with CC oils? Her Fallen Leaf reminds me of that type thing. I read the description and it didn't strike me as too much exciting. So I only bought 2 oz to try it out as a possibility to have in my line and wow....I was pleasantly surprised....actually I like it very much.

Candlewic has wick recommendations for their blends. This one suggests RRD, ECO, HTP and I forgot after that. I do use Eco's solely with it and am very pleased with the performance. HTH

It's that obvious huh? I'm cleaning out all my other fragrances including doubles so I can get down to about 8ish or so really good ones in my line. I keep reading her descriptions, leave, go back and then I see "sold out". So I thought I'd put up a post to see what others say. I came up empty on The Fragrance Review Forum site. Thanks for the input.

I've visited the site often. The fragrance oils sound fantastic and very concentrated. Just wondering if anyone has tried them. TIA Jeanne

lol....I did not know I was in gel .......... And now I'll be on my way to the fragrance forum........... Oh, and thanks Bernadette for letting me know

I wonder what the one reviewer meant on this one. She gave it 3 stars saying she purchased the EC. I could see her meaning XC for XC Extreme unless her EC actually means SOS for economy = EC. Did that make sense?

general.....I stopped gel a few years back.

Thank you....I am cleaning out my fragrance cabinet with plans to cut my line back to 8 or so fragrances. I don't think my small (just getting re-started) business, the Wisconsin economy or my budget can justify a large offering of fragrances right now.

I've visited the site often. The fragrance oils sound fantastic and very concentrated. Just wondering if anyone has tried them. TIA Jeanne