Looking for ideas for a good foresty woodsy blend..

[Candybee]

I want to make my own Christmas tree, alpine, woods, and forest type blends.  I just got some fir needle but it only started me to wanting more evergeen type EOs to blend into the basic scents I mentioned above.

 

So if you wanted to make these type blends what EOs should I get? Any basic blends you feel like sharing I would also love to know. Thanks!

[moonshine]

Cypress for sure

Maybe spruce and scotch pine- I never used them but it could be worth looking into for blending

Black Pepper and juniper berry could be real good in a blend like this

Cedar wood and sandalwood would be good choices also

[Candybee]

The spruce, juniper berry, and scotch pine sound like good ideas. Will have to look around to see who has them. Is there a balsam EO? Would love that. Here in Virginia there is red cedar that smells heavenly! Don't suppose there is an EO of that thou. I have black pepper. Never thought of using it with evergreens.

 

I've got cedar but it fades in CP. Sandalwood is just way out of my price range. Can you imagine what I would have to charge my customers for a bar of soap? Eeek!! I do have Peaks Asian Sandalwood I use for a sandalwood in CP. It sticks pretty good with minor fading and blends well with EOs.

[moonshine]

I do think there is a balsam EO - seems I came Across it before

I know sandalwood is crazy along with rose- I buy the absolute and even then it's crazy!

Not sure about a red cedar but maybe in FO

Mointain rose herbs has a amyris that sounds heavenly and it has balsam in it:

PARTS USED

Seasoned wood

NOTE CLASSIFICATION

Base

AROMA

Soft, woody, warm, musty

TRADITIONAL USE

Local fisherman and traders call it “candlewood” because of its high oil content and common use as a torch.

PROPERTIES

Antiseptic, emollient, sedative

BLENDS WELL WITH

Cedarwood, citronella, ginger, ho wood, lavender, oakmoss, peru balsam, ylang ylang

OF INTEREST

Also known as West Indian Sandalwood. It has been used as a cheap substitute for East Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album). However they have different aromas and viscosities.

[moonshine]

Mointain rose also has the balsam and spruce and juniper berry

Their quality is very good

[Candybee]

Thanks for the tips! I have some amyris. It has a woody note and I've used it before in a vanilla woods blend. It turned out nice even thou the cedar eventually faded out.

 

You mentioned peru balsam.. wonder what that is like?

[moonshine]

I'm not sure but I think I may place a small order and add it- I love their perfume blends and insence if they still carry it

I would like to try adding a little of the balsam to cracklin birch and see what I get....I need a balanced woodsy pine for my line - or even adding it to oakmoss or Under the tree I just got from TC

[iansmommaya]

There is a balsam E.O., I really like it mine is very foresty. I love fir esp. silver fir in a forest blend.

[Candybee]

Oh those sound great. Do you mind sharing where you get them from?

[iansmommaya]

The fir I got from a woman of uncommon scent but her website is down right now.

[topofmurrayhill]

How are you doing with this? I need a forest blend too and have a potentially useful set of EOs, including earthy base notes like cedar and amyris.

Nevertheless I'm feeling uncertain and would be grateful for any inspiration. I want a fragrance that clearly evokes the woods and comes through in the soap. Juniper smells pretty strong, but cypress and scotch pine maybe not so much, and in EO form I'm not sure these fragrances would be as familiar and evocative to people as I imagined.

COPA soaps has an EO scented bar called forest and it's one of the ones that will strongly perfume your bathroom. Whatever they are using is not subtle. It seems to have a camphorous and rosemary-like quality that actually evokes an evergreen forest maybe more than my actual evergreen EOs do.

<scratching head>

Edited May 8, 2015 by topofmurrayhill

[Candybee]

Sadly, I have not been able to buy any new EOs lately as any extra money has to go to current product and not anything new to experiment with.

 

But with what I have I made a lovely foresty type fragrance for some soap I am working on.

 

I used a men's FO blend and added some fir needle and eucalyptus EOs. I had tried it before without the eucalyptus and not enough fir needle. So next I doubled the fir needle and added one part eucalyptus. The eucalyptus really blended nicely with the fir needle. Can't wait to try out some more evergreen and wood EO combos. Eventually I want some strictly EO blends without FOs in them.

 

Not everyone likes eucalyptus but to me it has just the right camphor note and anchor effect to make a forest type blend pop.

[topofmurrayhill]

I think we might be trying similar things. You're tying it together with euca and I'm going with the rosemary idea. The EOs you would associate with the forest are kind of subtle and complex -- more so than I expected -- so it seems to need something simple and strong to give it some backbone. I'm interested to see what actually sticks in the soap.

On a more general note, I'm starting to understand that the soaps my friend showed me are fragranced with a limited number of EOs and straightforward blends that come through strong in CP. It's a good strategy. I'm starting to pay attention to what smells strong and true and has a really good cold throw. Like lemongrass.

Some that are probably very nice in other products seem to get a little muddled in soap.

Have I mentioned that you should get yourself some rosewood? ;-)

[Candybee]

EOs like eucalyptus and rosemary are both great stickers in CP. So much so you have to use sparingly or they can overwhelm your other notes.

 

I agree some of the best EO blends I have used are with only 2-3 oils. But the smaller blends are usually made with stronger EOs that stick well in CP.

 

Just wanted to add the eucalyptus I used was the globulus from SMR. I also have the radiata I use for a particular soap. To my nose the globulus seems stronger and more potent. I am not familiar enough with the radiata yet to know the note differences quite yet.

 

Yes you mentioned the rosewood. On my list.

[Crafty1_AJ]

It may sound counterintuitive, but I add a little 5x sweet orange to my foresty eo blends.  It adds a bit of freshness and sweetness without dominating the mix.

[topofmurrayhill]

It may sound counterintuitive, but I add a little 5x sweet orange to my foresty eo blends.  It adds a bit of freshness and sweetness without dominating the mix.

That doesn't sound strange at all AJ. I figured I would probably want a little something that isn't camphorous or green or earthy to round it out. The main reason it would probably not occur to me to use orange is that it seems kind of weak and fleeting in soap. I'm no EO expert, but between Candybee and my own initial impressions, I kind of wrote it off. Is orange EO working for you in CP?

[Candybee]

My favorite forest pine scent has berry notes in it. So orange makes sense to  me. I think a citrusy or acidic sweetness would help round out a softer forest pine scent.

 

Top-- you gotta try the orange 10x. Totally worth it IMO. BB and The Chemistry Store both carry it. I got the one from the Chemistry Store. After using it the orange fades a bit at first but not totally. Then it comes back after a good cure and to my nose has been getting stronger as it cures. I also anchored it with a little litsea so that may be why.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Oops, I meant 10x as well.  LOL  That's what I use.  My 5x is another e.o.  *smacks forehead*