Chariste Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 I am 6 months into candle making and have my first shows coming up in Nov. I haven't had many sales on my line but my wholesale efforts are selling well to great reviews. All to say that I have several spring/summer oils stocked in a cabinet and have been driving myself crazy trying to buy just enough fall/holiday oils for the candles I hope to sell. It occurred to me that the process would be much less stressful if I knew how long the FOs could be stored in a cool, dark place. Basically, will they be fine come the start of the next season? And what about finished candles? If properly stored, would/do you unpack, maybe burn one to test, then offer candles that were poured last season? Do you have a timeframe after which you consider or know that FOs or candles have "expired?" Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 First, I'd like to offer ... there's no need to be stressed about this at all. If your scents arrived to you in soft plastic, I would transfer them to glass, amber glass is best. They can keep for ages that way. If they are in the rigid type of amber plastic, that can serve well too, but glass is better. You can purchase amber glass bottles, or use dry brown glass from certain liquors, or even clear ones if you store them as you've mentioned. My personal belief, which is probably correct, is that glass storage is key to keeping & storing scents. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 I would check with your supplier on the oils because the shelf life can vary greatly. Some last a few years, some last only a few months, Also, your nose will tell you when an oil has gone bad. As for candles, as long as the container they are in (or if it's a pillar, not too dusty) and the label that is on them is still good, and they were made correctly, they should last basically forever. In fact I'm burning a pillar today that I made about 9 years ago. Smells great, and with the exception of being a little dusty before I cleaned it, it looked great too. It's always good to test periodically. A candle that is a few months-years old will definitely burn a little bit different than a candle that is only a few weeks old. Not so significantly that it shouldn't burn nice, but it's just another safeguard you can give yourself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 I'm bad and I keep my fo in the plastic bottles most of the time. I do store my bottles in a plastic tub and the tubs are kept inside a closed cabinet in a cool room. I have some fo that is 6 yrs or more old and still good and like Jcandle said some goes bad way more quickly. I make sure I smell anything I didn't purchase very recently each time I use it, and sniff coffee beans in between if doing more than 1. I've only had a handful go bad in all my years and mostly vanilla based but I also had Rootbeer go foul on me and I'm not sure there is any vanilla in that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonstar Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Interesting that some FO's go "bad" more quickly that others. Jcandleattic + kandlekrazy based on your experience which FO's go quicker ? I know with Eo's Ive found that citrus seems to loose its potency + starts smelling, well, not as great as when it arrived. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 12 minutes ago, Moonstar said: Interesting that some FO's go "bad" more quickly that others. Jcandleattic + kandlekrazy based on your experience which FO's go quicker ? I know with Eo's Ive found that citrus seems to loose its potency + starts smelling, well, not as great as when it arrived. Hard to say for me. I've only had 2 FO's go bad on me and that's because I didn't use them in over 13 years. LOL One was a pumpkin scent, and I can't remember what the other one was. I also keep them in the bottles they were shipped in. I rarely switch bottles. Really the only time I've ever done that was when the plastic ones got brittle and sprung a leak, or were more likely to do that. Then I'll switch them. Otherwise, I just leave them be. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 It has been less than one year when I received a couple of bottles which I left in the hard plastic brown containers they arrived in. A couple of months ago, I started to notice that things were smelling awfully nice in that closet, which should really not be the case with everything sealed up -- so I checked the plastic bottles -- those two scents were dissolving the plastic. Many types of ingredients are best stored in glass, I guess these two fit that description! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariste Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 Thanks so much all, I appreciate you sharing your expertise. I am serious in moving ahead in this business but also trying to be cost conscious! You are so right, birdcharm, never once has worry or stress improved a situation. Lol Jcandleattic and kandlekrazy thanks for setting my mind at ease. I don't have a problem with investing in this but wondering about things going bad had me concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 @Moonstar I notice vanillas seem to "go off" quickly in my collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisS Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I moved to AZ in 2006. I ran out of the old tarts I made about a year and a half ago. That wax is no longer available. That re-started me down this path. I had several pounds of FO in the original packaging that I had placed in ziplock bags (to catch any oils that might seep through the plastic bottles) and put into a box in 2006. I had a few that had gone bad. I had a few that had started seeping through the plastic bottles. Most of them were as good as the day I'd put them into storage in my closet, including some in plastic bottles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina J Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Where does everyone buy their amber glass bottles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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