What to do? An FO predicament.

[Forrest]

After Christmas I decided to take the good advice that was being offered and do some serious wick testing. Perhaps I went a little overboard because I now have a massive wick collection, most of which will never get used. Along the way I still fed my FO addition by giving it a few sample sizes now and then. But as my testing was winding down, my search for new FOs was, as we say at NASA, reaching escape velocity. I’ve slammed on the brakes now until I can get organized, but losing control of my FO addition has left me with an overabundance of sample size FOs. To put it simply I lack the ability to make more than two candles in any one scent. My storage space is beyond maxed out, so something has to give, it is time for me to start buying larger bottles of FOs and I have a considerable list of them to buy. What do you do with all the sample size FOs that you don’t use? If I take up any more space with candle making my wife will divorce me, and I’m rather fond of her.

[TallTayl]

Congratulations! You’re nearing the top of the Candle Makers Bell Curve.

 

You’ll begin to find that you don’t like enough of those little 1 oz sizes to do much with them.  If they pass a sniffie test, (and a salt test if on the fence) a 1 oz bottle  can make two full size tins, or a sample size soap and tin with some to spare. so plenty to know if I like it enough to buy bigger or not. 

 

Some are just plain yuk or watery weak. Pass those on to others. Some are nice, but not nice enough alone. Sometimes blending all of a particular type make a nice enough blend. Like when looking for a great honeysuckle, I bought every single honeysuckle on the market. None alone were anything good. Poured them into one container and ended up with something “ok” for a limited edition. Ditto strawberry, only the resulting strawberry was raunchy. 

 

Next you’ll start blending some of this and some of that to come up with an exponential number of new scents. Once past this, you’ll near the downslide of the bell curve and “just know” if a scent will be appealing or not. 

 

I’ve sold off hundreds of little 1 oz bottles over the years. Still have hundreds in a bin that I’ll never use, but have a hard time pitching. I know they’re not great. If they were I would have used them. Time to drop a box at the curb and make a craigslist curb alert. Sample sizes are sunk costs, but take far less space(and $)  than 1lb bottles that turn out not to work 😒

[Forrest]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

Congratulations! You’re nearing the top of the Candle Makers Bell Curve.

 

Well that makes me feel better, I have several honeysuckles, Volcanos, and White Tea and Gingers. I did finally find a White Tea and Ginger that works for me. It sounds like I need to divide them in to three boxes. A never going to use box, a might blend with something box, and a put in wax box. I could use up the put in wax box. Work on my blends to reduce the blend box, and hide the never going to use box under the bed. I could take the tops off and that room would smell good for a long time. I’ll be glad when I get to the top of the curve because it’s all downhill from there.

[TallTayl]

You shortened your Curve quite a bit by sticking with ONE wax. 

[Forrest]

32 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

You shortened your Curve quite a bit by sticking with ONE wax. 

Yea, but I lengthened it by sticking with one container.

[Jenni Wix]

58 minutes ago, Forrest said:

 hide the never going to use box under the bed. 

Exactly.  😄 

I'm already working on my give away box.

I'm tempted by one new supplier to buy a bunch of 1lb bottles,  because they seem to have almost all of the fragrances I'm interested in.  I've heard good things about them, but of course every oil can't be good or my taste.   I have seen the light...  More 1oz it is.  Thanks for the enabling.  😉 

 

[ScentedPleasurez]

I never have been excited to see a sample sale. I just order,i usually only order 1lb bottles but my last Cierra i ordered a ton of 8oz and honestly i regretted not getting the 16oz on some. Lol. Its usally only a few bucks more for the lb compared to 8oz. 

If i get some that i dont like i list on ebay. 

If you dont end up making a candle or 2 you could always list them there, someone out there will buy it

[ScentedPleasurez]

2 hours ago, Jenni Wix said:

I'm tempted by one new supplier to buy a bunch of 1lb bottles

Which one? 

[Sarah S]

Totally agree with the advice to get adventurous with the blending. Sometimes I'll throw half a dozen samples and bits of leftover FO together like BAM! Emeril style! And get something awesome. Sometimes it's horrible, but who cares, I wasn't going to use them anyway!

I've also found some great ways to use up FOs that smell good but didn't make the cut in candles:

Mix with Vodka or 50/50 water and grain alcohol for a quickie room spray

Mix with baking soda for a carpet deodorizer or hard surface scrub

Mix with Borax for a scented laundry detergent booster

Mix with unscented laundry detergent for a custom scent

Put a few drops on a cotton ball for the bottom of trash cans

Create a new addiction by learning how to make soap and/or lotions 😂

 

Some fragrances are just horrible, and if I have less than an ounce I just trash them. Yes, it's money in the trash, but really truly is anyone else going to want them? Not worth the hassle.

 

I have found that for me, personally, the 8oz size is a nice graduation from the 1oz sample. With most suppliers, it's a reasonable per ounce price, and I know I won't have a ton of it to use up if it doesn't sell or I change my mind about liking it. 8oz is plenty of fragrance to experiment with, without a huge commitment. Sometimes I will jump to the full pound if it's a great deal, or I know for a fact that I am going to be using a ton of it right away. But my production is very small-scale, so for me it's worth it to pay a little more for the smaller size and save on space. Plus I run out faster so I have a great excuse to order new oils! 😁

[ShelleyF]

I use the 1 oz. for Crystal potpourri and air fresheners. The ones that aren't great alone , I mix them or save them just in case. Buy most are great to me.

[ShelleyF]

7 minutes ago, Sarah S said:

Totally agree with the advice to get adventurous with the blending. Sometimes I'll throw half a dozen samples and bits of leftover FO together like BAM! Emeril style! And get something awesome. Sometimes it's horrible, but who cares, I wasn't going to use them anyway!

I've also found some great ways to use up FOs that smell good but didn't make the cut in candles:

Mix with Vodka or 50/50 water and grain alcohol for a quickie room spray

Mix with baking soda for a carpet deodorizer or hard surface scrub

Mix with Borax for a scented laundry detergent booster

Mix with unscented laundry detergent for a custom scent

Put a few drops on a cotton ball for the bottom of trash cans

Create a new addiction by learning how to make soap and/or lotions 😂

 

Some fragrances are just horrible, and if I have less than an ounce I just trash them. Yes, it's money in the trash, but really truly is anyone else going to want them? Not worth the hassle.

 

I have found that for me, personally, the 8oz size is a nice graduation from the 1oz sample. With most suppliers, it's a reasonable per ounce price, and I know I won't have a ton of it to use up if it doesn't sell or I change my mind about liking it. 8oz is plenty of fragrance to experiment with, without a huge commitment. Sometimes I will jump to the full pound if it's a great deal, or I know for a fact that I am going to be using a ton of it right away. But my production is very small-scale, so for me it's worth it to pay a little more for the smaller size and save on space. Plus I run out faster so I have a great excuse to order new oils! 😁

Thank you. I started making the carpet deodorizer but am going to try the laundry boosters as well as detergent too.

[RedRoomGraduate]

45 minutes ago, Sarah S said:

 

Put a few drops on a cotton ball for the bottom of trash cans

 

This is genius. 

[Forrest]

1 hour ago, Sarah S said:

Create a new addiction by learning how to make soap and/or lotions

 

Oh how I wish. My skin is allergic to fragrances or I would be all over the soap making.

[Jcandleattic]

Like others said, mix your scents. You can also make beautiful fire starters if you have any way to get an abundance of pine cones. 

 

I mix all my scents, samples are not, and any extra wicks I have that I won't use, or end pieces (you know that you cut off to fit the container) I use for fire starters. 

[Jenni Wix]

Probably wanting to sample first because I'm pretty new, and so much of what I try isn't for me.  The lbs I want to order soon are Fragrance Buddy. Sugar Cookie Royal Moon Works type is on I'd like to get an oz of, there's plenty I want to try from them.... Just missed the sale.  But they weren't on my radar at the time.  I can't keep up with it, lol.  

[Trappeur]

Like Jane said, use them for firestarters!   That's what I do and they make beautiful gifts!

 

Trappeur

 

 

 

[katmeltswax]

17 hours ago, Trappeur said:

Like Jane said, use them for firestarters!   That's what I do and they make beautiful gifts!

 

Trappeur

 

 

 

Beautiful firestarters Trapp!

Lol I would have to buy the pinecones lol .I don't have access to many pine trees ,living so close to the coastline in South Tx  .

Love your creations 😉

[Jcandleattic]

5 hours ago, katmeltswax said:

Beautiful firestarters Trapp!

Lol I would have to buy the pinecones lol .I don't have access to many pine trees ,living so close to the coastline in South Tx  .

Love your creations 😉

Driftwood and sticks would work just as well.  

[Darbla]

On 9/18/2018 at 7:55 AM, Forrest said:

After Christmas I decided to take the good advice that was being offered and do some serious wick testing. Perhaps I went a little overboard because I now have a massive wick collection, most of which will never get used. Along the way I still fed my FO addition by giving it a few sample sizes now and then. But as my testing was winding down, my search for new FOs was, as we say at NASA, reaching escape velocity. I’ve slammed on the brakes now until I can get organized, but losing control of my FO addition has left me with an overabundance of sample size FOs. To put it simply I lack the ability to make more than two candles in any one scent. My storage space is beyond maxed out, so something has to give, it is time for me to start buying larger bottles of FOs and I have a considerable list of them to buy. What do you do with all the sample size FOs that you don’t use? If I take up any more space with candle making my wife will divorce me, and I’m rather fond of her.

 

Oh, so you've gone through the same thing as all the rest of us.  Welcome to the club. 

Edited September 22, 2018 by Darbla

[iansmommaya]

I do this too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've never reached the top of the Bell Curve. I just keep adding ideas like ALCHEMY! I can make medicine more ways! OH LOOK! WHIPPED SOAP! and OHHHHHHH LOOK AT THAT!

[Darbla]

Ya know, there's a LOT worse things we could be addicted to.  Between my FO habit and my lipstick addiction I figure I'm doing pretty good.  And hey, we're helping the limping economy along, right? 

[mzpickles]

I went through my 1 oz samples a few years back and mixed together similar scents, like all apple cinnamon types, various pumpkin types, etc. Turns out when I tested the mixes many of them threw better for me than the individual fo's did!

[mzpickles]

6 hours ago, Darbla said:

Ya know, there's a LOT worse things we could be addicted to.  Between my FO habit and my lipstick addiction I figure I'm doing pretty good.  And hey, we're helping the limping economy along, right? 

You have a lipstick addiction too?  I buy the same color over & over except in different brands!

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by mzpickles

[katmeltswax]

On 9/21/2018 at 1:18 PM, Jcandleattic said:

Driftwood and sticks would work just as well.  

I can certainly get my hands on lots if those . I love the pine cones & wish they were plentiful here .

I have tons of pecan trees ,not sure if pecans would work ,hulls anyways lol

[Trappeur]

Kat,  do you want some pine cones?   Gosh, I live in pine cone forest and have bins and bins of them I use.   They are light weight and I can send you out a bunch.

I'll box some up and send to you...

 

Trappeur