Pouring and adding FO cold

[birdcharm]

It could be that the old-fashioned way has more to do with the handling of the materials than the direct results.  When making a candle, it's typical to think of it as melting wax over heat while reserving the chemicals to when the temperature of the wax is on the down-swing versus on the upward.  What you are describing says that it's probable that most fragrance oils hold their potency throughout the entire melting & high temperature process.  Obviously, especially with the chemicals you are working with, this must be true if you have evaluated them (i.e. tested one method against the other for scent throw, duration of scent in the finished products, etc.), but there will be those fragrance oils that could possibly not hold up as well using such a method since all aroma chemicals are not alike and each have their own properties.  It does all depend on what we're using and as you say, "what works for you."

[birdcharm]

I thought about this a little more, and I really think that cooking aroma chemicals most likely has some sort of effect on those substances, but maybe not immediately.  For instance, for some of the chemical components, would you lose some notes to the fragrance that you possibly can't tell at first?  Do some of the aroma chemicals that the fragrance oil is made up of break down faster from being heated for a period of time?  Would the melting pot emit more fumes while the entire batch (wax and scent) are being heated?  I'm not so sure it's proper material handling really, and it's not just because I'm "old-fashioned" either.