HELP! All these fragrance oils smell like cheap candy!

[Charles_]

Hi! I'm pretty new to candle making, so please excuse redundancy if this has been posted 100 times. I'm trying to make my own blends vs. pre-made blends, but I'm having a lot of difficulty finding fragrance oils that smell like the ACTUAL thing they're supposed to smell like. Instead, they all smell like the cloyingly sweet candy version of their names. I've so far purchased from CandleScience, Natures Garden, Lone Star Candle Supply, Rustic Escentuals, Brambleberry, and Maple Street Candle Co.. and they all have the same issue -chemical candy smells! Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:  Fragrance oils such as Fresh Cut Grass smells like apple-grass candy, Black Currant smells like unbearably sweet cleaning product, Vetiver smells NOTHING like actual Vetiver -same with Sandalwood, Orange Blossom, Lemon (smells like dish detergent)etc. etc. etc. So here's my question. Is there ANY fragrance oil supplier (for regular consumers ) that sells high-quality, "real" smelling fragrance oils for candlemaking? Basically I guess I'm asking for the fragrance oils to smell like their respective pure essential oils. I've purchased very high quality, natural-smelling blends that I love from WoodenWick and the like, but they're pre-mixed. Basically I just want the "real" smelling bases like Bitter Orange, Fig, Cedar, Ozone, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cardamom, etc.etc.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[TallTayl]

Welcome! I feel your pain.  Most retail available are not all that great. 
 

some crafters choice are nice. If you want really nice elements, you need to find a fragrance compounding lab to work with. Mins are high, but prices good for the pound.

 

you can use essential oils in candles. It is spendy, but worth it in many cases. Use much less EO than FO premixed for retail that are already diluted with a solvent. 

[moonshine]

I second crafters choice - wholesale supplies plus 

pricey- yes but shipping is included in the price and hands down the most real smelling out there I have found outside a fragrance compounding lab ….they have essential oil blends as well that have not disappointed me so far - well the majority anyways 😂 some smells I just don’t like 

woodenwick does has nice ones but for me they don’t throw for crap in my waxes 

 

Another place is sweet cakes - they have some good ones as well but I think most available suppliers are going to have a certain “tone” to them - like Bittercreek smells like plastic to me - natures garden smells like cheapness with the exception of cracklin birch - I love that one 

flaming has a something nasty undertone I dislike but a few after cure smell fine and rather good 

candlescience I have a few favorites but most are either sweet or chemically 

I do like elements and some Aroma Haven as well ….it’s a hit and miss game for sure but EO might be more up your alley for what your describing 

Edited October 22, 2021 by moonshine

[barbaranj]

I recently tried Pure Fragrance oils.  Very nice IMO.

Also recently tried Midwest Fragrance Co and was very pleased as well. 

 

[Charles_]

55 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Welcome! I feel your pain.  Most retail available are not all that great. 
 

some crafters choice are nice. If you want really nice elements, you need to find a fragrance compounding lab to work with. Mins are high, but prices good for the pound.

 

you can use essential oils in candles. It is spendy, but worth it in many cases. Use much less EO than FO premixed for retail that are already diluted with a solvent. 

Thank you for the recs! Definitely going to try Crafters Choice after all of these glowing reviews. 

[Charles_]

25 minutes ago, moonshine said:

I second crafters choice - wholesale supplies plus 

pricey- yes but shipping is included in the price and hands down the most real smelling out there I have found outside a fragrance compounding lab ….they have essential oil blends as well that have not disappointed me so far - well the majority anyways 😂 some smells I just don’t like 

woodenwick does has nice ones but for me they don’t throw for crap in my waxes 

 

Another place is sweet cakes - they have some good ones as well but I think most available suppliers are going to have a certain “tone” to them - like Bittercreek smells like plastic to me - natures garden smells like cheapness with the exception of cracklin birch - I love that one 

flaming has a something nasty undertone I dislike but a few after cure smell fine and rather good 

candlescience I have a few favorites but most are either sweet or chemically 

I do like elements and some Aroma Haven as well ….it’s a hit and miss game for sure but EO might be more up your alley for what your describing 

So helpful! Thanks so much for your input and honesty. It's really surprising how grody a lot of these smell. I guess candy smells are what people like? I dunno. 

[Charles_]

6 minutes ago, barbaranj said:

I recently tried Pure Fragrance oils.  Very nice IMO.

Also recently tried Midwest Fragrance Co and was very pleased as well. 

 

THANK YOU!

[Candybee]

The suppliers you mention sell blended FOs. So all you are doing is using already blended FOs to create your own blends. Sometimes notes can be lost or overcome by blending your own. If you are good at blending, you can create some unique one of a kind scents. But it does take some practice, and skill, and a very good nose with lots of luck thrown in.

 

Another thing you mention is that you are new to candlemaking. The most important rule to smelling a FO out of bottle is that it will only give you an indication of what it may smell like in your candle application. Don't expect it to be a true scent. Only by applying it to your wax, allowing it to cure, and burning your candle properly will you be able to smell it properly and all its bottom, middle, and top notes, nuances, dry down, and subtleties, etc. Think of the saying don't judge a book by its cover. You don't know the story until you've read it. Same principle with using FOs. Put it in your application before final judgement. 

 

Plus, not all FO's, even ones marked for candlemaking will work in all waxes. Each wax is different, even among like waxes you can get a different scent or varying notes or strengths of throw.

 

There is no way around this, you must test every FO in your candle application to be certain. And this is BEFORE you start blending. Blending is a more advanced candlemaking skill for those that already know how their wax works and have experience working with many FOs.

 

More new candlemakers give up after only a few short weeks always complaining about the wax and the FOs not working when it had nothing to do with either. It takes lots of time, patience, and experience to craft a good candle, and double that for an excellent throwing candle.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Candybee

[Darbla]

If you generally like the scent, ignore the manufacturer's name and call it whatever you want.  A "cheap candy" scent can become "Hard Candy Christmas".  Or "Sticky Fingers".  Or "Cotton Candy Clouds".  Or "Rug Rats Run Amok".