Blending scents-?

[Gretchen]

For any of you that do some of your own scent blending; what's your process? Meaning, do you first try blending drops say on blotter paper or some other method along those lines? Do you just go for it with the wax and pour a tester? Do you mix FO's from different suppliers? I feel like I'm wasting wax; sometimes I get lucky; often, lately, I haven't. Just curious how other people go about it.

Gretchen

[hollyberry]

to get an idea of a blend i dip Q-tip ends in the oils, then snip the tips into a plastic baggie...let it sit a little bit then go from there.....gives me an idea of how they are going to be together. IF i like it then i mix and pour testers.

[mizbizzyb]

I agree with the q-tip process

[firegirl]

Ditto for me!

[bttrflikiss]

i put a drop of each in a baggie then add more by drop as needed , if you keep up with the drops you get a ratio of how much of each one is needed for that scent

[Scented]

I sniff cap combos before trying anything else. If the scent appeals to me, I'll do the qtip method.

[carol k]

i do the q-tip trick and yes you can mix fo's from different companies.

[fredron]

I couldn't get a good sense of the smell when dipping q-tips, due to the fact you sometimes have to add more of one fragrance oil than another due to the strength of some FO's. What I've done is dream up the fragrance I'd like to attempt, determine the strength of the FO's, and make a sample. I've had to recalculate a few, but you do get pretty good after you've made a few.

One of my recent goofs was one we call Jazzy Orange. That one took 3 trys before we got it right-but friends loved even the test ones. One friend actually liked the first one better than the one we settled on.

Go for it-it's actually fun.

[Crafty1_AJ]

I'm weird this way because I like to be able to actually smell all the notes of my blends. So I uncap the fo's/eo's in question and sniff, then rate each one as follows:

1 = strong scent

2 = medium strength scent

3 = soft, delicate, or fleeting scent

Then I do 1 part on the fragrances that I rated a "1" to 2 parts on the "2" fragrances and 3 parts on the "3" fragrances. That way the soft ones don't get overwhelmed by the strong ones. This is just my starting point, then I adjust from there. It may sound like madness, but it works for me, 'cos I'm a blending dweeb, essentially.

HTH, and isn't too confusing. LOL

[Laura]

i q-tip it...each q-tip represents one part in my recipe.

[Gretchen]

Thanks to all of you! I like the q-tip idea and I really like Crafty's way of doing it! I'll be trying both ways! Thanks!

Gretchen

[BruceCarvesWax]

I use cotton balls with a few drops of the mixture. Put it under my left arm pit to warm it up and then make my wife sniff it. HAHAHA Bruce

[Scented]

LMAO Bruce! Now I see what entertainment MO has to offer

[Tess]

You may not be having any luck blending if you are getting them from different suppliers. I little birdie told me that when you mix FO's that are not made by the same company (not as in Supplier but actual fragrance house), the components can break each other down. Sometimes you can get lucky and sometimes you won't.

[Crafty1_AJ]

LMAO Bruce! Now I see what entertainment MO has to offer

Yeah, he must be from Branson.

[BruceCarvesWax]

You may not be having any luck blending if you are getting them from different suppliers. I little birdie told me that when you mix FO's that are not made by the same company (not as in Supplier but actual fragrance house), the components can break each other down. Sometimes you can get lucky and sometimes you won't.

Yes, thats very possible. I heard same thing from..... a supplier I think. It might very well be true but since most suppliers buy from only a few manufactures, you could get lucky on quite a few mixtures. I myself leave the scent mixing up to the people that get paid to do it. Since even the most simple scents have several componets to them, mixing several FO's together can get complicated. Bruce

[Tess]

Yep I leave up it to the supplier too. I have mixed a couple from diffrent suppliers. I got lucky. I is still fun to play around when you have extra FO, and extra time.

[Stephanie]

I had a request by my MIL for something spicey, Pumpkin Spice wasn't doing it, Chai Tea wasn't doing, among others. Sooooo, I combined the two and voila! a seller. I put the two, 50/50 at 1 oz and sniffed. Smelled fine to me. Did well enough in wax. One customer alone buys enough to keep me making it. Not into the q-tip. I need to get my nose in there!

BTW, the two FOs are from different suppliers.

[kandles]

Hi Gretchen ~ I blend scents all the time and yes, I even mix from

different makers. I have never had a problem with any of them and been doing it for 5 + yrs now! I just figure out what I want to make in a fragrance and start mixing..when it smells good in the bottle to me I make it and I have even done a huge pot at a time..I don't personally mess with a votive or something small to see if I like it..I go all out! LOL Just practice and don't be afraid to try different things. If you just want to mix a small amt. if your not sure then do that. I love coming up with differnt combinations..my thing is I never write them down til after the fact then have to figure out how much of what went into that bottle! Good Luck ~ Terri ~ countrykandles

[PamR]

I also use the q-tip method, but a tad differently. I cut a piece of cardboard about 1 1/2 inch square & place the q-tips on this then pop into a tiny ziplock bag. The cardboard quickly absorbs both fos & I can really get an idea of the combination. The longer they soak, the better. I haven't had any problems with using scents from different suppliers either.

Pam R

[AngelaVA]

I also use the q-tip method, but a tad differently. I cut a piece of cardboard about 1 1/2 inch square & place the q-tips on this then pop into a tiny ziplock bag. The cardboard quickly absorbs both fos & I can really get an idea of the combination. The longer they soak, the better. I haven't had any problems with using scents from different suppliers either.

Pam R

The cardboard sounds like a neat trick. I'll have to try that.

[Fire and Ice]

Hi Gretchen ~ I blend scents all the time and yes, I even mix from

different makers. I have never had a problem with any of them and been doing it for 5 + yrs now! I just figure out what I want to make in a fragrance and start mixing..when it smells good in the bottle to me I make it and I have even done a huge pot at a time..I don't personally mess with a votive or something small to see if I like it..I go all out! LOL Just practice and don't be afraid to try different things. If you just want to mix a small amt. if your not sure then do that. I love coming up with differnt combinations..my thing is I never write them down til after the fact then have to figure out how much of what went into that bottle! Good Luck ~ Terri ~ countrykandles

Same here! I've come up with so many new scents on my own that it's just the norm for me to do it if I want something new! Many F/O I don't mess with but others I do because I know what my customers want. I tweak lots of foundation scents and build off of that. Then after I've perfected the mix, I write it down and give it a brand new name. This also necessary because compitition in my area SO huge. If you can't stand alone by innovative scents, you won't be selling anything!

Fire:cool2:

[mystical_angel1219]

Wow- so many Qtips, so little time.

I do this. And yes, I am wierd. I take pipettes and measure out 2 ml of each component fragrance of my "trial" creation into a glass vial with lid. Then I leave this mixture for at least 24 hours to *meld* together. I got this cool little mad FO HO vial and rack set from here: (thanks Garf :rolleyes2 )

http://www.sciplus.com/index.cfm

Then I put this in a petri dish and mix it with wax and make a few tarts out of it. FO cannot be truly judged OOB, it should be mixed with something to make the oil come alive.