sakuraserra Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 (edited) Hello! I'm new to making candles and looking at buying my starting supplies and wonder what's the best way to go about picking out fragrance oils? Since you can't smell before you buy should I just do the sample kits to start? Orrrr should I just get a couple scents and work with that for now. And how do you get past the fear of mixing (I'm no where near the level of being able to just mix mix mix, 1 scent at a time is enough for me). But I look around at other candlers and you all are so fearless when it comes to scents, how do you get past it? Edited November 9, 2011 by sakuraserra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardLOZ Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Welcome and some sensible questions that you are asking. As for which scents to choose, if you cant sniff, then you only have either the descriptions listed on the website to go by, with perhaps some reviews, or recommendations from people here who have perhaps bought those particular oils. Even then it is still a guessing game as what smells devine to one person smells like vomit to another. read the descriptions and choose a couple that you think you may like to try and then go for it. As long as you are only buying 1 oz samples you do not have too much to loose.As for mixing, well that will come in time and with experience. Some things go with other things and some just dont, but that is something that you will learn, and both your nose and your customers will let you know how successful you may be at it. The main thing is to have fun and enjoy it, and learn the basics. Once you have mastered one or two oils and a particular jar (if that is what you are planning on making), then and only then move onto the next oils or two. Trust me, we all would love to run before we walk, but it is the easist way to get frustrated and to stop enjoying it all.Good luck, and keep on reading the forums for more advice and suggestions.Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candlebuddy Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 When I started out, I bought a starter kit from Cajun Candles. Included was wax, wicks, dye and several of their best selling scents. This worked great for me. I also spent many many hours reading the board to gather information from more experienced candle makers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyJo Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I started out by reading... reading... reading... looking for every thread I could find where members here were talking about their favorite scents, or their best sellers. Looking at every supplier website I could find to see if they had lists of top sellers. From all that I made a list of about 30 scents that seemed to be the most popular or "best in soy" and my daughter and I picked 10 from that list based on the fact that the description sounded wonderful. That was over a year ago. I now have waaaaaaaaaaaay too many scents in my cabinet and working on getting back to a much smaller number. And I've discovered that picking that first 10 ... hard as it was .... was tons easier than trying to choose which ones to get rid of. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 (edited) If you get to pick the scents you want then I would pick by what you like. If you like florals, get those that you like and are familiar with how they smell. Probably the best money-saving method is to get the 1oz bottles until you know if that is a fragrance you like or don't when you add it to your wax. Do your best not to judge a scent or fragrance out of bottle. Wait for it to be in the application you are using. Sometimes a fragrance cheers up in something and sometimes it's a downer. Sometimes it will stink to high heaven and become something gorgeous in a medium like wax. I realize that isn't the easiest of things to do, but it's just my suggestion. Once you're comfortable with scents then you can start imagining what you think others might be like based on a description. I'd stick to pretty basic notes early on if you're just starting. Like we all know what lavender smells like right? Same with honeysuckle? Same with a sugar cookie, chocolate, an apple pie, vanilla, cinnamon (red hot candies verses the spices) and then when you're familiar with the simple scents, you have a better idea of imagining what a more complex one would be like.And I guess I don't understand the last part of your question ... why do you fear mixing scents? If I understand that first then maybe I can help you with the rest. Edited November 9, 2011 by Scented Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertrose Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I think Scented has some great advice. It's SO true that fragrances can smell quite different straight out of the bottle compared to when poured in wax and then at times too I've found that the smell is slightly different when burned in a candle or even melted in a melt!I too was afraid of mixing scents at first - just a confidence thing really, and it's only now after quite a few years of working with candles and becoming familiar with all the different scents that I am now quite happy to experiment with mixing.Plus, reading here on this board and seeing what other people are doing gives me inspiration to sometimes try mixing scents that I'd never think of.Really there are SO many scents out there ALREADY than you need not become overwhelmed by trying to blend your own until you've figured out all the basics with candle making.Good luck, have fun! Sampling new scents is my favourite thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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