chuck_35550

What skin safe fragrances do you use Kitn (if you don't mind my asking) and do you find there are fewer true fragrances for cp? Thanks, Steve

The best move I ever made was giving up color. I color on request and love AH/RE or Cajun liquid.

Votives are wicked up through the bottom and then covered with a warning label. If people are pouring directly into a votive holder then that's not the purpose for that glass. Sticking the wicks in partially cooled wax is old school but using the wrong wick is dangerous and potentially fatal.

I first bought from Alabaster years ago and still have some of their best fos in stock. They no longer have a store front and the new owner is struggling to bring the business back. They have the only true Kudzu and their Pumpkin Spice is so good and mellow. Give her a try.

I have to think is this something my customer base buys? They don't like perfumery florals or overly complex fragrances but there are pockets of patch lover's and eucalyptus lover's. I think about mixer scents that will give me a wider range of fragrances with fewer bottles. I rarely agree with rave reviews but there are some who almost always seem to have deep knowledge and they usually go for expensive companies. I recently sniffed a number of Colonial candles and was so impressed with their clarity and trueness of fragrance (Ct only);and realized my fragrances have lost that quality. I know one of the suppliers being discussed and those have been total losses for me but seem to work tor others. Cheap fos are usually just that IMHO.

Well, it is obvious that either nobody uses this re-opened business or the request was just dumb. Either way I came to a conclusion. I reasoned that if these fos are really strong and I wanted to take advantage of free shipping on a $75.00 minimum; then I should order 8 oz bottles and some testers. So really its like ordering pound bottles and I get to sample the ones that other posters have raved about. Thanks for looking at the thread.

Please help me to whittle this list down for an order to Southern Soapers: Bourbon de Vanilla, Cinnamon Sticks, Cuban Coffee Bean (Non-Discoloring), Holly Jolly Christmas, Patch Raspberry and Pumpkin Brulee. I'm thinking that the cinnamon, coffee and vanilla will be great mixers and not so sure about the others for the holidays. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated (I'm currently on probation and the judge has warned me to cease and desist on buying more fos). Steve

Yes, my dw complains that she can't breathe. The workshop is in our full concrete basement and on heavy pouring days it used to get pretty bad in the house. I placed a high powered fan in the window and suck the fumes outside (the fan blows out) like a ventilation fan. Once I pour a batch they get covered in a large box with a lid and then a heavy blanket to keep the fumes inside. Its not totally foolproof but it has cut the fumes by at least half or more. Flowery are worse than bakery and combinations are the worst. I try to pour separate days when possible. If she goes on a two or three day business trip; I pour around the clock. Any kind of ventilation fan is helpful (cookstove ect). HTH Steve

Beautifully done. What tip did you use? Steve

Last year I used AH/RE's Stephenson Ultra Clear and it was excellent low moisture soap. You could leave it out and never get a drop of moisture on it and very clear. This year I convinced myself to buy a cheaper soap from WSP, Crafters Choice Crystal Clear. It is total garbage. Not clear, not low moisture; this stuff coats itself in mositure over night and when bagged it begins to break down pretty quick. If you wrap soap to keep it from building up moisture then what will the poor customer think when they see their bar of soap all nasty on the sink? I've tried a lot of mp soaps and this one delivers the goods but its not the cheapest thing out there. The cheapest thing out there is from Columbus Foods and that still isn't as lousy as the WSP garbage. HTH Steve

I don't know what some suppliers are cutting their oils with but I bought a number of pound bottles from a supplier that totally separate and have no ht/ct. The oil is heavy and drops to the bottom and refuses to incorporate with the wax. I look at those bottles everyday and wonder why anyone would sell such a sorry product. We shouldn't have to work our butts off to force a product to work right. If a supplier got a lousy batch of fragrance and had to doctor it up to make it half-way work; well that is just plain wrong on both their parts. The little guy has even less of a chance of passing the mistake foward to customers and personally I don't. Thanks, I feel better now. Steve

They have a dupe of Hemingway that I need to try. A lot of customers have begged for that one. Anyone tried it by chance? TIA Steve

I keep a temperature probe in my goat milk solution and stop adding lye if the temp climbs above 90 degrees. Once it cools back down, I start adding again and really stir a lot to keep the lye from clumping. The end result looks like a lemon curd sauce and needs to be kept on the ice bath until you're ready to mix into the oils. Another technique is to only use several ounces of goat milk and add it like you would a super fat oil at the end. The 100% goat milk is very nice and can tend to take a while to firm up but is worth the wait. HTH Steve

MP soap that is not low moisture tends to look pretty bad after being handled a lot but the cp soaps hold up real well. HTH Steve

The 12 oz salsa jar with the gold lid is the easiest to wick and most cost effective. I can get them cheaper than jelly jars and they look upscale enough to suit most customers' taste. Steve

I went by BBW to smell the White Barn fall candles and found most of them bland and poorly balanced and thought maybe I have advanced candle nose. Then I picked up a Colonial candle at the drug store (Coconut Rain)...Oh my goodness what a beautifully true toasted coconut with some soft note that beautifully rounded out the fragrance and all in a Ct that knocked my socks off! My nose is fine; its just a very refined nose that recognizes a well formulated fragrance. Come on perfumers and quit handing us this junk.

Thanks for the information.

I print out a 2x4 label on heavy paper. One side has my logo and fragrance information and the other side has ingredients and business information. I fold the card in half and attach to the top of my cello bag with double sided scotch tape. I place a piece on each corner and it adheres to the bag and the card and is pretty sturdy. I haven't had any to come off in transit. It sounds time consuming but it really doesn't take much time or money and the bags look so neat. I buy the bags with a small vent hole so customers can better smell the fragrance but more importantly they can see the swirl design and color and never touch the soap. HTH Steve

I've worked mine down to a hand full but some of them will never be useable because they are old formulas and still have that phlatyl stuff in them. I'm very discouraged with fos these days. They just don't have much complexity or character like the old fragrances once did. I especially hate it when they reformulate and the new one doesn't even remotely resemble the old fragrance.

I poured Ultimate Pumpkin Cheesecake, Cinnamon Buns (new formula), Pumpkin Zuchhini Bread, Bear Claws, Caramelized Pralines, Gourmets Sugar Cookie, Cafe Vienna, Gingerbread Cate Latte, a mix of Vanilla Hazelnut and Mocha. I still have Christmas Wish, Sugared Spruce, Christmas Past, Christmas Kitchen, Holiday Homecoming, Vanilla Wafers, Coffee Bean, Toasted Marshmallow, and Birthday Cake to pour. In all fairness, I need to let these cure in my 70/30 soy wax before a final judgement.

I know this is gonna sound weird but it seems like a distributor's fos will have a similar base with little or no complexity. I am testing a half dozen samplers from ICS and they smell mostly bland with a vanilla-hint of spice or a hit of coffee. CS is much the same way to my nose but my old fos are so alive and much more clompex to my nose. Oh I came across a bottle of Magic of India and its so much better than all these NG identical fos. Is it because of the phalatle whatever business or all perfumers using the same bag of tricks? AH/RE and CC are about the only ones that seem stronger and complex. Is it just me? Steve

Try 85% 6006 and 15% 415, pour at 185 into clean room temp jars and let cool uncovered. Start at 6-7% fo load and use zinc or Cd wicks. HTH Steve

Go to your soap calculator and click on soybean oil and write down the properties and scroll through the other oils and see what comes close. Plug that oil in your recipe and see if you get the same numbers or close. I can think of several alternatives but I don't know the rest of your recipe. HTH Steve

Tinsel was huge last year and Nutcracker did pretty well but couldn't get rid of Christmas Cabin for some odd reason. I have used their Apple Jack Peel and it does a good job but I like ky better. I think their 7up pound cake is the best lemon pound cake out there and it is a great mixer with almost anything. HTH Steve