Camphor Camo

Ugh. My new lavender is camphorous! I should have known that "less camphorous" doesn't mean "not camphorous." Now I do, but I also have 16 oz to use (in cp soaps mostly) before I should order what I really want!

How can I turn this around to something I adore? In other words, what blends would highlight the floral notes (my preference), mask the camphor, or nicely compliment the camphor? I keep thinking mint might compliment it, and vanilla might mask it, though I don't know if I have a knack for envisioning scents. And I can think of nothing that would highlight the floralness except another floral. I have some lilac FO I will try but somehow I don't think this will do it.

Just to be clear, I am not asking for your favorite lavender blends -- though I'll take that too if you are clear that's what you are offering. I want to be able to distinguish camphor solutions.

The catch 22 is that whatever you suggest, I'll probably have to order. So maybe I should just try to find a new lovely floral lavender -- suggestions for this? The EO I've been describing is the "premium" lavender from Soap Making Resource. I really liked the last stuff I had (GloryBee's L. angustifolia) but locally it is very expensive and GloryBee won't ship it up to Alaska.

TIA for your help!

Spearmint, patchouli, ylang ylang, vanilla, rosemary, bergamot, chamomile, citronella, lemon, cedarwood, sandalwood and pine are just a few of the essential oils that blend well with lavender

Thank you. Do you know if any of them are particularly well suited for ameliorating the camphor smell?

I like this blend and I think it would probably soften the lavender.

43% lavender
28% rosemary
13% cedarwood
13% spearmint
3% patchouli

Thanks lsg, nice of you to share that. I didn't like my batch of pure lavender soap but hopefully any blend will help. I'm probably over reacting -- just disappointed it wasn't what I expected.

I think you will find that the lavender blends well with a lot of essential oils, softening the camphor odor.

Yay, I feel better already! I will blend away this weekend! I have a few small bottles of other EOs I can play with; maybe I'll discover my favorite blends and place another order for many batches to come :mrgreen:

I don't know a thing about blending scents but I got a sample soap from a local shop that is patchouli and lavender, it may just be a new favorite scent. Its smells great.

CaraBou said:

Yay, I feel better already! I will blend away this weekend! I have a few small bottles of other EOs I can play with; maybe I'll discover my favorite blends and place another order for many batches to come :mrgreen:

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When I test fragrance blends, I use Q-Tips and divide the blends into parts. Store Q-Tips in a plastic baggie so the EOs can blend well.

lsg said:

When I test fragrance blends, I use Q-Tips and divide the blends into parts. Store Q-Tips in a plastic baggie so the EOs can blend well.

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What do you mean by: "and divide the blends into parts." You mean something like if you use 5 drops total on every q-tip, you change the ratio of each EO so you can smell the effect of different blends?

I like the idea of putting them in baggies. I haven't done this before but it seems like it would be effective.

43% lavender
28% rosemary
13% cedarwood
13% spearmint
3% patchouli

For the above recipe, I would probably do the following: 3 parts lavender, 2 parts rosemary, 1 part cedarwood, 1 part spearmint and and 2 or 3 drops of Patchouli. Dip 3 Q-Tip ends in lavender, 2 in rosemary, 1 Q-Tip end in cedarwood and 1 Q-Tip end in spearmint with just a couple of small drops of patchouli on another end. Drops all of these in a baggie or small jar, shake up and leave for several hours before smelling.

Wow Isg, what a great explanation. I am thrilled to learn this method. Thanks

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Recently I have been doing a 1:1 lavender patchouli and it is, frankly, divine.

I think patchouli will be effective in softening the camphor note for you.

Typically I mix the e.o.s together first and let them mellow for anywhere from an hour to a couple of weeks or when I next make soap.

Let us know your results!

I have an awfully camphorous lavender as well and I have been blending it with another lav that I like to be able to use it up.

lsg said:

Dip 3 Q-Tip ends in lavender, 2 in rosemary, 1 Q-Tip end in cedarwood and 1 Q-Tip end in spearmint with just a couple of small drops of patchouli on another end. Drops all of these in a baggie or small jar, shake up and leave for several hours before smelling.

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djk17 said:

Typically I mix the e.o.s together first and let them mellow for anywhere from an hour to a couple of weeks or when I next make soap.

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houseofwool said:

I have an awfully camphorous lavender as well and I have been blending it with another lav that I like to be able to use it up.

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Great ideas, guys. When I get a better repertoire of EOs I will definitely try your blend, lsg; thanks again for sharing. I found some Verbena-Lemon FO in my stash last night and made up two different q-tip mixes. But I put all drops on one head as I hadn't seen lsg's post. I ended up soaping with 60% lavender and 40% V-L FO. It seems a good match but can't help but wonder what a little patchouli might have done to tone down the high notes. Maybe next time! I also like the idea of blending small amounts of the bad lavender with better stuff when I find it (and allow myself to buy it).

It makes a whole lot of sense to meld the scents together awhile so I will find containers to do that for future batches. Soaping is an exercise in foresight and patience, huh!