Criteria for Selecting FO's

[lucycat]

Longevity of scent in CP is my most important criteria. There are way too many scents that are faded out at 6 months in CP. I think testing it the only way to know this, because as was said before too many reviews are done immediately after making the soap.

I am drawn to a fragrance based on a description. There are some vendors who are terrible in describing a scent and they usually don't get my money. I have to have a mental image of the scent before I want to try it.

 

[amd]

I generally try to avoid scents with a lot of notes. I bought into BB's gemstone FO collection without reading the fragrance descriptions (impulse buy, I really just liked the gemstone names...) so far I've used two of them, and I dread putting them up for sale because I know people will ask me "what is that?". There are so many fragrance notes that nothing really comes through, it's a a blur to the nose. Maybe that's ok for some people to just like a scent without knowing what it is, but I like to smell something and think "oooh, patchouli" or "yum, funnel cake".

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I generally try to avoid scents with a lot of notes. I bought into BB's gemstone FO collection without reading the fragrance descriptions (impulse buy, I really just liked the gemstone names...) so far I've used two of them, and I dread putting them up for sale because I know people will ask me "what is that?". There are so many fragrance notes that nothing really comes through, it's a a blur to the nose. Maybe that's ok for some people to just like a scent without knowing what it is, but I like to smell something and think "oooh, patchouli" or "yum, funnel cake".

I have the same gemstone collection and they're definitely just "Nice." I haven't even used them all.

 

[Primrose]

Yeah, but some of us dont have another choice...

Why dont you have another choice? There are oodles of FOs to choose from.

A question for those that use 1oz FO ppo, what % does that end up being? I use 3-5% in most of mine, I like a strong scent

 

[jcandleattic]

Why dont you have another choice? There are oodles of FOs to choose from.

A question for those that use 1oz FO ppo, what % does that end up being? I use 3-5% in most of mine, I like a strong scent

1oz per 16oz oils ends up very close to 6%. It's what I use in most of my soaps as well.

 

[Primrose]

jcandleattic thank you - that's really interesting. Most FOs available in Australia are limited to 5% max use rate ... and I thought the same applied to many EOs. I also thought most people on this forum recommended 3% but I may have got the wrong idea. I've been using 5% mostly and tossing up whether to try 3% to save some money but from what everyone is saying here I think I'll stick to the 5%

 

[msunnerstood]

I hate discoloration so unless its a scent I REALLY want to try, I stay away from ones that do. I did by some stabilizer for those rare occasions where I buy a scent with vanillan.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

Why dont you have another choice? There are oodles of FOs to choose

I am not in the US. Your suppliers either dont ship here or they are waaaaay too expensive for a few scented soaps.

 

[jcandleattic]

jcandleattic thank you - that's really interesting. Most FOs available in Australia are limited to 5% max use rate ... and I thought the same applied to many EOs. I also thought most people on this forum recommended 3% but I may have got the wrong idea. I've been using 5% mostly and tossing up whether to try 3% to save some money but from what everyone is saying here I think I'll stick to the 5%

I only use 3% on my cloying strong florals and some spice type bakery scents. More than that, and they can become too overpowering.
I stopped using EO's very early on as they just do not last in my soaps. By the time the cure is complete, the scent with most EO's is gone. The ONLY EO I've ever been able to stick is Lime. I have a bar that is going on 4-5 years old and it is still lovely with the Lime EO scent.
Some EO's have ridiculously high IFRA usage rates. (as high as 40-45%) and some ridiculously low (.01%) so it's important to look them up.
FO's vary as well, and most suppliers do recommend 5%, but as a general rule, with almost everyone I see on most forums, (this one included) the average usage rate for FO (when allowed) is 1oz PPO - which is very close to 6%.
it is also the general average for candles, but that is a whole different discussion. LOL