Disappearing Scent in CP

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Koshka

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Guys, I've had an interesting experience today:

I've done a craft show this weekend and there were other soapers. So, this lady's booth smells amazing, she only uses essential oils and does very complex blends. You could smell her soaps from a mile away. I got a bar of soap from her, with a very distinct scent (something along the lines of pine/fir needle) and as soon as I got home I wanted to test it :) So here I am, washing my hands with the soap and suddenly I realize that it no longer has a scent! I mean, 20 seconds after I lathered it up (took quite a while by the way), all that beautiful scent was gone! I stuck that bar under my DH's nose, and he confirmed the fact that the soap barely has any fragrance to it. I am disappointed and a little pissed off. Do any of you know how she's doing that? Is she spraying the bars with essential oils to make them smell stronger? I feel like I've been scammed into buying a $6 dollar bar.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

~Kosh
 
Wow, that is strange. She could possibly be spraying them and that would be deceiving, as you've experienced. I don't think it would be safe for her to do that because a lot of EO have high sensitivity and some may have a reaction.


Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making
 
That's what I was thinking as well! I make my soaps with 2.5-3% EO, and they will smell A LOT on the inside and outside. And why not put that EO to use instead of soaking cotton balls in it? I'm just genuinely disappointed.

lpstephy85 said:
Wow, that is strange. She could possibly be spraying them and that would be deceiving, as you've experienced. I don't think it would be safe for her to do that because a lot of EO have high sensitivity and some may have a reaction.


Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making
Click to expand...
 
Koshka said:
Just finished reading it. So, she might be using scented cotton balls to scent the soaps...
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking as well, that she's using scented cotton balls in each tub to boost the scent -- that's just not playing fair. They will smell wonderful for a short time, then the scent will totally fade.

Caveat - I do know that when I do markets outside on a hot day, the scent seems to travel more, people say they can smell my soap a mile away. But I would never, ever boost the scent more than what it actually is, by spraying or using EO-soaked cotton balls. Actually, I tell customers who make such comments that it's because it's hot and the scent is stronger than it would be on a cool day.

If you have her contact information, I seriously would contact her and state what you've said to us, and ask her for a possible reason.
 
Wasn't there a post here a while ago about how to make scents last? And weren't some of the suggestions to put a cotton ball in the container with the soap or to just rub a bit on the bars before sales? Maybe she's a member and didn't read the reply from the person that said they would be a bit pissed if she were cheated like that?
 
I agree 100% Paillo! It might help her sell the soap one time, but I highly doubt she'll have returning customers. I will call her tomorrow and politely inquire about this issue. She is a nice lady, I'll try to make it as easy as possible lol :)
paillo said:
That's what I'm thinking as well, that she's using scented cotton balls in each tub to boost the scent -- that's just not playing fair. They will smell wonderful for a short time, then the scent will totally fade.

Caveat - I do know that when I do markets outside on a hot day, the scent seems to travel more, people say they can smell my soap a mile away. But I would never, ever boost the scent more than what it actually is, by spraying or using EO-soaked cotton balls. Actually, I tell customers who make such comments that it's because it's hot and the scent is stronger than it would be on a cool day.

If you have her contact information, I seriously would contact her and state what you've said to us, and ask her for a possible reason.
Click to expand...
 
FWIW, whenever I have used 10X vanilla, it seems to hold up fine, for months even! Until the moment that bar gets wet and poof! Can't catch the slightest hint of vanilla anywhere. I agree that something shifty is going on but do wonder if that soap maker doesn't actually test each batch and has no idea her scents aren't holding up? I would be disappointed too =(

Sent from my XT907 using Soap Making mobile app
 
Update:

Today I called the person in question. It was awkward lol. I started off by saying how much I loved the scent of the soap, and how I like the feel of it. Then I went into asking about the reason why it didn't hold scent (i explained to her that I fell in love with the aroma and thought maybe I was doing something wrong, since I couldn't smell it any longer). And that's when it went bad... She went on and on about how that's one of her best sellers and everyone, including her husband love this soap, and that there's this one lady who orders 30 bars at a time. I politely asked about the "cotton ball" question. I think that pissed her off :( I apologized and kind of finished the conversation by blaming my "sniffer". That conversation didn't help at all. I'm still feeling pissed off and disappointed, kind of like a kid who got a lolly pop only to discover that it's made out of plastic.
 
Not cool! If that happened to one of my customers, I'd refund them and let them pick a free replacement bar. I'd also want the bar back to try to figure out what went wrong. Even if it did turn out to be their sniffer and not my soap, the customer is still right. I'm sorry you had this experience =(

Sent from my XT907 using Soap Making mobile app
 
IMO, the instant defense/anger immediately sends up a red flag and points to her being guilty. It sounds like she is very aware that she's done something dishonest and is angry that she got caught. My two cents in the matter, feel free to give change if necessary. =P

I'm sorry that you had such a sour experience.
 

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