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HowieRoll

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I wanted to start a thread for anyone to post a review or notes about a blend they tried from EOCalc.com.

If you aren't familiar, EOCalc.com can calculate safe usage rates for essential oils in cosmetic products (including soap), and they have also very generously shared dozens and dozens of EO blends.

In the next post, I'll outline some of the experiences I've had, and encourage anyone else to add their notes/reviews/opinions, too!

(especially since sometimes I go to that website and become paralyzed with what to try next - there are so many to experiment with and my overall experience has been the blends are well-balanced, so any direction of what to try next is always appreciated!)

I've tried a few blends, and here are my notes (my usage percentage is based on oil weight of batch):

Dash Blend:
Fresh, sweet lemongrass/floral scent that sticks (I used it at 4%). My notes do indicate batter really started to thicken up after adding the EOs.

French Kiss:
A nice, mellow blend with floral overtones. I used it at 4% but would go to 5% next time. Batter behaved well, and I was able to do a mantra swirl in a slab. Scent stuck around for months.

Fallen:
LOVE this blend. It sticks really well for months, and is floral with the freshness of petitgrain. I use it at 5%. This blend makes my batter thicken at a moderate rate, so not one I'd use if I needed super fluid batter.

Kindred:
Another blend I love. It reminds me of an old-fashioned soap smell. The scent sticks around for many months (just smelled a bar I made in October 2018 and while the top notes have faded and the scent profile has shifted because of that, it still smells great). I use it at 5%. This one also made my batter thicken up at a moderate rate, so had to work fast.

Modern Mojito:
Great blend; used it at 3%. Just smelled a bar I made in August 2019 and smell is holding strong, although lime has faded just a bit. I did make some adjustments to this blend (added Litsea Cubeba), so ended up with 38% peppermint, 36% lime, 18% spearmint, 8% litsea cubeba. Blend didn't accelerate trace.

Rosemary Mint Twist:
Used this blend at 4% and last made it in 2017. I recall it had good sticking power, was a nice blend of rosemary and the mints, and my notes indicate the batter was super fluid to start but then started to thicken. However, I often use these EOs and alone they don't cause issues, so would suspect something else was going on.

Gusto:
Used this blend at 3% and the scent stuck really well. It's a simple orange/cinnamon blend, but I like the 80/20 ratio - just the right amount of spice to the orange for my taste. In spite of the cinnamon leaf EO, I didn't experience the batter accelerating. In fact, my notes indicate batter stayed fluid for a long while.

Flourish:
This is a lavender/litsea/rosemary blend, but I can't say it as my favorite, for some reason. I used it at 5% and only tried it once, and my notes say nothing about batter behavior. Drats.

Sunset:
It's been a while since I made this blend but I recall liking it. Unsurprising, the citrus notes do not stick around (I used it at 4%). The batter did start to get thick on me, so no intricate swirls with this one.

Animal:
This was an interesting blend, as the ylang ylang added a sweet note to the spices. I was never sure if I liked it or not each time I smelled it, but a friend of mine loved it. I added it to salt bars at 4% and the scent stuck around a long while. My notes indicate the batter was fine and I had no issues.

Orchard Plow:
@szaza had made this blend and said they liked it, although mentioned it is a little heavy on the lemongrass. Since I'm not a huge lemongrass fan, I reduced it by 5% and added 5% to the ylang ylang. I really like it, and call it Sweet Lemongrass. It's earthy, sweet, and lemongrassy all at once. I only used it at 3% but the scent has been holding strong for 3 months. My notes do indicate it accelerated trace a decent amount.
 
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I’ve used the REVIVE blend a number of times now at 5% and I really like it. I have one soap in the shower that I made in early summer and it still smells nice. I haven’t had any issues with acceleration that I can recall.

I’m encouraged that the scents are sticking around in your soaps. I haven’t invested in many EOs because I had the impression that most don’t last very long.
 
Thanks for starting this thread @HowieRoll ! I'll share my experience as well
I've used orchard plow in a soap in July (so 4 months ago). It was a CPOP soap with the blend at 3%. I feel the scent gets better with cure. It's a very nice, fresh and sweet (almost fruity) scent. The batter did slightly accelerate, but I never thought of blaming the EO blend!
I also used a blend calles Rocker about a year ago to make soap dough (CP at 3%) The blend is awesome, a bit dark and spicy, but not overwhelming because of some fresher notes (at least to my nose). It accelerated quite a bit and also slightly discolored to soap to a dark cream color. The scent stuck around for quite long and I can still smell it in the bits of soap dough I have left. Can't smell it anymore in the soap I made with it (but my nose is a bit blocked, so I'd have to come back on that).
Another one I tried was called Highbrow. I did replace the cedar with pine, because I didn't have cedar. The soap was HP and I used the blend at 3%. A very nice fresh, wintery smell. I remember it to stick quite well and scent the other soaps next to it, although now (9months later and with a blocked nose) it's hard for me to detect.
Hope this helps! :)
 
Thank you both for adding your thoughts/reviews!

Mobjack Bay, I store my cured soaps in upcycled plastic clamshell containers similar to THESE (each batch in their own), and feel that helps tremendously with scent retention. They used to fade a lot faster when stored in open air. I don't sell, but when gifting I put them into a cellophane bag with a twist tie/label, which also helps with scent retention once they leave my house. However, I've never liked using the cellophane because it's not eco-friendly so am now experimenting with glassine bags.
 
I second trying to reduce airflow to maintain scents! I store mine in closed cardboard boxes.. Also, stay away from top notes, those are the most notorious faders. Find some middle and base notes and you'll be fine for at least 6months up to a year when stored in a place with limited airflow.
Now that my nose got un-blocked I went back to smell the soaps.
Highbrow still has a faint but pleasant smell (at 9 months) while Rocker only gives off a bit of smell when washing with it (at 13 months)
Just for the record I only started storing my soaps in boxes a few months ago (after finding out how much it affects scent retention), so my review is based on mixed storing conditions.
 
Just wanted to come back to report that orchard plow smells rather faint at 6 months. Lemongrass EO on its own held up over a year and so did ylang in a blend. Patchouli should stick even longer, so I expected a lot from this blend, but it still doesn't seem to live up to expectation.. how's yours holding up @HowieRoll ?
 
Thanks for the update, @szaza !

I just scrutinized a bar of Orchard Plow that was made on August 6, 2019 (with adjustments; see Post #1), and it seems to be still going strong! It's interesting, szaza, how we are having different experiences with this one. Could it be storage? Each batch of mine is stored in a plastic clamshell container that can "snap" shut, and each soap is wrapped individually in a glassine paper bag, ready for gifting.

The blend was used at 3% oil weight, it's nicely mellowed out, and I think I actually prefer it now to when it was made. The ylang ylang (which I used at 20%) has definitely taken the lead, but behind it is a lemongrass scent blending in. The patchouli must be lurking in there somewhere, but it is not readily apparent at all like you think it would be at 35% of the blend. o_O

As for the other blends, I only have a few bars left on hand (lots of soapy holiday gifts purged my inventory!), but here is a review of what is left:

Fallen Blend
Made a batch on June 11, 2019, and again on November 15, 2019. The June batch has only faded a little and the November batch is still going strong. It's hard to quantify "faded a little" but it would still be a nice, fragrant soap in the shower.

Kindred Blend

Made a batch on August 2, 2019, and the scent is still going strong. The ylang ylang & geranium are now the leading smells, but the other EOs are still working in the background and I still absolutely love this blend and how it develops/shifts over time.

Mint Mojito
Made on August 10, 2019 (with adjustments, see Post #1), the lime has completely faded out and it is now a smooth mint scent. It's faded overall, but still quite usable and minty.
 
Hmm mine are stored in cardboard boxes, similar scents grouped together. I guess I need to get some airtight plastic containers;) I do think it's storage.. I just smelled one that was further back in the box and it seemed to have more scent left than the one I smelled this morning (probably because it gets less airflow)
 
Hmm mine are stored in cardboard boxes, similar scents grouped together. I guess I need to get some airtight plastic containers;) I do think it's storage.. I just smelled one that was further back in the box and it seemed to have more scent left than the one I smelled this morning (probably because it gets less airflow)

With less airflow, is there a danger of DOS?
 
With less airflow, is there a danger of DOS?
Good question! I don't know.. I would assume there'd be less chances of DOS with less airflow. According to wikipedia, rancidity of oils can be caused by exposure to air, light, moisture or bacterial action. I assume it'll be similar for soaps..
 
I recently used smokey grove,(at 3%) except I made quite a few adjustments.
Original-------------------my version
10% cade
30% sweet orange----30% blood orange
20% lemon---------------20% orange 7x
20% litsea
20% lavander-----------20% lavandin

So I had a lot more orange in stead of orange/lemon. Funny enough my boyfriend said it smelled like lemon when I unmolded! It started out smelling like a bunch or citrus with a smokey undertone, but the cade seems to be getting stronger with cute while the citrus is mellowing out. After +-2 weeks it now smells sweet and smokey.
There was a bit of acceleration (maybe the cade?). None of my batter was uncolored, but before mixing in all my colors the white batter had a pale olive color to it. I think it might have darkened my colors, but I'm not entirely sure.

I made another soap with highbrow and this time I actually followed the original recipe and used cedar (last time I used pine, which on further inspection of the label turned out to be fir) it's a wonderful fresh, woodsy scent that somehow makes me think of Scandinavia. I feel it's more woodsy with the cedar and I remember it being more fresh/wintery when I used fir. It did accelerate because of the clove.

Another blend I tried 2 days ago is Whisper (at 3%). I used litsea instead of lemon, because I don't have lemon. The scent is absolutely wonderful, fresh floral with petitgrain in the lead, but not overpowering.
There was a slight discoloration to a very pale yellow (quite a nice color, but something to take into account if you're aiming for a white soap). My batter moved a bit faster than I expected, but I had been impatient and my oils+lye weren't fully cooled down, so I can't really blame the eo blend.

I also just remembered I once used a blend called topaz
It was used at 3% in a HP soap.
I recall not liking it, though others who smelled the soap did enjoy the scent. The scent has faded now after a year.
 
...And now I have a couple more blends to add to my ever-growing list of things to try (especially the Highbrow and Whisper - they sound incredible). Thanks, @szaza!
 
I was browsing the blends, looking for inspiration and realized I had completely forgotten about 2 blends that I used as well.
Endless was quite a nice smell, used at 3% in cp soap. I enjoyed the smell and I think it stuck for about 6 months (while exposed to air). At around one year there was only a slight whiff of smell left. I don't recall acceleration or discoloring (made the soap in July 2018, so my memory isn't super clear anymore).
The next is burst, though I used lemongrass instead of lemon. It's a wonderful fresh smell, but I didn't keep any of the soap for a long time, so I can't say anything about fading. The lemongrass made it discolor to a soft yellowish color, but I think that probably won't happen with the original blend.
Eta: I just went to smell my soaps. At 1.5 years there's no more smell from endless, but at almost 1 year I'm still smelling topaz. I'm impressed, but sad that I don't like the scent.
 
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My favorite from EO Calc is Clarity (Patchouli, Lavender, Bergamot). Made CP soap (5% EO) in October 2019, still has a soft scent in the soap. When used in the shower it is actually stronger. And definitely my favorite.

Thanks for starting this thread @HowieRoll ! I'll share my experience as well
I've used orchard plow in a soap in July (so 4 months ago). It was a CPOP soap with the blend at 3%. I feel the scent gets better with cure. It's a very nice, fresh and sweet (almost fruity) scent. The batter did slightly accelerate, but I never thought of blaming the EO blend!
I also used a blend calles Rocker about a year ago to make soap dough (CP at 3%) The blend is awesome, a bit dark and spicy, but not overwhelming because of some fresher notes (at least to my nose). It accelerated quite a bit and also slightly discolored to soap to a dark cream color. The scent stuck around for quite long and I can still smell it in the bits of soap dough I have left. Can't smell it anymore in the soap I made with it (but my nose is a bit blocked, so I'd have to come back on that).
Another one I tried was called Highbrow. I did replace the cedar with pine, because I didn't have cedar. The soap was HP and I used the blend at 3%. A very nice fresh, wintery smell. I remember it to stick quite well and scent the other soaps next to it, although now (9months later and with a blocked nose) it's hard for me to detect.
Hope this helps! :)
Thanks for the information about Rocker. I will be trying it next. I've tried other blends recently but need to re-evaluate them and then I will add to the post.
 
I made a soap with Boheme Dream (5%) two months ago. The scent softened over that time. But just began using it and found the scent really jumps back when the soap is in use. A spicy interesting scent. Very nice blend and my husband loves it. Definitely suggest you give it a try.

I made Boheme Dream (5%) two months ago. Slight amount of scent fade but comes back with a bang when used in shower. Quite nice, spicy and sweet. Any my husband loves it.

Additional Scents I have tried:

Lemonade - used in liquid soap - nice lemon scent that lasted till all the soap was gone. Smelled just like lemonade.

Modern ( Rosemary, Tea Tree, Lavender 40/42) - used exact amounts recommended in lotion - too much tea tree. Would switch the Rosemary and Tea Tree amounts out next time.

More to follow.....

Serenity (5% in CP Soap), floral/patch blend that smelled wonderful when made. Two months later - no scent. Used in shower today - no scent left at all. Thankfully the soap is wonderful though. Will try it in lotions I think.

Rocker (5%) in CP soap - made today small 17 oz batch. Didn't really care for it as I made it. The clove and ginger overpowered the patch, orange and ylang ylang. Will give it a couple months and get back to you. And yes - ACCELERATION - thick trace in less than 1 minute with SB. Next time will only use a whisk if I decide to make again.
 
Just tried Gentlemen's Lavender last weekend: Patchouli (Indonesian), Orange (Sweet), Litsea Cubeba, Clary Sage, Cedarwood (Atlas), Lavender 40/42. I believe this blend would appeal to men and women. I loved it when it was poured in the soap (had let it sit, mixed, for about an hour). Loved it in the fresh cut soap the next day. After a one-week cure, the lavender is smelling stronger, and the patch is fading a bit. For the record, I don't love strong patch at all, but I did like this particular blend better before it was quite so lavender-y. We will have to see how it cures out.
 
I am surprised EOCalc don't have Rose or Rose geranium listed. My favourite blend (home designed) is Rose (Blend as absolute is too expensive), Juniperberry and patchouli and it is very popular amongst my friends and family. I also use Rose geranium in a lot of my home-made blends.
 
I am surprised EOCalc don't have Rose or Rose geranium listed. My favourite blend (home designed) is Rose (Blend as absolute is too expensive), Juniperberry and patchouli and it is very popular amongst my friends and family. I also use Rose geranium in a lot of my home-made blends.
That sounds wonderful. But they are all expensive E.O.s
 
Thank you both for adding your thoughts/reviews!

Mobjack Bay, I store my cured soaps in upcycled plastic clamshell containers similar to THESE (each batch in their own), and feel that helps tremendously with scent retention. They used to fade a lot faster when stored in open air. I don't sell, but when gifting I put them into a cellophane bag with a twist tie/label, which also helps with scent retention once they leave my house. However, I've never liked using the cellophane because it's not eco-friendly so am now experimenting with glassine bags.
Hi,, How have the glassine bags worked for you?
 

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