I don't think I could resist either! What do you use for a "rose blend?" I used to have Rose Geranium but now just plain Geranium.
EOCalc.com Blend Reviews
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Astro
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I use a 5% Rosa centrifolia in grapeseed oil
It seems to me Rosewood would work well as a replacement. It doesn't smell like Rose but it would go well with Juniper and Patchouli.
I just wanted to come back to report that I started to use the soap I made with orchard plow in july 2019 and the scent is coming back when using the soap. It's really pleasant, though I still feel the lemongrass is a bit overpowering. Next time I'll use a higher percentage (in fact, I started using all EO blends at 5%)
I also tried a lot of new blends last week and I'll come back to report on them soon
I also tried a lot of new blends last week and I'll come back to report on them soon
Allright, here it goes.. I've made quite a lot of soap lately and tried a bunch of new eocalc blends. All blends were used at 5% of oils.
Salient - I didn't have lemon EO, so I used a blend of lemongrass and litsea instead (25% lemongrass, 20% litsea instead of 37% lemon and 8% litsea) . It turned out quite citrussy, but does smell faintly of salt to me. It's a nice fresh smell. The blend soaped very nicely with no acceleration whatsoever (even with 50% butters in my recipe).
Seascape - I'm only smelling cedar, it's overpowering all the other scents in the blend. It's nice and fresh, but doesn't give me any sea, only forest. It did soap really nicely again with 50% butters in my recipe.
Woodlands - probably one of my favorites at this moment. It's sweet and floral with a woodsy undertone. All the scents blend well and compliment each other without one being too overpowering. The amyris is probably in the lead, but since it's a rather subtle scent (to my nose at least) it isn't overpowering anything. There was severe acceleration in the soap I used this with, though there were other factors that might have played a role in that as well.. just be aware your batter might move faster.
Fallen - a lovely floral blend. The petitgrain is balanced out nicely by the other components and the blend is very harmonious. There was clear acceleration when I used this blend and I think part of it can be attributed to the scent. When I now compare this blend to whisper, which is another petitgrain blend, the petitgrain in whisper is much more pronounced and it's a much fresher/greener blend than fallen.
Candyland - a very sweet blend with bitter almond in the lead, mellowed out by the orange and litsea. Cedar is easily detectable in second place and it strangely compliments the sweet blend, though it still takes me by surprise from time to time. Batter behaved absolutely wonderfully. I think the high percentage of orange might actually slow down trace.
Salient - I didn't have lemon EO, so I used a blend of lemongrass and litsea instead (25% lemongrass, 20% litsea instead of 37% lemon and 8% litsea) . It turned out quite citrussy, but does smell faintly of salt to me. It's a nice fresh smell. The blend soaped very nicely with no acceleration whatsoever (even with 50% butters in my recipe).
Seascape - I'm only smelling cedar, it's overpowering all the other scents in the blend. It's nice and fresh, but doesn't give me any sea, only forest. It did soap really nicely again with 50% butters in my recipe.
Woodlands - probably one of my favorites at this moment. It's sweet and floral with a woodsy undertone. All the scents blend well and compliment each other without one being too overpowering. The amyris is probably in the lead, but since it's a rather subtle scent (to my nose at least) it isn't overpowering anything. There was severe acceleration in the soap I used this with, though there were other factors that might have played a role in that as well.. just be aware your batter might move faster.
Fallen - a lovely floral blend. The petitgrain is balanced out nicely by the other components and the blend is very harmonious. There was clear acceleration when I used this blend and I think part of it can be attributed to the scent. When I now compare this blend to whisper, which is another petitgrain blend, the petitgrain in whisper is much more pronounced and it's a much fresher/greener blend than fallen.
Candyland - a very sweet blend with bitter almond in the lead, mellowed out by the orange and litsea. Cedar is easily detectable in second place and it strangely compliments the sweet blend, though it still takes me by surprise from time to time. Batter behaved absolutely wonderfully. I think the high percentage of orange might actually slow down trace.
I just tried a blend called calm, though I made a few adjustments, because I didn't have all the needed EO's
Blend-----------------what I did
60% lavander-----lavandin
20% rosemary
20% spearmint--peppermint
Funny enough I'd been looking for a sea/salt type smell and had been a bit disappointed (especially by seascape) but this turned out to be the most sea/salt smelling blend I've come across (well, my variation of it). It'd have to be a french sea because of all the lavander (let's say marseille or camargue region) but I'm very happy to have gotten to know this blend
let's see how it sticks!!
Blend-----------------what I did
60% lavander-----lavandin
20% rosemary
20% spearmint--peppermint
Funny enough I'd been looking for a sea/salt type smell and had been a bit disappointed (especially by seascape) but this turned out to be the most sea/salt smelling blend I've come across (well, my variation of it). It'd have to be a french sea because of all the lavander (let's say marseille or camargue region) but I'm very happy to have gotten to know this blend
let's see how it sticks!!
Wow, a lot of really good information has been added here!
@Jackie Tobey, Boheme Dream sounds so interesting and not one that would have caught my eye. Thanks for the recommendation! That's a shame about Serenity (or Serenity Now?), as it sounds like had it been a sticker the scent would have been a winner.
@AliOop the Gentleman's Lavender does sound interesting, although I can't wrap my nose around clary sage. I see a lot of blends with it, though, so maybe it's time I get on with using it.
@Mamma Mays the glassine bags are working great! I have 2 sizes, 5 1/2x7 3/4" (roughly 14x20 cm) and 4x6" (roughly 10x15 cm). Loaf bar-sized soap that is 3 1/2" (9 cm-ish) wide does not fit in the 4x6" bag in a "landscape" type of way, I have to turn it to "portrait" mode (up/down, like a tall and skinny bar), if that makes sense. They do seem to help with scent retention, and so far haven't had any issues with DOS due to packaging. The biggest downside I've found is you can't see the design very well through the bags, but it's a small price to pay and I do feel better about not using throwaway plastic packaging anymore. Every little bit helps, I figure.
@szaza I just made another batch of Orchard Plow 2 weeks ago with the same adjustments as outlined in Post #1 and love it. Like you, I'm not a huge lemongrass fan and this passes muster with me, especially after a cure of a few months. And I'm glad to hear you tried Fallen! That is one of my favorites, and I'm interested to hear how you like it down the line (the scent sticks well for me).
And here you go again with bringing more blends to my attention that I can't wait to try, like Salient, Seascape, Woodlands (I love amyris, and agree that is it a very subtle scent), and Calm. I'll be most interested to see how they cure out.
I've tried a few new (to me) ones recently, as well as re-made a few favorites, like Kindred and Orchard Plow. But for new ones to me:
South of France (used at 5% oil weight): made 3/28/20; batch did not accelerate. The Anise Star is only 10% of the blend but now, one month later, it is the more dominant smell. I just pulled them from the curing shelves and moved them into the clamshells for storage, so I'll be interested to see how the scent is once they are more stand alone (rather than trying to smell it surrounded by other curing soap!) and used in the shower.
Whisper (used at 5% oil weight): made 3/28/20; batch didn't seem to accelerate but I was making layered soap so wanted it to! The layers are now "layers"-ish. I used Lavandin instead of Lavender, and, like @szaza, also used Litsea Cubeba instead of Lemon since I don't have Lemon EO. Like South of France, I want to see how this soap stands on its own when I can smell it not surrounded by other soap. But my impression now, a month after making it, is it's such a lovely and bright scent and very befitting for a springtime soap. I love it.
Rosemary Mint Twist (used at 4% oil weight): made 4/12/20, absolutely no acceleration. It's still curing, so too soon to know if it sticks. However, I've made lots of Rosemary/Peppermint soap in the past that sticks, so I imagine this one will do fairly well, too.
@Jackie Tobey, Boheme Dream sounds so interesting and not one that would have caught my eye. Thanks for the recommendation! That's a shame about Serenity (or Serenity Now?), as it sounds like had it been a sticker the scent would have been a winner.
@AliOop the Gentleman's Lavender does sound interesting, although I can't wrap my nose around clary sage. I see a lot of blends with it, though, so maybe it's time I get on with using it.
@Mamma Mays the glassine bags are working great! I have 2 sizes, 5 1/2x7 3/4" (roughly 14x20 cm) and 4x6" (roughly 10x15 cm). Loaf bar-sized soap that is 3 1/2" (9 cm-ish) wide does not fit in the 4x6" bag in a "landscape" type of way, I have to turn it to "portrait" mode (up/down, like a tall and skinny bar), if that makes sense. They do seem to help with scent retention, and so far haven't had any issues with DOS due to packaging. The biggest downside I've found is you can't see the design very well through the bags, but it's a small price to pay and I do feel better about not using throwaway plastic packaging anymore. Every little bit helps, I figure.
@szaza I just made another batch of Orchard Plow 2 weeks ago with the same adjustments as outlined in Post #1 and love it. Like you, I'm not a huge lemongrass fan and this passes muster with me, especially after a cure of a few months. And I'm glad to hear you tried Fallen! That is one of my favorites, and I'm interested to hear how you like it down the line (the scent sticks well for me).
And here you go again with bringing more blends to my attention that I can't wait to try, like Salient, Seascape, Woodlands (I love amyris, and agree that is it a very subtle scent), and Calm. I'll be most interested to see how they cure out.
I've tried a few new (to me) ones recently, as well as re-made a few favorites, like Kindred and Orchard Plow. But for new ones to me:
South of France (used at 5% oil weight): made 3/28/20; batch did not accelerate. The Anise Star is only 10% of the blend but now, one month later, it is the more dominant smell. I just pulled them from the curing shelves and moved them into the clamshells for storage, so I'll be interested to see how the scent is once they are more stand alone (rather than trying to smell it surrounded by other curing soap!) and used in the shower.
Whisper (used at 5% oil weight): made 3/28/20; batch didn't seem to accelerate but I was making layered soap so wanted it to! The layers are now "layers"-ish. I used Lavandin instead of Lavender, and, like @szaza, also used Litsea Cubeba instead of Lemon since I don't have Lemon EO. Like South of France, I want to see how this soap stands on its own when I can smell it not surrounded by other soap. But my impression now, a month after making it, is it's such a lovely and bright scent and very befitting for a springtime soap. I love it.
Rosemary Mint Twist (used at 4% oil weight): made 4/12/20, absolutely no acceleration. It's still curing, so too soon to know if it sticks. However, I've made lots of Rosemary/Peppermint soap in the past that sticks, so I imagine this one will do fairly well, too.
@HowieRoll thanks for the update! I've just come to realize how much of an accelerator rice bran oil is and each batch where I blamed the eoblend for acceleration also had RBO in it (except orchard plow and smokey grove, those were bastile recipes), so for fallen, whisper and woodlands might not be as much of an accelerant as I previously thought. I'm sorry my wrong reports messed with your soap!
Oh, no, it was my fault! I have a fear of moving batter past emulsification, which gets me into trouble time and again (wait, muddled colors again?). You'd think I would learn. So while I KNEW I should have SB more to get it thicker, I didn't. Next I threw in another perilous ingredient: impatience. As if that wasn't bad enough, when I poured I did so up and down the mold instead of just pouring gently over a spatula in one corner and letting it slowly spread out over the top. I had the finesse of Shrek making soap with dollhouse cooking utensils. But it smells great, and I thank you for bringing that blend to my attention!
This so accurately describes how I often feel!
Not only with soapmaking, but daily life in general.. I've had a hard time getting good layers with EO's. I put my mold in the oven hoping that would speed things along (which sometimes helped). This technique is still eluding me.. I think it also had to do with my recipe which was so slow to trace even the only FO that I own (a floral) wouldn't speed things up enough to properly execute the technique.
I'm planning to make a soap with chicken fat(!) very soon and have been thinking about using the Seascape blend, but possibly with a little less lemongrass. It doesn't sound like an ocean scent at all, but maybe the blend's creator lives in the US Pacific Northwest, where the forest meets the sea. I was looking for a blend with cedar and rosemary and that's what came up.
I used Calm in a soap I made about 6 weeks ago. I packed some up today to send off and thought the spearmint was dominant, but IMHO it is calming, which is perfect for the times we're in.
I used French Kiss in some individual soaps I made in February. The EOs are lavender, bergamot, amyris and a small percentage of geranium. I don't have geranium and subbed in palmarosa. The soaps smell nice, with no particular note dominating. It was the first time I used amyris.
I was looking for a blend with cedar and rosemary and that's what came up.I used Calm in a soap I made about 6 weeks ago. I packed some up today to send off and thought the spearmint was dominant, but IMHO it is calming, which is perfect for the times we're in.
I used French Kiss in some individual soaps I made in February. The EOs are lavender, bergamot, amyris and a small percentage of geranium. I don't have geranium and subbed in palmarosa. The soaps smell nice, with no particular note dominating. It was the first time I used amyris.
@Mobjack Bay, I tried French Kiss in a soap a couple years ago and really liked it. Your description of the soap smelling nice, with no particular note dominating, was exactly my experience. Just a nice, almost subtle, blend. It's also one of those things where if I think of it, I can still smell it in my head.
And now all I can think of is... why the heck haven't I made it since then?
And now all I can think of is... why the heck haven't I made it since then?
Just wanted to update that in calm the lavander/floral notes are taking over and it doesn't smell as seaside/breezy anymore.. it's nice and calming though
I unwrapped and smelled some soap I made with highbrow about 3.5 months ago. The scents blended together to form an incredibly woodsy scent. It smells like my dad's garage☺ not necessarily cedar wood, but freshly cut wood in general. I really like it, but it's very different from what I remember from when I used fir.
Eta: the citrus in salient is mellowing out a bit, which makes the blend more balanced. It's a rather nice, fresh scent and I can imagine it would've been way better with with lemon (which is the recipe) instead of the litsea/lemongrass substitute I added instead.
I unwrapped and smelled some soap I made with highbrow about 3.5 months ago. The scents blended together to form an incredibly woodsy scent. It smells like my dad's garage☺ not necessarily cedar wood, but freshly cut wood in general. I really like it, but it's very different from what I remember from when I used fir.
Eta: the citrus in salient is mellowing out a bit, which makes the blend more balanced. It's a rather nice, fresh scent and I can imagine it would've been way better with with lemon (which is the recipe) instead of the litsea/lemongrass substitute I added instead.
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I've been using a lot of the soaps I made in april (and some others), so I thought I'd pop back in with some reviews of how they are in use (2-3 months after making them)
Candyland lost its citrussy/orange smell, but the bitter almond and cedar blended really nicely together. It feels like the scent has matured.
Woodlands is still pretty much the same, all 3 oils blend so well together, not one of them is overpowering (which is quite an achievement with cedar imo)
Fallen is a wonderful floral blend, even my boyfriend commented on it. I made some soap with this blend again and it didn't accelerate, so I think the acceleration I experienced in April was probably caused by my recipe. I now think the culprit was RBO, since it was in all the accelerating soaps, including the one scented with woodlands, so that blend probably also doesn't accelerate as much as I first thought. Yay
Seascape still only gives me fresh cedar. I realized I had a one year old bar with this blend where I used fir in stead of cedar and I mistakenly called it 'lemongrass' on the label, apparently that was the leading note when I packaged it (for personal use only). It still has some freshness to it after a year, so that's a good sign I guess
I also used a bar scented with Whisper that was +-5 months old. It still had a really nice, fresh, floral and citrussy blend. I don't think it faded much if at all (but my nasal memory isn't perfect).
That's it for now
Candyland lost its citrussy/orange smell, but the bitter almond and cedar blended really nicely together. It feels like the scent has matured.
Woodlands is still pretty much the same, all 3 oils blend so well together, not one of them is overpowering (which is quite an achievement with cedar imo)
Fallen is a wonderful floral blend, even my boyfriend commented on it. I made some soap with this blend again and it didn't accelerate, so I think the acceleration I experienced in April was probably caused by my recipe. I now think the culprit was RBO, since it was in all the accelerating soaps, including the one scented with woodlands, so that blend probably also doesn't accelerate as much as I first thought. Yay
Seascape still only gives me fresh cedar. I realized I had a one year old bar with this blend where I used fir in stead of cedar and I mistakenly called it 'lemongrass' on the label, apparently that was the leading note when I packaged it (for personal use only). It still has some freshness to it after a year, so that's a good sign I guess
I also used a bar scented with Whisper that was +-5 months old. It still had a really nice, fresh, floral and citrussy blend. I don't think it faded much if at all (but my nasal memory isn't perfect).
That's it for now
I made a small batch with Blush. The EO fragrance is very floral. Soaped very cool. I jut unmolded and it’s still very strong. Will add to the thread as time goes by. So far I love it.
Would you mind sharing the percents of each for the blend. I have some Rose Geranium and I don't like the smell at all. A blend with it may be a tolerable so I can use it up. Thanks.
Well we used up the Boheme Dream, loved it and it kept it's scent the whole time. Will be remaking this one as well. And I'm thinking I will be doing some HP soon to see if the scents retain better.
Elizevt
Well-Known Member
Thank you Sooo much for starting this thread @HowieRoll I didn't know about EOcalc and the blend recipes. I only use Essential oils in my soaps, so I'll be sure to try a few of these recipes out and give my feedback. Thanks
Loving the updates! I've been in a soap rut for a few months, and haven't ventured out with new blends for a while. This thread reminds me there's so much out there to try (and then I get overwhelmed again - lol).
Here are a few of my updates:
Fallen: just gifted the last bar from a batch made on 11/15/19, and the scent seemed to be at least 80-85% of the strength it was the day it was made. To reiterate, I love this blend (and try to always have a batch on hand).
South of France: while anise is still present, after a 4+ months cure the anise isn't as in your face. My husband, who definitely does not like anise, used to run as I'd chase him around the house asking him to smell a bar of this to see what he thought (let's be honest, I already knew what he thought but it was just entertaining for me). I just asked him to blindly smell a bar of this and he said with great uncertainty, "Are you trying to throw a little anise at me? Regardless, it smells really nice, like a clean scent. I would use that." So it is definitely more subdued/rounded out and I love it.
Whisper: I made a batch on 3/28/20 and the scent is still holding well (made w/litsea cubeba instead of lemon) and still bright. Like @szaza, I don't think it's faded. When bathing with it I find it's more muted in the scent department overall, but I'm not a fan of BOLD SMELLS in the shower so it suits me.
Rosemary Mint Twist: I realized recently I referenced making this in 2017 on post #1 and then again in post #27. Apparently I'd forgotten I'd already made it before. Oy. Regardless, the batch I made on 4/12/20 is still strongly scented and is a nicely balanced minty soap.
Here are a few of my updates:
Fallen: just gifted the last bar from a batch made on 11/15/19, and the scent seemed to be at least 80-85% of the strength it was the day it was made. To reiterate, I love this blend (and try to always have a batch on hand).
South of France: while anise is still present, after a 4+ months cure the anise isn't as in your face. My husband, who definitely does not like anise, used to run as I'd chase him around the house asking him to smell a bar of this to see what he thought (let's be honest, I already knew what he thought but it was just entertaining for me). I just asked him to blindly smell a bar of this and he said with great uncertainty, "Are you trying to throw a little anise at me? Regardless, it smells really nice, like a clean scent. I would use that." So it is definitely more subdued/rounded out and I love it.
Whisper: I made a batch on 3/28/20 and the scent is still holding well (made w/litsea cubeba instead of lemon) and still bright. Like @szaza, I don't think it's faded. When bathing with it I find it's more muted in the scent department overall, but I'm not a fan of BOLD SMELLS in the shower so it suits me.
Rosemary Mint Twist: I realized recently I referenced making this in 2017 on post #1 and then again in post #27. Apparently I'd forgotten I'd already made it before. Oy. Regardless, the batch I made on 4/12/20 is still strongly scented and is a nicely balanced minty soap.
atiz
Well-Known Member
I love this thread too
This is not soap, so a bit off topic, but have not seen this blend here yet so maybe someone will find it useful:
I made some (syndet) liquid soap with lavender song the other day, and it's so-so. I find it too sweet, a bit heavy on the ylang-ylang for me.
(I have a very limited supply of EO's right now so it was one of the ones I had everything for. I also tend to like lavender, maybe this would be better for someone who doesn't.)
This is not soap, so a bit off topic, but have not seen this blend here yet so maybe someone will find it useful:
I made some (syndet) liquid soap with lavender song the other day, and it's so-so. I find it too sweet, a bit heavy on the ylang-ylang for me.
(I have a very limited supply of EO's right now so it was one of the ones I had everything for. I also tend to like lavender, maybe this would be better for someone who doesn't.)
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