Karma (Lush Type) FO - Patchouli haters read this.

[KiwiMoose]

You all know I'm a firm patchouli lover, right? Well this week I discovered why y'all hate it so much.

Before I started making soap, I used to treat myself to Karma soap from Lush once in a while ( it's very expensive here). So it made sense to me to try and replicate the scent when i started making my own soap - to make 50g of 'Karma' fragrance, I used:

Patchouli EO = 25g

Sweet Orange EO = 7g

Orange Blossom FO = 6g

3g each of Lemongrass, Pine, Elemi and Lavender EOs

Imagine my joy when my FO supplier started importing 'Karma' type FO! Easy, I'll just use that, I thought. Ordered it, it arrived and it smelled just delicious OOB. Just like the real Lush stuff. Not just patchouli but all the other light and fresh layers.

I made my soap....

And now I have a batch of what smells like musty, old, earthy furniture left in a locked up room for two decades. Very 'nag champa' like. Now I know what all you patchouli-haters smell when you smell patchouli.

 

[Arimara]

I could be just that formulation. Maybe stick to your recipe?

 

[AliOop]

Hopefully it will mellow and morph as it cures. Let us know, please! I have someone asking for a Karma dupe, and I'm not a Nag Champa fan AT ALL.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Hopefully it will mellow and morph as it cures. Let us know, please! I have someone asking for a Karma dupe, and I'm not a Nag Champa fan AT ALL.

It's cured and ready for sale now. I don't see it changing much TBH - I think it will just get more musty.
I think you could be onto something there @Arimara - what I might do next time is use the Karma FO in place of the Patchouli EO in my original recipe, and then add all the other elements - sweet orange, lemongrass, pine, etc.. to 'lift' it.

 

[dibbles]

@AliOop my favorite Karma dupe is from Fragrance Buddy, although I admittedly haven’t tried many. I have a friend that loves Lush Karma, and she is happy with thi one too.

@KiwiMoose I am sorry to hear you got a stinker. It’s always so disappointing when that happens.