Longest lasting EOs

Moving ahead, I would like to try more EOs in my CP soap making, or possibly blends of EOs and FOs. For me, the EOs bring a special something to a soap that I haven’t been able to duplicate with an FO. I used a limited range of EOs at very low percentages in my earliest soaps and the scents that I can still detect after 7-8 months are patchouli and lemongrass (weak). A batch that I made in early summer with tea tree, eucalyptus, lavender and peppermint still smells nice after 4 months, but I don’t think I can detect any lavender. A GMS I made 7 months ago with lavender EO (again, at a very low concentration) smells like soap. Ginger, clove and cinnamon seem to be sticking around in soaps I made mid to late summer, but that’s only 2-3 months. I searched the forum for recommendations on EOs that last, but found there wasn’t much specificity as to how long a scent lasts. If you use EOs, have any of the following lasted 6 months or longer for you? TIA

Balsam Peru
Bergamot (recent discussion of this one fading fast)
Cedar
Cinnamon
Clary sage
Clove
Copaiba balsam
Eucalyptus
Geranium
Ginger
Lavender (a toss up?)
Lemongrass
Litsea cubeba (May Chang)
Neroli
Orange 10x
Palmarosa
Patchouli
Peppermint
Pettigrain
Rosemary
Rosewood
Sandalwood (very expensive)
Tea tree
Vetiver
Ylang Ylang

 

@Relle somehow I missed that there is a forum with “essential oil” in the title. If it’s appropriate and doable, maybe this thread should be moved there? moved

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The general lack of responses is making me think that few EOs last 6 months...

 

Two years or more for these on your list!

Cedar
Lavender (40/42)
Litsea cubeba (the original soap was lightly scented, and remains lightly lemony)
Palmarosa
Patchouli
Ylang Ylang #1 (only tried it in a big blend but it dominates in a 3yr soap!)

Also making the 2yr + mark
Spearmint
Labdanum Resinoid (hoping someone will find a good source for this, one of the best scents in the world)
Anise (star anise or anise star? can't remember off hand)
In blends spices are holding great, and Benzoin (don't like it on its own at all).

Lemongrass holds at least a year but I haven't kept any in stock longer than that. Peppermint does fade along with the tingle but you can still smell it for over a year.

That is all I can remember for now. YMMV.

 

This is very encouraging. Thanks Millie! Does the Ylang Ylang EO accelerate for you?

 

I have only used it in a couple blends, and acceleration did happen. So likely but not definitely

I'm very sleep deprived so my memory isn't great. So with a grain of salt: the only ones from my list that don't accelerate for me are patchouli, cedar, lavender, anise, spearmint and peppermint. Litsea I don't remember - I usually go with the cheaper lemongrass, which does accelerate for me.

 

Thanks Millie. Until recently, many of my soaps were high in lard or soft oils and I really didn’t have any issues with acceleration except when I added orange wax. I’ve been working with more palm and things are moving faster. I will try to remember to keep the potential for acceleration in mind as I move forward. Remembering is the hardest part . P.S. get some sleep!

 

Most of mine are palm so acceleration is very noticeable. How do you like the orange wax? I did try that some time ago, I wonder how the scent is holding up.
And thanks, I'll sleep as much as the baby lets me.... about 2 hrs at a time these days

 

Patchouli and Palmarosa still lasting after one year ( possible acceleration with Palmarosa)
Spearmint and Rosemary blend lasting after 11 months
Litsea lasting after 11 months (no acceleration)
Lemongrass not too bad but not as good as Litsea
Anise going strong in a blend with lavender after 6 months
Ylang Ylang and Lavender faded, as have all citrus

 

Don't know how you can get Lavender 40/42 to last two years.... my batch made in May was rapidly losing it's scent.

 

I don't know how.... magic? I only kept the batch that long because it was problematic from the start, but the batch cured out well. I thought it was about to go dossy early on too, but never did. Ended up being kind of great.

I think it's interesting too that KiwiMoose had Ylang ylang fade. Do the grades make a difference? I've only had it in blends so maybe it really does help to blend things as lsg mentioned. The bars I have from a batch in June 2016 are still very well scented. I looked up the recipe and the other EOs are Blood Orange, Petitgrain, Palmarosa and Patchouli. A note from September the same year says "no scent!". A note from the following January says "amazing, exotic, floral scent!!"

 

The orange wax soap I’m using at the kitchen sink is now 6 months old and still has a very light orange scent.
I forgot you have a baby in the house! That’s a very good explanation for sleep deprivation.

I’ve tried to research the “anchoring” idea but so far haven’t turned up all that much. I found one small bit of instructions on a candle making site (lost track of the link) that stated FOs should be added to wax and allowed to sit for a few minutes to allow the FO to react/bind(?) with the wax. I was left with the impression that the FO would react with the wax, but can’t recall exactly what the wording was. We also know, I think, that natural scents don’t last when oils are infused with flowers. I may try some experiments where I add lavender to oil on its own and lavender and lemongrass together to oil, warm them up a bit, and then let them sit for a few days before I make soap. If EOs that don’t last on their own are “anchored” they must react or complex somehow with (or in the presence of) EOs that last longer (the anchors). It would be nice to know more.

 

I've added notes to your original list with my experience of whether the scents last longer than 6 months (all my EOs come from New Directions):

Balsam Peru - never tried it
Bergamot (recent discussion of this one fading fast) - doesn't last as strong
Cedar - yes (I use Virginian)
Cinnamon - definitely yes (I use leaf)
Clary sage - never tried it
Clove - yes
Copaiba balsam - not sure; have some and would love to know the answer!
Eucalyptus - I can't say this one lasts on its own, but a blend helps
Geranium - yes
Ginger - never tried it
Lavender (a toss up?) - I use lavandin now and feel that lasts better
Lemongrass - yes
Litsea cubeba (May Chang) - yes
Neroli - never tried it
Orange 10x - I use 5-fold and it doesn't really last
Palmarosa - yes
Patchouli - definitely
Peppermint - yes
Pettigrain - I use the "natural blend" and it definitely lasts
Rosemary - yes
Rosewood - I have the "natural blend" and although I LOVE the smell, it doesn't last for me
Sandalwood (very expensive) - never tried it
Tea tree - never tried it
Vetiver - never tried it
Ylang Ylang - yes, definitely (I use Ylang Ylang #3)

To the list of scents that last a long time I will add:

Anise (star) - agree with others that it lasts beyond 6 months
Basil (sweet) - little goes a long way in a blend and it lasts forever
Eucalyptus Lemon - little goes a long way in a blend and it lasts forever
Fir Needle (Siberian) - lasts forever
Spearmint - lasts forever!

Like others, I feel blends make scents last longer, and some of the EOs that fade faster still help round things out long term. For instance, if I were to make, say, a patchouli/lavender soap and a patchouli/bergamot soap, many months later, and even though the lavender and bergamot will fade back and patchouli will take the lead, I will still have 2 different smelling soaps.

Anyway, that's been my experience!

 

I can't smell Copaiba Balsam at all, even full strength, straight from the bottle. So mad at my nose for this! It sounds wonderful the way people describe it.

 

@HowieRoll Thank you for taking the time to provide this detailed information, which is super helpful. The very last part about the patchouli blends is intriguing.

I have EOs in a cart

 

Thanks @Mobjack Bay for posting this question and @HowieRoll for such useful info on EOs. I've found EOs to be more reliable (no acceleration or ricing, for the most part) than FOs I can buy where I live.

@HowieRoll, would you mind sharing what you blend Basil with? I'm intrigued!

 

I can vouch for the staying power of tea tree eo. I made a tea tree with charcoal soap about two years ago and I still have a few bars - can definitely still smell the tea tree.

 

These two blend variations are from LovinSoap, although I have made adjustments to both the percentages and added litsea cubeba to one and eucalyptus lemon to the other (I use it at 5% oil weight):

35% Rosemary
30% Lime
25% Grapefruit
5% Litsea Cubeba
5% Basil (sweet)

35% Rosemary
25% Lime
25% Grapefruit
10% Eucalyptus lemon
5% Basil (sweet)

I also made a soap in January 2017 with the blend below at 3% oil weight, and it still has some scent (albeit greatly reduced). It was too overpowering for me the first year or so, but then toned down to a nice blend. If I did it again, I would probably either try it at 2% or add something else, although not sure what!:

61% Spearmint
39% Basil (sweet)

In August 2018 I made the following blend for a friend's camping outing (used at 3.5% oil weight), and I did not like the blend one bit; it just felt like the smell was off balance. But my husband and all the women who received a bar liked it, so what do I know. :

55% Peppermint
30% Spearmint
15% Basil (sweet)

PS I wanted to add that as I mentioned in the thread I started about reviews of blends from EOCalc.com, I store my cured soaps in plastic clamshell containers (single batch in each) as opposed to open air and that has helped greatly with scent retention.

 

So much valuable information here! Thanks so much for taking the time out to share your basil blend knowledge. Much appreciated!