Synthetic fragrance oil

[Missmoneypenny]

I've been cold soaping with essential oils but have been disappointed at the fragrance all but disappearing especially if there is gelling, and the high prices.
So I ordered some artificial frags and am less than impressed. Haven't soaped with them yet, but the smell is not nice: harsh and synthetic
Is this normal? Does the smell improve with curing?
Any insights into artificial frags would be much appreciated. Thank you

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

What sort of feedback/comments were on the website regarding the fragrances? Were there any posts about them here in this section of the forum?

Thinking about it, where did you get them and which ones are they? Will allow some of the FO-folk to give you something specific

 

[rparrny]

I'm new to FOs, having only used EOs in the past. What I have noticed is that many of them change over the time of curing...that can be good or bad depending. Also, the supplier seems to have a lot to do with it...they all sell similar, popular fragrances but the differences between companies seems to be significant.
What FOs did you use?

 

[shunt2011]

Yep, it totally depends on where you are getting them. All suppliers are not equal nor are all FO's. I purchase from several different suppliers for the best (to my nose) fragrances I can purchase. I too started with EO's and then had too many requests for scents that just could not be had. So over to FO land I went. I carry some EO's but mostly FO's now.

Another thing is that the OOB smell can vary quite a bit once soaped. I have several that I didn't like OOB and let them sit on the shelf for a very long time, but once I decided to use them I was impressed.

Check the reviews on the sites as well as here. There is also a Soap Scent Review Board that can be helpful but you need a paid email address (yahoo. gmail etc don't work). http://www.soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/viewforum.php?f=16&start=50

 

[Soapacetic]

Started out ONLY wanting to use EO and yes price is crazy for most of them, and then needing to use a lot to stick
Found a local place that has FO samples to smell and purchase, so tried some out.
Price is really reasonable for end cost and scent is actually nice.
So now most "specialty" will obviously need to come from FO to keep costs and end costs down.
But some scent like Patchouli, Lavender etc, will still be from EO to keep reality in check.

See if you cant purchase from a site that has reviews, or check to see if their is a local wholesaler in your area.
If you have someone local in driving distance, wow makes things much easier. I feel spoiled now hahaha

 

[DeeAnna]

Like the others are saying -- you can't depend on what you smell OOB (out of the bottle) as your guide. The FO is much, much too concentrated, so it overwhelms your nose. I try to read reviews here and on the Soap Scent Review Board and on the supplier's website, but there's no substitute for my own nose.

I test my FOs (and EOs) before using them in products by putting a single drop of scent on a strip of coffee filter (or any other unscented sturdy paper). I then smell the strip 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, and a few more times into the next day. I record my impressions of the scent over time. If my nose gets overwhelmed (I usually test several FOs at at time, so this usually happens), I smell coffee (beans or ground) between tests to revive my smeller. It's also lovely if I can talk my husband or other convenient victim to be a second tester, especially DH since he is allergic to certain scents -- I can't predict what will bother him but a quick sniff will be the proof.

If a fragrance smells a little odd during these tests, I might test it in a small amount of product (soap or lotion or a scrub) and see what I think then. Sometimes using the scent in a product causes the overall scent to change enough that I can decide if it's a keeper or a loser. Or the scent might just get set back in the cabinet and ignored.

If a fragrance smells pretty good during a strip test, I usually go ahead and use it. I then dial in the dosage for the keepers when I use them in soap -- some need a higher % to smell nice in the long run, others need less.

 

[dixiedragon]

I think a lot of us start off with the idea of using EOs only, but gradually start to view EOs as too precious to sacrifice to the lye monster. Repeating the same question, what FOs? What company? How much in your batch?

 

[DeeAnna]

I also would say that people don't dose their soap enough to get a lasting fragrance, especially if they're starting out with FOs after having used EOs. At least that was true for me.

I also should add that I don't judge an FO in soap right away -- I always hold off on deciding whether I like it or not after the soap cures for awhile. The initial odor right after the soap is cut is a combination of the FO/EO scent blended with the smell of other additives (milk for example). All that can give the soap a bit of an odd or unpleasant "whiff" at first. After a week or three, any off odors will dissipate and the scent should stabilize and mature.

Natures Garden "Fresh Cut Roses" is an example of an FO that smells odd right away. I am definitely not impressed with the scent as I cut the bars. But give it a week and it smells true -- like roses straight from the garden, sweet with a hint of green freshness.

 

[dixiedragon]

For some scents, such as Patchouli, my opinion is that the EO is just too expensive to soap and there just isn't a great straight FO available. So a good option is to find FO blends that contain notes of patchouli to satisfy that patch craving, and then use actual, high quality patchouli EO in a lotion or a lotion bar where a teensy bit goes a long way.

 

[Missmoneypenny]

Wow! So many great answers, thanks so much.
I'm in England and ordered from the Soap Kitchen . I just got 2 samples : Fig Tree (they say it is similar to Diptyque's Fig Tree- quite a claim) and lavender.
Yes, like many others I finally got fed up with pouring good natural, expensive essences into the mix, only for them to be trashed by the lye monster. I don't know if any of the good folk know that company or their frags.
I think will try a 1.5 Kg batch of my usual recipe, use the frags in 2 x 500g batches, and do an unscented one just to have something in case the frags are awful.
Will post again in 6 weeks to let you know how it turns out.
In the meantime if anyone wants to share information on companies that do good frags I'd be very interested.
I remember my aunt used to develop new food products and worked a lot with artificial, natural and nature identical flavourings. Some smelt pretty bad in the bottle, but came into their own in the finished product.

 

[songwind]

Like everyone else, I have had different results from different companies and fragrances. This company's green tea in nice, for rose I go over there, etc.

Not sure if any of my experiences would help, since you're overseas.

 

[TeresaT]

My suggestion is to buy one oz bottles of FOs based on the descriptions of the FO from the site and make a test batch using it. If you can get "sniffy" samples or a tiny vial that's good for a single bar, go for it. Bramble Berry has free "sniffy" samples and Soapalooza sells $1.00 vials that will make a bar or two. I don't think either would be cost effective for you, but you can look at their sites to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Several soapers on this forum do FO sample batches and have posted their experiences. I plan on doing that, too, as soon as the insanity at work is over with next week. I have about 60 FOs in my queue at Soapalooza; I need to order about 20 of them to get a sample batch going. I've already purchased my cups.

 

[TeaLeavesandTweed]

TeresaT, can you link to the page on the BB website where they have sniffy samples? I've been trying to find them and can't.