Your favorite item(s) from New Direction Aromatics

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Wow! Lucky you! I love New Directions. I did a comparison of essential oil prices from several companies and they were the least expensive for almost everything I buy. Some I like are their ho wood, litsea, bergamot natural blend, Himalayan cedarwood, Texas cedar wood, eucalyptus, and fir balsam. I have bought several of their lavenders for comparison, all nice, the French lavender is really nice and of course is the most expensive. For carrier oils there are cheaper sources. You probably know that. I like their fragrances too - have been using their Rose Garden FO for christening party favors for my grandaughter and I really like it. Some rose fragrances are off putting, this one is really nice. I also like their orange ginger FO, but I had some friends over to make soap and they decided (after making soap with it) that they didn’t like it. 🙄
 
thank you @Vicki C! I had actually already added their orange ginger from a search I did here and found your post. I like most citrus Fo’s so it would be good to try. I will definitely check their bergamot! Is ho wood an actual thing or did auto correct mess it up?
(Edit: I just looked it up and it is indeed a thing, I had never heard of it! Thanks for mentioning it)

I was very surprised about it, as I had meant my review more as a warning to others about the low usage rate for pumpkin patch Fo, which I learned after getting it. I had not left reviews in their site before that I remember.
 
thank you @Vicki C! I had actually already added their orange ginger from a search I did here and found your post. I like most citrus Fo’s so it would be good to try. I will definitely check their bergamot! Is ho wood an actual thing or did auto correct mess it up?
(Edit: I just looked it up and it is indeed a thing, I had never heard of it! Thanks for mentioning it)

I was very surprised about it, as I had meant my review more as a warning to others about the low usage rate for pumpkin patch Fo, which I learned after getting it. I had not left reviews in their site before that I remember.
The orange ginger is not really citrusy - I’m not sure how to describe it. One friend thought it was chocolate. Another friend’s boyfriend didn’t like it at all. My husband is not a fan, which is funny because I am much pickier than he is. It’s sort of warm smelling if that makes any sense at all. (It doesn’t really, I know.) In any case I really like it and it sticks well in CP.
The ho wood is also called ravintsara, which is what I use on labels as ho wood is… problematic. (Thanks @KiwiMoose for finding that alternative name!) It’s a lot like rosewood, does not accelerate, and sticks in CP. my new favorite find of the year. Sort of a citrusy floral. (PS not the same as ravensara, much better I think.)
 
@Vicki C I noticed that Ho wood in Eocalc that it had a low usage rate, so I am guessing it is mostly used in blends? Thanks for sharing about the alternative name!
My husband likes a pear ginger sorbet that gives me an idea of the warmth note you are referring to, in the orange ginger fragrance. And I will definitely check out the rose fragrance, I like using rose notes in blends and that one sounds good even on its own.
 
I have used it alone and in a blend with bergamot, geranium, and copaiba balsam - great either way. I am a little confused by the IFRA standards. EO calc does not list a safe usage rate - essentially says there is no safe usage rate. New Directions says that the usage rate is not restricted in cold process soap because ho wood is not listed by IFRA. So maybe for that reason EO calc says there are no safe usage rates? NDA says it is 98% linalool. https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/msds/QR_HoWoodEssentialOil.pdf
IFRA says that products containing linalool should limit peroxide usage to the lowest possible level. https://ifrafragrance.org/standards/IFRA_STD48_0078.pdf. I assume this would be in other products where peroxide is used. So I’m not sure what to say - I used it at about 1%. I’m sure there are others who know a great deal more about the IFRA standards - and I’ll read about it later - right now I need to clean my soap studio!
 
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I have used it alone and in a blend with bergamot, geranium, and copaiba balsam - great either way. I am a little confused by the IFRA standards. EO call does not list a safe usage rate - essentially says there is no safe usage rate. New Directions says that the usage rate is not restricted in cold process soap because ho wood is not listed by IFRA. So maybe for that reason EO calc says there are no safe usage rates? NDA says it is 98% linalool. https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/msds/QR_HoWoodEssentialOil.pdf
IFRA says that products containing linalool should limit peroxide usage to the lowest possible level. https://ifrafragrance.org/standards/IFRA_STD48_0078.pdf. I assume this would be in other products where peroxide is used. So I’m not sure what to say - I used it at about 1%. I’m sure there are others who know a great deal more about the IFRA standards - and I’ll read about it later - right now I need to clean my soap studio!
I was confused by the IFRA sheet from NDA as well. Usually if something is safe at 100% they put that. What I did in eocalc is that I made a blend and when selecting Ho wood as 100% of that blend the results were on red. They say not to use if anything is red. Then I put it at 20% of the blend, and then it showed green (safe to use). I need to clean my soap room as well!
 
I buy all my E.O.s from them. I don't like many of their F.O.s though. I find them weak and chemical smelling. I do buy their Happy for Men F.O. and add a little lime E.O. to it. As someone else said their dark Patchouli E.O. is the best! At a great cost but way less than anywhere else. @Vicki C says carrier oils are cheaper elsewhere. I use their fractionated coconut oil (certified all coconut) for lotions. Is there a better place to buy this? I also use their polawax.
 
I buy all my E.O.s from them. I don't like many of their F.O.s though. I find them weak and chemical smelling. I do buy their Happy for Men F.O. and add a little lime E.O. to it. As someone else said their dark Patchouli E.O. is the best! At a great cost but way less than anywhere else. @Vicki C says carrier oils are cheaper elsewhere. I use their fractionated coconut oil (certified all coconut) for lotions. Is there a better place to buy this? I also use their polawax.
Thank you! I have bought fractionated coconut oil (usually if on sale) from WSP. However some of their oils can be competitively priced (I get their babassu oil for example) if buying enough amounts.
 
They are my go to for EOs and have purchased a few of their fragrances as well. I like their Patchouli, key lime, Tangerine 5x Natural Blend; lemongrass, mints. Rosemary seems variable and some years it has been outstanding and other times too woody. The tangerine 5x is the only one of the natural blends I purchase. I think it sticks fairly well and I like the bright sweet citrus. It is probably comparable to the Nature's garden blood orange fragrance. I have liked their rose garden FO. I am using their lily of the valley and their sandalwood amber fragrances right now. I think both are fine but not necessarily outstanding scents. I find myself using them with blenders.
 
I should soften my remarks about NDA's F.O.s. There are a few I have liked. Their Ruby Grapefruit smells very real, haven't tried it yet. I like their ylang ylang f.o. better than the nature identical. Sweet Pea is lovely OOB haven't tried it yet in CP soap.
 
I should soften my remarks about NDA's F.O.s. There are a few I have liked. Their Ruby Grapefruit smells very real, haven't tried it yet. I like their ylang ylang f.o. better than the nature identical. Sweet Pea is lovely OOB haven't tried it yet in CP soap.
Good to know. Their lemongrass verbena is one of my favorite fragrances of all times and it stays strong. And their coconut cream was good but nearly seizes the soap. The one fragrance that faded for me was their Frankincense & Myrrh but they do not carry it anymore. I have been considering sweet pea actually, I might add it. thanks!
 
They are my go to for EOs and have purchased a few of their fragrances as well. I like their Patchouli, key lime, Tangerine 5x Natural Blend; lemongrass, mints. Rosemary seems variable and some years it has been outstanding and other times too woody. The tangerine 5x is the only one of the natural blends I purchase. I think it sticks fairly well and I like the bright sweet citrus. It is probably comparable to the Nature's garden blood orange fragrance. I have liked their rose garden FO. I am using their lily of the valley and their sandalwood amber fragrances right now. I think both are fine but not necessarily outstanding scents. I find myself using them with blenders.
Thank you so much for sharing that, I like to blend fragrances as well so that is good to know.
 
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