# Peak FO=good deal



## PrairieCraft (Jul 9, 2010)

Just ordered 2 sample packs from peak.  I love that they let you pick the ones you want.  Other places have samplers with specific oils, not as fun.  

Thanks to Honor for the recommendations, I see you suggest peak all the time.

That's all, really excited, needed to share.


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## honor435 (Jul 9, 2010)

I adore peak, and you can duplicate any of the samples, or triple! If you want any suggestions, ask me. which ones did you buy?


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## PrairieCraft (Jul 9, 2010)

#1 coconut milk
#2 fresh brewed coffee
#3 gardenia
#4 wild mountain honey
#5 tall grass
#6 storm watcher
#7 twilight wood
#8 green tea
#9 juniper breeze
#10 cabernet grape
#1 beach daisies
#2 black canyon
#3 botanical orchard & nectar
#4 grapefruit
#5 mountain pine
#6 lavender
#7 orange blossom
#8 winter wonderland
#9 apple blossom
#10 amish harvest
  This looks bad :twisted: 

I'm tired of spending too much on oils I end up not liking, this is the perfect way to try some stuff in an affordable way.  I tend to like the scents that are a little more masculine, not a girly girl.  A couple of these are ones that family members requested.  I'm most excited about the wild mountain honey.  There are probably a few here that I won't like but the pic or description got me!

You can get multiples of the same oil??  I figured you couldn't, that is great to know for future purchases.

Someone on another thread mentioned pthalates(sp?) do peaks oils contain this?  Is it a big deal?


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## Laurie (Jul 9, 2010)

Does anyone know if Peak's delivers to Canada?  This sounds like to good a deal to pass up.

Laurie


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## honor435 (Jul 9, 2010)

wow! ok:
black canyon: is to die for, my best selling mens scent, very musky good
coffee- def smells like coffee, i made some hand soap w it
wild mt honey- is my best seller up north, not at my work, weird, very nice honey smell, stays on your skin for while, as does canyon
twilight- i made in lotion, im liking it
greentea- yuck, double yuck, didnt sell one, gave it away to college student, he didnt care!
coc milk- nice, does discolor to med tan

weird,but those are not the usual ones I buy, yes, you can get as many of the same as you want, which I like.
next time, try:
brown sugar fig, cran apple marmalade, cedar, lemon pd cake, coc lime verbena, french van/amber


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## honor435 (Jul 9, 2010)

Laurie
they dont  , 
ask others from there where to shop for fos. We have good advice!


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## Laurie (Jul 9, 2010)

Thanks for the quick reply Honor.

I do know a number of friends & relatives who travel up.  I might be able to get them to bring a parcel with them. :wink: 

Laurie


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## honor435 (Jul 9, 2010)

let me know if you have any questions about certain scents, ive bought quite a few from them! where do you live in Canada? I live in mn, were kinda neighbors.


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## PrairieCraft (Jul 10, 2010)

honor435 said:
			
		

> wow! ok:
> black canyon: is to die for, my best selling mens scent, very musky good
> coffee- def smells like coffee, i made some hand soap w it
> wild mt honey- is my best seller up north, not at my work, weird, very nice honey smell, stays on your skin for while, as does canyon
> ...



So glad to hear a good review on some of the ones I thought would be nice.  Mom's gonna be disappointed about the green tea, that was going to be for her.  I am working on christmas gifts for everyone!  Hope they all like soap cus that's the only gift anyone will be getting from me for a while.    I want to make small bars for my clients this year for everyone to try a freebie during my experimentation phase and to encourage interest.  I figure six months and dozens of batches from now I should be far enough along and have a nice soap that I can be proud to give to someone.  What do you think I could scent it with that a diverse bunch of people would all like?  Maybe the honey, or maybe the coconut if it doesn't smell too strong.  I give all of my massages using 100% CO so that might be kinda neat.  (I would love strong coconut fo but not everyone does)


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## honor435 (Jul 10, 2010)

the honey is nice, c mlik also, what size give aways? If you only bought one ounce of each you wont be able to make much soap out of that, it would def scent a 32 o batch of hp, or are you doing cp? then you need more, unless you are doing 1 lb batches, which i think is too small. what kind of recipe are you using? I really like, oo, po, co, castor, shea.


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## PrairieCraft (Jul 11, 2010)

I have been making 3# batches, until last week when I bought an individual bar silicone mold it says 30oz but barely holds 25oz.  I don't like using it cause the batches are too small and hard to mix.  So, I am just using it to test the FOs and to mess around with different combinations of oils.  
I am basically using CO, OO, PO and castor but my favorite batch so far I added a little PKO and Almond Butter and almond oil.  It could just be that this was the honey almond oatmeal bar that is my fav anyway.  I have also made batches without the PO and have made sample batches using grapeseed oil, avocado oil and coffee butter, yum. combined with the basic recipe.  Most are still curing 
Don't have shea yet wanted to try one expensive thing at  a time. 
I ordered all these 1oz bottles just to try before I decide which ones I would actually like to make a 3# batch out of.  It's too expensive to buy 4oz of an oil to  make a 3# batch and then not like it, or even if I do like it there's no way I could afford to make 20 different 3# batches just for the sake of trying something new.  
So do you think shea is better than almond butter?  I only tried almond butter first cus I though it would be cute to use in the almond scented oatmeal bar that I am obsessed with.  
With my log mold the size bar I've been cutting is 4oz so I figured I would just cut a thinner bar at about 2oz.  Is that too skimpy?


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## tespring (Jul 12, 2010)

I went to our local Farmers Market on Saturday and the woman that was selling soap was selling hers in 2 oz bars for 3 dollars a piece.  They look on the smallish side but I cut mine 4-5 oz so that might be why.  I figure, some people might want to try something before they spend a bunch so I can see why she would do that.  She also told me that she doesn't make much money from her soap.   :cry:


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## PrairieCraft (Jul 15, 2010)

My initial take on these out of the bottle.

*coconut milk* - Mmm yummy.  Not like sun tan lotion.--*Didn't hold up in the soap, can barely smell it after only a few days and the scent that is left smells kinda chemically.*
*fresh brewed coffee* -  Stronger coffee smell than crafters choice coffee             beans.  CC smells a little nutty, which I like.  This is not bad.
*gardenia* - Not a fan of gardenia, this is for mother, but it is nice, not sickly sweet.--*In soap it smells more sugary than flowery, will be trying a different one next time.*
*wild mountain honey* -  Lovely honey scent,  smells just like the honey in my cabinet, this will be one of the first to try.
*tall grass* - Much more subtle than CC fresh cut grass, this will probably make a nicer soap to use, but the CC one would make a great candle.
*storm watcher* -  I like this but it is hard to describe.  It's a very clean scent will make great man soap.  Uncomplicated fragrance.
*twilight wood* -  This is nice, makes me smile.  Hard to describe, almost has a candy like smell to it, something in it reminds me of the Ibiza Hippy perfume.  I haven't been in a BBW in a while so I can't say how it compares to their version.  Maybe I should go in for research.--*LOVE LOVE LOVE*
*green tea* - Weird almost smells a little sour and flowery this one will be saved for later...much later.--*DM and DH liked this out of the bottle so I went ahead with it, I still don't like it, will have to see what they think.  I will post pics of the mess I made adding tea leaves to it*
*juniper breeze* - Smells almost just like the BBW version but I like this more it isn't as obnoxiously strong.
*cabernet grape* - Was hoping for something a little more complex this is pretty much just grape, reminds me of bubble yum.
*beach daisies* - Don't think I like this, it's not particularly bad but smells like something old fashioned.  Won't be in a hurry to get to this one.
*black canyon* - Smells a little powdery and subtle but very complex at the same time, a classic male scent.
*botanical orchard & nectar* -  Hmm, another one that makes me think candle.  I do love those candles. 
*grapefruit* - Very tart grapefruit, sharp scent not a bit of sugar
*mountain pine* -  I am very partial to the pine fragrances and this is a good one.
* lavender* -  Smells like laundry detergent, nice and clean.  Maybe I will try some laundry soap with this one.
*orange blossom* -  Not a fan, something is overpowering the orange smells perfumey.  Yuck.
*winter wonderland* -  This is wonderful, love evergreen scents.  This just screams winter candle though, not sure how it will be in soap.
*apple blossom* - smells like the aussie shampoo, more of a green apple scent 
*amish harvest* - smells like a pumpkin spice would probably be better in a candle

AND... they put a free sample bottle of Strawberry Rhubarb in. It's not something I would have picked but I actually like it, very fresh and real smelling if I had a pie FO strawberry rhubarb pie would be a good blend.

Over all I would say there are more likes than dislikes.  Shipping was timely.  It was so much fun unwrapping all of the little bottles, l thought I pulled them all out and days later realized I forgot one and then discovered the free sample, felt like it was my birthday 

Edited to add review after soaping.


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## BakingNana (Jul 16, 2010)

[quote="PrairieCraft
Someone on another thread mentioned pthalates(sp?) do peaks oils contain this?  Is it a big deal?[/quote]

I have Peak's on my list of phthalate-free suppliers, but when I went to check my files and their website, I can't find the statement.  I sent a message asking them again.  I have always been pleased with Peak.


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## BakingNana (Jul 17, 2010)

Found it...Peaks will send you a list of the FOs which do not contain phthalates.  You can send an inquiry to them, or PM me and I'll send it to you.


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## honor435 (Aug 2, 2010)

really? my co mlik held up really well in hp.
 I love love black canyon, hubbys favorite, i cant keep them around, most men like it, its a strong musk smell.
jamaica me crazy is very nice, i got that one as a sample and bought one more so I could do a batch of cp, it turned out a nice med purple.
poemegranete is very nice also, made that pink
mango papapya is good too.
 I alsso didnt likr orange summer flower, i just bought some plain orange to tame it down?


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## PrairieCraft (Aug 2, 2010)

I may have to try hp soon, it sounds like some of the scents hold up better that way.  It's been a couple weeks and the chemical smell of the coconut died down a little but there just isn't anything nice left.  I think the same thing is going to happen to the wild mountain honey, great out of the bottle and right after unmolding but it has that same chemical smell after a few days of curing, maybe it will straighten itself out after a few weeks, hope so.  

I used the black canyon the other day and it's good smells better in the soap than out of the bottle.  

Good idea about adding something to the orange blossom, what the heck were they thinking with this one?  

So do you do mostly hp?  I would love to try the coconut and honey again if that is what will make them work.  It just seems like there is a lot more to go wrong with the hp.


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## honor435 (Aug 2, 2010)

I dont do mostly hp, but have with honey and coc milk, that honey is strong it should hold up in cp. let me know, also if you want advice on hp, its easy, just that you need more time for it to cook.


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## BakingNana (Aug 2, 2010)

On the Orange Blossom, are you talking about their Fleurs d'Oranger?  That's my best seller!  It's exactly how orange blossoms smell.  Funny how differently people perceive scents, isn't it?  I didn't think this old fashioned floral would fly.  I was wrong.


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## PrairieCraft (Aug 2, 2010)

It says that it's new and the name is Orange Blossom, Fleurs d'Orange isn't anywhere in the title or description but since there is nothing named Fleurs d'Orange that must be it.  Maybe I will try it in the soap then and be surprised :?


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