# What if only one



## Carly B (Sep 2, 2019)

Over the years I've used a lot of suppliers for FOs.  I took a hiatus a few years ago, and got back into it slowly over the last two years.  Some of the old suppliers are still around, some are not. I've used some new suppliers in the past year as well.  And I'm discovering more all the time.  It can be overwhelming.   

So my question is, if you could only order FOs from ONE supplier, who would you choose?  I'm only talking FOs here---butters, waxes, additives can come from a different place.


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## Obsidian (Sep 2, 2019)

Most all my scents come from natures garden. I've always been happy with the quality and customer service.

There is one other supplier I use at times but thats only when I'm ordering color or oils and I toss in a favorite FO while I have the chance.


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## msunnerstood (Sep 2, 2019)

Natures Fragrance or fragrance buddy


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## runnerchicki (Sep 3, 2019)

Nature's Garden. They have such a variety to choose from, reasonable prices, and in my experience the quality is very good. Also they don't rape me on shipping and they ship quickly.


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## Lin19687 (Sep 3, 2019)

NG seems to have the best REVIEWS so you can get a good idea of how it is.  I try to put up reviews but just don't have the time for the TONS I have bought from them lol


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## shunt2011 (Sep 3, 2019)

I too mostly use Natures Garden. Though I also use a few others.


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## dibbles (Sep 3, 2019)

Nurture Soap or Fragrance Buddy. I've recently been trying a few from Elements and have been happy with what I've tried. There are a few that I will probably always order from Bramble Berry, WSP and Sweet Cakes.


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## zfarmmom (Sep 3, 2019)

Is Natures Garden's shipping expensive? Site says they use UPS, I would think it would be.


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## amd (Sep 4, 2019)

I would go with Natures Garden also.



zfarmmom said:


> Is Natures Garden's shipping expensive?


Their shipping has not been expensive. Last time I ordered 10 lbs of FO and shipping was $17. I should note that I buy 16oz bottles. Here's a snap of my last order:





So in my case with the additional discounts, I could look at it as shipping only added $5.26 to my total bill (that's less than the fee at WSP).


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## MGM (Sep 4, 2019)

Wait, Nature's Garden....THIS Nature's Garden? https://www.naturesgardencandles.com/
???
ETA: Oh never mind, I misread the address and thought it was close to me. I should really learn to use The Google properly.....


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## Lin19687 (Sep 5, 2019)

Yes that is the one


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## Megan (Sep 5, 2019)

amd said:


> I would go with Natures Garden also.
> 
> 
> Their shipping has not been expensive. Last time I ordered 10 lbs of FO and shipping was $17. I should note that I buy 16oz bottles. Here's a snap of my last order:
> ...



This gives me a very interesting perspective. I've been using WSP recently, but have not been super happy with the prices...it's just now I'm stuck with fragrances I really like and I'm worried about trying to find similar ones. I've used NG before, but was not super happy with the "depth" of their fragrances, they all seemed to me a little flat. I've just gotten into scent blending though, so maybe it's time to try them again.


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## lenarenee (Sep 5, 2019)

Megan said:


> This gives me a very interesting perspective. I've been using WSP recently, but have not been super happy with the prices...it's just now I'm stuck with fragrances I really like and I'm worried about trying to find similar ones. I've used NG before, but was not super happy with the "depth" of their fragrances, they all seemed to me a little flat. I've just gotten into scent blending though, so maybe it's time to try them again.



By depth do you mean strength? Or...a tendency to have single notes?

I've ordered about 60 fragrances from NG and didn't like any of them (for soap) except fresh cut roses.  Weak, short lived, always a weird dry dusty scent quality to every one that I don't get from any other supplier. (wondered if that came from being packaged in plastic, whereas most fo's I have are in glass)  Did I mention weak, and short lived??  Love the Orange Chili pepper oob, but loses quality in soap and fades almost completely by 2 months, but does a little better in salt bars. I started using a few in candles (and I mean a few - as in 12 or so) and their fragrance BLOOMED! Couldn't believe they were the same fo's!!


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## Megan (Sep 5, 2019)

lenarenee said:


> By depth do you mean strength? Or...a tendency to have single notes?
> 
> I've ordered about 60 fragrances from NG and didn't like any of them (for soap) except fresh cut roses.  Weak, short lived, always a weird dry dusty scent quality to every one that I don't get from any other supplier. (wondered if that came from being packaged in plastic, whereas most fo's I have are in glass)  Did I mention weak, and short lived??  Love the Orange Chili pepper oob, but loses quality in soap and fades almost completely by 2 months, but does a little better in salt bars. I started using a few in candles (and I mean a few - as in 12 or so) and their fragrance BLOOMED! Couldn't believe they were the same fo's!!


Interesting. I've found the ones I've used to stay pretty well over a year, then they have pretty much faded away for me too... It's kind of more that I like scents to be more complex. Also, there's that weird after smell that you mention.  It could be I chose the wrong ones too. I'm just getting back into wax so it will be interesting to try more in that application.


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## Lin19687 (Sep 6, 2019)

lenarenee said:


> By depth do you mean strength? Or...a tendency to have single notes?
> 
> I've ordered about 60 fragrances from NG and didn't like any of them (for soap) except fresh cut roses.  Weak, short lived, always a weird dry dusty scent quality to every one that I don't get from any other supplier. (wondered if that came from being packaged in plastic, whereas most fo's I have are in glass)  Did I mention weak, and short lived??  Love the Orange Chili pepper oob, but loses quality in soap and fades almost completely by 2 months, but does a little better in salt bars. I started using a few in candles (and I mean a few - as in 12 or so) and their fragrance BLOOMED! Couldn't believe they were the same fo's!!



I have to fully disagree on this !  I have about 80 FO's from NG and NONE have Faded.  Only one I had an issue with was the Cranberry because of the 1% usage but the scent came out at 4 months and is STILL holding after a year. Not strong but holding and also holding in a Mix I have too.
I have a bunch of soaps I made OVER 1.5 years from NG and they are holding Strong.  So you must be one of the only ones as there are No bad reviews on NG website about that Orange Chili scent.
No not dismiss NG, they have some FAB scents and great prices.  Not to mention they ship out super fast !


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## Carly B (Sep 6, 2019)

I found Nurture Soap by accident, and I tried it because they offer *free shipping over $30*.  High shipping prices are a real turnoff for me.  I have abandoned several orders at BB because the shipping cost was more than half the cost of what I was ordering. 

That being said, I have LOVED almost every FO I got from Nuture.  The Lush dupes are spot on. Their M&P bases are very low sweat for anyone doing M&P or embeds, and their micas are good too.  The downside is they don't offer a lot of things--molds (CP loaf type), micas and fragrances make up most of what they have.


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## Megan (Sep 6, 2019)

Carly B said:


> I found Nurture Soap by accident, and I tried it because they offer *free shipping over $30*.  High shipping prices are a real turnoff for me.  I have abandoned several orders at BB because the shipping cost was more than half the cost of what I was ordering.
> 
> That being said, I have LOVED almost every FO I got from Nuture.  The Lush dupes are spot on. Their M&P bases are very low sweat for anyone doing M&P or embeds, and their micas are good too.  The downside is they don't offer a lot of things--molds (CP loaf type), micas and fragrances make up most of what they have.



I feel like BB is an anomaly. Their products are waaay overpriced (like you would see with a company that has free shipping) but then their shipping is also ridiculous...and slow.... 

I'm not saying their stuff isn't good... I like a lot of their scents. I just can't justify my purchases from them anymore.


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## lenarenee (Sep 6, 2019)

Lin19687 said:


> I have to fully disagree on this !  I have about 80 FO's from NG and NONE have Faded.  Only one I had an issue with was the Cranberry because of the 1% usage but the scent came out at 4 months and is STILL holding after a year. Not strong but holding and also holding in a Mix I have too.
> I have a bunch of soaps I made OVER 1.5 years from NG and they are holding Strong.  So you must be one of the only ones as there are No bad reviews on NG website about that Orange Chili scent.
> No not dismiss NG, they have some FAB scents and great prices.  Not to mention they ship out super fast !



What the heck Lin? You've had a different experience than I have, but  I feel like you just told me I'm inept and can't judge the scent in my soaps (not to mention the many people who help smell and test what I make). I've been soaping for almost 6 years, I have copies of Nature's Gardens invoices and my soaping notes for 60 scents. I have at least 5 different scents on my curing rack right now that are 4 - 7 weeks old that were soaped at max percentage and have lost almost all their scent. Cured in a unused room on actual soaping racks in an air conditioned environment  24/7.  

And no, I'm not the only one with many unhappy results with NG fo's in soap - including those who do so publicly, such as FB and YT.  Plus, I can positively tell you that that some of the negative reviews on 2 of NG's fo's mysteriously disappeared.

Also, there are many people who don't post reviews. I don't. Period. 

NG has tons of different fo's, and surely no 2 soapers have ordered the exact same ones. We all have different experiences. But given my multitude of failed ones, plus the weird dusty scent that they all have oob that sometimes lasts in soap, I won't waste money on them again. (except possibly in a few years if I see lots of changes, such as what I did when Nurture first carried fo's. Lots of non-stickers; and last time I checked all but 1 of them were no longer carried by Nurture, so I started buying 2oz testers from them again.

I can send anyone interested samples of the soaps fragranced with NG fo's and you can judge for yourself.


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## amd (Sep 6, 2019)

lenarenee said:


> What the heck Lin? You've had a different experience than I have, but I feel like you just told me I'm inept and can't judge the scent in my soaps (not to mention the many people who help smell and test what I make).


I don't think she is implying that you are inept, just that your recipe may give you a different experience. For example, Carolyn says that Werewolf sticks very well, but last night I pulled out a beer soap that I made with it in November 2018 and there was no scent. Now I don't know if it has no scent or that the natural scent of beer soap just overwhelmed it as it aged (to me Werewolf is very light OOB too). I don't have Werewolf in my regular (non beer) recipe to compare it to, so I'm not going to go off my rocker and argue with Carolyn's assessment of it either. I do have an endcut of Linda's that she sent me a year ago and it smells like OOB. So I suspect that recipes play a huge part of how scents come through in soap, especially when dealing with reputable suppliers. NG may not work for your recipe, but many of us here have fantastic results with them. And that's not to say that you have a bad recipe either, so please don't assume that I'm saying that. Your recipe just works differently with FO's, as well as the individuality of everyone's noses. You tested 60 FO's and I find it hard to believe that all 60 were complete duds, so the only other factor in the equation is your recipe.

A year ago when I was looking into switching to NG, Linda very generously sent me over 30 endcuts of various NG fragrances she has used. I reference that 8lb box often when I need to decide if I want to buy a fragrance or not. So far none of the soaps have lost their original scent.


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## lenarenee (Sep 6, 2019)

Perhaps, but that would mean that she assumes I used one recipe only. I didn't.  It also assumes the recipe matters, which I see no proof of whatsoever (but never studied)with the possible exception of gelling. Lin's other post seemed to imply I wasn't using the right amount of fragrance....which does imply ineptness.....at least to me.

The point I wanted to make for the OP was that not everyone likes the same supplier for many different reasons, so not to put all your eggs in one basket, but try a few, and see what works for you.

There's a reason why I don't post fo reviews....they never tell the whole story, are only a guideline of what you might get.


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## Zany_in_CO (Sep 6, 2019)

If price isn't including in the equation, I would say *Majestic Mountain Sage*. I've had more consistent winners from there than any other supplier. The quality is top drawer, their fragrance calc is spot on, and most of what I've used in the past sticks. I found a bar of their Green Cactus the other day that is so old I have no remembrance of when it was made. (Of course, at my age, I have the same problem with the bars on the curing rack right now.  LOL Good thing I now use one of their *Cure Card* Sheets.


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## Zany_in_CO (Sep 6, 2019)

amd said:


> I suspect that recipes play a huge part of how scents come through in soap,


I agree. My lard soaps are the best for holding scents. I have a few on a shelf near the front door and I can smell that fragrance whenever I go out to get the mail. But *that fragrance* happens to be the ONLY one from WSP that worked well for me that I love.

I was a long-time WSP "Silver" level customer and as such, got FO freebies. i'd say I would have to go through 100 of their scents to find a winner. For example, I think they have about 8 lemony scents with nuthin' to write here about. Haha. BUT, that's just me. Still a good company to do business with.


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## Lin19687 (Sep 6, 2019)

Lin19687 said:


> I have to fully disagree on this !  I have about 80 FO's from NG and NONE have Faded.  Only one I had an issue with was the Cranberry because of the 1% usage but the scent came out at 4 months and is STILL holding after a year. Not strong but holding and also holding in a Mix I have too.
> I have a bunch of soaps I made OVER 1.5 years from NG and they are holding Strong.  So you must be one of the only ones as there are No bad reviews on NG website about that Orange Chili scent.
> No not dismiss NG, they have some FAB scents and great prices.  Not to mention they ship out super fast !


@lenarenee copy of my post, Please Do Not put words in my mouth as I did not say you were inept.  The 'Other Post' you are referring to was not to you, was it.
Again, don't put words in my mouth.
You can put me on ignore and there won't be any more issues.

To the OP,  I also have a couple from BCN, some not liking and a few others I really like.  
Look on the FO review Excel and see what is on there for where and what


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## Mobjack Bay (Sep 6, 2019)

Megan said:


> I feel like BB is an anomaly. Their products are waaay overpriced (like you would see with a company that has free shipping) but then their shipping is also ridiculous...and slow....
> 
> I'm not saying their stuff isn't good... I like a lot of their scents. I just can't justify my purchases from them anymore.


I just recently order 16 different FOs from BB.  The total cost was $123.05 for an assortment of 2 and 4 oz sizes and the shipping was $12.29 to Virginia from Washington state.  That’s a shipping bargain.  Scent-wise, I find the quality of BB FOs to be very good, and that’s also my opinion for those from MMS.  I can’t offer an opinion on how well any scent sticks because I’ve only been using FOs for a few months.


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## Arimara (Sep 7, 2019)

Megan said:


> I feel like BB is an anomaly. Their products are waaay overpriced (like you would see with a company that has free shipping) but then their shipping is also ridiculous...and slow....
> 
> I'm not saying their stuff isn't good... I like a lot of their scents. I just can't justify my purchases from them anymore.



I only order from BB when I see they have a good deal with shipping. Other than that, sourcing oils is a bit of a pain. I've never had a problem with BB's shipping either and I'm further east than you. I guess, I don't mind waiting and/or Wish trained my patience.


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## Megan (Sep 7, 2019)

Arimara said:


> I only order from BB when I see they have a good deal with shipping. Other than that, sourcing oils is a bit of a pain. I've never had a problem with BB's shipping either and I'm further east than you. I guess, I don't mind waiting and/or Wish trained my patience.



I guess I should say, when paying so much for shipping, it's annoying to have to wait so long. Handling last order for me took like a week, and then shipping was another 5 days or so.  It wasn't a sale week. At least shipping on wish is free.


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## Arimara (Sep 7, 2019)

Megan said:


> I guess I should say, when paying so much for shipping, it's annoying to have to wait so long. Handling last order for me took like a week, and then shipping was another 5 days or so.  It wasn't a sale week. At least shipping on wish is free.


If you haven't already, sign up for their emails. That's the best way to find when BB is having a sale or discounted shipping. Just use a dummy account unless you're one of those normies that wouldn't dare have more than 2 emails.


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## smoothOlive2019 (Sep 7, 2019)

Megan said:


> I feel like BB is an anomaly. Their products are waaay overpriced (like you would see with a company that has free shipping) but then their shipping is also ridiculous...and slow....
> 
> I'm not saying their stuff isn't good... I like a lot of their scents. I just can't justify my purchases from them anymore.


BB shipping is extremely SLOW!! Sometimes I even forget about having placed an order and then one day it’ll happen to show up!


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## smoothOlive2019 (Sep 7, 2019)

Arimara said:


> If you haven't already, sign up for their emails. That's the best way to find when BB is having a sale or discounted shipping. Just use a dummy account unless you're one of those normies that wouldn't dare have more than 2 emails.


I have worked the heck out of the SUMMER19 code for 20% off!


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## Arimara (Sep 8, 2019)

smoothOlive2019 said:


> I have worked the heck out of the SUMMER19 code for 20% off!


I used that to offset the faster shipping for me. I got my package within the week I ordered it.


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## smoothOlive2019 (Sep 8, 2019)

It’s so satisfying isn’t it?


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## maxine289 (Sep 9, 2019)

Megan said:


> I feel like BB is an anomaly. Their products are waaay overpriced (like you would see with a company that has free shipping) but then their shipping is also ridiculous...and slow....
> 
> I'm not saying their stuff isn't good... I like a lot of their scents. I just can't justify my purchases from them anymore.


I agree.  I think their fragrances are generally good and I like a lot of them, but they are REALLY slow with processing orders.  I've placed an order with BB and others on a Friday at the same time and the other shipments will arrive on Monday or Tues, but I don't get a shipping confirmation from BB until Tues or Weds.  Their stuff is expensive and since they package in glass bottles, their shipping costs are high.  I order when there is free shipping or  some sort of discount, and certainly not when I need something quickly.


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## maxine289 (Sep 9, 2019)

Carly B said:


> I found Nurture Soap by accident, and I tried it because they offer *free shipping over $30*.  High shipping prices are a real turnoff for me.  I have abandoned several orders at BB because the shipping cost was more than half the cost of what I was ordering.
> 
> That being said, I have LOVED almost every FO I got from Nuture.  The Lush dupes are spot on. Their M&P bases are very low sweat for anyone doing M&P or embeds, and their micas are good too.  The downside is they don't offer a lot of things--molds (CP loaf type), micas and fragrances make up most of what they have.


I like Nurture Soap a lot.  Their fragrances are great and shipping is quick.  There is free shipping, but I'm sure that just means there is some shipping cost added to the price of the item.


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## maxine289 (Sep 9, 2019)

I have also gotten good fragrances from Lone Star Candle Supply that stick in soap. The Flaming Candle also has nice fragrances but haven't used them long enough to see how they stick.


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## Shirley Story (Sep 10, 2019)

My favorite is Candle Science.  Shipping won't kill you and they have great .99 cent 1oz.sales...and the scents are strong (IMHO).


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## SoaperForLife (Sep 11, 2019)

Like Zany, I would have to go with MMS. Most of my fragrance oils come from them - the quality, performance and staying power are top notch, they ship out fairly fast and if you spend something like $200 you get free shipping.  Unlike so many other soapers, I don't get any FO's from WSP as I've never found any that suited me.  I get one oil from BB because it holds in CP and people really like it and I buy Perfect Man from NG and that's it from them.  I also shop at Oregon Trail Soap Supplies, Sweet Cakes, Elements B&B and Symphony Scents.


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## Carly B (Sep 11, 2019)

SoaperForLife said:


> Like Zany, I would have to go with MMS. Most of my fragrance oils come from them - the quality, performance and staying power are top notch, they ship out fairly fast and if you spend something like $200 you get free shipping.  Unlike so many other soapers, I don't get any FO's from WSP as I've never found any that suited me.  I get one oil from BB because it holds in CP and people really like it and I buy Perfect Man from NG and that's it from them.  I also shop at Oregon Trail Soap Supplies, Sweet Cakes, Elements B&B and Symphony Scents.



When I started soaping (M&P and rebatch), I got a lot from MMS and Oregon Trail.  MMS Wild Mint and Ivy is still one of my favorites, as is Oregon Trail's Sapmoss.  When I started up again after a hiatus of several years, ScentWorks, which had some of my favorites, was long gone, and I discovered Nurture.
Carrie at Nurture has fabulous Lush dupes, free shipping over $30, is quick, and usually includes a sample.  But thanks to the *enablers *on this forum, I've tried Fragrance Buddy and Nature's Garden.

What I really need to do is stop buying fragrance oils.


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## zfarmmom (Sep 12, 2019)

Does anyone use Aztec? I was wondering how they compare to some of the other ones that have been mentioned.


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## Zany_in_CO (Sep 12, 2019)

zfarmmom said:


> Does anyone use Aztec? I was wondering how they compare to some of the other ones that have been mentioned.


The best way to search SMF is Google:
(type your keywords here) site:soapmakingforum.com
Like this:
Aztec, site:soapmakingforum.com


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