# Basic Fragrance



## SgtSluggo (Jun 28, 2017)

Any suggestions for fragrances (FO's or EO's) that are simple (fewer oils are better), easy to obtain ingredients, and work in a variety of soap (HP and CP)?  I don't have any fragrances at all and plan on making mostly fragrance free soap for my family but would like to have a basic clean smelling fragrance when I want the soap to have a smell other than soap.


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## navigator9 (Jun 28, 2017)

Fragrance is very subjective, one person's "Wow!" is another person's "Ugh!" That being said, I have never had anyone react negatively to Brambleberry's Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. I use it in CP soap all the time, it discolors to a tan color, no acceleration that I've noted. I don't do HP, so can't tell you anything about that.


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## Obsidian (Jun 28, 2017)

I also have all around approval for Brambleberry's Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. Peppermint is also liked by most, I found I prefer peppermint fragrance oil over essential oil.


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## toxikon (Jun 28, 2017)

navigator9 said:


> Fragrance is very subjective, one person's "Wow!" is another person's "Ugh!" That being said, I have never had anyone react negatively to Brambleberry's Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. I use it in CP soap all the time, it discolors to a tan color, no acceleration that I've noted. I don't do HP, so can't tell you anything about that.



Funny you should say that... :mrgreen: I wouldn't say that I _hate_ BB's OMH, but I'm definitely not a fan.


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## toxikon (Jun 28, 2017)

You could always grab something like this to get your feet wet: https://nurturesoap.com/collections...ing-fragrances-sample-set?variant=40344147660


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## BrewerGeorge (Jun 28, 2017)

I would recommend Honey I Washed the Kids from Nurture.


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## dixiedragon (Jun 28, 2017)

Fragrance is so subjective. 2 people named OMH - the OMH I have from BB (I think it's the Cybilla version) has a Play-dough note to my nose.

I love Honey I Washed The Kids (at Lush, anyway) but I would not call it "basic and clean smelling". It is rich and sweet.

Go to someplace with a variety of scented soaps (Lush, Whole Foods, Bath and Body) and smell them and see which ones are what you want.


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## babysoapmaker (Jun 28, 2017)

Is "Honey I Washed The Kids" at Nurture the same one (or dupe) of the Lush one? That was one of my favorite bars from them, when I bought soap from them, but I agree it doesn't smell (or feel, though I think that's not the FO) very clean. 

I tried making a soap with blackcurrant FO because I love the smell of their Comforter bubble bars, too. In the bottle the FO smelled perfect to me, but I think I didn't use nearly enough or I added it early and it cooked out or something.  It was my first batch of soap ever and it seems to be turning into actual soap, just scentless and colorless, so I guess it could be worse, but it would be nice to figure out the scent. 

Anyway my suggestion is to look at a fragrance calculator before you buy anything to make sure you are getting enough. But given that I have only done the one soap yet, take anything I have to say with a biiiig grain of salt.


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## BrewerGeorge (Jun 28, 2017)

You're right about Honey...  Rich and sweet is a good characterization.  I mentioned it because I thought it would be inoffensive to just about everybody.


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## dixiedragon (Jun 28, 2017)

babysoapmaker has a good point. You do want enough to do a test batch! If you are doing a 1 lb test batch, 1 oz should be good.

Nurture's Honey I Washed The Kids is supposed to be a Lush dupe, though I can't tell you how good it is. I got Nurturer's Yuzu and Cocoa and it smells soooo much better than the Lush bath bombs.


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## littlehands (Jun 28, 2017)

I concur on Oatmeal, Milk and Honey as a good basic scent. If you want to go for toward fresh, check out some citrus fragrances. Sage and Lemongrass from Brambleberry is a great one. I also really love Bamboo and White Grapefruit from Nature's Garden.


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## Seawolfe (Jun 28, 2017)

Ok Ill be the EO proponent - I would recommend Lavender EO if you can only get one. Add Rosemary EO if you can only get two  I have found exactly one FO that I love (BB fresh cut grass), the rest smell like perfume to me.
My super simple least expensive EO starter list for solo or blending would be:

Lavender
Rosemary
Lemongrass &/or Litsea Cubeba
Eucalyptus
Peppermint &/or Spearmint
Patchouli
Cedar (sub if you don't like Patchouli)
Geranium Rose


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## dibbles (Jun 28, 2017)

When I think clean scent, I would say that I tend to think of green and herbal scents. Rosemary-Mint, Eucalyptus-Mint, Lavender-Mint are all good, clean blends to my nose. I agree, if I could only have one EO it would be lavender. My EO list would be lavender, peppermint, rosemary, litsea and eucalyptus in that order. I happen to love patchouli, so I would add that too. 

I've never used, but have read comments on BB Soapy Clean smelling like Tone soap. Kentish Rain is a clean smelling fragrance oil. Avobath might be another to check. Nurture has a version, and great mica selection if that interests you. Fragrance Buddy has a version called Citrus Showers. I'm not crazy about, but a clean smell a lot of people do seem to like is cucumber. 

Read the reviews on the fragrance oil spreadsheet, or suppliers websites.


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## bumbleklutz (Jun 28, 2017)

I like Nurture's Satsuma Orange.  It's a straight up citrus scent, and it's not too complex.  I think it smells fresh, invigorating, and clean.  It doesn't accelerate, but it does discolor a slight yellow.  Also some folks; myself included, think that it causes the soap to stay soft in the mold a bit longer than normal.  So plan on giving the soap some extra time before unmolding and cutting.


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## dixiedragon (Jun 28, 2017)

I encourage the sniffing because you may find something where the name or the description doesn't seem like something you'd like, but you like the scent. I used to never get fig scents. I don't like figs. But I have discovered from a few samples that I really dig fig scents.


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## BrewerGeorge (Jun 28, 2017)

What about BB's Energy?  I've never tried it, but I've heard a lot of good things.


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## lenarenee (Jun 28, 2017)

toxikon said:


> Funny you should say that... :mrgreen: I wouldn't say that I _hate_ BB's OMH, but I'm definitely not a fan.



Same here. It's not unpleasant to me,  nor smells like it's name, but does smell like food and I can't bear for soap to smell like baked goods.


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## SgtSluggo (Jun 28, 2017)

I like the ideas of a couple of EO's and I can pick up the Lavender and Peppermint oils locally.  Any suggestions for a lavender-mint blend?


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## dibbles (Jun 28, 2017)

You'll only need a tiny amount of mint - that one gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Plus, you have to be careful with usage rates for mint as well. I like 4 parts lavender to 1 part mint.


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## Kittish (Jun 28, 2017)

Another EO proponent here. Lavender is a good choice if you can only get one. A combination of Fir Needle, Cedarwood and Frankincense makes a nice outdoorsy scent.


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## Saranac (Jun 28, 2017)

A blend of lavender, rosemary, and peppermint is really refreshing and lasts nicely in CP.
My favorit blend is bergamot and fir needle with a touch of patchouli.


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## HowieRoll (Jun 28, 2017)

I'm out of town at the moment and don't have access to my notes, but a popular blend among my friends and family involves lemongrass, peppermint, and spearmint.  If I recall correctly (and it's possible I am mis-remembering), it's 50% lemongrass, 25% peppermint, and 25% spearmint (but 50% lemongrass and 50% peppermint would work, too).  It's simple, refreshing, and the lemongrass and mints are both "loud" scents so neither one seems to cancel the other out - they both just fight for top billing in the nose.

As for the lavender/mint blend, I agree with dibbles to go easy on the mint or you will have a MINT soap with a teeeeeny-tiny backdrop of lavender.  Without my notes I can't remember what proportion of each I use, but dibbles suggestion of 4 parts lavender (80%) and 1 part mint (20%) sounds like about what I may have done.


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## Zany_in_CO (Jun 29, 2017)

SgtSluggo said:


> I don't have any fragrances at all and plan on making mostly fragrance free soap for my family but would like to have a basic clean smelling fragrance...



MMS (Majestic Mountain Sage) in Utah:  www.thesage.com
Use their fragrance calculator to determine use rate for EOs & FOs too. 
These are some I would consider clean, gender neutral, and classic favorites.

Coconut Lime Verbena
Juniper Breeze
Lemon Verbena
Sap Moss
Tahitian Vanilla


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## fuzz-juzz (Jun 29, 2017)

OHM by BB smells like play dough. 
Same with WSP version.
BB has some lovely FOs but I personally think OHM isn't one of them. :silent:
But I have super-taster tendencies and like someone mentioned above, sense of smell is such an individual thing.
Am a yet to find honey or oatmeal soap that doesn't smell like play dough.

I haven't tried many new BB FOs in the past few years but I gave them a go again and found few really nice ones.
Green fig and Grapefruit Bellini both have such a really nice refreshing scent and last well in CP.
Kumquat is one of my old favorites.
Although Kumquat and Energy are quite similar (at least to me lol) I just can't stand Energy. It is loved by so many, but to me it's this nauseating, chemical smelling stuff. I hated it so much that I had to throw a whole batch of soap into the rubbish, I just couldn't stand it in my curing room. 

And from NG, I really like Clean (type), fresh, crisp cotton-y scent, Alien, a bit weird, but fresh and long lasting, lovely after a long cure.

As for the plain scent, I like vanilla, just plain vanilla, I tried many versions, they are all similar. it can be mixed with anything and fix some FOs that are bit meh (but not BB Energy though lol).

And always test, with new FOs, there's nothing worse than ending up with a 1kg batch soap smelling like something you don't like.


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## dixiedragon (Jun 29, 2017)

The Sage has an Amazing Dozen - free shipping one 1 dozen 1 oz bottles. It can be anything in a 1 oz bottle - FOs, EOs, flavors, etc. That would be a good way to try stuff.

Energy from BB is another example - it's very very popular but I actually dislike it a lot. Like weird gross off-brand Tang.


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## earlene (Jun 29, 2017)

BrewerGeorge said:


> What about BB's Energy?  I've never tried it, but I've heard a lot of good things.



I find Energy to be rather overpowering and quite strong.  It actually gives me headaches, it is so strong.


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## DeeAnna (Jun 29, 2017)

Lavender EO is always a good basic scent and many people like it. It lends itself to blending -- For example, add a small amount of mint and you've got a sweet minty scent. Add a moderate amount of rosemary and you get a clean, sweet herbaceous fragrance. 

Just a caution -- If you use lavender EO, buy only as much as you will use in a reasonable amount of time and store it in the fridge. Lavender EO is prone to oxidizing as it ages. The oxidized EO can cause overall rancidity to develop in soap. I don't mean this to deter anyone from using lavender EO -- it's a relatively safe EO with many benefits, and it's one of my favorites.


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## anjouwu (Jul 2, 2017)

BrewerGeorge said:


> What about BB's Energy?  I've never tried it, but I've heard a lot of good things.





It's controversial. You're right that it has fans, but I'm in the group of people who are old enough to remember Tang and that's what I think my Energy-scented cured bars smell like.


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## Cindy2428 (Jul 3, 2017)

Another EO for a lighter scent would be lemongrass - relatively inexpensive and clean. Someone mentioned Satsuma Orange from Nurture Soap; also very nice; does not turn into cleaning chemical smell. Another clean one is Avobath; a good unisex citrus scent.


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## Kamahido (Jul 3, 2017)

I like Apricot Freesia from Brambleberry myself.


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