# Patchouli and Anise?



## KiwiMoose (Feb 8, 2020)

All you Patchouli haters can stay out of this convo 

Anyone tried this combination?  I thought it might be quite nice.  3/4 patchouli and 1/4 anise I think sounds about right.

Thoughts?


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## szaza (Feb 8, 2020)

Never used it, but sounds lovely! I might steal that one and use it in a soap for my mom
Be aware that the use of star anise is restricted, so run your recipe through an eocalc before making soap with this blend.


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## KiwiMoose (Feb 8, 2020)

This is handy: https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/essential-oil-usage-rates-ifra-guidelines/


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## szaza (Feb 8, 2020)

Nice! Hadn't found that one yet, thanks for sharing!


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## soapmaker (Feb 8, 2020)

KiwiMoose said:


> All you Patchouli haters can stay out of this convo
> 
> Anyone tried this combination?  I thought it might be quite nice.  3/4 patchouli and 1/4 anise I think sounds about right.
> 
> Thoughts?


Perfect.


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## Nona'sFarm (Feb 8, 2020)

KiwiMoose said:


> All you Patchouli haters can stay out of this convo


Ya talking to me? 
Wish I liked it, there seem to be a lot of blends that include it.


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## cmzaha (Feb 8, 2020)

I mixed it several yrs ago but do not remember the percentages. I do remember liking it but did not sell well for me, so did not try it again. But I am one that loves Patchouli and Anise...


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## KiwiMoose (Feb 8, 2020)

cmzaha said:


> I mixed it several yrs ago but do not remember the percentages. I do remember liking it but did not sell well for me, so did not try it again. But I am one that loves Patchouli and Anise...


Not many of us around...


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## soapmaker (Feb 8, 2020)

KiwiMoose said:


> Not many of us around...


Count me in. And a lot of my customers. Another favourite: Orange, Patchouli, Anise, Cloves


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## szaza (Feb 8, 2020)

I'm not a straight-up patchouli lover, but it's wonderful in blends. Might I add patchouli+pine? Don't remember the ratios, but I remember being surprised they worked so well together.


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## dibbles (Feb 8, 2020)

KiwiMoose said:


> All you Patchouli haters can stay out of this convo
> 
> Anyone tried this combination?  I thought it might be quite nice.  3/4 patchouli and 1/4 anise I think sounds about right.
> 
> Thoughts?


What about patchouli lovers but anise haters


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## KiwiMoose (Feb 8, 2020)

dibbles said:


> What about patchouli lovers but anise haters


Haters gonna hate!


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## MGM (Feb 8, 2020)

dibbles said:


> What about patchouli lovers but anise haters


Are there any though? My theory is that there are a few things that people either love or hate:
patchouli, anise and cilantro are my list so far. And everyone I know falls on the same side with all of these!


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## KiwiMoose (Feb 8, 2020)

MGM said:


> Are there any though? My theory is that there are a few things that people either love or hate:
> patchouli, anise and cilantro are my list so far. And everyone I know falls on the same side with all of these!


Aw yeah, I like all three!


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## dibbles (Feb 8, 2020)

I love patchouli and cilantro (well, to eat, not as a fragrance) and hate anise. I also don’t care for amber which I think most people love given the number of FOs that contain it.


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## Misschief (Feb 8, 2020)

MGM said:


> Are there any though? My theory is that there are a few things that people either love or hate:
> patchouli, anise and cilantro are my list so far. And everyone I know falls on the same side with all of these!


Not sure about that. I love patchouli and anise but not cilantro.


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## Frenchy-C (Feb 9, 2020)

I have used this in a Beer soap made this week, and added some vanilla as well.
Although you cannot smell it,  the vanilla turned my soap quite dark which was perfect for Guiness beer...
And all you can smell now is Anise and some patchouli.
I like this scent very much, but will not be for everyone.


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## MGM (Feb 9, 2020)

Misschief said:


> Not sure about that. I love patchouli and anise but not cilantro.


Time to get my Venn diagrammer out!
My wife and I both love all 3, but our two boys detest cilanto and anise. They don't yet try to escape the house when they smell patchouli...


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## lucycat (Feb 9, 2020)

I have a Spanish Anise that I really like.  In the right amount it adds a sweetness and uniqueness to a blend but if I use too much it is ANISE.  I blend with a lavender - orange combination of 8 parts- lav/orange with 1 part Anise.  In that amount the anise is very noticeable to me but most people don't say Licorice.   So,  I would probably first try more patchouli and less anise.  I would hate to use expensive patchouli and have it smell like licorice.   If it were me I would try patchouli orange and anise.


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## KiwiMoose (Feb 9, 2020)

Zoooom!  Straight to thick trace.  I ended up using a mix of Patchouli, Anise and Cinnamon.  Of the 32 g of Eos it was 4g Anise, 3g Cinnamon and 25g Patchouli.  Will see how it smells tomorrow.  I'm not the best 'smeller' because I'm kind of immune to scents now after smelling them all day long in my house.


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## AliOop (Feb 9, 2020)

@KiwiMoose - Cinnamon has eugenol in it. Eugenol is a trace accelerant. I use a few drops of cinnamon EO to accelerate trace in high-temp HP.


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## lucycat (Feb 9, 2020)

I think that sounds a lot better than a 3:1 blend.   I will be curious of what you think in a month or so.  I think the cinnamon sounds nice with the anise.   I think it was the cinnamon that accelerated so much.  If the anise accelerates I don't remember it being much.  Cinnamon is always a freight train.


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## KiwiMoose (Feb 9, 2020)

Oh yes - I know cinnamon accelerates but I don't recall it moving that fast before.


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## KiwiMoose (Mar 8, 2020)

This has now mellowed out to a nice warm sweet smell - at first it was a bit clinical smelling. I have found with other times using anise that after a month or two it adds a sweetness to the overall scent. Nice.


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## soapgeek (May 22, 2020)

szaza said:


> Never used it, but sounds lovely! I might steal that one and use it in a soap for my mom
> Be aware that the use of star anise is restricted, so run your recipe through an eocalc before making soap with this blend.


Hi, hope you don't mind me jumping in on this one?

I believe recommended rates are different between countries - for example, in the EU, the maximum recommended dilution rate for rinse-off products is 3%.

I've attached a screenshot from the website of a UK company that does the cosmetic safety reports - the maximum recommended safe dilution for Star Anise in UK/EU is 0.15%.






szaza said:


> Never used it, but sounds lovely! I might steal that one and use it in a soap for my mom
> Be aware that the use of star anise is restricted, so run your recipe through an eocalc before making soap with this blend.


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## KiwiMoose (May 22, 2020)

I only use 3% in total of essential oils - 30g in a 1 kilo ( of oil) batch.  So when I blend it's rare that they go over the recommended amounts.  However I note that I'm actually using Aniseed and not Anise, so that means I can use 0.05% more than the star anise recommendation - woohoo!


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## szaza (May 23, 2020)

Thanks @soapgeek I wasn't aware of that. I've recently gone up to 5% and really liked the intensity of the smell at that percentage. I don't sell, but it's still good to know the officially allowed maximums.


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## soapgeek (May 23, 2020)

szaza said:


> Thanks @soapgeek I wasn't aware of that. I've recently gone up to 5% and really liked the intensity of the smell at that percentage. I don't sell, but it's still good to know the officially allowed maximums.


Modern Soapmakings 'EOCALC' is a good guide anyway, as it lists whether oils are safe at 1%, 3%, etc... It's good for flagging up potentially unsafe oils, but I'm not sure if it tells what the usage rates are for 'hot' or potentially unsafe oils, eg clove, cinnamon,  etc...  for example, I read recently that usage advice has changed for cinnamon, to 0.07% I think it was.  On the screenshot I attached, it's still 0.5...


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## Mobjack Bay (May 24, 2020)

I read somewhere that the IFRA guidelines have tended to get tighter for a number of EOs, like basil, which contains carvacrol.  I've seen some very expensive basil EO that does not have much carvacrol, but most of what's readily available and affordable does, including the bottle I bought before I did my homework 

Plus, different EOs can contain the same offending/regulated constituents, can't they?  I think that complicates blending.  I bought Tisserand and Young's book so I don't go too far astray.


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## soapgeek (May 24, 2020)

Mobjack Bay said:


> I read somewhere that the IFRA guidelines have tended to get tighter for a number of EOs, like basil, which contains carvacrol.  I've seen some very expensive basil EO that does not have much carvacrol, but most of what's readily available and affordable does, including the bottle I bought before I did my homework
> 
> Plus, different EOs can contain the same offending/regulated constituents, can't they?  I think that complicates blending.  I bought Tisserand and Young's book so I don't go too far astray.


I'll have a look for that book... I've got some basil oil, I'd better have a read up before I start using it! Thank you


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## Mobjack Bay (May 24, 2020)

soapgeek said:


> I'll have a look for that book... I've got some basil oil, I'd better have a read up before I start using it! Thank you


It's this one: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Oi...inements=p_27:Robert+Tisserand&s=books&sr=1-1


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## soapgeek (May 24, 2020)

Mobjack Bay said:


> It's this one: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Oil-Safety-Health-Professionals/dp/0443062412/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1590327076&refinements=p_27:Robert+Tisserand&s=books&sr=1-1


Ah, fantastic, thank you!


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