base not for lavender NOT patchouli

[green soap]

Plain classic lavender is a possibility, why not? I should do at least one soap this way.

 

[andoy]

I'm fairly new to fragrances and ironically I don't use any fragrances myself. I've only started using some of my concoctions for test purposes.

I don't really stick to rules in using fragrances. So I don't think of them as top/middle/base. I visualise them as a shape or curve arriving in a wave (like a spectrograph) with impact they have on the senses. Just like a pianist pressing several keys simultaneously (imagine if he/she has as many fingers as there are keys in a piano). The sound arrives as one combined wave of energy.

Some scents are more round (a clump of notes closer in melody played together). E.g. geranium, tuberose, amber, musk, vanilla, coumarin ... impression of gentle hum, relaxing/mellow

While some scent are sharp jolts (a few keys on there own or at diverse ends of spectrum played together). E.g. black pepper, ginger, lime, white birch, aniseed ...they feel like a sharp spice or sudden sound or a wake up!

Many scents have an elements of both. They are all valid, but too many round scents mixed together can create a plain or non-descript aroma (using the musical analogy, a bit like Enya). Too many contrasting sharp notes feels random and perceived as noise (a bit like heavy metal). The combined shape can consist of top/middle/base, but it isn't essential to use the full range to have a good scent.

p.s. nothing against Enya or heavy metal LOL!

here is a bit of Enya to meditate to... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOtQ2vMxOl0[/ame]

 

[paillo]

great analogies, love this!

i am, ahem, a fan of heavy metal myself, i like to think of some of it having roots in opera or mahler. love this hijack, andoy

so do you do aromatherapy work? curious as to how you have such a refined nose for scents without actually using them! and, imho, you don't know what you're missing if you don't use them in products you make

 

[andoy]

LOL no background whatsoever. I have only been doing soaps for a year. My background is in IT and finance, but gave up the rat race to live a rather unconventional life :O

I have a cupboard full of fragrance. I'e been trying to figure out how to mix them for my liquid soaps and came up with all sort of disgusting scents. I don't think I have "le nez" as the French call it. I think anyone can learn. I am still learning myself.

p.s. I knew heavy metal fans aren't as easily offended as Enya fans.

 

[Yill]

Hi everyone,

As a newbie in soap making (wanting to create a lavender soap) I find this thread very useful!
I only purchased lavender eo, but do you think it's better to anchor lavender with another eo? Read that some of you use only lavender, but I don't want my scent to fade quickly. Thanks!

 

[paillo]

One of the beauties of lavender is that you do not need to anchor it

 

[Seifenblasen]

The three blends I do most often where lavender is the prominent note are straight lavender, lavender with a wee bit of geranium, and lavender with bergamot. The lavender and geranium is going strong after 12 months (in a batch of castile that I plan to age for 18 to 24 months).

 

[Lolly58]

One of my best sellers is lavender combined with ylang ylang

 

[soap_rat]

I like lavender and palmarosa.

 

[cliff]

I do not understand much about blending scents, but I definitely want to learn. I did mix peppermint and tea tree once in a castile. I've also done a straight up lavender.

I currently have lavender and patchouli EO's and would like to blend them in a batch tomorrow if possible. Can someone tell me how much of both to combine and how much of that blend to use ppo?

 

[Yill]

This is a nice article on essential oils and blending, it's from Back Porch Soap Company: http://backporchsoap.blogspot.nl/2010/01/top-five-essential-oils-for-soap-making.html

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

I do not understand much about blending scents, but I definitely want to learn. I did mix peppermint and tea tree once in a castile. I've also done a straight up lavender.

I currently have lavender and patchouli EO's and would like to blend them in a batch tomorrow if possible. Can someone tell me how much of both to combine and how much of that blend to use ppo?

It's really personal preference, but I'd start with 2 parts Lavender to 1 part Patchouli (more masculine). If its too much Patchouli to your nose, try 3 parts Lavender to 1 part Patchouli, etc...the more Lavender you add, the more "feminine" the scent will become, though Lavender & Patchouli can be a unisex scent, of course.

This forum suggest 3% Total EO (of base oil weight) usage rate. Lavender and Patchouli are generally safe, with the exception of allergies and sensitivities of course, and can be used at slightly higher rates in my experience.

 

[liafrank]

You're right. Some people are really turned off by patchouli. My mother dislikes being in the same room with someone who has used a mildly fragranced patchouli soap. On the other hand, I absolutely adore lavender patchouli soap. I suppose I would simply keep the patchouli soaps well away from the other soaps so as not to put some of your customers off. Additionally as many have commented, I think lavender works well with just about any citrusy fragrance, and perfectly well on its own.

 

[S_S]

Ohh! My boyfriend and I have had many conversations about patchouli. I love it, he loathes it. He says it smells like some kind of dirty hippie salve (whatever that means).

I do not have enough experience to say what scent mixes well with what, as in ratios, but I do know that I really like lavender and ginger together.

 

[green soap]

A friend of mine describes it as 'a damp basement - rusty pipe type of smell'

I suppose it has elements of both, so it is hard to figure what us patchouli lovers find so appealing about it.

 

[Mish]

Hello, I love both lavender and patchouli. As far as lavender essential oils go I really like the lavender 40/42 the most... I am not a fan of French lavender... Speaking separately from lavender though... Have you tried patchouli with either orange or grapefruit? I absolutely love orange and patchouli mixed together... the citrus really takes the edge off of the earthy smell... I've also used patchouli, grapefruit and rose together and really liked the results. Oo and vanilla lavender or lavender lemon..

 

[cliff]

I personally like the smell of patchouli. Before I ever smelled it someone had described it to me as being a cheap sandalwood. I'm not sure how close of a description that is, though. I don't have any sandalwood to be able to compare. I doubt I ever will have any sandalwood EO being how insanely expensive it is. Plus I think I read somewhere that sandalwood is endangered.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Before I ever smelled it someone had described it to me as being a cheap sandalwood. I'm not sure how close of a description that is, though. .

Not close at all...even to most "unrefined sniffers", in my opinion. Patchouli is more earthy and sometimes smoky, where Sandalwood is kind of sweet and, obviously, woodsy
I love them both for different uses...but yes, Sandalwood is wildly expensive, and is becoming endangered. I think NDA offers a "nature identical" Sandalwood oil. Amyris is called "Poor Man's Sandalwood", and maybe it's similar, but I don't think it's close enough to be used as a substitute...but it is nice on it's own account.