Basic Fragrance

[SgtSluggo]

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.

 

[navigator9]

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.

 

[Obsidian]

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.

 

[toxikon]

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.

 

[toxikon]

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

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I would recommend Honey I Washed the Kids from Nurture.

 

[dixiedragon]

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.

 

[babysoapmaker]

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.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

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.

 

[dixiedragon]

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.

 

[littlehands]

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.

 

[Seawolfe]

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

 

[dibbles]

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.

 

[bumbleklutz]

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.

 

[dixiedragon]

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.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

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

 

[lenarenee]

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.

 

[SgtSluggo]

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?

 

[dibbles]

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.

 

[Kittish]

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.