Basic Fragrance
- Thread starter SgtSluggo
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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.
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.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
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
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.
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.
dixiedragon
Well-Known Member
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.
Energy from BB is another example - it's very very popular but I actually dislike it a lot. Like weird gross off-brand Tang.
I find Energy to be rather overpowering and quite strong. It actually gives me headaches, it is so strong.
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.
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.
anjouwu
obsessed
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.
Cindy2428
Well-Known Member
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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.
Kamahido
Paladin of Soap
I like Apricot Freesia from Brambleberry myself. 
