Best woods balsam / pine / Christmas tree fragrance

[Vicki C]

Hi all, I have a standing order with a local museum that gives away my soap at the end of their tours to every visitor. It’s a nice little gig and I made small cavity mold soaps (72 at a time) for this job. They want an evergreen fragrance, I have been using Woodland Themes from NDA, which is ok, but not perfect, and I think not really discernible in the final soap. I just tried Balsam Pine from WSP which is amazing and behaves perfectly (thanks @glendam) but it is so darned expensive. Anybody have a recommendation for a reliable non-accelerating reasonably priced woodsy pine fragrance? I’m not looking for that Michaels store smell with cinnamon etc. just a clean evergreen smell. In fact just like EB&B balsam pine. But cheaper.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Maybe not what you are after but how about Lemon Eucalyptus EO? It's strong, lasts well and not too expensive. Maybe blend it with a pine or amyris?

 

[dibbles]

Have you smelled Nurtures Winter Wonderland? It isn’t straight pine, but I’ve had people say it smells like Christmas. I love it year round. The IFRA changes lowered the usage rate by a lot and I haven’t tested it at the new rate yet, but it is strong and sticks well. I’ll go through my FOs and see what I have and will let you know if anything seems promising. Also, I took a tour of that museum and didn’t get soap

 

[Vicki C]

Have you smelled Nurtures Winter Wonderland? It isn’t straight pine, but I’ve had people say it smells like Christmas. I love it year round. The IFRA changes lowered the usage rate by a lot and I haven’t tested it at the new rate yet, but it is strong and sticks well. I’ll go through my FOs and see what I have and will let you know if anything seems promising. Also, I took a tour of that museum and didn’t get soap

I love how winter wonderland smells - for me it accelerated, and I can’t risk it with the big batches I am making. Well, big to me - 4000 g oils.
And I’m sorry you missed out! I guess you’ll have to make another trip east. They started this last fall and apparently it has been very popular!

Maybe not what you are after but how about Lemon Eucalyptus EO? It's strong, lasts well and not too expensive. Maybe blend it with a pine or amyris?

That’s a thought - I have some evergreen EOs: balsam, juniper, cypress, but I feel like they don’t last in CP. I have cedar too which does last but isn’t what I’m after. and I do have amyris and I saw the other thread where it was discussed. Hmm what if I combined balsam & amyris?

 

[KiwiMoose]

I do know that lemon eucalyptus holds really well, and you don't need much.

 

[Ford]

guest size bars, given away at end of tours. MMM, some will be used. YAY! Some will be discarded. BOO! Quite a few will wind up is some obscure place. cubby of car, junk draw in house, kid's jean pocket, (after it's gone thru the wash). Point being Fo does not have to last forever like some other application. Have you checked out New York Scent, Nature's Garden?

 

[Vicki C]

guest size bars, given away at end of tours. MMM, some will be used. YAY! Some will be discarded. BOO! Quite a few will wind up is some obscure place. cubby of car, junk draw in house, kid's jean pocket, (after it's gone thru the wash). Point being Fo does not have to last forever like some other application. Have you checked out New York Scent, Nature's Garden?

Have not checked out NY scent, do they have an evergreen fragrance you would recommend?
Of course, I can’t control what happens to the soap after they leave…

 

[glendam]

Hi @Vicki C! I have been looking for a less expensive option as well! I bought NDA’s Woodland theme as well, haven’t tried it in soap, but I agree it does not smell the same. Same thing happened with Balsam from Natures garden, it does not smell the same but I haven’t tested it yet. I did blend Balsam pine from WSP with honey FO once, and have mixed it with other notes as well, I can tell you that the balsam tends to overpower the other notes; so blending it with similar fragrances may work without being too expensive.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I haven’t used it lately, but I like Alpine from MMS. It smells like Christmas to me, with a predominant scent of a fresh cut Christmas tree. A reviewer who used it in goat milk soap said it discolored to tan, while the blog page says no discoloration. I have an archived bar from Nov 2020 that was made with a blend of MMS Alpine and NS Juniper Sage (discontinued). The soap discolored to light tan and at this point it smells nice, possibly a little cinnamon and berry-ish, but not especially woodsy.

https://blog.thesage.com/2022/06/10/fragrance-friday-alpine/https://www.thesage.com/products/alpine-fragrance-oil

 

[LynetteO]

Have you smelled Nurtures Winter Wonderland? It isn’t straight pine, but I’ve had people say it smells like Christmas.

I also have that FO & it is a strong FO that sticks in CP soap. It has a definite pine smell to it but as mentioned above, not pine. Alpine Frost from Nurture Soap is also a “pine”ish FO. Not as strong & a tad less “chemical” smelling than Winter Wonderland from WSP & not as strong @ 3%PPO.

 

[Obsidian]

I like natures garden balsam FO. Its a nice pine without the fake christmas tree smell. I really like it mixed with peppermint FO

 

[TashaBird]

I love winter wonderland and for me it behaved really well, even in a pull through technique soap. I did not know about the new usage rates. @dibbles Is the new rate due to a new strength of FO?

 

[SoapM0m]

FWIW, I know it's not exactly the same, but WSP's Apple Balsam Pine is *really* nice, and not *quite* as expensive.

 

[dibbles]

I love winter wonderland and for me it behaved really well, even in a pull through technique soap. I did not know about the new usage rates. @dibbles Is the new rate due to a new strength of FO?

It's due to the new IFRA usage rates, now 2.11%. I do love it and find it to be a strong FO, but I'm afraid 2% will be too light. I use the percentage as PPO. I might try it at 2% of total batch weight. If it still isn't strong enough, I don't sell and for personal use I will increase my usage rate. It's also a favorite of my son.

 

[Vicki C]

I love winter wonderland and for me it behaved really well, even in a pull through technique soap. I did not know about the new usage rates. @dibbles Is the new rate due to a new strength of FO?

I don’t know what happened - I had dreams of copying @glendam ’s beautiful slab Christmas trees and I had a total soap fail. I wish I had taken a photo just for the “Pinterest fail” chuckle.

 

[dibbles]

@Vicki C Winter Wonderland does move things along a bit more quickly for me too - not unworkable by any means, but does slightly accelerate.

 

[Vicki C]

I like natures garden balsam FO. Its a nice pine without the fake christmas tree smell. I really like it mixed with peppermint FO

I just looked this up and realized… I bought this last fall! I was mixing it with woodland themes. I did not take careful notes but I know I was having trouble with soda ash then, and I’m not now. But other factors have changed, like I used up some old palm that was giving me trouble. I should try it again.

@Vicki C Winter Wonderland does move things along a bit more quickly for me too - not unworkable by any means, but does slightly accelerate.

Here are my Christmas trees. Aren’t they lovely?

 

[Saponificarian]

Love Frosted Fir from Brambleberry.

 

[dibbles]

Here are my Christmas trees. Aren’t they lovely?

You win - definitely more acceleration than I've had!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Here are my Christmas trees. Aren’t they lovely?

The colors are pretty And I bet it smells great.