Brambleberry scents that I have are very light in scent. Is that the norm?

[srez]

Sooo... I purchased some masculine and floral scents from Brambleberry in the trial sizes. None of these OOB are super strong. The majority of these are very light in scent to me.

Will these light scents stick around in soaps or even last?

I have looked at the SMF Fragrance Oil Review spreadsheet and unfortunately... only a couple of these are on there.

They are - Blue Man, Galactic Skies, Shave & a Haircut, Moon Child, Patchouli, Birchwood, Lavender, Lilac, Flowering Sage & Incense, Wild Rose and Oatmeal Milk & Honey.

Granted, I am comparing these to Candle Science, Nature's Garden, Fragrance Buddy, Aztec and a couple others.

As an example... I have Vetiver from CS... super strong OOB but in CP that I made back in August... It's much lighter. The scent is there... but not super nauseatingly strong. Which is good I guess.

Will these lighter scents even make it through in soap and stick around? Has anyone tried these?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[The_Emerald_Chicken]

I purchase almost all of my FOs from Bramble Berry. I've gotten a few from other sources in the past, but I personally prefer the quality of BB's. Out of the ones you have, I've tried Oatmeal Milk & Honey, Lilac, and Wild Rose. I dislike soap that's heavily fragranced, so I go somewhat light on FO (approximately 1 oz for 30 oz oils). That's usually enough to give the batch a very nice amount of fragrance, but not enough that you smell the fragrance on your skin after using the soap. I don't think I've ever had an issue with a Bramble Berry fragrance fading while curing. I hope that you like your fragrances once you use them!

 

[Ephemerella]

I'm a new soaper, and my oldest bar is barely 8 months old... so take my comments with a grain of salt.

I primarily use BB fragrances. I find them to be of good quality because they are accurate to their description/review, and they are dependable in performance. Unlike other sites where the reviews can be really mixed, I find the CP notes on BB's site are trustworthy so far, so surprises are limited. I also find the scent notes don't change too wildly from OOB to cured bar. I find my bars smell strongly for the first couple of days after cutting, and then the scent tempers down in strength by about 25%, plateaus, and then stays consistent all the way through curing. Some other FOs from other suppliers have given me wild rides, so I appreciate the stability of BB.

I have a cast-iron nose and like a strongly scented bar. I love perfume, but I'm too cheap to buy the good stuff, and I can't stand the junky stuff (and I'm too lazy to put on perfume anyhow who are we kidding).

So I like a strongly scented soap that lingers on the skin for a few hours. I typically use 2 to 2.5 oz for 35 oz oils — of course, I adjust as per usage guidelines.

Of your collection, I have Galactic, Oatmeal M&H, Shave & HC, Flowering Sage, and Birchwood. Galactic and Shave didn't appeal to me OOb, so I haven't used them yet. Flowering sage will likely make it into the next rotation. I loff Birchwood and Oatmeal, but I did find them both a little on the (I don't want to use the word 'weak' because I don't feel that's accurate) 'light' side. However, the strength in the cured bars hasn't wavered in months.

 

[srez]

Thank you @The_Emerald_Chicken @Ephemerella for your responses. I will definitely keep an open mind with these.

I do like, for me, a stronger scent... not so much men's cologne / Old Spice / Axe, but something that you can easily notice and preferably lingers a bit on the skin. I work in a hospital / outpatient setting and have to wear a mask while in house, so the lingering scent is an added bonus .

I've tried CS's Black Sea with M&P and that scent stuck around quite nicely for a few hours of the day with a mask on.

On another note... I was a little surprised that the BB trial size bottles are only .5 ounces. I was expecting at least an ounce. I reckon I'll have to make a smaller batch to test.

Thanks again,

Steve

 

[TheGecko]

I have continued to use Lavender, Lilac and Wild Rose. Shave & a Haircut is nice, but I prefer RE's Barbershop 1920s...that is scent, not performance.

I get my the majority of my FOs from Brambleberry, Rustic Escentuals, Shea & Company and Nurture Soap...none of them are perfect, hence that I buy my scents from different sources (as do many soap and B&B makers); it's just the nature of the beast...our recipes and our noses. I have had some scents that smell wonderful in the bottle and then smell like crap in soap, or smell like crap in the bottle and wonderful in soap. Some work better in B&B products as opposed to soap and vice versa because of the 'lye monster'. I love BB's Baby Powder, but it's scent fades after about six months. In Lotion Bars, it's wonderful. I make Bath Salts and most scents do fade after about six months...until you put them in water, hence I only maintain a couple of month's inventory since they are easy-peasy to whip up.

Regardless of the company, all you can do is make a test batch...and then wait.

 

[srez]

Hi @TheGecko , thanks for the heads up! Do you have any fav's that work well for you that you can recommend?

I kinda like woodsy/pine, fruity/citrus (from what I've read, doesn't stick well), dragon's blood-y/patchouli-ish.

And I hear ya on the waiting part.

 

[Carly B]

I've had a mixed bag with Brambleberry too. For example, their patchouli is almost non-existent, both in the bottle and in CP soap. If I had to pick one vendor for fragrance, I would use Nurture. Not only are the fragrances good (and strong), but her testing notes are incredibly helpful. I've said here before that I wish Nurture sold more soaping supplies--that way I wouldn't have to use so many vendors.

I also really like Scent Memory fragrances, but they are expensive, and testing notes are non-existent. But they have some absolutely gorgeous fragrances and perfume dupes I haven't found elsewhere. If you want more options, I would
recommend both Fragrance Buddy and Flaming Candle---they have HUGE selections, are not expensive, and I've generally been pleased with them. I got a beautiful Orange Spice from Flaming Candle---made CP soaps and wax tarts, and it has stuck in both. And WSP has some great fragrances and a huge selection, too. But even with all that, other vendors, like MMS and Oregon Trail have a few fragrances I keep around as well (MMS has a gorgeous blood orange and thyme fragrance, but my favorite of theirs is Wild Mint and Ivy, and I don't think you'll find a better sandalwood that the one OT sells).

ETA: Just looked again at Scent Memory---testing notes are being added. Huzzah!!!

 

[srez]

Thanks @Carly B I'll definitely check out Nurture!

I have purchased candle supplies (wicks and oils) from Flaming and FB but never really looked into them for CP soaps. Gonna give them another look for this!
I definitely want a long lasting strong orange-y scent... also a big fan of mint. How long, if you had to guess, has the Orange Spice stuck around for you?

 

[Carly B]

Thanks @Carly B I'll definitely check out Nurture!

I have purchased candle supplies (wicks and oils) from Flaming and FB but never really looked into them for CP soaps. Gonna give them another look for this!
I definitely want a long lasting strong orange-y scent... also a big fan of mint. How long, if you had to guess, has the Orange Spice stuck around for you?

I made the orange spice soap in October, and it still smelled like a lovely pomander (in fact, that's what I named the soap) when I packaged it at Christmas--so I don't really have a long term prognosis, but I was impressed with how well
it stuck even for a couple months. Nurture has a lovely Orange Cognac and Orange Patchouli, and, if you like lemongrass, Awaken is super strong and long lasting.

 

[srez]

I made the orange spice soap in October, and it still smelled like a lovely pomander (in fact, that's what I named the soap) when I packaged it at Christmas--so I don't really have a long term prognosis, but I was impressed with how well
it stuck even for a couple months. Nurture has a lovely Orange Cognac and Orange Patchouli, and, if you like lemongrass, Awaken is super strong and long lasting.

Thanks again! @Carly B Good to know!

 

[MelissaG]

I honestly don't use brambleberry very much. I've found them expensive for what you get and their shipping is slow. To tell the truth, I have started buying mostly from Midwest Fragrance. I've found that brambleberry scents fade in my soap rather quickly.

 

[srez]

Thanks! @MelissaG

I purchased a few oils from MWF a year or so ago for candles. Of the 4 samples I got from them I only used 2 in candles and have not even tested them yet... Go figure... The other 2 are sitting on a shelf. It's as if the universe is telling me that these 2 are here to use up in soap.

I think one of them is Peach Cobbler or something peachy and the other one is Lemon Poundcake or something to that effect.

Do you have any fav's from them that you can recommend?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[MelissaG]

High Tide, Sea Salt and Orchid, Blue Hawaiian and Rose Bouquet are standard favorites that sell well. Over Christmas the Iced Almond Cookies, Gingerbread and Cocoa Butter Cashmere sold like hot cakes.

 

[srez]

High Tide, Sea Salt and Orchid, Blue Hawaiian and Rose Bouquet are standard favorites that sell well. Over Christmas the Iced Almond Cookies, Gingerbread and Cocoa Butter Cashmere sold like hot cakes.

Thank you. Did these stick well for you?

 

[lucycat]

I don't use BB often. The Lilac and the OMH I have I purchased in 2020. I found them strong and even better the scent would stick for 6 months to a year. The Lilac I found a tad sweeter than other suppliers but it also sold better. However, when I purchased the IFRA was much higher than it is on today's website. I probably soaped them at 5% of oil weight and today the IFRA is 2.1%.

 

[srez]

Thank you @lucycat I checked the usage rates the other night and was surprised that some of the ones that I have were quite low. One in particular (can't remember which one) was at 0.74. So yeah... there's that.

I'm going to try the Lilac this week. I made the OMH over the weekend and used 6% via the BB Fragrance Calculator. I'm curious to see how it does.

 

[AAShillito]

The BB lilac sticks for months but i use the older BB usage rate of 5%

 

[srez]

The BB lilac sticks for months but i use the older BB usage rate of 5%

Thanks @AAShillito I just looked up Lilac.... 2.1%. Not even sure if it's worth making a small 1lb batch. Wouldn't hurt I guess. Blah....