Creating new 'Smells'

[lovefish]

Hi there,

I am thinking about creating some new fragrances for my soaps using the essential oils I already have in the cupboard as I can't really afford to buy any new ones at the moment!

They are:

Eucaplyptus / Grapefruit (white) / Ginger / Lavender / Lemon / Lemongrass / Lime / Litsea Cubeba / Niaouli / Orange (sweet) / Patchouli / Peppermint / Rosemary / Tangerine / Tea Tree

Firstly I want to create a rainforsty one, so I thought I could make it citrusy using the Grapefruit/ Orange/Lemon/Lime/Tangerine/Litsea as all these fruits derived from the rainforst (maybe not the Litsea?!). What percentages do you think are best. I know the grapefruit never seems to 'stick' so well.

Then I really want to make one that's for a farmer friend. I was going to make it with basil and lemongrass which smells really grassy, but i really need to use up what I currently have. So need to create something else!

I also wanted to create another two 'outdoorsey' ones. One for friend who likes hiking and for a friend who likes horse riding. I was thinking maybe Lavender & Clove for one of them, do you think that would be nice?!

I have a friend who's a chef/cook and I was thinking what combination of smells would work for him. I wonder if it's worth making it a bit disinfectanty or not?

Finally, would a grapefruit and lime combination also need some litsea in it to help it 'stick' or would the lime do that in itself? I imagine the lime could be more over powering than the grapefruit so I would probably only need a drop?

Anyway before I start it would be good to have some some guidance to help cut out too much wastage (and faffing around!) when I know there are lot of people who know a lot more about 'smells' than me! :smile:

Thanks for your help!

Lisa

 

[lovefish]

Actually playing around with the scents. I am thinking for the chef friend....Lemon & Peppermint? I'm smelling it now, the peppermint seems alot stronger than the lemon. I guess I will need to be a bit more generous with the Lemon or should I put some litsea in it too or will it take over?

For the Farmer I am now thinking...Tea tree and Peppermint. The tea tree can help clean the cuts and grazes?!

For one of the outdoorsey ones, maybe Patchouli and Rosemary?

How are these sounding?!

 

[Badger]

Pathcouli and Rosemary sounds nice to me, as does Tea Tree and Peppermint. Lemon and Peppermint sounds like it can be good, but I think I would prefer Lemon and Lavender (I just love that combination). I know Orange and Clove is a good combination also. These are just some of my thoughts. Take them as you will, I do not have much experience with blending oils myself just as a word of warning

 

[lsg]

I would think an earthy scent would be a good base for rainforest. I use oakmoss as one of the base notes in many of my blends

 

[green soap]

Using what you have these smell great to me (and other folks too!)

Peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus, orange and patchouli
2,2,1.5,1.5, 1 (tsp in 2 lbs soap oils)

lemon, rosemary, lemongrass and tea tree
3, 2, 1.5, 1

lavender, rosemary, patchouli
6, 1, 1/2

tea tree and peppermint (equal amounts) is very nice and very popular.

Lemon and peppermint is also a great blend and yes, you will need more lemon, maybe twice as much lemon as peppermint, or even three times as much, depending on your EOs.

 

[green soap]

OOPs, I did not see this is melt and pour.

Please change my quantities as they are for CP only. No idea what that would be for melt and pour, but the relative proportions should still be correct.

 

[Cindiq4u]

Lemongrass/Lavender, Pachouli/Mint, Pachouli/Orange, Grapefruit/Lemongrass/Orange, Rosemary/Pachouli,

I do a 2 to 1 Lemongrass/Lavender. The Lemongrass comes out more and tames the Lavender.
3 to 1 for Pachouli/Mint and Rosemary so the Pachouli gets to sing.
2 to 1 for Pachouli/Orange maybe a bit of Grapefruit as well.
I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard Pachouli/Lavender is nice as well.
I love anything Citrus and have done well with Grapefruit/Lemongrass/Tangerine combo. It's like OJ with a kick. Plus the Tangerine EO has a wonderful deep orange color that works well with the color of the soap and the scents related to it. I do add a bit of Red Brick Mica to half of the batch for pretty swirls.
Let us know what you come up with.
Cheers and have a good weekend..

 

[Badger]

Yay< I knew people would have better suggestions then I would!

 

[Cindiq4u]

Yay< I knew people would have better suggestions then I would!

Badger, from the sounds of it we are both Lemongrass/Lavender fans.
Pachouli is a scent I always get teased about because while I LOVE IT, I'm also a picky snit about it too. Those just right combos with certain oils "especialy oils we love" are always "for me" a challenge because I want to play with it "to much" and as we all know Pachouli isn't a scent that everyone likes.
I think I've seen on the forums where you use Cedarwood combos, yet I know one these days I'll get that just right combo that will hook me. But for now I just haven't found it.
Hearing everyones ideas is what being creative is about.
BTW~ I've run out of my Pachouli EO and would like to try a Pachouli FO and kind of remember you mentioning you were using a Pachouli FO due to costs~ If so, what company are you using for it~ Pretty Please.. ;-)

 

[Badger]

I have not gotten a patchouli FO yet, I am looking for one because one of my friends likes it and I plan on my Yule gifts with it. And yes, I love cedarwood and also love sandalwood (another that is out of my price range, I have bought amyris which is okay, but not the same). I will be on the lookout for a good patch though and let you know if I find one I might try out WSP patch next time I place an order, but that likely won't be until next month.

 

[green soap]

Badger, from the sounds of it we are both Lemongrass/Lavender fans.
Pachouli is a scent I always get teased about because while I LOVE IT, I'm also a picky snit about it too. Those just right combos with certain oils "especialy oils we love" are always "for me" a challenge because I want to play with it "to much" and as we all know Pachouli isn't a scent that everyone likes.
I think I've seen on the forums where you use Cedarwood combos, yet I know one these days I'll get that just right combo that will hook me. But for now I just haven't found it.
Hearing everyones ideas is what being creative is about.
BTW~ I've run out of my Pachouli EO and would like to try a Pachouli FO and kind of remember you mentioning you were using a Pachouli FO due to costs~ If so, what company are you using for it~ Pretty Please.. ;-)

I have soaped two different Cedar EO combos and I do not love either one of them. They are just OK, not great. As I have a lot of Cedar EO it would be great to read cedar combinations that other folks like. In any case, the OP does not have cedar, but I had started a thread on cedar EO.

 

[kharmon320]

Badger- I like NDA's dark patch. It's lovely.

 

[lisamaliga]

Have you tried lavender and lemon? For lavender lovers use 3 parts lavender to 1 part lemon. If you're a lemon lover [raises hand!] then try 3 parts lemon to 1 part lavender.

 

[Crombie]

I have always found that lime works great in "kitchen" soaps so would be great for your chef friend. The lime tends to cut onion and garlic odors a bit.