DayStar FO question

[cerelife]

I recently soaped with some FO's from DayStar and while I really liked them (Ahoy Matey, Belle Mort, The Sweet Dark), I ended up using double the amount that I normally use. Is this normal with their FO's/is it just me/did I pick weak FO's?
To clarify - I add my fragrance along with kaolin clay to my liquid oils before I add the melted hard oils, and normally the scent is really strong at 0.5oz ppo before adding my lye-water. But with these 3 DayStar FO's, I could barely smell them in my liquid oils even with sticking my face in the bucket. So I upped the amount to 1oz ppo, hoping it would't be overpowering in the finished soap.
These soaps are a week old and the Ahoy Matey smells as strongly as soaps I've made using other vendor's FO's, but the Belle Mort and Sweet Dark scents are still pretty weak even using double my usual amount of FO.
I DO like the scents, but I'm just wondering if this normal with DayStar's scents?

 

[kylie_au]

Can't help with this question.
ust thinking if you have to use twice as much then maybe not so cost effective.

 

[jules92207]

I have used salty sailor, paradise, liquid crack, and toffee crunch - all seem to be strong at 1oz ppo so I find this surprising. I will say paradise is probably the weaker of them all but still pleasant. Oh I also used blooming violets, also a great scent retainer. I like my scent STRONG and Daystar has not dissapointed me.

 

[jules92207]

Oh I also used Milk Sugar Kisses in two different blends, one was very fragrant, the other not as much so I suppose its hit or miss.

 

[IrishLass]

My educated guess is that you most likely happened to have picked some weak FOs, or FOs that don't play nice with your formula. Another possibility is 'candle nose' syndrome, where the scent receptors in one's nose become temporarily overloaded.

I've ordered from a lot of different vendors over the years and have found that scent weakness is not vendor-specific. It's a malady that pretty much affects them all. At least all the vendors I've ever used in the past and still use in the present.

Daystar is one of my favorite vendors. Their Paradise, Salty Sailor, and Blooming Violets rock in my CP at .75 oz. ppo, and they stick around forever and a day (i.e., years). I even soaped Salty Sailor at as little as .3 oz ppo once, and although light, the scent still came through in my soap over a year later.

I love their Milk Sugar Kisses, too, but I need to use that one at 1 oz ppo for it to really stick as well as the above-mentioned FOs (which it does).

One of the weakest scents I have from them is Ahoy Matey....at least it is weak to my nose. Hubby says he can smell it just fine, but to mine it is barely there at 1 oz ppo. Go figure! lol


IrishLass

 

[TVivian]

I'd let you know.... If my order would ever get here lol! Been waiting 3 weeks now *waiting.. *waiting..

 

[Dorymae]

Are you sure your temperature of your mixture after adding the lye isn't coming close to the flash point of your FO's? Most of the time I add EO's just after trace so the temperature is a bit lower. I also usually soap at room temp or just above. Check the flash points. Some of them are quite low.

 

[newbie]

I did not find Ahoy Matey to be weak. I can smell it and I soaped it at a lighter amount than my normal, but maybe it's a difference between our noses. I also soaped Belle Mort and had the exact same experience you had. No scent that I could detect within a few weeks and same with The Sweet Dark. I've had some of their FO's hold strong but I've had more that are faders so I only get the 2 ouncers on sale. Still is expensive when they don't hold. I know many love them but I only a love a specific few of the FOs- Salty Sailor (holds very very well), Paradise, Hunter's Moon, Ahoy Matey, and that's about it. I like their Saddle SHop for a leather scent but it doesn't seem to hold like their old leather FO.

 

[cerelife]

Thanks for the feedback!
@IrishLass - good point about all vendors having the occasional weak scent. I was curious about DayStar's FO's since all three of my choice of scents were on the weak side...but the prices are decent and I DO love the scents, so I'll def order from them again. Since Paradise, Salty Sailor, Blooming Violets, and Milk Sugar Kisses have all been recommended, I'll check those out!
@Dorymae - nope, I just went and checked the flashpoints and all three FO's are listed as >200. I soap around 100-110, so I don't think that's the problem.
@TVivian - How are you, my friend?! I still have a little sliver of one of the soaps you sent me...I loved it so much that I save it to use when I've had a particularly bad night at work!
@newbie - Ahoy Matey was def the strongest of the three FO's...and it does smell really good with a week's cure! I'm hoping the other two hold what scent they have now - I can smell them if I pick up a bar and sniff it, but underwhelming to say the least.

 

[TVivian]

Hi there!!! Ahh that's so nice to hear about the soap! I'm still using the soap you sent me as well! The salt bar is hanging on for dear life, but I just love it on my face and I've tried to duplicate it and it just isn't the same. Must be your special touch

My Day Star shipment finally arrived! It took almost a month, but I have to say I'm pleased. I used the toffee honey crunch (the LUSH dupe of honey I washed the kids) and it's very close to the real thing even though I overheated the batch grrr...

 

[jules92207]

I love the honey toffee crunch!

 

[Aline]

My Day Star shipment finally arrived! It took almost a month, but I have to say I'm pleased. I used the toffee honey crunch (the LUSH dupe of honey I washed the kids) and it's very close to the real thing even though I overheated the batch grrr...

I'm wondering why it took a month? Is this normal for DS?

 

[TVivian]

I have no idea! I was wondering the same, but this was my first order with them. Someone said they were extra busy due to a big 4th of July sale.. I ordered in June!

 

[cerelife]

I finally got around to ordering more Daystar FO's, and I looked up this thread to remind myself of the usage rates y'all recommended I got Milk Sugar Kisses, Paradise, Liquid Crack, and Salty Sailor. While I'm sorely tempted to try some of the blends Irish Lass mentioned in another post, I'm gonna soap them all as 'stand-alone' scents first to get a baseline - I can't wait!! Thank you all for your suggestions!
Since my original post, I'm happy to say that all three of the FO's (Ahoy Matey, Belle Mort, Sweet Dark) smell great in the fully cured soap! The Belle Mort and Sweet Dark just needed some time to mature - these scents now smell so much stronger and have much more depth than they did OOB or in soap just a couple of weeks old!!
Just wanted to put that out there for anyone who was thinking of ordering these scents and may have been put off by my comments - I offer my apologies for being impatient with these late-bloomers.

 

[jules92207]

Nice! I'm going to have to check out those late bloomers. And let me know how liquid crack works out for you. I had a bad experience and I am really hoping it was user error not the fo - I am willing to give it another chance if I hear others love it.