I wanted to start a thread for anyone to post a review or notes about a blend they tried from EOCalc.com.
If you aren't familiar, EOCalc.com can calculate safe usage rates for essential oils in cosmetic products (including soap), and they have also very generously shared dozens and dozens of EO blends.
In the next post, I'll outline some of the experiences I've had, and encourage anyone else to add their notes/reviews/opinions, too!
(especially since sometimes I go to that website and become paralyzed with what to try next - there are so many to experiment with and my overall experience has been the blends are well-balanced, so any direction of what to try next is always appreciated!)
I've tried a few blends, and here are my notes (my usage percentage is based on oil weight of batch):
Dash Blend:
Fresh, sweet lemongrass/floral scent that sticks (I used it at 4%). My notes do indicate batter really started to thicken up after adding the EOs.
French Kiss:
A nice, mellow blend with floral overtones. I used it at 4% but would go to 5% next time. Batter behaved well, and I was able to do a mantra swirl in a slab. Scent stuck around for months.
Fallen:
LOVE this blend. It sticks really well for months, and is floral with the freshness of petitgrain. I use it at 5%. This blend makes my batter thicken at a moderate rate, so not one I'd use if I needed super fluid batter.
Kindred:
Another blend I love. It reminds me of an old-fashioned soap smell. The scent sticks around for many months (just smelled a bar I made in October 2018 and while the top notes have faded and the scent profile has shifted because of that, it still smells great). I use it at 5%. This one also made my batter thicken up at a moderate rate, so had to work fast.
Modern Mojito:
Great blend; used it at 3%. Just smelled a bar I made in August 2019 and smell is holding strong, although lime has faded just a bit. I did make some adjustments to this blend (added Litsea Cubeba), so ended up with 38% peppermint, 36% lime, 18% spearmint, 8% litsea cubeba. Blend didn't accelerate trace.
Rosemary Mint Twist:
Used this blend at 4% and last made it in 2017. I recall it had good sticking power, was a nice blend of rosemary and the mints, and my notes indicate the batter was super fluid to start but then started to thicken. However, I often use these EOs and alone they don't cause issues, so would suspect something else was going on.
Gusto:
Used this blend at 3% and the scent stuck really well. It's a simple orange/cinnamon blend, but I like the 80/20 ratio - just the right amount of spice to the orange for my taste. In spite of the cinnamon leaf EO, I didn't experience the batter accelerating. In fact, my notes indicate batter stayed fluid for a long while.
Flourish:
This is a lavender/litsea/rosemary blend, but I can't say it as my favorite, for some reason. I used it at 5% and only tried it once, and my notes say nothing about batter behavior. Drats.
Sunset:
It's been a while since I made this blend but I recall liking it. Unsurprising, the citrus notes do not stick around (I used it at 4%). The batter did start to get thick on me, so no intricate swirls with this one.
Animal:
This was an interesting blend, as the ylang ylang added a sweet note to the spices. I was never sure if I liked it or not each time I smelled it, but a friend of mine loved it. I added it to salt bars at 4% and the scent stuck around a long while. My notes indicate the batter was fine and I had no issues.
Orchard Plow:
@szaza had made this blend and said they liked it, although mentioned it is a little heavy on the lemongrass. Since I'm not a huge lemongrass fan, I reduced it by 5% and added 5% to the ylang ylang. I really like it, and call it Sweet Lemongrass. It's earthy, sweet, and lemongrassy all at once. I only used it at 3% but the scent has been holding strong for 3 months. My notes do indicate it accelerated trace a decent amount.
If you aren't familiar, EOCalc.com can calculate safe usage rates for essential oils in cosmetic products (including soap), and they have also very generously shared dozens and dozens of EO blends.
In the next post, I'll outline some of the experiences I've had, and encourage anyone else to add their notes/reviews/opinions, too!
(especially since sometimes I go to that website and become paralyzed with what to try next - there are so many to experiment with and my overall experience has been the blends are well-balanced, so any direction of what to try next is always appreciated!)
I've tried a few blends, and here are my notes (my usage percentage is based on oil weight of batch):
Dash Blend:
Fresh, sweet lemongrass/floral scent that sticks (I used it at 4%). My notes do indicate batter really started to thicken up after adding the EOs.
French Kiss:
A nice, mellow blend with floral overtones. I used it at 4% but would go to 5% next time. Batter behaved well, and I was able to do a mantra swirl in a slab. Scent stuck around for months.
Fallen:
LOVE this blend. It sticks really well for months, and is floral with the freshness of petitgrain. I use it at 5%. This blend makes my batter thicken at a moderate rate, so not one I'd use if I needed super fluid batter.
Kindred:
Another blend I love. It reminds me of an old-fashioned soap smell. The scent sticks around for many months (just smelled a bar I made in October 2018 and while the top notes have faded and the scent profile has shifted because of that, it still smells great). I use it at 5%. This one also made my batter thicken up at a moderate rate, so had to work fast.
Modern Mojito:
Great blend; used it at 3%. Just smelled a bar I made in August 2019 and smell is holding strong, although lime has faded just a bit. I did make some adjustments to this blend (added Litsea Cubeba), so ended up with 38% peppermint, 36% lime, 18% spearmint, 8% litsea cubeba. Blend didn't accelerate trace.
Rosemary Mint Twist:
Used this blend at 4% and last made it in 2017. I recall it had good sticking power, was a nice blend of rosemary and the mints, and my notes indicate the batter was super fluid to start but then started to thicken. However, I often use these EOs and alone they don't cause issues, so would suspect something else was going on.
Gusto:
Used this blend at 3% and the scent stuck really well. It's a simple orange/cinnamon blend, but I like the 80/20 ratio - just the right amount of spice to the orange for my taste. In spite of the cinnamon leaf EO, I didn't experience the batter accelerating. In fact, my notes indicate batter stayed fluid for a long while.
Flourish:
This is a lavender/litsea/rosemary blend, but I can't say it as my favorite, for some reason. I used it at 5% and only tried it once, and my notes say nothing about batter behavior. Drats.
Sunset:
It's been a while since I made this blend but I recall liking it. Unsurprising, the citrus notes do not stick around (I used it at 4%). The batter did start to get thick on me, so no intricate swirls with this one.
Animal:
This was an interesting blend, as the ylang ylang added a sweet note to the spices. I was never sure if I liked it or not each time I smelled it, but a friend of mine loved it. I added it to salt bars at 4% and the scent stuck around a long while. My notes indicate the batter was fine and I had no issues.
Orchard Plow:
@szaza had made this blend and said they liked it, although mentioned it is a little heavy on the lemongrass. Since I'm not a huge lemongrass fan, I reduced it by 5% and added 5% to the ylang ylang. I really like it, and call it Sweet Lemongrass. It's earthy, sweet, and lemongrassy all at once. I only used it at 3% but the scent has been holding strong for 3 months. My notes do indicate it accelerated trace a decent amount.
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