First Aztec order

[Spunky]

I think I am crossing over to the dark side I have alway been a natural gal and actually got into making my own bath products to avoid certain chemicals. I ran across someone saying that it was the Phthalate in FOs that gave her a headache and she did just fine when an FO was Phthalate free. My husband has zero issues with scents, nor do the people I gift too, so I might make the plunge.

My problem is who knew it would be so hard to narrow the list down! (ok, ok, I should have known.) I'm ordering 10 this month, and if all goes well, I'll do the same next month. If anyone can give me any insight or warnings on any of these, I would be grateful!

'manly' scents ...or at least not too feminine
1. Bayberry

2. pomegranate mandarin
3. cactus and sea salt
4. sea minerals
5. Oak for Men (BBW type)

Food:
6. French Vanilla Latte

7. christmas cookie type

8. chocolate brownie
9. blueberry vanilla

For me:
10. Kumquat (Will I be disappointed if I am use to the EO scents of orange and neroli?)

And if this post is not too full of questions already, I would be grateful to hear about any other man friendly scents from this company. My husbands likes sandalwood, grapefruit (and other citrus) and clean scents. (I have a large bottle of grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime and tangerine EOs to mix with any of these FOs) I am a little leery of nag champa since most liken it to being a hippy smell or the modern version of patchouli.

 

[TeresaT]

I had no idea what nag champa was, so I got a small 1 oz sample. It's incense! Oh my gosh, that's all it is. We used to buy those at the corner store when I was a kid, light them and carry them around. We called them "punks." I have no idea why. There were all different fragrances, but nag champa was my favorite. I haven't soaped with it yet, but I was shocked when I smelled it. It brought back lots of happy (NOT hippy) childhood memories. I say go for it. Buy a sample. If you hate it, I'll paypal you the money you spent on it. So you have nothing to lose!

 

[IrishLass]

I had no idea what nag champa was, so I got a small 1 oz sample. It's incense! Oh my gosh, that's all it is. We used to buy those at the corner store when I was a kid, light them and carry them around. We called them "punks." I have no idea why.

LOL Same here! We used to buy them at the corner store as kids and we called them 'punks', too.....and also like you- I have no idea why! Maybe it was a regional thing? (I grew up in Massachusetts)


IrishLass

 

[BattleGnome]

I always thought punks were used to light fireworks, they smoldered slowly but could light a fuse. Or I just make the association because I only ever saw them on Fourth of July (at someone else's house because my mom is very anti smelly things).

But on the manly scent topic: my husbands likes bb's mahogany. It's the scent he chose for beard oil - he better like it if it's going to be right under his nose

 

[kchaystack]

LOL Same here! We used to buy them at the corner store as kids and we called them 'punks', too.....and also like you- I have no idea why! Maybe it was a regional thing? (I grew up in Massachusetts)


IrishLass

As BattleGnome said, punks were the things we used to light fireworks on the 4th. They look like incense sticks so maybe that is the name for the sticks before scent is added.

I grew up in West Texas.

 

[Spunky]

We called the things to light fireworks punks too.
I am not familiar with incense myself (well, nasty cheap walmart stuff) but I know I have gone into stores that have used the good stuff and enjoyed it. Nag Champa has been added back onto the list!

I am thinking strongly of getting an 8oz bottle of cactus and sea salt. I want to do some back to school teacher gifts and with our school mascot being a pirate, a great scent like this would be perfect to fit the theme. I read it accelerated and riced for some. I am new to soaping, but think I can keep it simple enough so it won't be an issue.

 

[wearytraveler]

Wow. Talk about a walk down memory lane. Born and raised in NY and we called them punks as well and were always seen around the 4th of July and used to light fireworks.

 

[Susie]

Punks and stick incense look exactly alike. The only difference is the smell. Both smolder when lit, rather than flame. So maybe that is why?

 

[earlene]

A fireworks punk is a smoldering stick commonly used to light fireworks because it is safer than using matches or lighters. It is the common term in the industry, so I doubt it is regional, at least within the US. I don't know about other countries. My Dad only let us light our sparklers and other fireworks from the punks when I was a kid (in California, USA). Later on, it became less acceptable for kids to do the lighting of the fireworks even with punks due to the injuries that can ensue, but we did use them when I was a child, as did my sons. My son, however does not let his daughter light her own fireworks.

Spunky, I have not ordered from Aztec yet. I had a long list of items I was going to order, but put it off because I was having a hard time pruning it down. I will be interested to hear your impressions of what you ordered after they arrive and you use them.

 

[dixiedragon]

I'm in Alabama and we called them punks. I very clearly remember that until I was 16 or so, ONLY an ADULT could hold the punk. Also, I was only allowed to have 1 sparkler at a time. Now that I'M the ADULT, I hold the punk AND I have 2 sparklers! I'm such a rebel.

 

[dixiedragon]

Re: soap fragrances - In my experience, the men to be kind of "meh" on "masculine" fragrances. Vanilla and peppermint fragrances are by far the most popular with men for me.

They ALL sound good to me! I try to divide them into mental "categories" so I don't end up with a TON in one area. My categories:

Vanilla
Food - bakery, chocolate
Drink - coffee, wine, beer
Fruit
Cinnamon/spice
Green/herbal
Mint
Floral
Wood

 

[Dana89]

Please tell mE HOW the SEA MINERALS SCeNT IS> I HAVE BEEN LOOKING For a dupe of Yardley sea mineraLS forever. it has a strong lime smELL> SORRY GUYS ABOUT MY CRAZY WRITING> MY KEYBOARD WILL JUST START WRITING IN CAPS FOR NO REASON BUT WONT DO IT WHEN I NEED IT TOO AND MY PERIOD< QUESTION MARK< Comma, WONT WORK< AHH SEE THERE RIGHT After i wrote comma I MAGICALLY GOT ONE>

 

[Spunky]

earlene, I feel the same! I have such a hard time narrow it down. Right when I think I have my list, I start changing my mind.
dixiedragon, that is how I started making my list. Then I thought I should get several of each group (Like the the best coffees, best chocolate or best ocean/salt) and choose the best of the best and order a 8oz bottle later. I'm not selling, just have plans for some back to school gifts, christmas gifts and end of school gifts. (and everything in between too, lol) And I had not even thought about vanilla. I bet he would love it too. too many choices! lol
Dana, I have never smelled Yardly sea minerals so I can't compare yet. But If I think about it, I'll see if my mom's walgreens carries it. (Our small town one does not.) Can you see it now. Some odd looking purple hair woman comes in and hurries to the back of the store. She gets a little excited as she find a bar of soap on the shelf. She then proceeds to pull a bottle out of her purse and sniffs it, then sniff the bar of soap, then sniff the bottle, and then sniff the soap. After doing this for a bit she frantically types something on her phone.... lol

oh and I hear you on the computer and keyboard acting up! My shift key on my dominate side went out once. It was really hard to adapt, but still workable. But until that point it was pretty funny. Something else went wrong with my laptop and when we took it in, they replaced the keyboard too. Since the original issue was because of a recall, it was all free!

 

[Spunky]

I keep changing my mind... I am sticking with 1oz this time. It should be enough to start my soap making off. I can order the 8oz later in my favorite kinds to make lotions, bath bombs and such and still get everything made before school starts.

-cactus and sea salt
-sea minerals

-French Vanilla Latte
-Brazilian Coffee & Pure Cane

-Hot chocolate
-chocolate brownie

-warm sugar vanilla

I also ordered from Soap Making with Lisa. In my search for reviews of many of these Aztec FOs, I came across reviews of scents from her and had to try. I got sun lush type, Cabernet and Neroli, Champagne Kisses, green irish tweed, and black tie affair.

next month I will work my way through this list and narrow it down. Apparently I have a thing for food and drink smells! In the past it is usually the floral smells that gave me headaches, so I may be avoiding them because of that.

The front runners:
White Tea and Ginger
Kumquat 

Oak for Men (BBW type)

Nag Champa

Bayberry
blueberry vanilla


pomegrante mandarin

Twisted Peppermint (BBW Type)

christmas cookie
Maple Glazed Bacon
Maple Toddy
Oatmeal & Honey
midnight pomegranate bbw type
almond biscotti
blackberry sage
Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce Type
Spicy Christmas
Plum & Caramel
berrylicious yankee type
Winter Wonderland

 

[Spunky]

OOB thoughts.
cactus and sea salt - much more floral that I was expecting. Nice but am thankful I did not go ahead and buy an 8oz bottle. DH says it smells like old lady perfume. We will see how it soaps!

sea minerals - I was expecting to love the cactus and sea salt so much that this would be 'just ok' in comparison, but man, I LOVE this. I have not had a change to smell the Yardly bar yet, but will keep an eye out of it. I still need to get a sample of sea mariner to compare, but I have a feeling I will be getting a big bottle of this.

Brazilian Coffee & Pure Cane - I was really expecting to love this one too but it left me wanting. I think when I soap this I will split a batch in half and do some with the just this scent and half with this and the other coffee.

French Vanilla Latte - Again I was expecting not to like this one as much as the other, but as it turns out, it is my favorite. It smells like gas station capuchino to me. I might not like drinking them, but I always thought they smelled nice! lol

Hot chocolate - ok chocolate smell. The bottle has a bit more of a hot chocolate smell from the actual bottle whereas the lid is a much litter scent and I just did not the 'hot chocolate' part of the chocolate smell.

chocolate brownie - AMAZING. No need to explain more. Just buy it and sniff the bottle all the time. My boys are excited to get a soap that smells like this. I hope my 2 yo does not try to eat it.

warm sugar vanilla -smells just like a vanilla candle. It is a good smell, but I don't think i would use it on its own. I'm thinking it will be perfect with some orange EO.

My OOB thoughts on the other scents I got from a different supplier
Champagne Kiss- It is not a dupe but I swear it smells just like a body spray I had in college (16 years ago, so I can't remember what it was). It might have been from VS. Either way, it is amazing.

Cabernet and neroli- It is an unofficial dupe of my dog's conditioning spray (isle of dog No62). it is a slightly less intense of a smell (less bright, less bold? Not quite sure how to describe it) , which works for me, since I always thought the dog spray was a bit strong.

Sun (lush type)- great orange smell. I can't distinguish the sandalwood base note but I can tell the scent is more complex than just orange.

Black Tie- smelling the lid reminds me of a deodorant my husband used awhile back. He always buys what is cheapest and never remembers what he had, so I have no clue. I made the mistake of smelling the bottle next and man, that was not pleasant! lol. I think this one will have to cure in the basement. I think I will like the end result but might be a tad too strong to start off. I am going to split the batch and mix lim EO in one and orange EO in the other.

Green Irish tweed- Once again this one is familiar. Not sure how yet. I do like the smell, but it is not for me. I'll have to play with what scent to mix it with because I won't do it straight. DH thinks it smells like irish spring soap.

It's going to take me awhile before I get it all soaped, but hope to get a handful done this week.

 

[nsmar4211]

Cactus and sea salt I personally like (and its not as floral in the soap). It's more like a "soap" smell . If it keeps smelling like old lady, that might be barn wood .... which DO NOT GET .... LOL.

 

[Obsidian]

I've not used aztec FO's before but most "sea" type scents can accelerate so be prepared for that.

 

[Spunky]

nsmar4211, good news with it being less floral! I don't think it smells like old lady, so hopefully he will come around. I read a review on barn wood and plan to stay clear! (I have a morbid curiosity and want really smell it.)

Obsidian, I had read that cactus and sea salt could accelerate, but did not realize sea minerals could too. thanks for the heads up!

 

[Dana89]

@Spunky- Yardley has a fresh lime scent to it as well as a sea scent I cant really describe.

 

[Spunky]

@Spunky- Yardley has a fresh lime scent to it as well as a sea scent I cant really describe.

I am not sure I can exactly smell lime in it. When I smell the lime eo and then sea minerals and I can sort of smell the after smell of the lime in the FO. (does that make sense? Its not the strong bold lime smell, but more of the lingering lime smell.

Sea minerals (with pink himalayan salt)

French Vanilla Latte (with coconut milk and ground coffee)
I think I like the smell better soaped, we will see how it ages.

chocolate brownie (with cocoa powder and goat's milk powder)
It was soft still, so I am waiting to cut the rest until tomorrow. It is a less intense smell than before, but still smells wonderful.

I also poured a little of the coffee and a little of the chocolate into a yogurt cup and stirred it together. So yummy! I can't wait to see how it ages.