First order of FO arrived!

[sunny_]

I have ordered some oils from BB
OOB some of them smell a little medicine-like, I'm a little disappointed, I was expecting these to be much better because there was so many good reviews on them. Maybe I'm just too picky, IDK :\
This is how the oils smell to me OOB:

Cocoa butter cashmere- not even a hint of cocoa butter in this, and I don't know what cashmere is supposed to smell like. didn't like it

Oatmeal milk and honey- I was expecting this to smell way better, much sweeter, milder, and creamier. In reality it smells more clean like, there is some sweetness but not much. doesn't smell bad, maybe after it's in lotion or in soap it'll get better? :neutral:

Apple sage- this thing is STRONG! it smells nice, I think kinda fresh. Can't see myself using it in something since it's such a weird scent. maybe in a blend with another FO

Cream cheese frosting- It smells like cream cheese- true to it's name, I was really skeptic about this one. smells good, sweet, dessert like.

Mahogany- masculine, smells good!!! this would be great in men products

Cedar and saffron- I really expected this to be better- it's so strong! maybe in products it'll smell better?

Sandalwood vanilla- warm, not much vanilla in there- but I wouldn't say it smells bad.

Black amber and lavender- to me it smells really nice, the lavender is definitely there but it is wrapped with a sweet rich note. like it, wouldn't use it in lotion, I think it's more of a soapy scent.

Sweet pea- I had high hopes for this- which are now shattered. :cry: to me it smells like a medicine, floral-ish sweet but not in a good way- it has many good reviews but I really didn't like this one.

Green smoothie- got it as a sample, very green and fresh, a little too grassy to me.

From your experience- FO smell better after put in products? I am making lotions for myself and family and it feels to me that finding good FO's is a HARD task.
more FO's from Peak, NG and Aztec are on their way to me, still hoping to find my go to scents. :angel:

 

[BattleGnome]

Make a thing and find out!

For the two fragrances I can comment on:
Cocobutter and Cashmere- it reminds me of Skin So Soft lotion my mom used to get. I agree that there isn't too much cocobutter/chocolate scent but it is warmer than just a cashmere (I usually associate cashmere with a musk, don't know how accurate I am)

Mahogany- my husband loves it. I haven't soaped with it yet but he enjoys it in a beard oil. I don't like it in a leave on product, after a few hours the scent seems to morph weird to me. I think it reacts with body chemistry because the beard oil smells the same as it did when I made it 6mo ago. I opened my 2oz fragrance nearly a year ago and it still smells good OOB.

 

[shunt2011]

I have found that many many fragrances smell better/worse once soaped. The soaping process can really change things. I've mostly had where I didn't care for them OOB but once soaped they were really nice. I have had a few that once soaped I didn't like at all. It's all trial and error as everyones noses are different too. Cream Cheese is likely to morph in soap though I've not used it but find that anything primarily vanilla has a tendency to do it.

 

[navigator9]

I'm only familiar with two of those. BB's OMH is the one that I've used for years. It has always been one of my best sellers. As far as smelling like either oatmeal, milk or honey, well, you could probably argue that point. Personally, I smell almond, but it's a popular fragrance that many people seem to like. Cedar and Saffron has always been a good seller for me, too. It is very strong, you can use a lot less. It's one of my personal favorites, too. To me it just smells clean and yummy. It lingers on the skin, and is really a unisex scent. Men love it, but I have a lot of women who buy it, too. Over the years, I've found that smelling FOs oob, really isn't a good predictor of what they'll smell like when soaped. There have been many that I've not liked oob, and loved when soaped. You may get some pleasant surprises.

 

[Arimara]

I actually really like the Cocoa Butter Cashmere when soaped. I think it's a great soaping scent for those who like strong sweet scents (I normally don't). In general though, I'm not sure if you;re just opening the bottles and smelling the FOs that way. You're not going to get a good read on the scents that way, especially if you were planning on soaping with them. Soapmaking is a chemical process and it's not quite fair to judge an FO and how it smells if you didn't test it in a soap yet.

 

[cmzaha]

Black Amber & Lavender smells lovely in soap, but I will warn you that it turns extremely dark brown/black, and nothing is going to really lighten it so save the TD and deal with the almost black brown it turns. I like to separate it out to 2 swirls using a very bright purple mica and one just the batter color, add all the fo to your main batch. It is a lovely fo but I finds it takes at least 6% ppo. Cream cheese, like most foody fo's will also most likely turn brown but it should tell you under the reviews for the fo

 

[dixiedragon]

I recommend doing a test batch. I got some of those round 8 oz deli style to go containers from the Christmas Tree Shop (they sell all kinds of stuff now). I really like these b/c I can fit my stick blender end them.

get some kind of paper - chip board, index card, whatever, and cut a 1-2 inch wide strip (3-4 inches long) and write the name of the FO, the amount and the date.

Make a batch of soap and have a bowl of clean, warm water ready. Pour 1 cup of soap in each cup. Add 1 tsp (light) or 2 tsp (medium-strong) of FO to each cup, and give it a blast with the stick blender. Clean the stick blender in the warm water between fragrances. Put the strip with the FO written on it in each cup. Evaluate 6 weeks later.

 

[SparksnFlash]

You can also put a tiny dot of FO on an index card, let it sit a day or two and give it a sniff. It won't be quite as strong as straight from the bottle. I recently ordered some black jasmine FO from BB and wanted to cry when I smelled it. I grudgingly soaped it up on Saturday and it's actually wonderful.

 

[lenarenee]

I'm only familiar with two of those. BB's OMH is the one that I've used for years. It has always been one of my best sellers. As far as smelling like either oatmeal, milk or honey, well, you could probably argue that point. Personally, I smell almond, but it's a popular fragrance that many people seem to like. Cedar and Saffron has always been a good seller for me, too. It is very strong, you can use a lot less. It's one of my personal favorites, too. To me it just smells clean and yummy. It lingers on the skin, and is really a unisex scent. Men love it, but I have a lot of women who buy it, too. Over the years, I've found that smelling FOs oob, really isn't a good predictor of what they'll smell like when soaped. There have been many that I've not liked oob, and loved when soaped. You may get some pleasant surprises.

I have 6 week old Cedar and saffron, used full strength and there's virtually no scent left! How did we get such different results? Oob and freshly soaped the smell was never strong.

 

[IrishLass]

I have 6 week old Cedar and saffron, used full strength and there's virtually no scent left! How did we get such different results? Oob and freshly soaped the smell was never strong.

Hmmmm.... I wonder if you got a bad lot, or if you were mistakenly sent something else? That actually happened to me twice with the now defunct TheScentWorks.

Anyway- for what it's worth, my experience with Cedar & Saffron is the same as Navigator's:, i.e., very strong OOB and the scent lasts forever in my soap.


IrishLass

 

[lenarenee]

Hmmmm.... I wonder if you got a bad lot, or if you were mistakenly sent something else? That actually happened to me twice with the now defunct TheScentWorks.

Anyway- for what it's worth, my experience with Cedar & Saffron is the same as Navigator's:, i.e., very strong OOB and the scent lasts forever in my soap.


IrishLass

Very funny you should mention that IL! My first bottle of BB cedar and saffron was a mistake..... a scent closer Arabian spice, even turned the soap medium brown. But we loved it, and I just assumed that it was one of those fo'so that didn't smell like it's name.

2nd bottle smelled very different...with an actual cedar scent, but so weak. What are the odds they messed up on the same fo, ordered 7 months apart, with the same customer? !

 

[Orchidgirl]

I haven't tried any of those, but I second what has been said about trying them in soap before you make any real judgements. The fragrance will likely be different--for better or for worse--once it's in finished soap. (The idea of an OMH scent has always confused me...it certainly sounds nice, but as I can discern no scent at all from real life oatmeal, milk, or honey, I just wouldn't have a clue what the FO would be like. It's probably just me and my weird nose, though, LOL).

I had a bottle of BB's (now discontinued) Pinot Grigio FO, and OOB it REEKED. In soap, it was fine. I'm leery of a couple others I have that are similarly stinky, but at some point I am just going to have to bite the bullet and try 'em out.

PS Interesting to hear about the Green Smoothie scent. I selected that as my free sample in my recent order. The "notes of kale" in the description really intrigued me, haha.

 

[navigator9]

I have 6 week old Cedar and saffron, used full strength and there's virtually no scent left! How did we get such different results? Oob and freshly soaped the smell was never strong.

Hmmmm.... I wonder if you got a bad lot, or if you were mistakenly sent something else? That actually happened to me twice with the now defunct TheScentWorks.

Anyway- for what it's worth, my experience with Cedar & Saffron is the same as Navigator's:, i.e., very strong OOB and the scent lasts forever in my soap.


IrishLass

Yikes, lenarenee...that's hard for me to imagine. Like IL mentioned, it's strong oob, strong once soaped, stays strone, and it's one of the few FOs, that really lingers on my skin after I wash with it. I really have no explanation for your results. Have you asked other people if they can smell it? I'm wondering if it may just be a fragrance that doesn't register with your nose. (grasping at straws here)

 

[BlackDog]

Sorry to say I haven't ordered most of these but battle gnome is right - best way to find out is to make something! If I'm testing new fragrances I like to make a regular size batch and divide it out in smaller molds between 3-4 scents. That way I'm not stuck with a whole batch of something I can't stand. Ask me how I learned that lesson! (Giving you the side eye, BB Champagne - also very well reviewed but gave me a headache.)

I can tell you I've soaped with BB Apple Sage and can tell you it's great IMO. I just reordered a bigger bottle and want to make scrubs with it next.

 

[lenarenee]

I wonder if they gave me the eo instead? The liquid was as clear and thin as water although I'd still expect more scent strength.

Others that smelled find it faint too. Maybe I'll bring it up with Brambleberry.

 

[KristaY]

If you got Spiced Mahogany be ready to move fast! It really accelerated trace for me, plus it discolors med brown. The first time I used it it overheated and cracked. But the scent is so good I just work around the A & D. Both my 70ish parents love it.

The OMH is also a favorite of mine. I split my batter and add Vanilla Select to half, pour. Add OMH plus ground oats to the other half, pour. No color in either so I get a dark brown bottom and tan/light brown top. My BIL is CRAZY for it so my sister had me make a whole loaf for his birthday.

 

[Kamahido]

I was not a huge fan of the Apple Sage, but the Applejack Peel is where it's at! :-D

 

[SunRiseArts]

Prepare to be addicted to FOs ..... I love BB, they are such great people too. But I am not a huge fan of their fragrances ... I do like Cocoa Butter Cashmere for winter scent, and their electric lemonade is amazing. Besides that the only other one I have tested that I like is green smoothie.

I think my favorite FOs stores are NG and candle science.

 

[joellcox]

Cedar & Saffron is my favorite BB scent. Sticks very well, and both men and women seem to like it. It does discolor and accelerates a bit, but it's totally worth it.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Another vote for not judging scents out of the bottle. Even if they don't morph dramatically, the correct concentration alone will a big change. I typically make a big batch and split it into four one-pound samples, which is close to perfect for the 21-28 grams that are typically in a 1 fl oz sample size. Makes lots of soap to give away to friends even if you don't like it. But if you don't want to do that, just buy some cheap, unscented hand lotion or liquid soap and mix in the appropriate usage rate of FO into little samples.

BTW, I think Apple-Sage is fantastic, and I don't typically like "foody" scents. I made a batch for my daughter and liked it so much that I almost kept it myself.