FO Stickers?

[snappyllama]

I'm been disappointed lately with a lot of my FOs fading or just losing their oomph. Folks in my house want very strong scents that last.

What are your favorite stickers?

A few of mine that have worked great:

NG Cracklin Birch
MO Snow Witch
BB Ginger Patchouli
WSP Mediterranean Fig
MO Smoke and Mirrors
NG Perfect Man
WSP Apple Jack and Peel
WSP Raspberry Lemonade (this one is almost too strong)
Daystar Ahoy Matey
BB Moroccan Mint
BB Rich Dark Chocolate

 

[JuneP]

The BB Energy is holding well so far in a soap I made months ago for the hidden swirl challenge.

 

[navigator9]

BB Cedar & Saffron...strong and sticks.

 

[Soapmaker145]

From Tennessee Candle: Peach Magnolia, True Lavender, Redwood Cedar. I also mixed their Tangerine Dream 3:1 (IIRC) with NDA's Margarita and the scent stuck very well. All of these stuck for at least 8 months. They were almost overpowering when I first poured them at 1 oz ppo, way stronger than I like. Their sweet musk is also very strong. My tester is about 3 months old.

From American Soap supplies: Mango Sorbet if you like Mango. It smells like a strong Mango Tea to me and it sticks. It's the best Mango of all the ones I tried.

From Fragrance Buddy: Earthen Oak is almost too strong and it sticks well (accelerates like crazy). There are many others. I have to review my testers and generate a list. If you give us an idea of the type of scents you are looking for, we can be more specific.

There are some soaps that I think are unscented that DH thinks are just right. Since I started testing FOs, it became clear that no 2 people are alike when it comes to the sense of smell. I picked scents that were generally well "smelled" by my testers with the hope that they are more likely to work for most people.

 

[galaxyMLP]

From NG, pink sugar, bite me
From BB lavender chamomile (lighter scent but stays strong and true)
WSP Parma violet (lighter scent that I use in a blend but it stays true and strong), nag Champa, ocean water (accelerates and supppper strong room spread. Should be cured outside or in a closed box for the first week.)
RE, bonfire bliss, toasted marshmallow, green Irish tweed, moscato starts strong but by 6 months is mostly faded. Still nice up to 4 months.*** please see second post below for more details on these fragrances

 

[snappyllama]

Thanks folks! I'm taking notes so I can try these out.

I'm open to pretty much anything. I don't tend to go for florals/perfumey scents as often though. But other folks might be interested in those.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Oh! I forgot. RE cucumber mint is awesome and sticks suuuper well for me!

 

[fluffmuffin]

Great topic! We like strongly scented soaps here! I usually soap with 1 oz ppo.

NG: Burst of Energy (smells like biolage shampoo!), rockin the stars, Goldie dreadlocks, poison crocus, you sexy thing you, pink daisy & gomi berry, hippie Christmas

WSP: euphoric (but watch out for accel), rainforest, indigenous, Valencia, litsea essential oil

Fragrance buddy: avobath, celestial sea are good, but in general I haven't had great luck with these oils.

 

[shunt2011]

NG: Perfect Man, Cracklin Birch, Peach Magnolia Raspberry, Bite Me, Lilac, Hummingbird, Vanilla Champagne, Teakwood Cardamom, Loving Spell

WSP: Bay Rum, Pink Lemonade, Fifty Shades

Peak: Cranberry Citrus, Pink Sugar, BRV

Elements: Lemon Verbena

 

[dibbles]

BB Champagne is strong and really sticks, likewise Espresso
WSP Blood Orange and Goji - scent faded a little through cure, but is sticking well, Mango Sorbet
Mad Oils Vanilla Milk, Arabian Nights - I didn't like this one so much at first, but the amber notes have mellowed out and it is quite nice now
Nurture Black Raspberry Vanilla is very strong - I have the pre-reformulated version

 

[Soapmaker145]

Few more to add to the list:
From Fragrance Buddy: Leaves (perfect fall scent), Amber Blush, Orange Blossom, Champagne & Snow Showers (a soapy orange blossom/Neroli type scent), Sun & Sands (needs a long cure), Patchouli Passion, Crisp Morning Air (sweet mint tea scent), Black Raspberry Vanilla, Flowerbomb mixed with So white or Lily of the Valley or on its own (discolors light chocolate milk), Lush dupes Jungle and Avobath.

From TCS: Dried Apple Wreath (smells like dried apples)

All of these made it to 6 to 8 months. I'm expecting them to survive to the one year mark. When I get a chance to write a review of the testers I made in January, I'll update this list.

 

[penelopejane]

BB Champagne stick really well (10 months and still strong). I am not sold on it as a single FO but is the best of the first FOs I bought and the only one I will get again, probably as apparently it's a good mixer and it is a breeze to use.

 

[dibbles]

I just soaped with BB Vetyver, and thought I'd add it to this list. It's only about a week old, but is nice and strong and I just feel it will stick. Snappy, it seems that you and I have a lot of similar likes when it comes to scents, so I think you would like this one. It is described as masculine, and while it definitely isn't feminine (ie, floral, fruity), it also doesn't read 'men's cologne' to me. I really like it. Always a plus, it also behaves very well.

 

[dixiedragon]

Black Raspberry Vanilla from WSP. This stuck through a rebatch!

 

[snappyllama]

I just soaped with BB Vetyver, and thought I'd add it to this list. It's only about a week old, but is nice and strong and I just feel it will stick. Snappy, it seems that you and I have a lot of similar likes when it comes to scents, so I think you would like this one. It is described as masculine, and while it definitely isn't feminine (ie, floral, fruity), it also doesn't read 'men's cologne' to me. I really like it. Always a plus, it also behaves very well.

I've put that one on my list for my next BB order.

 

[galaxyMLP]

I pulled out my samples that I made from my rustic Escentuals FOs last year in August. I take back my recommendation on moscato. There's really not much left there. People also don't seem to like it all that much. It's nice for the first 4 months and then if fades out to just a hint of fruity/sweet. Not bad, just not great.

Ones that I can recommend hands down:

bonfire bliss- not as complex but I recognized it instantly without even checking my list. This FO does accelerate and it gelled within 10 min after putting it in the mold but my brother has a bar I made in September and it smells divine. It also sold very well for me! Both men and women seem drawn to it. This ones a keeper!

Salty sea air- Wow. Seriously. Just wow. It smells just like when I made it only a little less strong. Also very recognizable but it accelerates very very quickly. I never soaped a big batch of this one so I can't tell how it will behave there. Definitely buying more of this one.

Cucumber mint- really nice clean scent. Much of the "crispness" is gone but it still smells recognizable and soaped pretty well. It showed no discoloration for the first few months but is now completely yellow (no, it's not DOS)

Good ones:

Toasted marshmallow- I'm hesitant to recommend this one. It's lost a lot of complexity but it has stuck well for a vanilla like scent. It's still nice and sweet. It does discolor to dark, dark brown and it makes the bar softer. I would add salt to these batches of soap when I use this scent.

I remember loving the Issey Miyaky scent when I soaped it but I can't find the small tester now... Same with falling leaves. I made another one of falling leaves that is now 1.5 months old and is still very strong. I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

BB Energy, Sensous sandalwood, Kumquat, Lilac
NG loving spell (don't like it but it sticks geezzz), OMH (plastic playdough smell survived rebatch), Brown sugar & fig, Clean (type), Vanilla silk, Aussie bamboo grass, Black rasp vanilla
FB Sultana (L..h type) lovely sweet FO, sticks well.

 

[Soapmaker145]

Three more to add to the list from Element.

Tuscan Herbs: This is probably my favorite herbal scent at this time, followed by BB Wasabi. It is complex and well blended but stops short of becoming perfumy. It discolors a light sandy beige. My tester is 5 month old. It is still true to when first poured but may have lost a little of the complexity it had.

Exotic Amazon Teakwood: Of all the Teakwoods, Driftwoods etc... that I tried, this is the only one that made the final cut. I think they added some mint into the mix or elements of mints. It is complex, well blended and not perfumy. It falls middle of the road between herbal and woodsy and is appropriately soapy. Discolored a light sandy beige.

L'Occitane Honey: I love the original from L'Occitane. This is a nice dupe, probably the best honey for cp that I tried so far. It discolored to a medium beige.

I have a number of teakwood/driftwoods that I didn't care for in CP or HP. I ended up rebatching and adding some mint FO which worked out much better.

I have BB Sensuous Sandalwood. It is very light in my tester and didn't survive well long term. I do use it as a mixer.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Thank you so much for this thread, Snappy, it is so usefull!

I am a stickler for stickers! (both the fragrances and the plastic ones with glue on the back. I have a disease when it comes to stickers. And stamps. (I am such a sad human being. Hangs head in deep shame.)

Since I have found that because of high shipping prices as of yet, I can only order fragrance oils from Natures Garden and Nurture Soap.

They stay in the "moderate high shipping prices", as supposed to the others that belong more in the area of : << Are you pipll insane? Who can afford that, unless their name is Bill Gates?>>

(But then again, maybe $90 for shipping two small 4oz bottles of fragrance to Norway, is normal for some...)

So my oils are from Nurture and Natures Garden only. But perhaps this will be helpfull anyway.

Today I will focus on Natures Garden:

Cucumber Melon.
No trace, A, R, or discolor. Sticks like crazy glue in my soaps, and does not fade a lot after 4 months. Almost like newly soaped. Smells just like a green cucumber with a backdrop of watermelon to my nose (which is rather big, potato shaped and quite sensitive)

Also I really feel it is indeed true to the description. How it fares after 4 months is another question, but I am super impressed so far! Will update later.

Juicy Apricot:
No trace, A, R, or discolor. A true sticker. I used this in the February Challenge, (only three moths ago, but still...?) I took out the piece of soap I saved to let cure until the hills grows eyes, so I can keep an eye out for fragrance fading/DOS etc.
I can smell a lot of the apricot still. Like newly soaped. I find this fruity, true to the apricots I have eaten, and it feels pleasant. I would absolutely call this one a keeper, and I like it. I want to try and mix this with some other scents/EO`S to see if it can evolve a bit. If you hate apricots this is not one for you. I used 32 grams for my batch of 2.1 pounds, more than enough.

Frangipani (i.e Jasmine):
It is really way to early for me to tell how it fares in the long run. But no trace, A or R. And so far NO DC. And also, I mixed it with Lemongrass (50/50). I made the soap in the very beginning of may, but what I can say so far is;

The mix smells sooooo good! I used this 50/50 mix in the new May challenge, but what I can mention is that in the beginning (first week) it smelled mostly Lemongrass. But today I went and whecked on all the bars, and WOWZAH, the Jasmine are peeking through, waving its sweet and fyzzy arms, letting me know that is is totally there. The combo of Jasmine and Lemon EO may be the best mixes that I have ever made. Evah...
If it still smells this great after 5 months I will consider this a keeper mix.

I have on my list of fragrances in house, that hasn`t been soaped yet:
Vanilla Cream, Karma, and The Olive Branch.

All of them smell so lovely, but I will check in later to let you know how they actually behaved in soap, and how they smell after some curing.

 

[lenarenee]

WSP's Lilac in Bloom and Sweet Honeysuckle are stickers! (8 months)

Lilac in Bloom is a decent Lilac, but I will continue looking for a more accurate one.
Sweet Honeysuckle is loved by everyone who smells it, including a 10 year old boy who tried to sneak one out of the house (not knowing he was welcome to have it). I can't say if it's if its a true Honeysuckle scent since I'm not familiar with the flower. But it smells like a natural flower, no powder, no plastic smell to it.

We have a 4000 sq ft home and have one Lilac and Honeysuckle sitting upstairs on a bookshelf and you can smell them yards away. The sweet Honeysuckle I'd order again. Had time for some ITP (lilac)and 3 color drop swirls (honeysuckle).

WSP Gardenia is a nothing special scent. A fair sticker. Won't order again.