LF citrus recommendations

[samirish]

Hi all,

At my last craft show, I kept hearing that I need more citrus type scents. I dont make allot of cp soap in citrus scents because that is not what personally appeals to me but I would like to carry some so I have a wide variety of scents.

Can you guys recommend a few good citrus type scents?

thank you

 

[judymoody]

Do you use FO or EO? If EO, both litsea and lemongrass are cheap and stick and are good blenders. If FO, Brambleberry's orange peel and grapefruit FOs are very authentic smelling and also stick well. A lot of people swear by Energy (also BB) but I personally find it too sweet.

 

[IrishLass]

That Orange Peel FO from Brambleberry sound intriguing, Judy. I'll definitely have to look into that!

The citrus scents that I have tried and love are Yuzu FO and also Orange EO 10X (I bought them both from Brambleberry). As a matter of fact, Brambleberry's Soap Queen has a tutorial on her site that shows her making a layered soap using those 2 scents. I've made it myself, and I find the combined scent so lovely and refreshing. It is now a part of my regular soap repertoire.

Another one that I love is Daystar's Paradise FO. It's a sparkling, effervescent lime scent. All my soap recipients love it. Many people say it smells just like Sprite soda pop (complete with the carbonate bubbles!).

As Judy said, Litsea Cubeba is great, too. I haven't soaped with that one yet, but it's awesome in the sprays I make.

IrishLass

 

[DeeAnna]

I just tried Bamboo and White Grapefruit FO from Nature's Garden. The main scent is a fresh, ripe grapefruit scent with a sweet green undertone. I used it yesterday to make some hair conditioner at 0.5% of the total weight. I'd use it up to 1% in lotions and conditioners, but I probably wouldn't go higher. I have not yet tried it in CP soap, but I plan to. My husband likes it as much as I do -- very much a unisex fragrance.

Another FO to consider is Bitter Orange Orchid from Majestic Mountain Sage (and others). I don't get the bitter nor the orchid parts, but my nose is not very educated. To me, the fragrance is orange spice with an undertone of brewed black tea and wood. I know this sounds like I'm describing "Constant Comment" orange spice tea, but the FO has a deeper, more masculine feel than the actual tea blend. It's heavier than the Bamboo and White Grapefruit. I have made it in CP soap at about 4% ppo. I would say it's more of a guy scent.

A third FO that I have evaluated, but not yet used in anything is Breezes n Sunshine from Nature's Garden. It is more of a "cool, clean" scent but it has a light overtone of lemon. Smelled full-strength right out of the bottle, it has a "Lemon Pledge" furniture polish smell, but as the scent dries down to a more normal intensity, it develops a clean pleasant scent with a hint of sweet lemon. I'm not going to let my OOB first impression count against this one -- I really think it's going to be a good FO in soap, lotion, etc.

I wouldn't use it in soap, but red or green mandarin EO is lovely in lotion, lip balm, etc.

 

[jules92207]

I am a huge citrus user in my soaps. I don't know how extensive your eo collection is but if you have a litsea or lemongrass as mentioned above you can mix with some grapefruit, lime, lemon, and/or orange and it's wonderful. I often throw some lavender in with it for good measure too.

If you want to keep it simple you can certainly go with fo's, I really like WSP's pink grapefruit (they have two, I think the one I like is #97?) and I agree daystar's paradise is very lemon-lime, Sprite like - very nice.

If you want to play with citrus but it isn't your thing you can also mix citrus with mints or florals and you might like it better yourself even.

 

[Susie]

I love citrus in soaps. Just smells so clean. Please remember that citrus EOs are notorious for fading quickly. You will want to anchor them with clay or corn starch. I use just enough corn starch to make the EO into a thin slurry. I have yet to use clay, so not much help there. Citrus EOs are really great in liquid soaps and don't fade.

 

[shunt2011]

Bamboo White Grapefruit (NG) is nice in soap. It does move a bit fast but sometimes. I make and sell Energy and folks seem to like it. It does have a bit of sweetness to it. I like Lemongrass as well. Customers do seem to like citrus. I also like Litsea with orange and grapefruit and a bit of lemongrass.

 

[Lynnz]

Do you use FO or EO? If EO, both litsea and lemongrass are cheap and stick and are good blenders. If FO, Brambleberry's orange peel and grapefruit FOs are very authentic smelling and also stick well. A lot of people swear by Energy (also BB) but I personally find it too sweet.

Oh Judy I love the idea of lemongrass, might have to act on that recommendation :clap:

 

[Lynnz]

Bamboo White Grapefruit (NG) is nice in soap. It does move a bit fast but sometimes. I make and sell Energy and folks seem to like it. It does have a bit of sweetness to it. I like Lemongrass as well. Customers do seem to like citrus. I also like Litsea with orange and grapefruit and a bit of lemongrass.

Oh like this combo of Listea orange and lemongrass as well and might have to act on it..............thanks for sharing <3

 

[Obsidian]

I don't know how well it sticks as I just soaped it a few days ago but BB sweet meyer's lemon is really nice. A bit sweeter then I would like, a touch of lemongrass should give it a bit more zing.

 

[houseofwool]

I love lime with a hint of mint. It is one of my biggest sellers. Mojito-I am always making it.

I recently did a blend of tangerine and grapefruit with a bit of benzoin.