Lone Star Fragrance Review

[math ace]

I couldn't help it... I had to take advantage of the current 50% off 1 ounce sample sale going on until 8/13. I've received my fragrances already and am ready to start testing them. I order 27 scents and am anxious to see how they perform in CP soap.

The first round of testing will be with the following scents:

LILAC
PINK GRAPEFRUIT
SWEET MANDARIN & CHILI PEPPER
TUBEROSE
COOL CUCUMBER
CRANBERRY CHUTNEY (TYPE)
HONEYDEW MELON
JUNIPER BREEZE
MOONLIGHT PATH (TYPE)
BLACK RASP. VANILLA (TYPE)

The second round of testing will include Lone Star's

Blue (Men's type)
CK One (type)
JUICY PEAR
PINK CHIFFON (TYPE)
SWEET PEA (TYPE)
COWBOY
LOVE SPELL (TYPE)
MANGO PAPAYA
MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT (TYPE)

I think I'll need a third round of testing to get all the scents done!

MACINTOSH APPLE
MUSCADINE
BAJA CACTUS BLOSSOM (TYPE)
CHOCOLATE MINT
JAPANESE CHERRY BLOSSOM (Type)
CHERRY BLOSSOM
CITRUS CILANTRO (TYPE)
COOL CITRUS BASIL (TYPE)

 

[dibbles]

And another one takes a deep dive down the FO rabbit hole
Welcome to the never ending-never enough club.

 

[math ace]

And another one takes a deep dive down the FO rabbit hole
Welcome to the never ending-never enough club.

Help me, I've fallen and can't get up! Lol

Honestly, I'm feeling pretty good about this Summer's fragrance testing. Due to the wonderful support (and enabling) from the forum members, I've been sampling the wares of several "new to me" fragrance companies. I've found some scents that I totally love and can't wait to soap with, make something more than a single test bar.

I've wanted to try lone star for a year, but kept missing their sales. After this, I've only got one more company to sample - nature's garden.

 

[glendam]

I have the Cherry Blossom but did not test it in soap, let me know how it goes. I have been waiting for their sample sale though! I am glad you posted this, I have several I want to test (as in just smell out of the bottle!)

 

[Seligk]

Thanks for posting about the sale! I was just in there a couple of weeks ago and boy did it hurt..lol
I'm sure I can find a few more fragrances to test with.

 

[jcandleattic]

I love Lone Star's fo's. They are good quality, inexpensive, work well (for the most part) in all my applications, are fast, and have great customer service...

 

[maxine289]

I couldn't help it... I had to take advantage of the current 50% off 1 ounce sample sale going on until 8/13. I've received my fragrances already and am ready to start testing them. I order 27 scents and am anxious to see how they perform in CP soap.

The first round of testing will be with the following scents:

LILAC

PINK GRAPEFRUIT

SWEET MANDARIN & CHILI PEPPER

TUBEROSE

COOL CUCUMBER

CRANBERRY CHUTNEY (TYPE)

HONEYDEW MELON

JUNIPER BREEZE

MOONLIGHT PATH (TYPE)

BLACK RASP. VANILLA (TYPE)

How I wish I'd not seen this post about a 50% off sample sale. Someone stop me, please.

 

[math ace]

I love Lone Star's fo's. They are good quality, inexpensive, work well (for the most part) in all my applications, are fast, and have great customer service...

I AM SO GLAD TO HEAR THIS!
There were only TWO fragrance reviews in the Lone Star section of the review chart. I was afraid that I was purchasing a shipment of losers. I received 27 fragrances and all of them smelled good OOB. There weren't any strange "off " tones or bitter tones that I have experienced in some other fragrance suppliers. Now, I just need to get busy making some samples and seeing how long the fragrance lasts in CP soap.

If you have any feedback on specific LS scents, I would love to hear it.

 

[jcandleattic]

TWO fragrance reviews in the Lone Star section of the review chart.

Probably because they are more known as a candle supplier than a soap supplier, but as long as the FO's are skin safe to the right degree, they work very well. They are very comparable to NG.

It's hard for me to do fragrance reviews that aren't candle specific though, because in soap about 85-90% of all my scents I use are blends of all the different FO's I have. I very rarely soap a scent by itself. And that in and of itself changes the dynamic of how the FO behaves, smells, etc., all things people would be initially interested in.

I will say their mango papaya and their fruit slices are divine (both alone and as mixers)

 

[math ace]

@jcandleattic ,

That is WONDERFUL! I didn't get fruit slices, but I did get mango papaya. EXCITEMENT is beginning to run through my veins!

I had to do a lot of reading of reviews on the LS web site to select my fragrances because 99% of the reviews were from candle makers.
Wouldn't it be awesome if fragrance suppliers would separate their reviews by application ?

 

[jcandleattic]

I know a LOT of people read reviews, but I rarely do. I'm used to FO's that accelerate/seize enough to be ready regardless, and as for scent retention, well, I don't trust what others say about that so will test for myself, and I use a vs in every batch, so discoloration reviews are pretty useless to me. What's left? Not much, so I just don't take the time to read anything other than the description and at what % it's skin safe.

 

[glendam]

I like their lavender. Doesn't discolor and smells close to 40/42. They have a vanillin/vanilla chart (It comes up if you google vanillin lone star candle supply).
I also like their Hansel and Gretel, it does discolor to a dark brown.
Their Sweet Snow was pretty much a mix of vanilla and peppermint. It may accelerate a little, but I used it in a recipe with high amount of hard fats and did multiple layers, it only started getting thick towards the last layer, so perhaps it wasn't even the fragrance.
Their peppermint smells like peppermint candy, I am looking for something closer to peppermint EO.
I like their creamsickle, but wished it was stronger on the orange (discolors a lot too)
I love the scent of Amber Vanilla, but I only got the sampler and didn't try it in soap, just smelled it and put it in the wool balls for the dryer.
I also like their Strawberry Kiwi, I only tried it in blends so I cannot comment on behavior in soap.
Their Indian Sandalwood I have only used in blends, it is in the subtle side.
Their vanilla cardamom smells primarily of vanilla, no cardamom.
Their Clean Cotton I did not like. It is very much detergent like, I use it in the laundry wool balls, used it in soap once only and behaved well.

I am in Texas so I get my orders the next day literally, even when ordering ground. They ship very fast, usually the same day.

I AM SO GLAD TO HEAR THIS!
There were only TWO fragrance reviews in the Lone Star section of the review chart. I was afraid that I was purchasing a shipment of losers. I received 27 fragrances and all of them smelled good OOB. There weren't any strange "off " tones or bitter tones that I have experienced in some other fragrance suppliers. Now, I just need to get busy making some samples and seeing how long the fragrance lasts in CP soap.

If you have any feedback on specific LS scents, I would love to hear it.

 

[math ace]

@glendam

Thanks for the feedback! You've given me a few ideas of what to try next time around. I was very happy with Lone Star's shipping cost and shipping speed.

 

[math ace]

This is the 6 week update on the Lone Star fragrances. Overall, I thought their fragrances were on the light side in CP soap. I soaped at 6% ppo.

The Macintosh Apple is along the lines of BB Macintosh Apple in notes. However, it is much lighter than BB's Macintosh Apple. So I WOULD NOT ORDER this scent from Lone Star.
At 6 weeks, you can barely smell the lone star version.

LS Orange & chilli pepper is not a sweet orange (like fragrance buddy's). It is more peppery / bitter like an orange peel. Light in strength.

LS juniper breeze ls light not as good as WSP's Juniper Breeze. I WOULD NOT ORDER AGAIN.

LS tuberose faded

LS cranberry chutney discolors to beige. The scent is sweet and light. I was looking for a cranberry chutney like BB had a few years ago! This is more sweet than chutney. The MUR for this scent is around 6%. I WOULD NOT ORDER this one again! BB has a sweet cranberry that is very strong and soaps perfectly in CP. My BB sweet cranberry is 5 months old and still holding scent perfectly.

LS midsummer's night is missing some of the depth of the original Yankee Candle Fragrance. The scent is on the light side.

Japanese Cherry Blossom does NOT smell like the BBW Japanese Cherry Blossom. However, it is a Medium strength scent that is true to the OOB and is holding at 6 weeks.

The sweet pea morphed!

The muscadine fragrance DOES NOT smell like muscadine grapes! I've got a backyard of muscadines, so I have a pretty good idea of what they smell like LOL. It does have grape tones. Maybe more like grape juice. I'm watching this one to see what it does over the next month or two. The MUR for this scent is 7.6%, so there isn't a lot of wiggle room.

The citrus Cilantro is pretty much a blah. Whatever I am smelling is light and not pleasing to my nose!

I do have 3 favorites from the ones I've tested thus far: Pink Chiffon, Juicy Pear, and CK ONE.
PINK CHIFFON is Delicious. I don't know what the original pink chiffon smells like so I can not attest to how true the dupe is. The MUR is 20%. I want to try this scent again with a higher usage rate. I am normally 6% ppo person, but I really like this scent and am willing to try it at a higher rate.

The other 2 scents that I am found of, Juicy Pear and CK ONE, are on the light side at 6 weeks. I really like their Juicy Pear and the CK ONE is spot on dupe. I may be able to find a pear from another vendor, but the CK ONE is unique to Lone Star. The MUR for these two scents is 13% and 16% respectively. I plan on trying these two again with a higher usage rate.

 

[math ace]

UPDATE:
STILL STICKING at 2 to 3 months

BAJA CACTUS BLOSSOM (TYPE)
Blue (Men's type)

CK One (type)
COOL CUCUMBER
COWBOY
CRANBERRY CHUTNEY (TYPE)

JAPANESE CHERRY BLOSSOM (Type)
JUNIPER BREEZE
JUICY PEAR

MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT (TYPE)
MACINTOSH APPLE
MUSCADINE

PINK CHIFFON (TYPE)
=====================================================
Here is the 2 to 3 month update on the above Lone Star Fragrances.... Still Sticking!
There were several that were light at the 1 month check point and I was worried that they might be fading. However, the scents seem to be holding.

My favorite scents from the samples was the CK One,Pink Chiffon, and Juicy Pear. I like a really strong scented soap, so I experimented using these fragrances at a higher usage rate. I made another batch of soap with those fragrances at 9%. They were really strong at that level. So, I am thinking that 7.5% will be perfect for my heavily scented soap. The bars I made with 6% fragrance are 3 months old and still smell fine.

I think some of these scents actually got better after the first month. Just FYI: The Japanese Cherry Blossom is NOT a good dupe, but it is a scent that sticks. It is more baby powder or Johnson and Johnson baby lotion smelling than Japanese Cherry Blossom!

The muscadine does NOT smell like a muscadine grape, It reminds me of some kind of Grape Candy.

 

[Lolly58]

I live about 10 miles from Lone Star. I personally do not like their fragrances. I have to use twice as much and the scent doesn’t stay. I was very disappointed because they are so close.

 

[glendam]

I live about 10 miles from Lone Star. I personally do not like their fragrances. I have to use twice as much and the scent doesn’t stay. I was very disappointed because they are so close.

I suppose different fragrances behave differently. Their Hansel and a Gretel has stayed strong over a year in a soap I made. And their peppermint has also stayed a lot longer than Crafter’s choice brand and also their lavender. I generally use 1 oz per lb of oils, and none have faded for me.