Looking for Fragrances

[ajack12]

Hello!
I am looking for some new fragrances to use in my lard based soap. I am still in trial and error phase with my soap making and am hesitant to spend much or buy large quantities. I have only used essential oils so far with fairly good results, but am hoping to branch out! (I have found that the high amounts of lard in the recipe requires a high concentration of fragrance to cover up the "fat" smell :-| )

Has anyone tried the Hobby Lobby brands? Do you have a favorite supplier that sells small quantities?!

TIA

 

[dixiedragon]

Don't use Hobby Lobby fragrances (FOs) in CP (cold process) soap. They are meant for MP (melt and pour) and the lye will gobble them up!

I love Brambleberry, Nature's Garden Candles, Nurture Soap and Majestic Mountain Sage. They are soap people and test their fragrances in soap and report reliably about how they perform. I prefer to buy from companies who show pictures of how a fragrance or color performs in cold process soap.

Essential Oils - I really like Camden Grey

 

[Steve85569]

I have had good luck with lemon grass EO. Sticks well and is pleasant.
A lot of the Hobby Lobby fragrances are intended for M&P soaps and will produce soap on a stick in CP. That was an interesting experience for me just before I found this forum.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200513122010?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Is a link to my last purch se of lemon grass EO.

Also try not to over heat the lard when melting it. It only needs to be liquid since we are not cooking with it.

 

[lsg]

I don't use high concentrations to cover any lard smell. Unless your lard is rendered at a high temp or heated to a high temp. it shouldn't smell much. Any odor in my cp soap has faded over time. I would not use Hobby Lobby fragrances as they are probably not good quality and may not be for cp soap. Try Natures Garden, they have 1 oz fragrances for $2.99. They also have a reward points program.

 

[mx5inpenn]

I'll second nature's garden. They also have a discount on 10 samples.

Another I like a lot is nurture soap.

If you buy samples and don't like them, you are only out a little bit. I always get a sample to test and if the family likes it well enough, I'll order a larger size the next time. I've tried many many different ones and only use 4 or 5 regularly. Of course, I can't help but keep trying new ones.

Eta: Almost forgot... I use high lard in most of my recipes. Any slight piggy smell is gone by the end of cure. Just heat enough to melt as already mentioned.

 

[dixiedragon]

Is there a noticeable pork smell in the soap? Is it noticeable to others? I ask b/c some people are just very sensitive to particular smells - I know a lady who doesn't care for high olive oil soap b/c she can smell the olive oil and doesn't like it.

What kind of lard are you using?

 

[penelopejane]

Don't buy a large amount of FO on someone else's recommendation. Scent is a highly personal thing, I have found.

Of course read all the reviews and listen to recommendations but try a small bottle first to see if YOU like it.

 

[dibbles]

I agree with all of the above. I'd also add Mad Oils to the list. If you can post what types of scents you like (or don't like), you might get a few recommendations, but as mentioned, scent is a personal thing. I would read reviews for any that you are considering, as they will often mention if the FO accelerates or causes any other issues. As a rule, florals, rain/ocean and some spices can be problematic.

 

[earlene]

Regarding the lard odor: I have noticed some brands seem to have a much stronger and offensive-to-me odor. My nose is usually pretty sensitive, but I am also a vegetarian so anything meaty smells pretty strong to me anyway. It just is. Some people have a super strong sense of smell while others do not. There are so many variables when it comes to perceptions of odors/fragrance, including altered body chemistry (as many pregnant women or people on certain drugs can attest.)

People here told me that if I waited the lard odor would dissipate and I wouldn't even be able to smell it anymore after cure. Well, I don't find that to necessarily be the case. I can still smell the lard in a soap I made for my brother 6 months ago. I think lard soap is cured by 6 months, right? Anyway, that was unscented AND made with a brand of lard that I have since realized is one of the strongest smelling of any I have tried so far. I have read also that it could have been a 'bad' batch of lard, but I have bought that brand since and found it really does have a stronger odor. I've bought 3 different brands so far and that one remains the strongest. I have seen all 3 at WalMarts, not my local very-small store, but different ones across the country (USA). So I guess it depends on where you live which one is available to you. I wish I could remember which one it was, but I don't. All I know is it was a 1-pound container because I didn't want to risk buying more if it didn't turn out to be something I could tolerate doing. Well, and I know it was NOT the blue boxed (Morrell Snow Cap) one, because that is not available near me, and I didn't try it until months later while traveling.

I have since used fragrances to try and hide the odor, and it does seem to help a little bit, but I didn't even find that to be reliable. Sometimes fragrance doesn't hide an odor. What I think helps better is to avoid the brand I discovered I don't like the odor of in the first place.

The jury (me) is still out on using lard in soaps, because I am not yet convinced even though there are loads of soapers here who swear by using lard in their soaps. But I decided to give it a try for the sake of producing a soap that some of my family who don't really care about 'vegetarian-friendly' stuff would like. I can tell you that even among some of my family who are not vegetarian, some cannot abide the odor.

 

[ajack12]

Is there a noticeable pork smell in the soap? Is it noticeable to others? I ask b/c some people are just very sensitive to particular smells - I know a lady who doesn't care for high olive oil soap b/c she can smell the olive oil and doesn't like it.

What kind of lard are you using?

My family raises heritage pigs that eat and live much differently than those of your typical pork pig, lots of acreage to wander about and play. The pork tastes different than store bough due to their happy life style and I am a bit worried the lard may be affected too. We get the lard rendered by the local butcher then back in jars.

I tried hot process this afternoon and brambleberry's fragrance calculator with peppermint EO, keeping my fingers crossed.

I really appreciate everyone's responses, I will be spending the rest of the evening checking out all the websites!!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I find hot processing makes it worse. Unless you are looking to use a specific oil as superfat, I wouldn't worry about hot processing it

 

[dixiedragon]

You may want to try lowering your temps overall. I know that if I let my lard get too hot, the soap batter usually smells much meatier than it does if I've kept things cooler. I have not tracked it to see if there is a difference in the finished soap, but I think some people here have reported that there is. Maybe try making a batch keeping your oil temps in the 90F range.

 

[wearytraveler]

I can definitely detect the scent of lard when used in high amounts. My first high-lard soap (75%) was cured for over 5 months and I still smelled the piggy scent through the FO. I loved the feel of the soap but I couldn't get passed the cranberry/citrus/lard mixture. I have since learned to, A) slowly melt the lard in a measuring cup in a large pan of near boiling water​ and, B) keep the percentage of lard to 45 or lower. That's my threshold for not detecting the scent. Everyone has a different tolerance for the lard scent but since I make soap for me mine is the only tolerance that counts!

 

[dixiedragon]

I'm not quite as careful as WearyTraveler. I put my oils on my stove on low or medium low, then turn it off when they mostly melted but with some white blobs still floating around. I sometimes give it a blast with the stick blender to break up those white blobs so they melt faster.

 

[Susie]

I melt my solid oils in the microwave until they are about 2/3 melted. I let carry over heat and hot lye water melt them the rest of the way. I am now using my crockpot to melt oils as I am now using larger amounts. Again, I just melt until 2/3 melted. Any FO or EO will cover the lard scent, and I have the most sensitive nose of everyone in my acquaintance.

 

[ajack12]

You may want to try lowering your temps overall. I know that if I let my lard get too hot, the soap batter usually smells much meatier than it does if I've kept things cooler. I have not tracked it to see if there is a difference in the finished soap, but I think some people here have reported that there is. Maybe try making a batch keeping your oil temps in the 90F range.

I'm thinking this is where I have gone wrong! I will be trying another batch tomorrow and will let you know if keeping them cooler helps

 

[wearytraveler]

I originally tried microwaving the lard but found that doing so still caused the lard to smell even at 30 second bursts. I have a sniffer that can smell the sour in milk a couple of days before anyone else can. I found that letting small amounts melt in a container (a measuring cup in my case) sitting in really hot water in a pot on the stove and, as the lard liquefied, slowly adding the rest a little at a time, would minimize the piggy smell.

I'm not quite as careful as WearyTraveler. I put my oils on my stove on low or medium low, then turn it off when they mostly melted but with some white blobs still floating around. I sometimes give it a blast with the stick blender to break up those white blobs so they melt faster.

 

[Gerry]

What's up with all this piggy smelling lard? Lard shouldn't smell like that, even when heated to 325 degrees or more in an oven. Otherwise all the fine pastries in this world would smell like bacon. Mmmm bacon... But anyway lard has a relatively high smoke point compared to many other oils we use, and I'd have to question the quality of the product if it still smelled "piggy". It shouldn't taste piggy either. If your house smells like you're cooking a pork roast while baking apple pie at 350 degrees, it's a bad thing and there is something wrong. If I wouldn't use it to make pie crust, I'd certainly not use it in soap.

I've given away dozens of unscented, high percentage lard soaps, and not one person has noticed any pig odor in them. Lard should be snow white when solid, less color when melted compared to most vegetable oils, and have no to little distinctive odor even when you stick your nose in the bucket. It shouldn't taste stronger than vegetable shortening. It should be completely solid at room temperature. Even the cheapest processed brands like Tenderflake almost pass these criteria. Better is a good leaf lard.

Perhaps my nose isn't so great anymore, but everyone I've given it to wants more. That's why I would first consider the quality of the lard being used if soap made with lard smells "piggy".

Edit: But to address the subject of the thread, if I were blessed with a tub full of piggy smelling lard, I'd use the fragrance of at least 10% pine tar mixed with a minimum of 30 gr/kg of half and half cedarwood and lemongrass EO. Very yummy, and even if you got DOS you'd never notice! :mrgreen:

 

[cgsample]

I'd also add Mad Oils to the list.

I checked them out. I can't do business with a site that won't estimate a shipping charge with just my zip code, but forces me to enter all my personal info first.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I can't detect lard smell in home rendered lard. It just has that lovely "lardy" aroma... if that's the correct description.
Shop bought lard has quite a distinctive smell and taste and it's definitely "there" in food and soap.
It probably comes down to the way it's been rendered.
I found tallow soap funkier than lard soaps.
I love lard in facial bars. I leave them unscented and they don't have piggy smell at all.
I haven't found that microwaving does anything to lard. Any oil will smell when heated up. CO has a really funky smell when heated., but it's gone in soap.