must have essential oils?

[soapguy23]

So I'm just curious to what everyones must have EOs are and why

 

[cmzaha]

Lavender, Patchouli, Tee Tea, Cedar Leaf, Litsea, Lemongrass, Grapefruit, Rosemary, Eucalyptus and Anise are ones I have to have. They are wonderful mixers, and Litsea and Patch are good anchors that will also kick up the Lenongrass. Litsea (May Chang) will really kick up Lemongrass in lemony fragrance. Of course Lavender is always a good seller. Others that I like to keep in stock are peppermint, spearmint, orange and lime, cinnamon, clove, tumeric (for coloring) and an herb eo

 

[lsg]

All of the above plus lemon, and rosemary. I also love oakmoss to use for manly scents. IMO, one cannot have too big of a variety of EOs because there are so many good blends to experiment with.

 

[Khanjari]

I am relatively a new soaper and for me it is lavender, rosemary and tea tree

 

[dbloomingdale]

my favorites

Lavender, hands down. But also can not go without rosemary, sandalwood (the fo, I can not afford the eo), lemon, lime, vanilla anything...

 

[judymoody]

All the ones Carolyn mentioned! If you want to splurge - fresh ginger and cardamom are lovely and you don't need a lot in a blend. Rose geranium is also good to have on hand.

If you are looking for the most economical choices and have a limited budget to start with, I'd go for spearmint, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus (I prefer radiata over globulus), 5x sweet orange, lemongrass, anise, lavender (or lavandin if lavender is too pricey). And patchouli, which costs a bit more but is worth every penny - so versatile! With those basics, you could make so many blends!

Try soapmakingresource.com, Camden Grey, or 1rawplant if you are on a budget. NDA is great but now has a $100 minimum order.

 

[Moody Glenn]

Hello! For me, all of the citrus EO's (especially the 5-fold strength combined with Litsea) plus the mints (peppermint and spearmint). I have tried their FO equivalents but the EO's retain that fresh-zesty-nose tweaky-factor for a long time as well as not having a chemical after-smell.

 

[cmzaha]

I am with Judy with the Ginger and Cardamom, did not mention them because they are more pricey than the others. Cardamom especially. I get my Ginger from NDA and love it. But now they have a $100 min order or pay a small order charge

 

[soapguy23]

Thanks for all the replies I'm new to soaping and with so many options is hard to narrow a few I'm thinking lavender lemongrass I'm torn on a mint scent I like sandalwood but it's too expensive so I'm looking for an alternative and maybe patch I wasnt keen on it but everyone else seems to like it and Im not making all this soap for me

 

[AustinStraight]

Amyris is said to be the closest thing to sandalwood there is, and it's VERY cheap. I don't have any amyris yet but I've heard that it smells "reminiscent" of sandalwood but without the creamy, rich note sandalwood has, it's more of a dry, smokey sandalwood. I'm still buying it some time regardless :wink: Patchouli is very nice, it can be a little bit expensive sometimes but you don't use as much of it as you would if you were using something like orange or lavender. If you were to just get five, I would go with lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, patchouli, and 5x orange.

 

[dixiedragon]

Lavender, tea tree and mint.

 

[green soap]

sweet orange
tangerine
lemon
lime
bergamot
grapefruit
cedar
eucalyptus
rosemary
amyris
lemongrass
litsea cubeba
spearmint
peppermint
tea tree
patchouli
ylang ylang
basil
anise
juniper berry
fir needle
cinnamon leaf
cassia
clove bud
cypress
fennel
nutmeg
sage
thyme red
thyme white
marjoram
oregano
lavender
lavandin grosso
clary sage

also nice but expensive:

vetiver
black pepper
cardamom
ginger
geranium
chamomile

I have a large essential oil bill I confess.....

 

[lsg]

The amyris that I have doesn't even come close to a good sandalwood.

 

[AustinStraight]

The amyris that I have doesn't even come close to a good sandalwood.

That sucks... what brand is it? I've heard that the Mountain Rose Herbs amyris smells like gunpowder, but the Camden-Grey smells very good.

 

[seven]

lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus, tea tree, rose geranium, litsea (may chang), peppermint, spearmint, orange 5x, rosemary.

 

[mintle]

Litsea - on its own or for anchoring any other citrus scents
Lemongrass - because it sticks and stays in a cp soap forever, blends well with other EOs too
Lavender - a great base EO
Patchouli - anchoring scent, also great for making a blend more masculine
And Tea Tree - for anti-acne soap and as a safe non-sensitizing option for my family and friends - only recently I have found that it mellows in soap and becomes more pleasant (I don't like its scent unless in soap!)

 

[cmzaha]

The amyris that I have doesn't even come close to a good sandalwood.

I have to agrree, my Amyris smells okay but not nearly as good as a good sandalwood. As a standalone it does not hold in cp

 

[gurdeep]

Are their any good sites to help a beginner in blending eo on the net would love to give it a go and have a range of my own

 

[jade-15]

I use this one for ideas, but substitute (or leave out) things I don't have. I doubt the aromatherapy abilities make it through the soaping process but I still find it good inspiration.

http://www.aromaweb.com/

I found the information on top, middle and base notes useful as my blends seemed lacking...
I also keep a page in my soap-folder of blends to try, and will note down interesting ones I read on the forum. (Otherwise I can never find them again haha).

Also I keep a list of "most wanted" oils so I know what to buy next shop... So if most blends I want to try have listea in, I add this to the list.
(Some I add but then see the price of... Like sandalwood, frankincense, rose... Haha)