Rustic Escentuals fragrance reviews

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nsmar4211

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Trying out a new (to me) supplier and figured I'd post my results and hopefully others will chime in :).

My experiences are with HP, but I figure if it doesn't work well in HP it has a good chance of flopping in CP so the notes might be useful to someone.

Recipe is lard, coconut oil 76, olive oil, castor, sunflower, shea. HP in crockpot, made in hot area (not under 80 degrees at this point) and left overnight. Testers are done in individual bar molds, stirred with a chopstick. 1oz ppo ratio. Cut after 6-12 hours, then stored in a/c indoors on racks.

*****************
First 10: (scent notes will be updated after this cold goes away)

Merlot-discolored dark yellow and brown immediatly. Relatively easy to mix in batter.

Blue Sugar-no immediate discolor. Had a moderate hard time getting it to incorporate, batter was cooling down by this one so that may be part of it.

Lumberjack-light brown discolor immediatly. Normal to incorporate.

Fresh Lilac-no immediate discolor. Medium hard to incorporate, went to the bottom of the mold and took a bit to persuade it to join the batter.

Toasted Marshmellow-is discoloring brown more and more (expected). Apparently I did not incorporate it evenly, pretty much a swirl at this point. Was easy to mix in.

Lavender and Chamomile-smells like baby lotion! I guess it's supposed to though :). Clumped the batter but smoothed out pretty quickly, no immediate discolor.

Fresh Cut Roses-no immediate discolor. Smells like real roses even with a stuffy nose! Has a green tint to the smell (like a cut stem). Hope it sticks! Clumped up the batter so I would guess it will accelerate in CP.

Woolen Blanket-no immediate discolor. Easy to mix in.

Monkey Farts-ok ew GROSS. I have monkey farts from another supplier and it's a wonderful fruity smell. This one , bleh. Immediatly discolored yellow with black areas (haven't figured that out yet), right now awfully vanilla-y smelling. Maybe it'll cure out.... Normal to incorporate.

Cuban Tobacco-light yellow immediate discolor, moderately hard to incorporate (turned batter slimy until mixed in all the way)

Cranberry Salsa-no immediate discolor, normal to incorporate

***********
Only a bunch more to go....will update as I do them (probably weekly test batches at this point). Will update with one month results also :).

About half of what I ordered I liked OOB, so I'm hoping that a bunch morph for the better when soaped!
 
Once I have them done, I'll move them there. I believe in having information in more than one place though :). And you can discuss things here!
 
Rustic Escentuals OOB reviews?

Something tells me that I'm not the only 1 with a bunch of 1 oz. bottles newly delivered and begging to be sniffed...Thought I'd get the ball rolling with what I've found to be nice so far. I plan on using them in melt and pour soaps. Here's my hit parade.....
Stainless Steel
Sea Island Grapefruit
Teakwood and fern
Apricot and honey...wow!
Honey Bee
Amazon Mist
Pearberry
again..these haven't been soaped so I can't say how they'll morph or their sticking abilities...
If I run into some favorable surprises along the way I'll post those....just don't hold your collective breath..I've got 40 of these bottles...take into consideration these were the hits for me and my 2 other "sniffers"...YMMV
 
I'm in the same boat with 40 of them to try out. Actually, I made two identical orders so I have 2oz of each since I can make my regular batch size with that amount.

OOB I really like:

Bora Bora
da Lime in da Coconut
Sparkling Ginger
Black Velvet
Japanese Pear & Ginseng
Children's Room (it smells exactly like Love's Baby Soft. I didn't like the original perfume, but my sister reeked of it throughout the 80s - so I'm making that one for her).
 
I ended up with 20 samples selected based on the recommendations in the other thread and a few random. Overall, I'm happy with most of them. I'll add them when I get a chance to try them.

I'm curious what does Stainless Steel smell like?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
keep meaning to ask this...does Rustic Escentuals have a sale other than the sample sale that just took place?
 
I didn't order forget me not but I did get Stainless Steel. OOB it smells like, hrm, old spice without the spice? It's on the next list to be tested when I make a new batch...

Most of the other ones have noteably changed in my HP samples so I'm not as sure I can judge this supplier out of bottle like others... but that might just be me :). Tonight I'll post a picture of my samples and update my notes.
 
As promised, pictures..... discussion in next post

soaps bottoms.jpg


soaps tops.jpg
 
Top picture is the bottoms, and bottom picture is the tops (could've planned that better on my end !). The colors are uneven in the soaps due to hand stirring.

Top row left to right: Blue Sugar, Wool Blankets, Fresh Lilac, Lavender Chamomile

Middle row left to right: Fresh Cut Rose, Cranberry Salsa, Control, Cuban tobacco

Bottom row left to right: Toasted marshmellow, Lumber Jack, Merlot, Monkey Farts

*******
Worst discolor to least:

Monkey Farts-What on earth kind of Monkey Fart is that?!?!?! I think he had too many apples! Seriously, that's gross. The top where more FO ended up is a dark dark brown , there's yellowy ash (on HP!?) and it smells a lot like toasted marshmellow with even more vanilla. Maybe mine is mislabeled, but EW. I'm going to email them on that one as its not even close!

Merlot is a reddish brown discolor-er. The scent is a grape based, and is actually nice (coming from a non wine drinker!). A sharp grape wine smell. Not sure how to work around the discolor though. I don't smell vanilla , not sure why it discolors so dark.

Lumber Jack-discoloring brown where the FO pooled in the corners, doesn't look like it'll discolor completely dark brown. Having trouble describing this one. I smell a touch of clove? but other than that I can't figure out a note. It seems to change daily so I'll have to save it for later.

Toasted Marshmellow: Looks and smells like a rice crispy treat :). Medium brown discolor...I want a nibble!

Cuban Tobacco: tan discolor. Definite clove note. Not sure I'd describe it as tobacco at this point. Nice smell though...to me it smells like a papery clove aftershave.

Cranberry Salsa-orangey yellow discolor. I like it! I smell cranberries, touch of citrus, and a hint of a dark "green" note. Hope it sticks...

Fresh Cut Rose- mild discolor. If it holds, a winner! Smells like a big juicy pink rose with a greeny stem smell in the background.

Lavender Chamomile-Very mild discolor. Smells like a baby lotion...comforting.

Fresh Lilac-Very mild discolor. Not as sharp of a lilac as others I have, more mellow No chemical undertone which is a huge plus.

******

Am hoping these hold scent because so far there are several I would keep!
 
Here are my AH/RE results from some of my samples that I soaped exactly 1 year ago in August. I still have soaps from each batch:

Satsuma (a lovely sweet citrusy scent)-

-Soaped CP with a 33% lye concentration @112F/44C, using .95oz/27g ppo of the F/O.....full gel
-No A and no D (need to mention that I used 1/2 tsp. TD ppo)
-Scent still sticking around wonderfully
-No morphing of color or scent

Falling Leaves (a great autumn scent. Sorry- it's hard to describe, but I really like it. The best I can come up with is that it has that rustic smell when autumn is in the air)

-Soaped CP with a 33% lye concentration @115F/46C, using 1oz/28g F/O ppo.....full gel
-No A, no D (colored it light blue with TD and UM blue)
-Scent is just a tad lighter, but still sticking around wonderfully
-No morphing of scent or color

Barbershop 1920's (hubby says it smells just like his dad after a haircut and shave at the barbershop, albeit in the 1960's and '70's instead of the '20's. To me, it's a gorgeous ambery/musky scent that makes me want to just roll in it, or else chase after my hubby if he's wearing it, lol)

-Soaped HP in a shave soap, using .5oz/14g F/O ppo
-Since this was HP, A is not relevant. D to light beige (used 3/4 tsp. TD ppo)
-Scent is still sticking, although light, but it was light to begin with because of the amount I used (hubby likes his shave soaps on the light side where scent is concerned).
-No morphing of the scent, color still light beige

I also recently CP'd Barbershop 1920's (just a few days ago)

-CP'd with a 33% lye concentration @ 110F/43C, using 1oz/28g F/O ppo.....full gel
-No A, D to medium tan (no TD was used)
-It's only been a few days, but scent is sticking nicely, although not with an overpoweringly 'in-your-face' kind of strength like some F/O's exhibit at this usage rate. To me, it's 'just right', and if it stays at this level of strength, I'll be very happy. We'll see how it goes.
-The scent smells just a tiny bit different in my CP than it does in my HP, but not so drastically different that my nose can't recognize it as being Barbershop 1920's- it's still very yummy as ever to my nose. We'll have to wait and see how it holds up after cure.

Redwood (Scent is hard for me to describe, but if it helps any, I love it so much I bought a bigger bottle of it, lol)

-Soaped CP using a 33% lye concentration @115F/46C, using .92oz/26g F/O ppo.....full gel
-No initial A when hand-stirring the FO in, but it thickened up within 3 minutes after hitting it with the stick-blender, but it did not seize and it poured nice enough into my mold, although it was too thick to get a pretty swirl in. I have a note to use a 31% lye concentration next time and to hand-stir only. D to beige (did not use any TD).
-No morphing of the scent, and it is still sticking wonderfully strong. I think I can probably get away with using less next time- maybe .75oz ppo. Color is still beige.

Corn Husk (This is a very unusual scent. My hubby and son did not like it at all. I myself don't find it unpleasant, but I don't like it enough to buy again. In a sense, it really does have a corn-husk smell to it, but there's too much other 'perfumey' stuff going on that interferes with it and gets in the way).

-Soaped CP with a 33% lye concentration @112F/44C, using .88oz/25g F/O ppo.....full gel
-No initial A when hand-stirring FO in, and no A when I gave a few bursts of the stick-blender, but no more than 15 seconds after those few bursts with the stick-blender it started setting up! Hit it with the stick-blender for a few short bursts, which helped it to thin out just a tad to a thick, but fluid state, then gave it a stir. It began to lump up just after stirring, so I hit it again with the stick-blender, which smoothed it out, and I decided to pour right away while it was smooth before anything worse could happen. It poured well enough, but within about 5 minutes, it went into a very hot gel and was raising up a tad to form a little dome on the top of my soap. I placed a fondant liner directly on top of the soap and followed that with a stack of books to weigh it down while I did my dishes. By the time I was done doing dishes, things had calmed down- the top of the soap was flat and all was well from there on out. D to light beige/ivory (used 1/2 tsp TD ppo).
-Scent did not morph and it is still sticking like gangbusters. No morphing of the light beige either.

Tuscan Fields (Hard to describe. It's a wonderful fruity/citrusy/musky/amberish-scent. I liked the smell so much I bought a bigger bottle)

-Soaped CP with a 33% lye concentration @112F/44C, using .88oz/25g F/O ppo......full gel
-No A initially, but after a few bursts of the stick-blender it thickened up to a light trace immediately, so I decided to play it safe and hand-stirred from there on out. It got a little apple-saucey on me after a few minutes of hand-stirring, but smoothed out with further hand-stirring, and was ready to pour about 7 to 8 minutes later at med-thick trace. D is unknown since I colored it deep purple.
-No scent morphing and the scent is still sticking strong. No color morphing either- it's still deep purple.

London Fog (I love, love, love this scent and bought a bigger bottle of it. It doesn't 'speak' of fog or London to me, though. Instead, I find it to have a clean, beachy, summery-type scent to it. It's hard to describe, but it's quite lovely to my nose. Man- I can really suck at scent descriptions sometime).

-Soaped CP with a 31% lye solution @114F/46C, using .9oz/26g F/O ppo.....full gel
-No A, No D (I used 1 tsp. TD ppo)
-No scent or color morphing. Scent is sticking like gangbusters.

I have a few more to add, but I'll have to do it later (dinner calls).


IrishLass :)
 
I've soaped Redwood and London Fog and have yet to soap Falling Leaves, and love all three. Redwood I like best for a candle. London Fog is a husband favorite.

I think AH/RE has some of the most unique and sophisticated scents I've purchased to date. I could use more notes on usage in CP though.
 
Update on the Monkey Farts:

They did reply (which was great) and said "the dark color may be due to the vanillin content in the fragrance oil". Considering the other ones I've tried had no vanilla smell, they've formulated theirs differently. Just a heads up if trying to find a Monkey Farts fragrance-this one is vanilla-y!

So a - for the scent and a + for the customer service :).
 
Next round-most of these were easy (relatively speaking) to incorporate into the HP batter unless noted:

Glazed donut-not sure I would call it donut, I smell vanilla but not any baked good smell. Tan discolor, will have to see if any baked smell shows up.

1920's-one of the few hard to mix in ones, red tan discolor. I can't put a name on this one yet , I don't smell barbershop but it has altered from the bottle smell so we'll have to see

Satsuma-nice orangey smell, light yellow orange discolor. Not a sharp citrus, no lemon overtone at all, no burnt orange smell, clean. On the light side right now but still there.

Leather-light tan discolor. A real leather smell! Smells like a new purse! Much better leather than others I've tried (which all just smelled of chemical). I have hopes for this one!

Candy cane-yep, it smells like a candy cane. Not an overpowering smell like some mints, nice and sweet. No discolor yet.

Raspberry Lilac-very light on the lilac and not sure I'd call that raspberry but it is some sort of berry smell. Different in soap than the bottle (in a good way). Light yellowy discolor.

Midnight pomegranite-this bar is softer than the others at the same stage. Changed from OOB scent, can't describe right now as every time I sniff it it is different so I'll come back to it. Brown yellow light discolor right now.

Moscato- it's a lychee! That's what I smell...yum! Website description is completely different than what I smell. Hopefully it stays a lychee scent. Smells pretty close to what it does OOB when soaped. Light orangey brown discolor.

Cider Barrel- I smell the barrel, but not the cider. Light cedar fragrance right now. Yellow brown discolor.

Sea island grapefruit-Okay, I don't smell grapefruit. I smell the pink soap they use where I work that doesn't have a name... will have to see if this changes scent as it cures. Light fresh smell. No discolor.

Corn Bread-okay, this REALLY does smell like cornbread! And with the yellow discolor it even looks like cornbread! One of the hard to mix in ones. Not sure I'd wash myself in cornbread but as a fun scent it wins so far.
 
Here is a list of what I ended up buying in no particular order. I decided to try RE after losing TCS. Many thanks to the people who shared their favorite FOs from RE, particularly IL and Cerelife. I picked from the lists posted in the other thread and added a few random choices including some perfume dupes (per requests). The information about A or D is from the site. Overall, I like almost everything I got and have hopes that the scents will do well in CP. I think this is the advantage of getiing reviews from people you "know". If these do well, I may ask RE if they would be willing to do the 7 ml samples and make them available all the time.

Falling Leaves: FP=168oF, no vanilla. MUR=33.1% OOB: it is hard to describe. Very well blended, it is woodsy and floral and airy without being predominately any one of those elements. This is very different from FB’s Leaves which is fruity/spicy.

Red Saffron: FP>200oF, Vanilla <1%. Contains Phtalates. MUR=8.8% OOB: I ordered it because I’m looking for a cardamom FO. This isn’t it. It smells like a generic perfume with predominately musk notes and a little sandalwood. I don’t really smell anything else.

Salty Sea Air: Accelerates in cp, FP>200, No vanilla. MUR=97.27%. OOB: Typical of this class. I prefer Salty Mariner from FB

Oud Wood: No A, discolors tan. FP=200oF, no vanilla. MUR= 7.2%. OOB: It’s a complex well balanced FO without having a dominant note. It’s a little woodsy, floral, green, and earth. It stops short of becoming perfumy.

Blue Skies: No D. FP=195oF, no vanilla. MUR=3.1%. OOB: strong perfumy floral without being too aggressive. It will be very nice if it survives CP.

Tuscan Fields: FP>200, Vanilla=3.6%. MUR=7.11%. OOB: nice citrusy fruity scent with a hint of sweet floral. Unfortunately, it’s going to discolor.

Beachwood Vetiver: No A, NoD. FP>200oF, no vanilla. MUR=5%. This one smells lovely some days but also smells different to my nose on different days. Very promising. I hope it survives CP.

Redwood: No A, No D. FP>200oF, No vanilla. MUR=31%. Nice soft coniferous green FO. I’m sure I have others that are identical. I'll wait till after I test it to compare.

Ozark Forest: Some A, deep tan dis. FP>200, no vanilla. MUR=3.78%. Lovely blend of cedar and pine. Just short of becoming perfumy.

White Velvet Bow: FP>200oF, Vanilla= 0.5%. MUR=17.7%. Light pleasant fruity floral.

Rose Geranium: No A, NO D. FP=100oF, no vanilla. MUR=6.43%. Aptly named. Hoping the rose survives better than in the EO.

Angel Baby: No A, No D. FP=200oF, no vanilla. MUR=21.25%. OOB: overpowering and meh. Hopefully it’ll improve in CP.

Rapture: Riced. FP=200oF, vanilla=1%. MUR=38.4%. OOB: heavy and headache inducing. Spotted on a piece of paper, it doesn’t smell bad after few days.

Interlude: FP=170oF, no vanilla. MUR=21.25%. OOB: smells like a woodsy patchouli mix. It may come out nice in CP.

Woolen Blanket: FP>200oF, no vanilla. MUR=7.44%. OOB: This one smells like Rosewood vanilla from BB with added notes. It’s a nice blend of Rosewood and cedar. I’m hoping it works better than the BB version in CP.

Rosewood&Musk: FP>200oF, no vanilla. MUR=8.4%. OOB: it smells like a bright rose in a base of light musk. I was expecting something heavy but this one is just bright and weightless.

Sea Island Grapefruit: FP=145oF, no vanilla. MUR=20%. It’s citrusy, lightly sweet with hints of green.

Bora Bora: FP=200oF, vanilla=0.10%. MUR=17%. OOB: fruity with strong citrus notes. It’s supposed to lose some of the citrus in CP.

Calabrian Bergamot& Violet: Slight acceleration, No dis. FP>200oF, no vanilla. MUR=67.79%. I smell a citrusy bergamot in a soft light floral background rounded with ripe pear. It smells really fresh and clean. I hope it survives CP. It could run the risk of morphing into laundry detergent scent which would be really sad.

Lemon Slices: No A, No D. FP>200oF, no vanilla. MUR=16.12%. Nice lemony FO.

Driftwood&Sea Salt: FP>200oF, no vanilla. MUR=25%. OOB: Very nice salty blend with citrusy notes.

London Fog: FP>200oF, no vanilla. MUR=10.2%. OOB: Well blended complex perfumy floral. I have high hopes for it in CP.
 

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