Rustic Escentuals fragrance reviews

[nsmar4211]

Next round, at the one week mark (HP):

Bayberry - Not sure what I thought this was supposed to smell like, but it reminds me of a Christmas candle...with no chemical undertone. No discolor, easy to mix

Bonfire Bliss-I smell sweetened wood? Yellow brown discolor, easy mixer. It is a lot different than OOB, lost the smoke smell so we'll see...

Stainless Steel-hrm. Not sure? Light cologne smell? Another wait and see one. No discolor, easy mixer.

Black Cherry-I think cough drops has ruined black cherry for me because that's what I smell-cough drops minus the medicinal overtones. Light yellow discolor, hard to mix in

Rustic Lodge-all I smell is maple syrup right now! Brown discolor, another hard mixer

Cucumber Melon-mostly cucumber at this point. No discolor, easy mixer

Cucumber Mint-bleh. Old shirt wrapped around a cucumber...hopefully this one changes because OOB isn't bad. No discolor, easy mixer

Cantelope-nice! Not as overly sweet as I expected, on the light side, does smell like a cantelope. Light yellow discolor, easy mixer

Oak Barrel Cider-all I smell is a light cider, no barrel at this point. Yellow discolor, hard to mix in

Early Grey and Apple-yep, it does smell like tea that someone put an apple slice in. Weird combo.... Medium brown discolor , easy mixer

Clean Green-half dry grass? Clean smell for sure. No discolor, easy mixer

Blackberry Sage-mostly berry but not a sweet one. No discolor, easy mixer

 

[nsmar4211]

Andddd another round (newly poured so this is just place holders with no scent notes, will update after my sniffer recovers from sniffing the above post):

Salty Sea Air-no discolor, hard to mix in

Green Irish Tweed-tan discolor, hard to mix in

Forbidden Fruit-no discolor, easy to mix in

Dargons blood-medium red brown discolor, hard to mix in

Peppermint Swizzle Stick-no discolor, easy mix, but the soap is softer than other bars

Tuscan Fields-medium yellow brown discolor, hard to mix in

Blue Skies-no discolor, easy mixer

Atomic Fireball-light yellow discolor, medium hard to mix in, another soft bar one

Honeysuckle Patchouli-no discolor, easy mix, bar seems harder than others so I'd watch this one in CP for accel

Lemon Pound Cake-dark brown discolor (same color it is in the bottle), hard to mix in.

Sea Grass Sand Dunes-no discolor, easy to mix in.

 

[Soapmaker145]

I made my RE testers about 10 days ago. It's too early to review but the rose geranium did much better than the EO. It smells great just like the EO. Also the grapefruit is spot on grapefruit. This one smells like peeling a fresh grapefruit. After testing so many grapefruit FOs and not finding any good ones, I wasn't expecting much. If it makes it through full cure, this one is a winner.

 

[CaraBou]

How's that grapefruit now?

 

[lenarenee]

I made my RE testers about 10 days ago. It's too early to review but the rose geranium did much better than the EO. It smells great just like the EO. Also the grapefruit is spot on grapefruit. This one smells like peeling a fresh grapefruit. After testing so many grapefruit FOs and not finding any good ones, I wasn't expecting much. If it makes it through full cure, this one is a winner.

Which grapefruit - assuming Rustic has more than one. I'm about to place and order...

 

[Soapmaker145]

It is the Sea Island Grapefruit.

The scent has faded quite a bit. It still smells citrusy with grapefruit notes. It isn't as bright as when first poured. I'm not sure if it is going to survive a long cure. It hasn't developed any off notes. I didn't have enough time to do a quick review but based on a quick check, many of the scents I got are going to fade or lose a lot of the OOB complexity.

Lenarenee, I would hold off on getting it if you keep soaps for a long time like I do. I think it's going to need some doctoring to make it work, maybe adding a little Litsea EO, a second grapefruit or yuzu FO or something else. I have lemon slices from RE, a little of that may work. I've checked quickly on other grapefruits. The Element Sea Island Grapefruit lost all grapefruit notes and the FB Grapefruit Zest has some unpleasant notes.

If you want to test it in your recipes, I can split the bottle between the 2 of you. It'll be about 1/2oz.

 

[nsmar4211]

I don't get "grapefruit" out of my Sea Island Grapefruit tester at all after 10 weeks, just went and checked it. More like candy sour fruit, and light at that. If you're looking for grapefruit, I wouldn't use it.

A quick sniff test (achooooo) of what I've done so far finds many of them faded. However, without doing a wet throw test I can't say for sure yet. In the next two weeks I hope to sit down and go through what I've done so far. A few that stood out during the quick sniff were Sea Kelp, Blue Skies, Cornbread, and Moscato for staying true to the original smell they had. I think Sea Kelp will be my go to for ocean smell at this point. Moscato does still smell like lychees . Cornbread I want to nibble on, and Blue Skies has mellowed to a nice errrr cologne? smell.

 

[lenarenee]

It is the Sea Island Grapefruit.

The scent has faded quite a bit. It still smells citrusy with grapefruit notes. It isn't as bright as when first poured. I'm not sure if it is going to survive a long cure. It hasn't developed any off notes. I didn't have enough time to do a quick review but based on a quick check, many of the scents I got are going to fade or lose a lot of the OOB complexity.

Lenarenee, I would hold off on getting it if you keep soaps for a long time like I do. I think it's going to need some doctoring to make it work, maybe adding a little Litsea EO, a second grapefruit or yuzu FO or something else. I have lemon slices from RE, a little of that may work. I've checked quickly on other grapefruits. The Element Sea Island Grapefruit lost all grapefruit notes and the FB Grapefruit Zest has some unpleasant notes.

If you want to test it in your recipes, I can split the bottle between the 2 of you. It'll be about 1/2oz.

Thank you Soapmaker for offering to send a sample. But I've been watching your posts for months now, and you have such a technical approach to soap making that I trust your judgment. Yes, scent of subjective but you're also able to break down scent nuances. After all - it never occurred to me until reading something you posted long ago - to pay attention to the "wet throw" of a soap scent in the shower!!

I have some BB grapefruit bellini cured about 4 months now that I'm somewhat happy with. It's lost the fresh grapefruit scent. But most people when they smell it do ask with a question, "grapefruit"? Still like to find something better.

 

[Soapmaker145]

I'm reviving this thread to eat my words. I was sure these FOs won't survive the cure and I was wrong. The majority did. Many are very nice and I would use in large batches. I haven't done a wet test yet. There is no hint of DOS or off notes in any of the testers.

I felt I should update this thread just in case they have another sale sometime soon. My testers are 6 months old. I expected to only keep a handful of testers but I ended up keeping most of them. Overall, the discoloration was minimal but I ordered a lot of woodsy scents. These FOs remind me a lot of the EBB FOs. I'm sure some are identical. As always, YMMV.

501-Falling Leaves: At 6 months, the scent is medium strong but lost a lot of the complexity. What is left is mostly a sharp thyme EO scent with a hint of smoke. This is an herbal scent. It feels heavier and lost all the floral that was in the OOB. Hint of discoloration.

502-Red Saffron: At 6 months, I like it much better than when first poured or OOB. It would work for a men’s scent or as a base note. I still smell the mix of musk and sandalwood but it is more harmonious and softer around the edges. Light discoloration and medium light.

503-Salty Sea Air: At six months: light beige discoloration and medium strong. The scent lost some of the complexity it had OOB. This is a softer representation of the salty sea FOs. It isn’t bad as is but I like salty mariner from FB better.

504-Oud Wood: At six months: no dis, medium light. I wouldn’t call it a woodsy scent. It is a lighter version of what it was when first poured, a little bit floral, a little bit green and a little bit woodsy. It won’t offend anybody.

505-Blue Skies: At 6 months: light beige discoloration medium strong. What is left is a soft lovely jasmine. All the other notes can’t be identified but work great to mellow what is typically harsh jasmine notes in soap. It is the Jasmine I would use if asked for jasmine. It would blend nicely with other florals too. I poured at 5% but it would probably work well at 3%.

506-Tuscan Fields: At 6 months: It is medium strong, heavy on the balsam and vetiver but softened by a hint of floral and citrus. Discolored milk chocolate brown.

507-Beachwood Vetiver: At 6 months: light discoloration, medium strong scent. The base is woodsy with strong notes of coniferous green (eucalyptus and vetiver). All of these notes are softened with a hint of floral but you almost have to think hard to figure out what’s holding all the notes together. The scent made it through cure and became stable.

508-Redwood: At 6 months: a hint of tan discoloration. The coniferous notes are present but not too overwhelming in a clean soapy background.

509-Ozark Forest: At 6 months: light tan discoloration, medium strong. It stayed true to OOB. Green coniferous notes are still pleasant and upfront but not so strong as to overwhelm olfactory receptors. Very good as is but the more I smell it, the more I want to drown it in Lavender or some bright citrus.

510-White Velvet Bow: At 6 months: hint of tan discoloration. The scent devolved into a fabric softener smell. Medium strong.

511-Rose Geranium: At 6 months: no discoloration, light scent. This one didn’t survive well just like the EO. There is a light generic floral note left.

512-Angel Baby: OOB: overpowering and meh. Hopefully it’ll improve in CP. At 6 months: medium beige discoloration, medium strong. The scent improved significantly. While it remained strong, the patchouli is dominating with extra notes of balsam and wood. Much better than when first poured. Would work well as a patchouli base for blending.

513-Rapture: At 6 months: medium tan discoloration, medium scent. The scent softened considerably and is now a light floral/woodsy scent. A bit generic but won’t offend anybody.

514-Interlude: At 6 months: medium beige discoloration, medium strong scent. This is a patchouli scent with woodsy notes mixed in with just a hint of citrus notes. It works for people who like patchouli.

515-Woolen Blanket: At 6 months: light tan discoloration, medium scent. This is a woodsy scent. It doesn’t smell like wool. It is definitely a redwood scent with added cedar notes with a hint of vetiver. It is softened and well blended with other notes that can’t be easily identified.

516-Rosewood&Musk: At 6 months: No discoloration, medium light. The scent has lost a lot of complexity but what is left is pleasant and light. It almost wants to turn into a black tea but stops short of that. The rose is much less pronounced on a bed of amber, musk and wood. There is just a hint of each so no one note is dominant.

517-Sea Island Grapefruit: At six months: no dis, medium scent. It smells citrusy but not necessarily grapefruit with hints of sweet and green.

518-Bora Bora: At 6 months, hint of tan discoloration, medium strong. Lost some of the OOB complexity. This is a subtle tropical fruity scent with mango, citrus, and pineapple dominating. There is just a hint of floral and musk in the background.

519-Calabrian Bergamot& Violet: At 6 months: no dis, medium scent. It morphed into a laundry detergent scent just like I was afraid of. It isn’t offensive but it isn’t interesting either.

520-Lemon Slices: At 6 months: no dis, medium scent. This is citrusy with dominant lemon notes and a touch of sweetness.

521-Driftwood&Sea Salt: At 6 months: no dis, medium scent. The scent is salty with base notes of woods and a hint of floral. It lost quite a bit of the OOB complexity and what is left is a more generic representation of this type of scent.

522-London Fog: At 6 months: discolored medium beige. It didin’t smell great when first poured but improved rapidly with cure. The scent is a soft floral blended with moss and ozone. It turned into a perfect soapy scent. It is worth the wait. It reminds me of L’Occitane’s milk scent. From memory, I would call it a dupe. This one is a keeper for me. I just wish it didn't discolor. Thanks to IL for mentioning this scent. I probably wouldn't have picked it otherwise.

 

[NsMar42111]

Had to change usernames again, it's still me

I agree, most of the scents do stick around-even at the six month mark I can tell what they are. Lemon pound cake I still want to eat! I don't have my list in front of me, but I'm going to continue testing these as hopefuls!

 

[Soapmaker145]

Had to change usernames again, it's still me

I agree, most of the scents do stick around-even at the six month mark I can tell what they are. Lemon pound cake I still want to eat! I don't have my list in front of me, but I'm going to continue testing these as hopefuls!

Welcome back!

 

[NsMar42111]

Thanks Soapmaker!

I went through the box and found the ones I had kept because I wanted to order more. I have missed some reviews due to the time frame and my spring cleaning of old soaps (oops). These are mostly in the 7 month and up age range, no special storage and they were dumped on top of each other for a while in a box LOL.

Merlot is still a nice grape wine smell, not sharp anymore like it was originally.

Toasted marshmellow stayed true to the name. I just cant see myself using it for soap, but candles and melts might be awesome.

Leather is still there albeit faded somewhere. However, I have a feeling it would blossom if a wet test was done-this will be my leather scent now because for me anything over 6 months is fine for retention.

Moscato-still smells like a sweet lychee to me! I have to get some more!

Cornbread-*nibble* BLEH ok it doesn't taste as good as it smells and it's still strong.

Sea Kelp-oceany smell, still holding well, must order more!



****
I have noticed the scent doesn't seem to transfer much between bars even when on top of each other-had some of that happen with other brands. To me, that's a plus but it might not be the scents' doing!

I have more to test, got busy making restocks and stopped testing. Am planning on resuming next month.

I did notice that nothing discolored further than what it was at one month old so no surprises!

 

[Soapmaker145]

I decided to test the Rosewood&Musk as a blender for black tea and Rose FOs. A good black tea FO has been very hard to find. Most smell like lemon tea and are usually light on the tea notes. At the other end is BB's Black Tea which can't decide what it wants to be and have liquid smoke thrown in it for no reason. The rose FOs (and I have several) smell to me like burnt candles with crushed roses on top. Most don't improve with age. I went ahead and blended a few including the BB Black Tea. It's still early in the cure, but all the blends actually smell better than the originals. Even the BB Black Tea smells more like black tea and the smoky notes that are left seem to belong. The burnt notes in the rose FOs seem to disappear too. If the scents hold, I see a big bottle of R&M in my future. It is something to consider if Black Tea and Rose FOs are still on the to do list.

 

[NsMar42111]

Ok, last round of testers (except a mango I may not get to), pouring notes to start with: (did this group cold process with my HP receipe since the group was so big I would not have had time to do HP)

French Vanilla Oak-FAST mover and fast heater!

Spicy Apple Peaches - FAST mover and fast heater! Medium brown initial discolor

Ozark Forest-FAST mover and fast heater! Yellow initial discolor

Christmas Bliss- FAST mover and fast heater!

Havana night- Medium fast mover and a medium heater-no swirls for you!

Heavenly Honeysuckle-FAST mover but not a heater.

Cranberry Orange Scone-FAST mover but not a heater

Tuscan Fields-Medium fast mover. Orange initial discolor

Veviter- Medium Fast Mover. Yellow initial discolor

3 Wishes Tea - Medium fast mover.

Rose petals-Medium fast mover. Not even close to a rose at pour!

Just Peachy- little faster than normal

Clementine Lavender - little faster than normal, not much lavender at this point so I'm curious how it goes

Savogn Blanc- little faster than normal

London Fog-normal mover. Yellow initial discolor

Pinecone-normal mover

Fern and Lavender- normal mover

Lilac-normal mover. Not like my other lilac in scent....will ahve to see

Green apple-normal mover, does smell like a green apple at this point

Hipster-normal mover

Jasmine, White-normal mover, and I'm apparently not a jasmine fan but right now its a nice clean jasmine

Stone House Reserve-normal mover

Lavender-normal mover

Kaylins Herb-normal mover, smells like a baby lotion?

Pipe Smoke-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day. Mostly cherry not much smoke right now

Sweet Grass and Cedar-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day.

Lemon Verbena-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day.. Hope it works out I do like this lemon

Oud wood-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day.



***************
I will update later

 

[NsMar42111]

Hrm, couldn't edit so having to repost.

Ok, last round of testers (except a mango I may not get to), pouring notes to start with: (did this group cold process with my HP receipe since the group was so big I would not have had time to do HP)

French Vanilla Oak-FAST mover and fast heater! Medium discolor, mostly vanilla no french and barely any oak.

Spicy Apple Peaches - FAST mover and fast heater! Medium brown initial discolor. Wonderful apple peach ! Might be my replacement for one that I used to get from TN Candle.

Ozark Forest-FAST mover and fast heater! Yellow initial discolor, turned more brown. Not sure what an ozark forest smells like but its a masculine scent. Meh...too much "dirt" for me

Christmas Bliss- FAST mover and fast heater! Nice right now though, not as chemically as other "Christmas" piney scents.

Havana night- Medium fast mover and a medium heater-no swirls for you! Smells like too much perfume on someone right now, hoping that fades.

Heavenly Honeysuckle-FAST mover but not a heater. I don't like this honeysuckle, too sharp. Hoping it mellows.

Cranberry Orange Scone-FAST mover but not a heater. I smell cranberry and scone but not orange.

Tuscan Fields-Medium fast mover. Orange initial discolor, brownish now.

Veviter- Medium Fast Mover. Yellow initial discolor. Hard to describe, it keeps morphing.

3 Wishes Tea - Medium fast mover. Seems to have lost its scent and is just chemically now.

Rose petals-Medium fast mover. Not even close to a rose at pour! Still not a rose and showing signs of dos?!

Just Peachy- little faster than normal. Candy peach but not as sweet as candy, seems to be fading fast.

Clementine Lavender - little faster than normal, not much lavender at this point so I'm curious how it goes. At 2 months, still not much lavender and is fading.

Savogn Blanc- little faster than normal. I think it took on the scent of it's neighbors because I can't id it!

London Fog-normal mover. Yellow initial discolor turned beige Masculine scent, but did not like being next to a floral and picked up some of that scent.

Pinecone-normal mover. Meh, I smell the chemically undertone I noticed in a few others.

Fern and Lavender- normal mover. "green" scent but seems to be fading.

Lilac-normal mover. Not like my other lilac in scent....will ahve to see. 2 months, still not a "normal" lilac, just a generic floral.

Green apple-normal mover, does smell like a green apple at this point. 2 months, yep, still apple! This one might make a good mixer.

Hipster-normal mover. Faded and chemically.

Jasmine, White-normal mover, and I'm apparently not a jasmine fan but right now its a nice clean jasmine. 2 months still a jasmine and still clean, some other soaps nearby picked up this scent (but it's not a hugely strong scent) during curing.

Stone House Reserve-normal mover. No idea what this is supposed to be, faded.

Lavender-normal mover. I have dos! Seems lavenders do that, just a couple spots. I don't like this lavender as much as the TN Candle old version, too artifical.

Kaylins Herb-normal mover, smells like a baby lotion? Faded out badly, and lost all but a greeny scent.

Pipe Smoke-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day. Mostly cherry not much smoke right now. 2 months, still cherry not enough smoke.

Sweet Grass and Cedar-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day. I was expecting "grass" and sweet grass apparently is not the same-now it's cedar with an overtone of (something) . Eh.

Lemon Verbena-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day.. Hope it works out I do like this lemon. 2 months, still liking it!

Oud wood-slow mover! Had to leave in the mold an extra day. Faded down to a musty smell!



***************
I will update later

 

[NsMar42111]

So either my last batch just did not want to cooperate or my original "these stick" is wrong...most of the previously posted scents from May have morphed or faded in a short period of time.

I think I will be doing some more testing on a few choices I narrowed down to see if it was the batch or not.... so take my reviews with a grain of salt. :headbanging:

 

[SunRiseArts]

I have never bought from that company, I find their shipping charges outrageous!

I know a lot of people mention them though.

 

[Soapmaker145]

So either my last batch just did not want to cooperate or my original "these stick" is wrong...most of the previously posted scents from May have morphed or faded in a short period of time.

I think I will be doing some more testing on a few choices I narrowed down to see if it was the batch or not.... so take my reviews with a grain of salt. :headbanging:

Nsmar, I'm sorry your soaps didn't turn out but really glad you're updating your reviews. Are you doing HP or CP? Also, did you get new FO bottles from them or are you testing the original bottles you have? There was a post on the Craftserver about RE where one or 2 people bought larger bottles of FOs they tested for candles and the new bottles failed. FWIW, my CP testers are still holding but I poured them at thicker trace IIRC. I wanted to buy a few from them and now I'm hesitating. Maybe some of our members who bought from them recently can share their experience.

 

[Rusti]

Nsmar, I'm sorry your soaps didn't turn out but really glad you're updating your reviews. Are you doing HP or CP? Also, did you get new FO bottles from them or are you testing the original bottles you have? There was a post on the Craftserver about RE where one or 2 people bought larger bottles of FOs they tested for candles and the new bottles failed. FWIW, my CP testers are still holding but I poured them at thicker trace IIRC. I wanted to buy a few from them and now I'm hesitating. Maybe some of our members who bought from them recently can share their experience.

I bought a few during their 1 oz-$1 sale here recently (pick 20 FOs, get an ounce bottle of each for $20) and I've used most of them in just body butters, and they were fine there, but I used Fresh Peach in a batch of cold process soap about 5 or 6 weeks ago and when I went to unmold and cut that soap the peach was GONE. Nary a whiff to be found. It faded out completely overnight. Now that they're about cured, I can almost kinda sorta imagine a peach-ish smell to the soap, but it is definitely not strong and I don't expect it to stick around either.

I also used their Jasmine, White in a salt bar and that has stuck around well enough, but IMO morphed just a little bit. Could just be my nose, but you know. I can't say I'm going to be in a hurry to order from them again.

 

[IrishLass]

The following are my RE results. The batches were soaped in 2015 and I still have a few bars of each batch on hand (I just checked in on each one of them). All of the FOs were from 1oz sample bottles:

Satsuma: used at 1oz ppo; soaped @ 112F with a 33% lye concentration. No A and no D. I happened to have used 1/2 tsp. of TD in it, and my soap is still nicely white. The scent is still holding on quite nicely. Would order again based on my results.

Falling Leaves: used at 1oz ppo; soaped @ 115F with a 33% lye concentration. No A and no D. I colored my soap sky blue and it is still sky blue. The scent has lightened a little from when I first soaped it, but it still comes across strong enough for my liking. Would order again.

Barbershop 1920's: used at .5oz ppo in a shave soap, which was HP'd; Slight D to light beige. Still has sufficient scent to it, although on the light side because I only used .5oz ppo (Hubby likes his shave soap scented on the light side). For what it's worth, this has become a keeper scent of mine. In regular CP I soap it at 1 oz ppo with a 33% lye concentration and it soaps beautifully without any A, and the scent comes across good and strong for us.

Redwood: used at 1 oz ppo. Soaped at 110F with a 33% lye concentration. Very slight A, slight D to light beige. Although it A'd, it was quite manageable for me, but it didn't give me enough time to do anything more fancy with it than a simple ITP swirl. The scent is still sticking around quite nicely. Would order again.

Corn Husk: used at 1oz ppo; soaped @ 112F with a 33% lye concentration. This one moved quickly on me in a blink of an eye. At first all was at a nice thin trace, then I turned my back just for about 15 seconds and bam- it started to set up on me in the pot. I was able to stick-blend it into submission, sort of- I could only get it to thin back out to a thick trace, but at least it was pourable. This was a high lard batch, too, which are normally slow going for me. Once I got it into the mold, it set up real fast. Discolored to a light beige. The scent is still quite strong (almost too strong for my liking). A definite sticker for sure. Would not order again based on the A, and also because no one in my household was particularly fond of the scent.

Tuscan fields: used at 1oz ppo; soaped @112F with a 33% lye concentration. No A and no noticeable D. I should mention that I colored it a beautiful shade of purple using Nurture's Purple Vibrance mixed with a little bit of ultramarine blue, and for what it's worth, the soap is still the same beautiful shade of purple (Barney would be proud, lol), and my suds are white. The scent strength is still holding up great, too. Ordered more, but I haven't soaped it yet.

London Fog: used at 1oz ppo; soaped @111F with a 31% lye concentration. No A and no D. Scent is a very good sticker for me (this has since become a regular/keeper FO for me and I've made several batches with it, all with great results).


IrishLass