Sales on companies FO for CP soap

[Hinata]

As we all know, fragrance oils tend to be pricey. I was hoping we can have a list of various companies for CP soap and when they get sales on FO as well as tips on who has better products.

I personally only bought FO thus far from candlescience. They used to have a 99 cents sale twice a year. Mid March and mid august however they don’t release the exact date so when I know it’s coming I check daily for their sale which lasts just a few days. This year it wasn’t 99 cents but like 1.36 or so per ounce. Unfortunately for a lot of their products despite being safe to use on the skin making it soap safe I feel that a lot of their oils misbehave. I was wondering if that was because their main goal was to make candles as opposed to CP soap? ...Since a lot of their FO accelerates, separates or rices.
Is this the nature of all FO or does other company have tailored their product to be more CP soap friendly?? If you can please name the company you’ve had luck with and the times of the year for their sales I’ll greatly appreciate it! Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[dibbles]

Someone will usually post when a supplier is having a sale. Right now Wholesale Supplies Plus (WSP) is having a sale on all things coconut, including the coconut FOs they carry.

There are many good soap suppliers with reliable FOs. You can check the fragrance oil review chart https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/fragrance-oil-review-chart-link.47182/ for reviews posted by members. You are on the east coast, so Rustic Escentuals might be an option for you - shipping is a little too much for me to order much from there. Personally, I like Nurture Soap, Fragrance Buddy, WSP, Sweet Cakes, Bramble Berry, Elements Bath and Body and Majestic Mountain Sage.

 

[Hinata]

I haven’t fully explored all those company websites but I believe bramble berry And majestic mountain sage are super pricey! Like $4 per ounce? Is that the norm? How far do people typically stretch out one ounce of FO? I know it’s anywhere between 500-1000 grams of oil range but is there a sweet spot Soapers tend to go with? Will adding more oil concentration help if there is acceleration/ricing issues since it’s “watered down”?

 

[dibbles]

I generally use 1 oz PPO for fragrance oils, but I like strongly scented soaps. Everyone is different in their own preferences, so you will have decide what you like. FOs are expensive. Fragrance Buddy is more reasonable in cost and I know there are others that are too. I am just trying to limit the number of suppliers I buy from.

As for ricing and acceleration, I think if a FO is going to cause ricing, it will regardless of what you do. Ricing can usually be smoothed out with your stick blender. Accelerating fragrances can be slowed down by blending with a different, well behaved fragrance oil. I'm not sure what you mean by adding more oil concentration.

 

[shunt2011]

I like Natures Garden, Nurture, Fragrance Buddy, Just Scents and WSP when they have a sale for a few.

 

[Hinata]

I'm not sure what you mean by adding more oil concentration.

Like would using 1000g of oil cause less acceleration/ricing than if I used 500? Or using more liquid oils?

 

[Arimara]

Since we're in the same state, I suggest Nurture Soap's since their shipping is not too bad. Brambleberry is a suggestion when they have a sale on their shipping prices or a sale where the shipping cost doesn't bring your cart items to full normal pricey or beyond. If you are in the NYC area, Save on Scents is accessible and you can pick up your order too (before this mess started). I've saved on shipping plenty of times with them but the only caveat I have is that their FOs can be a bit more hit-or-miss and you have to be mindful of the strength you order.

Using 1000g would make the same amount of difference that using 500g oils would- none. If a FO is going to accelerate on you, no amount of oils will stave it off. You would have to learn how to make it work for you (often times, you can)

 

[Hinata]

All of my FO are from candlescience. The resource on the FO chart we created had a limited number of scent on there since it’s not the most popular company people to get oils from. I guess I will be updating the chart from my experience! Thank you everyone for your suggestions, it is greatly appreciated.

I am good at improvising. The only hiccup is when I want to do a loofah mold and imbed a long piece of loofah. If the batter seizes and gets too thick then it doesn’t go down the long mold. I guess that can be rectified by cutting the loofah and putting them into individual molds... just never know how the FO acts and will have to wing it!

I read that floral are notorious for ricing.
Any other general rules to be aware of like citrus or the baked goods with a lot of vanillin in terms of texture? Thanks!

 

[Susie]

I use WSP, Nurture Soap, and a local candlemaking supply place about 5 miles from me, Lone Star Candle Supply. I just have to be careful of their soap safe FOs because their main purpose is candles. But WSP has really good prices when they have a sale. I try to only order during sales, so I stock up then to offset shipping.

 

[dibbles]

Florals are known to misbehave, but there are plenty available that are easy to work with. Read reviews on the vendors site and here on the fragrance review board. Citrus are generally easy to work with. I don't care for the bakery type scents, so I can't advise you on those. Vanilla will discolor, but there isn't any difference in texture in my experience.

 

[rdc1978]

Does BB have a regularly timed sale on FO? I have to put in an order and prices out it's about $200, so it would be nice if I could catch an upcoming sale, or at least a break on shipping. Oh wait I'm not even signed up for their emails.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Like would using 1000g of oil cause less acceleration/ricing than if I used 500? Or using more liquid oils?

The amount of FO you use in a batch is determined as a percentage of the weight of the oils in the recipe. 5% FO in 1000g of oils will result in the same concentration of FO as 5% FO in 500g of oils. There should not be a significant change in the behavior of the FO with batch size if you adjust the batter temperature to be the same when you add the FO. Soaping at a lower temperature can slow down acceleration for some FOs.

 

[Carly B]

Does BB have a regularly timed sale on FO? I have to put in an order and prices out it's about $200, so it would be nice if I could catch an upcoming sale, or at least a break on shipping. Oh wait I'm not even signed up for their emails.

No regularly timed sales, but if you sign up, you'll get an email. Sometimes you don't get a lot of notice, tho. Sometimes the free shipping sale only lasts a day or two.

Does anyone here get an email from Oregon Trails? I've tried signing up a couple times and nothing. In her last
post on her site, which was 3/5, Suz said she was going to put her Mysore Sandalwood on sale (the BEST sandalwood I
have ever found), but I keep checking and I've not seen it on sale, so I'm wondering if it went on sale with a code
to her mailing list folks only.

 

[rdc1978]

No regularly timed sales, but if you sign up, you'll get an email. Sometimes you don't get a lot of notice, tho. Sometimes the free shipping sale only lasts a day or two.

Does anyone here get an email from Oregon Trails? I've tried signing up a couple times and nothing. In her last
post on her site, which was 3/5, Suz said she was going to put her Mysore Sandalwood on sale (the BEST sandalwood I
have ever found), but I keep checking and I've not seen it on sale, so I'm wondering if it went on sale with a code
to her mailing list folks only.

Thanks! I don't know why I never signed up for the emails. And now when I just went on the site I don't even get the prompt now!!!!!

 

[rdc1978]

I'm on the fragrance buddy site, but am a little confused. BB and NS have testing notes for all their soap fragrances so you'll know if the FO will accelerate or discolor in CP soap.

I don't see any such thing on the frangrance buddy site. Should I assume all the soap scents behave well in CP soap or do I read reviews and hope for the best? Or am I just not seeing the testing notes or any information on acceleration/discoloration? TYIA

 

[dibbles]

I'm on the fragrance buddy site, but am a little confused. BB and NS have testing notes for all their soap fragrances so you'll know if the FO will accelerate or discolor in CP soap.

I don't see any such thing on the frangrance buddy site. Should I assume all the soap scents behave well in CP soap or do I read reviews and hope for the best? Or am I just not seeing the testing notes or any information on acceleration/discoloration? TYIA

Do a search here. There are a couple of threads about FB. If you are wondering about something specific, ask. I’ve tried quite a few. I don’t think there are specific testing notes on their site, and sometimes not a lot of reviews, but generally I have had good luck and have been happy.

 

[rdc1978]

Do a search here. There are a couple of threads about FB. If you are wondering about something specific, ask. I’ve tried quite a few. I don’t think there are specific testing notes on their site, and sometimes not a lot of reviews, but generally I have had good luck and have been happy.

Ahhhh, many thanks!

 

[shunt2011]

I'm on the fragrance buddy site, but am a little confused. BB and NS have testing notes for all their soap fragrances so you'll know if the FO will accelerate or discolor in CP soap.

I don't see any such thing on the frangrance buddy site. Should I assume all the soap scents behave well in CP soap or do I read reviews and hope for the best? Or am I just not seeing the testing notes or any information on acceleration/discoloration? TYIA

I read the reviews regardless of what a site may say about the fragrance. I've had FO's that stated no acceleration/ricing ect but they have done it to me and sometimes the reviews will reflect that as well. Also read the reviews here. It all helps.

 

[Hinata]

Which company is the best at emailing you with discounts that pop up on FO? Who tends to have sales most frequently? My definition of a sale is like 50-60% off not like 30% lol. I don’t want to sign up to five different sources if I don’t have to. I have spent like $600 since January on oils, molds, lye and FO and I give most of my soaps away as gifts. I don’t use soy, corn or canola because they go rancid quickly and I prefer to use oils that didn’t go through extensive chemical and heat processing so oils I use are more expensive. This is why I’m sounding cheap on the FO! For the soap I do sell to co-workers I sell for $1 per ounce so I try to be super reasonable about the price. Making soap is a hobby and passion. So I’d rather make more soap and sell it at a bargain than to go through less soap for a higher price. And as we all know FO is the most pricey ingredient in our recipes!

 

[Ashleigh]

I honestly don't think I've EVER seen FO's, or any soap making ingredients, for 50-60% off. Even ones that are being discontinued aren't priced that low. If this type of sale does exist, i'd love to know the source! Granted i'm in Canada where all supplies seem to cost more than the States, but I have ordered from US suppliers and get their newsletters and haven't seen any discounts in that range. If you want to avoid cluttering your inbox, maybe set up a different account just for soaping emails, or direct soap related emails to a separate folder so you can look in only when you choose.

I know when I started out the FO prices seemed so high, but that's because of the small bottles I was purchasing. Once you find your favorites and can order in larger sizes, the cost per ounce will come down a bit. You could also join some prebuy groups, which will bring the cost down some. You could then just buy a select number of FO's in bulk, and keep things interesting with your colours and techniques instead of large numbers of fragrances.