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Safety and Testing of Fragrance Oils

Although many of our oils are listed as body safe, you need to do your own testing to determine the safe usage in your products. Never put fragrance oil directly on your skin!

Fragrance Oils

We test all Scented Nest fragrances by actually using them in hundreds of batches of soy candles. When you purchase our fragrance oils, you can be certain that your end product will smell just right! Fragrance oils are rigorously tested in soy wax. Our fragrance oils are packaged in plastic bottles to help alleviate shipping costs. We personally want to offer the strongest oils possible, yet still, offer them at affordable prices. Do not judge the fragrance out of the bottle, many oils are complex and you will not be able to get a good judgment without combining it with your soy wax base. Some oils tested were not ones we would have picked had we initially judged them on how they smelled in the bottle, but when smelled as a candle they were wonderful!

Everyone Likes Different Aromas

Since every nose is different, and although some aromas are pleasing to us, your nose may find them offensive. For this reason, we recommend that you purchase 1-ounce samples first. Please do not purchase large quantities based on another person’s recommendation without having tested a sample of that fragrance yourself. Every person’s opinion of fragrance oils will vary on what they think is a fabulous scent!

Cure Your Soy Candles

Typically fragrance oils get stronger in the wax the longer they cure. As a general rule, we recommend you allow your soy candles to cure 48 hours before burning them since most oils require longer cure times. You may find that some need longer or less time depending on the fragrance.

Too Much Fragrance Oil

Yes, you really can use too much fragrance oil! Please DO NOT overload your soy wax. Too much fragrance oil per pound will give you poor results. You may even end up with a weaker scent throw when using more oil. Overloading your soy wax will also cause you to lose some top or middle notes from your fragrance.

Fragrance Oil Usage

Every fragrance oil has its own unique characteristics. Many require much less fragrance oil than others. Some Scented Nest fragrance oils throw well using as little as ¾ ounce per pound. Never use more than 1.5 ounces of fragrance oil per pound of soy wax. For the best results, we recommend that you find the correct usage of a scent based on that scent’s individual performance and not standardized usage data. Begin with a standard amount of fragrance oil that you test with, then experiment using less or more depending on the results desired. You do not want to increase the cost of your finished product unnecessarily, but at the same time, you want to create a strong-scented soy candle! Be sure to keep notes (journal) of your findings for future reference.

What’s with the Wicks?

Believe it or not, having the correct wick size in your soy candles will make all the difference in how well your soy candle throws. You may have a great fragrance, but if your candle is not properly wicked, you will not get a good scent throw while burning. During our testing and research processes, we had to adjust our wick sizes several times before our soy candle burned properly, which resulted in a good throwing fragrance. Don’t give up on a fragrance if it initially failed your scent throw test. You may simply need to change the wick size for it to be the perfect soy candle!