This fragrance has two distinct personalities: In candles, shampoo, melt-and-pour soap, etc., it smells like delicious honey with just a touch of vanilla, lily, and peach. But in cold-process soap, it undergoes a magic transformation, and your cured soap bars will smell *exactly* like a beeswax candle. BOTTOM LINE: Sure, it may sound a little weird, but trust me -- a bar of soap that smells like a big chunk of raw beeswax is, as it turns out, really, really neat. Flashpoint: 188º F.
A terrific, fresh herbal blend, and a best-seller at Bath & Body Works. Our interpretation starts with green top notes of bergamot, Italian lemon oil, basil, and orange oil from Brazil. A spicy-floral heart of the lily of the valley, coriander, and ginger leads to a long-lasting bottom of precious woods, musk, and amber. Bottom Line: Really fresh, really likable -- unisex, and with a nice clean fragrance that would suit any application, from candles to soap to toiletries. Flashpoint: >200º F.
A clean, citrusy, unisex ocean blend that mingles water and fruit notes with woods and sexy musk. Notes of crushed petitgrain, tarragon, mandarin, grapefruit, and clementine move into a floral heart of yellow freesia, rose, and jasmine. A deep finish of white musk, patchouli, sandalwood, and ocean moss provides a lasting character. BOTTOM LINE: A very "spa-type" sea scent -- upscale and modern and clean. Flashpoint: 165º F.
Long-time customers still bemoan the loss of our original Bitter Almond fragrance (which, it was discovered a tad belatedly, had an extremely low flashpoint). Well, weep no more my lady, because our new Bitter Almond is almost identical to our old one -- but has a perfectly respectable flashpoint of 154º F. I would describe this fragrance thus: Top notes of almond lead to mid-notes of almond, which gracefully trail off into bottom notes of almond, almond, and more almond. BOTTOM LINE: Almondy (ya think?) and super strong, so go 25-50% lighter with it than you would with any other fragrance. Flashpoint: 154º F.
If you like Diptyque Baies (TM), you'll love our Black Currant Rose fragrance!
Paris-based Diptyque is a leader in the world of high-end candles and home scents, and Baies is the best-selling of their 45 candle fragrances. Baies is an amazing blend of black currant, black currant leaf, and Bulgarian rose -- the result is a startlingly fresh and complex accord that strikes the nose as alternately green, spicy, floral, and fruity, as does our interpretation of this fine scent. A 7-oz. Diptyque Baies container candle retails for $45 in a select assortment of high-end boutiques -- if that's not in your budget, please try the Sweet Cakes version (we have no affiliation whatsoever with the Diptyque company or their fragrances) and scent your home, yourself, and your candles to your heart's content! This fragrance *is* CP-soap compatible, causing neither seizing nor discoloration. Flashpoint: >200º F.
A deep, dark, delicious raspberry fragrance -- and one that stays delightfully true in cold-process soap! Top notes of pineapple, plumberry, strawberry, raspberry and peach lead to floral mid-notes of jasmine and rose, with a warm sweet drydown of vanilla, musk and amber. Flashpoint: >200º F.
Note to CP soapers: This fragrance discolors cold-process soap to a pale yellow color. It doesn't look bad or anything -- just giving a heads-up.
The fruity sweetness of blackberry paired with calming, herbal sage -- genius! Wild, fruity-berry top notes of cassis, blackberry, red raspberry, and grape lead to a violet-sage middle, with a soft, earthy, musk base. A brilliant way to enhance and freshen an ever-popular berry scent. Delightful in most every application except CP soap, where it tends to fade. My favorite way to use Blackberry & Sage? A dash of it straight-up into a big old bath -- the blackberry and other fruit notes refresh and revive while the sage soothes and calms. Flashpoint: >200º F.
We sniffed and sampled many a blackberry fragrance before we found one that bore any relationship to the actual berry. This is the truest blackberry scent we've found -- rich and fruity. BLENDING SUGGESTIONS: Use it on its own, or blend it with our Raspberry and Red Currant fragrances to make a "Berry Basket" blend. Flashpoint: >200º F.
Here's a great, simple blackberry blend for summer:
Blackberry Martini
2 parts Sweet Cakes Gin Martini Fragrance
1 part Sweet Cakes Blackberry Fragrance
A martini without the twist, but instead, a dash of plump ripe blackberries! The balance of the sweet, tart Blackberry and the crisp woody juniper in Gin Martini are a perfect marriage. Add any of our berry-seed exfoliants (raspberry seeds, strawberry seeds, etc.) to your bars and call the blend "Blackberry-Juniper Scrub."
Our exclusive fragrance is citrusy and fresh, like a desert oasis. Top notes of apple cassis, black currant, and citrus lead to a lily-rose middle, all atop a bottom of soft woods and oakmoss. Clean, fresh, and muy refrescante!
Flashpoint: 194º F.
If you've only smelled kid-oriented, bubblegum-y blueberry fragrances, this one will amaze you. Why? Because this blend smells uncannily like *real* blueberries. And best of all, it won't turn soaps, candles, and toiletries bright yellow, as most blueberry fragrance oils do. Flashpoint: >200º F.
The perfect blend of sweet summer blueberries and citrusy verbena. Top notes of juicy blueberry, orange, and lemon verbena lead to a fruity-floral middle of strawberry, pear, lilac, and violet. A soft, lasting drydown is provided by vanilla and musk. Bottom Line: Fruity, citrusy, and a bit old-fashioned. Flashpoint: 142º F.
The sunny, summery, unmistakable smell of a day at the beach -- no bikini required! Our faithful interpretation of this Bobbi Brown classic combines sand, sea, and suntan lotion for a scent that will have you thinking summer on the rainiest or snowiest of days. We've had our version formulated for all uses -- soap, candles, lotions, shampoo, etc. Turn your toiletries into a day at the beach with this sunny summer stunner!
Flashpoint: 196º F.
An absolutely amazing hypnotic, beguiling, sexy blend of florals and white musk! Top notes of orange blossoms, lemon, neroli, and tangerine lead to a floral heart of violet and lily of the valley, with a soft, sexy drydown provided by smooth sandalwood and white musk. Of all the Victoria's Secret fragrances, this one is our favorite! NOTE: Does not work well in CP soap. Flashpoint: 189º F.
A sparkling, unisex fragrance with fresh air and water notes. At the top, clementine and bergamot are blended with nectarine, freesia, and water hyacinth. A warm middle of orchid, passionflower, and rose dries down to a base of magnolia wood, gingerlily, and musk. BOTTOM LINE: Despite all the florals, Breeze truly is a fresh, clean, completely unisex scent at an excellent price point. Flashpoint: 142º F.
Truly the scent of brown sugar in a bottle, and perfect for sweetening up blends without the intense discoloration a vanilla fragrance would cause. RECIPE SUGGESTION: Brown sugar scrubs are all the rage at spas and in high-end bath and body collections. If you'd like to make your own, add 3-4 tablespoons of any high-quality liquid vegetable oil (like sweet almond, castor, jojoba, etc.) to 1 cup of brown sugar, combining the components until a pastelike consistency is achieved. Then add our Brown Sugar fragrance until the desired scent level is achieved -- the amount is subjective, but 1-2 teaspoons should do the trick. (And in case you've never heard of a sugar scrub, you apply them to your arms, legs, etc., in the shower, rub them into the skin with a washcloth or loofa, rinse them off, and voila -- smooth skin!.) Flashpoint: >200º F.
Uber-successful Japanese couture house Comme des Garcons (which means "like boys" in French) has issued just a handful of fragrances, all of them groundbreaking and stellar.
Our interpretation of their "Calamus" is the greenest, cleanest, most unisex scent in our entire repertoire. Imagine an intense fusion of leaves and grass and bamboo and rain and stems, and you've barely begun to scratch the surface. While this blend may strike some as too "out there" (there's none of the musky or fruity notes that are regularly thrown into everything), for those who want their shower gel, shampoo, and soap to be clean and refreshing (as opposed to musky, floral, sweet, etc.), this is a must-try. Flashpoint: >200º F.
Unlike peppermint essential oil (which we also carry), this version has a touch of sweetness to it, like those ever-popular round red-and-white candies. NOTE: Mint, as it turns out, is quite a good little blender -- try combining Candy Cane with other scents to make your own Apple Mint, Rose Mint, or Pineapple Mint. Flashpoint: >200º F.
Rich and coffeelicious -- like a Starbuck's latte. SPECIAL NOTE: All coffee fragrances mutate and diminish in cold-process soapmaking, so we advise CP soapers to buy this fragrance in a small size and try it in their own recipe before purchasing larger quantities. This fragrance will work beautifully for those seeking a coffee fragrance for use in non-CP-soap applications -- candles, M&P soap, toiletries, etc. Flashpoint: 150º F.
If the sky-high price of chamomile essential oil puts it out of reach, consider our partially synthetic version -- which gloriously enough contains essential oils of chamomile, lavender, sandalwood, and geranium. BOTTOM LINE: We searched for a chamomile fragrance for over two years, and this is the only one that we feel could stand in for chamomile essential oil. NOTE: Chamomile is considered a relaxing, calming scent and blends well with lavender. Flashpoint: 141º F.
The freshness of bamboo combined with creamy tropical white flowers makes this a head-spinning, ultra-green fragrance.
Top notes of cool green bamboo are softened and sweetened with a mid-section of jasmine, hyacinth, and champaca (champaca is a white flower from the magnolia family and has been used for centuries in fine perfumes). Bottom notes of amber, clove, and oakmoss help to anchor the blend while providing just a hint of spicy intrigue. Bottom Line: Clean-smelling fragrances with unusual botanical notes (in this case champaca and bamboo) are all the rage right now. This new twist on that segment of the fragrance market is a doozy -- powerful, green, and fresh! Flashpoint: >200º F.
