Flighty scents and getting them to stay put!
Hello human. Black Phillip here. I am back with a new blog entry, which (warning!) is a technical one! If you have any interest in the creation process of our products, this blog entry will satisfy you immensely.
At the time of writing (22/01/25) we have just finished a new scent profile; Poisoned Apple. This blog post is about the difficulties of making such delicate blends. It goes further into our creation process than ever before, as we shed light on how to make things smell as they are described to you.
Apple is a notoriously flighty scent. Light and delicate, we managed to find an apple scented oil which contained everything we were looking for within our blend. Imagine the scent of a freshly-cut crunchy Granny Smith apple, and you are getting close to the type of apple aroma we wanted to include in the Poisoned Apple blend. Now, whilst the apple oil itself was immediately perfect, the rest of the blend had to be created with careful consideration. Not only did we want it to have a poisonous, slightly unusual edge, but we also had to consider the base notes carefully, so that the wonderful scent of apple would be anchored down and not disappear as soon as the candle is lit. We also had the added scent of hemlock (the poisonous bit of the blend) just to complicate things further - not only would we have to find a base that works with apple, but we also had to find something that compliments the hemlock!
It took us 6 attempts of the scent profile being set into wax, until we found the correct combination. Firstly, scents that go well with apple need to be considered. Cinnamon is the obvious choice, but we didn't want to do that, as it would give the scent profile a Christmas edge, which is a shame, because cinnamon is a brilliant base note! Our next port of call was to try a more wholesome tone of wheat, but this odour proved to be non-existent when we set the profile into wax. It was slowly becoming obvious to us that we had to think a bit outside the box, as "classic" combinations were getting us nowhere! So we changed tactics. We began to test for scents that work with hemlock, rather than ones that work with the scent of apple. It was here that we had our breakthrough; SAGE! A wonderful earthy herbaceous scent, sage complimented the sweet/earthy tones that the hemlock was bringing. Hemlock is part of the carrot family, so the scent of it is similar to a root vegetable crossed with a subtle green herb aroma. The hemlock and sage together gave an excellent warm base to the profile. We then added in the apple, thinking it would sit nicely on top. But we weren't out of the woods at that point!
When the apple came in on attempt 5, it proved to be far too overpowering for the earthy-herb scents of the hemlock and sage. We needed a small amount of another type of earthy scent, to give more strength to the base, which in turn would then hold down the flighty apple notes, without those notes becoming too overpowering. Our almost encyclopaedic knowledge of fragrances really paid off here! The scent of mushroom was seen as the obvious choice, and as expected, it's well-rounded and somewhat biological earthy tones slipped beautifully into the blend, finishing off the base notes. When the apple was added to this concoction on attempt 6, it blended in absolutely perfectly!
Whenever we create a scent profile for us to turn into a scented candle, the real truth of the blend comes from the burn. We've had many a scent profile not make the cut, because when heat is applied to fragranced wax, it can warp the scent of some of (or in worst cases, all of) the scents within it. But thankfully, with the 6th attempt of Poisoned Apple, all of the scents performed as intended! The result of hard work being a gloriously sharp scent of apple, with an unusual edge to it, the scent of which gives the impression of something not being quite right!
The moral of this blog post is NEVER GIVE UP. If you want something to happen, only you have the power to make it so.
This is Black Phillip, signing off and returning control to my human host.
At the time of writing (22/01/25) we have just finished a new scent profile; Poisoned Apple. This blog post is about the difficulties of making such delicate blends. It goes further into our creation process than ever before, as we shed light on how to make things smell as they are described to you.
Apple is a notoriously flighty scent. Light and delicate, we managed to find an apple scented oil which contained everything we were looking for within our blend. Imagine the scent of a freshly-cut crunchy Granny Smith apple, and you are getting close to the type of apple aroma we wanted to include in the Poisoned Apple blend. Now, whilst the apple oil itself was immediately perfect, the rest of the blend had to be created with careful consideration. Not only did we want it to have a poisonous, slightly unusual edge, but we also had to consider the base notes carefully, so that the wonderful scent of apple would be anchored down and not disappear as soon as the candle is lit. We also had the added scent of hemlock (the poisonous bit of the blend) just to complicate things further - not only would we have to find a base that works with apple, but we also had to find something that compliments the hemlock!
It took us 6 attempts of the scent profile being set into wax, until we found the correct combination. Firstly, scents that go well with apple need to be considered. Cinnamon is the obvious choice, but we didn't want to do that, as it would give the scent profile a Christmas edge, which is a shame, because cinnamon is a brilliant base note! Our next port of call was to try a more wholesome tone of wheat, but this odour proved to be non-existent when we set the profile into wax. It was slowly becoming obvious to us that we had to think a bit outside the box, as "classic" combinations were getting us nowhere! So we changed tactics. We began to test for scents that work with hemlock, rather than ones that work with the scent of apple. It was here that we had our breakthrough; SAGE! A wonderful earthy herbaceous scent, sage complimented the sweet/earthy tones that the hemlock was bringing. Hemlock is part of the carrot family, so the scent of it is similar to a root vegetable crossed with a subtle green herb aroma. The hemlock and sage together gave an excellent warm base to the profile. We then added in the apple, thinking it would sit nicely on top. But we weren't out of the woods at that point!
When the apple came in on attempt 5, it proved to be far too overpowering for the earthy-herb scents of the hemlock and sage. We needed a small amount of another type of earthy scent, to give more strength to the base, which in turn would then hold down the flighty apple notes, without those notes becoming too overpowering. Our almost encyclopaedic knowledge of fragrances really paid off here! The scent of mushroom was seen as the obvious choice, and as expected, it's well-rounded and somewhat biological earthy tones slipped beautifully into the blend, finishing off the base notes. When the apple was added to this concoction on attempt 6, it blended in absolutely perfectly!
Whenever we create a scent profile for us to turn into a scented candle, the real truth of the blend comes from the burn. We've had many a scent profile not make the cut, because when heat is applied to fragranced wax, it can warp the scent of some of (or in worst cases, all of) the scents within it. But thankfully, with the 6th attempt of Poisoned Apple, all of the scents performed as intended! The result of hard work being a gloriously sharp scent of apple, with an unusual edge to it, the scent of which gives the impression of something not being quite right!
The moral of this blog post is NEVER GIVE UP. If you want something to happen, only you have the power to make it so.
This is Black Phillip, signing off and returning control to my human host.