sourcing candle fragrances

December 3, 2017 8:14 AM

Where can I buy higher end fragrance oils for candle making in small quantities or samplers in the kinds of earthier, not sweet or floral scents I want?

I have the supplies to make my own candles but have never hit on fragrances I like as much as some high end store-bought candles. Favorites are the pepper, basil and cedarwood fragrances from Root Legacy or any of the greener/woodsy scents that diptyque makes. Most of the available fragrances from the candle supply sources I've checked smell cheap to me, or don't have the kinds of scents I'm looking for (their choices are largely sweet or floral). Where can I buy higher end fragrance oils online in small quantities or samplers in the kinds of earthier scents I want?

posted by slow graffiti to Home & Garden (2 answers total)

I've gotten a black pepper fragrance from Zenith Supplies in Seattle, if you ever find yourself in town. They have quite an array of scents that you can sniff in store.
posted by batter_my_heart at 8:39 AM on December 3, 2017

I prefer earthier scents too. I actually go straight to essential oils and make my own mixes; you can get essential oils in some drug stores now. In inherited a bunch of candlemaking supplies from a crafter friend who was scaling back, and she uses essential oils too (I got, like, a pint of patchouli from her! W00t!)

The only drawback is that a couple of essential oils have a low flashpoint - they burn at a low enough temperature that just burning them in a candle may smell bad. Or, the scent may just evaporate away while you're making the candle. Here's a chart of some essential oils and their flash points - the higher the temperature, the better. But you can offset an oil with a lower flash point by combining it with something with a higher point; they sort of even out.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:00 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]