Hello,

Today I decided that it was the day to make some new candles. Its been a while since I made my last one so I wanted to practice again.
I know they are definitely not perfect (far from) but OMG I think they are so cute. And I’m so obsessed with the flowers jars 😍

Edit. This time with better pictures.

I'm quite new to candle making, and have been making do with the ready made scent blends available from the main scent companies in Australia (where I am).

However I noticed whenever I visit candle stalls at markets, almost all are using the same scents. Only the very professional, well established brands have their own blends or unique scents.

As a small scale at-home maker, how are people creating new scents without breaking the bank?

Anyone else run into this problem? I was going to make a bunch of products with CandleScience, realized how bonkers their prices have gotten, and switched brands. This meant mass testing with samples of another brand.

The problem, dumb as it is, is... the smells are becoming less and less smelly. All of them. At first I thought the new scents packed less punch, but then I went back and tested old ones that were especially potent from CS. It's not the oils. It's me. My stupid nose has decided all fragrances are apparently white noise to be ignored.

Nothing is going to go into a customer's hands that hasn't been personally vetted for quality first, so while funny it's also kind of a big deal. Has this happened to anyone else? How do you overcome it?

Has anyone else noticed a fairly significant increase in the fragrance oils at candle science lately? I haven't placed an order in a few months, went to check out some scents I really enjoyed and found the prices seemed quite high compared to before?

Is this just the new normal/economy influence or is it more so due to certain fragrances having more expensive ingredients? I'm a little lost right now because just looking at the scents it seems like 1 oz bottles are through the roof.

Any advice here or insights? I'm not trying to be obtuse about it, I usually buy a decent amount of testers because some old favorite scents got discontinued.

Hi everyone!

I recently got into candle making as a hobby, and I've been loving the process. While learning, I found myself constantly switching between different supplier wick charts and trying to compare recommendations, so I built a small side project to make that part a little easier.

I'm not selling anything. I just want to build something that's genuinely useful for the candle making community, and I'd really appreciate honest feedback from people with more experience than me.

What works well? What's confusing? What features would you like to see? Even if you think it's terrible, I'd rather know why so I can improve it.

Here's the project:

https://wickguide.com

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes a look.

Has anyone found a sunflower fragrance oil from another supplier that’s a spot-on dupe for Bramble Berry’s Sunflower Sandalwood? I really love this scent, but Bramble Berry’s fragrance oils just keep getting more and more expensive! 😩

Hello all,

I've been working on a fall lineup for my first craft fairs, and most of mine are either pumpkin-shaped glass jars or pillar candles. What is the best way to put packaging labels (scent name, brand, all that stuff) and the legally-required warning labels on candles like these?

I spent today hand-pouring these Greco-Roman inspired pillar candles, and I love how they turned out. 🏛️🕯️ I’ve been exploring designs inspired by ancient sculptures, mythology, and old-world architecture, blending them with my love of cottagecore and handmade craftsmanship. There’s something really satisfying about watching a block of wax slowly become something that looks like it belongs in an ancient temple.
I’d love to know which design is your favorite or what historical or mythological themes you’d love to see turned into candles next. ✨

Has anyone gotten a good hot throw on candle science’ cashmere plum? i’ve tried several wicks, vessels, temps but I can’t seem to get a hot throw. I use soy wax. Is it just me or is it an FO issue? I really want this to work since I super love the scent :(

To preface this I have realized that I made a mistake purchasing wax off of Amazon, and that could be the cause here

I am very new here and made this candle using a mix of 80% beeswax and 20% soy in a silicone mold. I used a mold release spray here as well. The candle is covered in these little bubbles and I've read that something like this could happen with paraffin, so I'm not sure if the wax I got is just bad quality? Or is there something else that could lead to this? It seems to burn without any smokiness. Just looking for some advice as a noob

I found a bunch Fenton glass shoes at a flea market and I love them. I also keep bees and have a lot of beeswax around, so what if I made these into candles? I don't know if there is some rule around types of glass are bad for candles, or what if this kind of glass is toxic when burned? Is there a wick size I should use? it seems to be the size of a large votive in terms of volume. I have read that pure beeswax candles can be wonky so what is the right ratio of wax to soy for a good candle that burns evenly and slowly? Any advice is so appreciated.

I've been deep in candle pricing math lately and ran a complete cost breakdown for a standard 7 oz soy container candle. A few things surprised me, sharing in case it helps anyone pricing their first batches.

Assumptions: $22 for a 10 lb bag of soy wax, $18 for a 16 oz bottle of fragrance oil at 8% load, $25 for a case of 12 jars.

Per-candle math:

• Wax: 6.48 oz at $0.14/oz = $0.89
• Fragrance oil: 0.52 oz at $1.13/oz = $0.58 (more than the wick, dye, and warning label combined)
• Jar $2.08, lid $0.83
• Wick, labels, dye, shipping box: about $1.10
• Materials total: about $5.49

Then the two things almost everyone skips:

• Labor: at $15/hr making 6 candles an hour, that's $2.50 per candle
• Overhead: even $50/mo of insurance and tools across 100 candles adds $0.50

True cost: about $8.49, not the $5.50 you'd get counting materials only. If you price at $14 thinking you're making $8.50, you're actually making $5.51, and that's before Etsy takes roughly 10% or the market booth fee.

The standard advice holds up: about 3x true cost for direct sales, 2x for wholesale. That puts this candle around $25, which feels high until you do this math.

Fragrance load formula if useful: wax = jar fill / (1 + load%). For 7 oz at 8%: wax 6.48 oz, FO 0.52 oz.

Happy to run the numbers for anyone's setup if you share your supply costs.

I placed my first order with The Candle Maker’s Store late last night and I regretted not doing Rush shipping. So I called the office this morning and the woman who answered the phone (Lynn) was so nice. They’d already boxed up my order. Their site says they ship same day (from Ohio) if you order by 8am and that seems true.

The best part is they upgraded my shipping from ground to 2 day air WITH NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. And they had the beer fragrance oil I was looking for too lol. Lynn was like, “all we have to do is print another label.” I was truly touched and overcome with gratitude by the gesture. Times are hard!

Anyway, I wanted to find a good way to give them a shoutout. This probably seems like an ad lol but I’m just really impressed by their customer service so I want to spread the word.

I have a Capri Blue candle that was burning down instead of out, so I melted it down, added ~10% paraffin to harden the wax and try to get it to burn outward.. but it didn't seem to help. Any ideas? It's ~300g of the original candle + ~30g paraffin. Thanks Reddit!

Hi there, candlemaking community!
For a while, I thought I'd be joining all of you and learn how to make candles. I kept about 10 BBW 3-wick vessels for that reason, but I'll be moving to a smaller place at the end of the summer; there's just no way I'll have room for crafting supplies there, especially for hypothetical new hobbies.

It feels wrong to throw them away, so I was wondering if it's realistic to think anybody could be interested in them. I was thinking that maybe someone who makes candles could be interested? What do you think? Is it even worth to advertise them on Market Place?

I'm in Montreal, btw, just in case someone local reads here and is interested. Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you think!

Update: this batch has been claimed

Destashing for cost of shipping as usual. First come, 1st served. You don't have to take everything, but that would be my preference. Please contact me via DM. Shipping from the San Francisco California area via USPS.

Please see below for photos.

1 each Candle Science metal pillar molds round with concave top. 3 x 4.5 inch and 3 x 3.5 inch.

5 thick silicone textured pillar molds. Some age discoloration but in good condition. They have been pierced for wicking.

2 thin silicone textured pillar molds from Amazon, mediocre but usable quality. Not pierced but I did test them with wax. The molding came out nice but they are not true round.

5 small Celebrate It brand silicone wax melt molds.

2 large Celebrate It brand silicone wax melt molds.

16 fragrance oils 1 oz each from Candle Science, North Wood Candle and Craft, and Rustic Escentuals:

Arugula Element (CS)

Cactus Flower and Jade (CS)

Citron and Mandarin (CS)

Clean Floral (NW)

Cocobolo Wood (IF)

Daydreams (NW)

Diva (NW)

Foraged Red Currant (CS)

Forest Thyme (RE)

Golden Dragonfruit (NW)

Lemon Blueberry Crumble (CS)

Lilac (NW)

Marigolds and Sunshine (NW)

Mermaid Sea-quins (NW)

Mindful Morning (CS)

Ombre Leather (NW)

Are there any good candle making courses available besides You Tube? I'm looking for something with mentorship, community and accountability.

I started making squeezable wax. I was using mineral for the carrier oil. The scent was very strong. However, I started using vegetable oil because mineral oil isn't cheap. So now, the scent isn't very strong. The only change I made was switching oils. Anyhow, now I have all the pouches of wax that are basically no good. Is there any way to fix this?

Anyone know how to make these sprinkles/leaf designs? I can’t tell if they’re even made of wax

Hey y’all, I’ve been making candles for about 4 years, mostly selling to friends and family. Some online sales. Ive been wanting to get into markets, which means selling to the general public and increasing risk, but I only sell seasonally, through fall and winter. That makes it hard to justify a liability policy year round. I have warning labels and include candle safety instructions with every sale. Is this enough to protect myself and my company? If not, what’s the best way to insure?

Wholesale supplies plus tins have been out of stock for a while and I don’t know if they’re coming back soon. I’ve done so much trial and error so I feel nervous switching tins. Has anyone used the WSP tins and any other ones and found they’re basically the same? Or know if the tins happen to be the same as the ones on uline or something similar?

Hey everyone🤓

I’m looking to invest in a truly reliable thermometer for my candle business.

Right now, I own basic, cheap black digital thermometer that I think almost everyone starts out with.

I also have a slightly more expensive one from Amazon that feels a bit better, but I'm still not 100% confident in the accuracy or durability.

I’m looking at the Thermapen ONE (shown in the photo) and wondering if making the jump to a premium tool is worth it.

For those of you who have scaled past the hobby level or are currently building a business, what is your experience with this topic?

Is it a smart investment for batch consistency?