Candles are a crowd pleaser. They fill a room with your favorite scent, and can really “set the mood” for the space. If you’re looking to create a cozy atmosphere, a spicy warm candle like the Chai Tea Latte Candle does the trick. On the flip side, the Purple Blackberry Flower Candle adds a sweet smell to the room. There is a candle for just about every occasion.
The most common candle making question I receive is, “can I add soapmaking fragrance oils to my candle?” After all, the most important property of a candle is the scent. The short answer is yes! All fragrance oils and essential oils at Bramble Berry can be used in your candle project. The small caveat is these fragrances were tested specifically for soap, and were not tested in candles. The scent may change once the candle is burned, or may not give off the best scent throw.
Soapmaking fragrance oils can be added to candle projects, but they may not have been tested for scent throw.
When using a new fragrance for candles, I strongly recommend making a small test candle first. From our tests, we know that Pineapple Cilantro and Pink Grapefruit Fragrance Oils don’t smell very good in candles. In addition to the scent changing when burned, sometimes fragrance oil can separate once the candle has cooled. It’s important to always thoroughly mix in the fragrance oil into the melted wax. And if your fragrance starts to separate, do not burn the candle. This can be dangerous, as you don’t know how the fragrance oil will behave when introduced to direct flame. If you’re making a gel candle, there are a few fragrance oils we do not recommend because of their low flashpoint. You can find that list here.
Flavor oils are fragrance oils which are safe for the lips. These fragrances are also safe to use in candles, but have not been tested and the scent may change when the candle is lit. On the flip side, if you buy a candle fragrance oil, it may not be suitable for soap or other products applied to the skin. Candle only fragrance oils are held to different (lower) standards of safety because they are not used on the body.