Help! I just cut a batch of Love Spell and Dragon's Blood and both smell "off." I used the Wal-Mart recipe and fresh fragrance oils. I'm hoping that when they cure they'll smell better. The DB smells faintly of DB, but the LS smells more like cat pee. Both fragrances smelled fine when I poured them, and I've used both those fragrances before with no issues. I don't "think" it got overheated since I didn't do anything unusual. I poured the soap into a plastic mold and put it in a cardboard box on the dining room table to set up. Any idea what happened? Sheri
Fresh cut soap often smells off to me. I wouldn't pass judgment until it's at least a week old....sometimes it takes even longer. I've had some on the curing rack that I can't seem to smell anything from yet by the time it's done curing it smells great.
I'm hoping that's the case. Normally my Love Spell smells pretty strong right off the bat. The last time I soaped up some Green Tea & Cucumber this happened and I blamed it on old fragrance. Now I'm wondering if something else is going on. The lard and coconut oil are fresh. Perhaps the jug of vegetable (soybean) oil is getting a little old. It smells okay, but I'm just trying to juggle factors and see what might have changed.
Like Kathy, I don't pay attention to what my soap smells like until it's had some time to cure. See what they smell like in 2-3 weeks. Chances are they'll all be fine.
I have used all sorts of old rancid kitchen waste oils and never had a "bad smelling" soap. I've had one or two that didn't feel good on my skin and I blamed them for causing a pimple (guessing some salt from bacon fat might be to blame for that one?) I did not know bad smelling soap was even possible. I'd avoid the ingredients that gave that result entirely in future efforts. Just my two cents.
