I Have Five Fragrance Samples and Three Wick Sizes — Do I Really Need to Test Every Possible Combination Before Choosing My First Candle Formula?
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Natural Soy Pearl Wax ₹450 / kg 135 g tins ₹96.76 each in the pack of 12 Stocked in India · ships nationwide
CSI beginner guides · staged test design
Fifteen combinations is thirty candles and three and a third kilos of wax. Eight candles answer the same question, because the two decisions are not equally portable.
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✓ Stated specifications quoted per product page ✓ Three wick types in stock ✓ Bulk pricing & GST invoicing on WhatsApp
Candle Business Guides · Staged Test Design
No. Five oils × three wicks is fifteen combinations, and at two candles per combination that is thirty test candles and 3,726 g of wax. Run the two decisions in sequence instead and you pour eight candles, touching seven of the fifteen cells directly — because the wick decision transfers between oils and the scent decision does not.
8, not 30
eight 135 g tins instead of thirty · 993.6 g of wax instead of 3,726 g · ₹4,406.22 instead of ₹8,503.64 · CSI live pricing, September 2026
Quick answers — read this first
Do I need all fifteen combinations? No. Test wick first on one oil (3 candles), then all five oils on the wick that won (5 candles). Eight candles, seven of the fifteen cells poured, eight cells never poured — and a defensible reason for each one you skipped.What does the full grid actually cost? Fifteen cells × two candles = 30 tins, 3,726 g of wax and 324 g of oil. That pushes every oil past a 50 gm bottle into a 100 gm one and needs three packs of tins: ₹8,503.64 against ₹4,406.22 for the staged plan.
Is the shortcut safe? Mostly. Wick behaviour is driven by the vessel's internal diameter and the wax far more than by which oil is in it — so a wick bracket transfers. It does not transfer perfectly, which is exactly why the plan ends with a two-candle confirmation at the chosen combination.
And if two wicks tie? Carry both into stage two: five oils × two wicks is ten candles, so the whole plan becomes thirteen. Still less than half the grid.
The short answer
Order the decisions by how portable they are: a wick that works in a given tin with a given wax tends to keep working when the oil changes. A scent preference carries across nothing. So settle the portable decision first and spend the cheap second stage on the one that has to be asked per oil.
The grid's real cost is not wax, it is bottles and tins: six candles per oil means 64.8 g of each oil, which forces five 100 gm bottles — ₹2,282.48 instead of ₹1,407.30 — and thirty tins instead of twelve.
Thirty candles is also a scoring problem: thirty burns spread over several weeks introduce more drift in your own judgement than the interaction you were trying to detect. Fewer, cleaner comparisons beat a grid you score inconsistently.
In this guide
The solid cells are poured; the outlined cells never are. Stage one runs across one row because the wick question is asked once, and stage two runs down one column because the scent question has to be asked of every oil — that shape, not the cell count, is the argument.
Two sizes · ₹5.90 and ₹9.44 each
Eco Candle Wicks · C1 and C2
135 gram variant · ₹96.76 each
Tin Containers · 12 for ₹1,161.12
Fifteen combinations?
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Straight answer
Do I have to test every fragrance and wick combination before choosing a formula?
No, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of cutting corners. The full grid is 5 × 3 = 15 combinations, and one candle per combination is not a test, so two candles per cell makes 30 tins. At a 135 g fill and an 8% load that is 3,726 g of wax and 324 g of fragrance oil — 64.8 g of each of five untested oils, which forces five 100 gm bottles instead of 50 gm ones, and thirty tins instead of twelve. Total: about ₹8,503.64. The staged alternative pours eight candles. Stage one puts one reference oil into three tins on three different wicks — Eco Candle Wicks Thin (C1), Thick (C2) and Performance Wooden Wicks — and asks one question: which wick brings a 135 g tin to a full melt pool without a tall flame. Stage two puts all five oils into five tins on the wick that won. That is 8 tins, 993.6 g of wax and 86.4 g of oil, about ₹4,406.22 with the reference oil bought at 100 gm and the other four at 50 gm. Stage three adds two more tins of the winning pair to confirm it repeats — ten tins, 1,242 g of wax, still a third of the grid. The justification for skipping eight cells is that wick performance is governed mainly by the vessel's internal diameter and the wax, and only secondarily by the oil; scent preference is governed by nothing transferable at all. So the wick is decided once and the scent is decided per oil — and stage three exists precisely because "mainly" is not "entirely".
One line: settle the wick on one oil, then screen all five oils on that wick, then confirm the winner — eight candles instead of thirty, and you can name what you assumed.
Stage one needs three wicks and three tins: Eco Candle Wicks Thin (C1) 10 for ₹59, Thick (C2) 20 for ₹188.80, Performance Wooden Wicks 10 for ₹590 and twelve 135 gram tins for ₹1,161.12.
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What the full grid actually costs
Fifteen sounds manageable until you remember that one candle per cell proves nothing.
Start by pricing the thing you are considering, because the number is bigger than most people expect and almost none of the extra money buys information. A fully crossed design tests every oil against every wick: five oils, three wicks, fifteen cells. Then the requirement that makes it expensive — a cell needs at least two candles, so that you can burn one at day 7 and one at day 14 and so that a surprising result can be checked. Fifteen cells become thirty candles.
Full factorial versus staged · 135 g tins at an 8% load
Candles, wax, oil, bottles and tins for each approach
| Approach | Cells poured | Candles | Wax | Oil total | Oil per bottle needed | Tin packs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full grid, 1 candle per cell | 15 of 15 | 15 | 1,863 g | 162 g | 28.8 g each — 50 gm bottles | 2 packs of 12 |
| Full grid, 2 candles per cell | 15 of 15 | 30 | 3,726 g | 324 g | 64.8 g each — 100 gm bottles | 3 packs of 12 |
| Staged, stages 1–2 | 7 of 15 | 8 | 993.6 g | 86.4 g | 43.2 g reference, 10.8 g each other | 1 pack of 12 |
| Staged, with stage 3 confirmation | 7 of 15 | 10 | 1,242 g | 108 g | 64.8 g reference if it wins | 1 pack of 12 |
| Staged, two wicks tied in stage 1 | 11 of 15 | 13 | 1,614.6 g | 140.4 g | 54 g reference, 21.6 g each other | 2 packs of 12 |
Worked out above: each 135 g tin at 8% = 124.2 g wax + 10.8 g oil. Full grid with two candles per cell = 30 × 124.2 = 3,726 g wax and 30 × 10.8 = 324 g oil, which is 6 candles × 10.8 g = 64.8 g of each oil — above a 50 gm bottle, so five 100 gm bottles are required. Staged stages 1–2 = 8 × 124.2 = 993.6 g and 8 × 10.8 = 86.4 g, of which the reference oil supplies 4 candles (43.2 g) and each other oil supplies 1 (10.8 g). Tins at a stated 135 g fill are sold twelve to a pack, so 30 candles need three packs and 8 need one.
The one-candle-per-cell row is worth a moment, because it is the tempting middle path: fifteen candles, still the whole grid, and only 1,863 g of wax. The problem is that a single candle per cell can be burned once. If cell seven behaves oddly you cannot tell whether that is the combination or the pour, and you cannot compare a day-7 read against a day-14 read, which is where soy candles change most. So the grid does not really have a cheap version — it has an expensive version and an uninterpretable one.
The mistake: pouring the grid and abandoning it halfway. This is the most common real-world outcome, and it is worse than either option. Thirty candles means thirty labels, thirty cure dates and sixty burn sessions if you use two read points — realistically several weeks of disciplined scoring. What usually happens is that the first eight or ten get scored carefully, enthusiasm fades, and the rest get a glance. Now your data set is a careful partial grid plus a careless one, and the careless part quietly contradicts the careful part. Decide the size of the experiment by how much scoring you will actually do, not by how much wax you can afford. The same discipline applied to a single comparison is in why every fragrance test needs the same jar and wick.
Why the order of the two decisions matters
The staged design is not simply "test less". It works because the two decisions in front of you have very different shapes, and knowing which is which is the whole skill.
Two decisions, two different characters
What each decision depends on, and whether the answer transfers
| Decision | Mainly driven by | Transfers to other oils? | Transfers to other jars? | So test it… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Which wick | The vessel's internal diameter and the wax | Largely yes — same tin, same wax, same load | No — a different diameter is a new question | Once, on one oil, first |
| Which oil | Your nose, and how the oil behaves in cured wax | Not at all — each oil is its own answer | Partly — a scent you like stays a scent you like | Per oil, second, on a settled wick |
| Which load | The oil and the wax's stated ceiling | Partly — a ratio scales between vessel sizes | Yes — load is a proportion | Separately, after the wick is settled |
Read the second column of the first row again: the vessel and the wax. This is the correction that saves beginners the most money, and it is worth stating bluntly — a wick is chosen from the container's internal diameter and the wax you are burning, not from the candle's weight and not from the fragrance in it. That is why a wick bracket run on one oil is informative about the others in the same tin, and why the same bracket tells you nothing about a wider jar. If you change the tin later, you repeat stage one; you do not repeat stage two. The diameter-first logic is set out in best wick for candle making, by diameter and how to choose the right wick for your candle.
"Three wick sizes" needs one honest correction before you start
CSI's Eco Candle Wicks are listed in two sizes, Thin (C1) and Thick (C2), and the page states no diameter range for either. So a three-way bracket has to reach outside that range for its third candidate — the usual choice being Performance Wooden Wicks, an imported wick whose page states that a pack contains ten wicks and wick tabs and gives no diameter either. That means your third candidate is a different type of wick rather than a third size, which changes the character of the comparison: a wooden wick burns and sounds different, so it is a genuine alternative rather than a step on a ladder. Worth knowing before you interpret the result. The trade-offs are compared in cotton wick vs wooden wick for a beginner.The staged design in tins and grams
Three stages, ten tins in total, and one question each. Every tin is a 135 g fill at an 8% load — 124.2 g of wax and 10.8 g of oil — poured in the same tin, from the same wax, at the same temperatures.
Stage by stage · 135 g tins at 8%
Tins, grams, the single question, and what you are entitled to conclude
| Stage | Tins | What varies | Wax | Oil | The one question |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Wick bracket | 3 | Wick: C1, C2, wooden — one reference oil | 372.6 g | 28.8 g of the reference | Which wick reaches the wall in about 2–3 hours without a tall flame? |
| 2 · Scent screen | 5 | Oil: all five — wick now fixed | 621 g | 10.8 g of each of the five | Which oil is still recognisable at 120 minutes after cure? |
| 3 · Confirmation | 2 | Nothing — a second pour date | 248.4 g | 21.6 g of the winner | Does the chosen pair repeat, and is the wick still right for this oil? |
| Total | 10 | One variable per stage | 1,242 g | 108 g | Seven of fifteen cells poured, eight inferred |
Notice what stage three is really doing. It is not decoration and it is not just a repeat — it is the place where the assumption behind the whole shortcut gets checked. Stage one chose a wick using one oil; stage three asks whether that wick is still correct now that a different oil is in the tin. If the answer is no, you have lost two candles and learned something important about that oil, which is a far cheaper way to find out than pouring the other eight grid cells on the chance that one of them mattered.
Don't pick the reference oil at random. Stage one's oil should be the one you are most likely to sell, for two reasons. First, if it wins stage two as well, the wick you settled is already the right wick for your lead product. Second, the reference oil consumes the most material — 28.8 g in stage one, 10.8 g in stage two and 21.6 g more if it wins stage three, which is 64.8 g and therefore a 100 gm bottle. Committing a 100 gm bottle to an oil you are indifferent about is the one genuinely wasteful purchase in this plan. Pick it deliberately, and keep the other four at 50 gm where a single screening tin costs 10.8 g.
What to buy for eight candles
Four items. The wicks are the only line where you buy three of something, and they are also the cheapest line in the plan — which is itself the answer to "am I being stingy by not testing everything".
1
Stage one's only variable · two of the three candidates
Eco Candle Wicks · Thin (C1) and Thick (C2)
The 10-pack of C1 at ₹59 and the 20-pack of C2 at ₹188.80 — ₹5.90 and ₹9.44 per wick respectively, flat at every listed pack size from 10 up to 1,000 (the 10-pack of C2 is currently sold out, so the 20-pack is the smallest). The page states these wicks pair with soy, beeswax and other eco-friendly waxes and states no jar-diameter guidance for either size, which is precisely why stage one exists: nobody can tell you from a distance which one suits a 135 g tin, because that depends on the tin's internal diameter, the wax, the load and the oil together.
| Size | Price | Per piece | Wicks per pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thin (C1) / 10 Wicks | ₹59 | ₹5.90 | ≈10 |
| Thick (C2) / 10 Wicks (sold out) | ₹94.40 | ₹9.44 | ≈10 |
| Thin (C1) / 20 Wicks | ₹118 | ₹5.90 | ≈20 |
| Thick (C2) / 20 Wicks | ₹188.80 | ₹9.44 | ≈20 |
| Thin (C1) / 50 Wicks | ₹295 | ₹5.90 | ≈50 |
| Thick (C2) / 50 Wicks | ₹472 | ₹9.44 | ≈50 |
| Thin (C1) / 100 Wicks | ₹590 | ₹5.90 | ≈100 |
| Thick (C2) / 100 Wicks | ₹944 | ₹9.44 | ≈100 |
| Thin (C1) / 500 Wicks | ₹2,950 | ₹5.90 | ≈500 |
| Thick (C2) / 500 Wicks | ₹4,720 | ₹9.44 | ≈500 |
| Thin (C1) / 1000 Wicks | ₹5,900 | ₹5.90 | ≈1,000 |
| Thick (C2) / 1000 Wicks | ₹9,440 | ₹9.44 | ≈1,000 |
₹5.90 per C1 · ₹9.44 per C2 · ₹15.34 for one of each Buy Eco Candle Wicks
2
Stage one's third candidate · a different type, not a third size
Performance Wooden Wicks | Imported (Pack of 10)
The pack of ten at ₹590 is the most expensive wick line here at ₹59 a wick, and it earns its place because it is a genuinely different burn rather than a bigger cotton wick. Its page states that one pack contains 10 wicks and wick tabs and gives no diameter guidance. Larger packs step the price down — 50 for ₹2,360 (₹47.20 each) and 100 for ₹4,130 (₹41.30 each) — but a first bracket needs one wick, not fifty, so the 10-pack is the correct buy even though the per-wick price is highest. Note that two of the oils in a typical five-sample set will have pages suggesting cotton or wooden wicks with testing based on container size; that is a nudge, not a specification.
| Size | Price | Per piece | Wicks per pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pack of 10 | ₹590 | ₹59 | ≈10 |
| Pack of 50 (Save 25%) | ₹2,360 | ₹47.20 | ≈50 |
| Pack of 100 (Save 30%) | ₹4,130 | ₹41.30 | ≈100 |
₹59 per wooden wick in the pack of 10 Buy Performance Wooden Wicks
3
The vessel · one pack of twelve covers the whole staged plan
Tin Containers for Candle Making · 135 gram (pack of 12)
Two variants, twelve tins each: an 85 gram tin at ₹849.60 and a 135 gram tin at ₹1,161.12, which is ₹96.76 a tin. The page describes the 135 g as "ideal for standard-size candles and longer burns" and the 85 g as "best for testers, gifts, and travel candles". Read it carefully before you plan, because it also says the tins are "available in 100g and 200g wax capacities" — which conflicts with the 85 g and 135 g the variants are labelled with — and it gives dimensions for two different tins ("This 6 cm x 4 cm tin" and "this 7.5 cm x 5 cm tin"). So do two things before stage one: weigh one filled tin, and measure its internal diameter. Every figure on this page uses the 135 g the variant name states. One pack of twelve covers all three staged stages with two tins spare; the full grid would need three packs.
| Size | Price | Per piece | Tins per pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 gram (Pack of 12) | ₹849.60 | ₹70.80 | ≈12 |
| 135 gram (Pack of 12) | ₹1,161.12 | ₹96.76 | ≈12 |
₹96.76 per tin in the 135 gram pack of 12 Buy 135 gram tins
4
The wax · held identical through all three stages
Natural Soy Pearl Wax
A pearl-form soy at ₹450 a kilo, described on its page for "a variety of container types and candle designs". Be aware of what it does not state: no maximum fragrance load and no temperatures. That is a real constraint and it shapes the test — hold every tin at 8%, follow general soy practice for adding and pouring, and write down the readings you actually used, because your own log is the only specification you will have for this wax. Two kilos at ₹900 covers the full ten-tin staged plan with 8108 g spare; the price per kilo steps down to ₹424.80 at 5 kg and above, which is a reason to buy 5 kg after a formula repeats, not before.
| Size | Price | Per kg | 135g tins @ 8% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kg | ₹450 | ₹450 | ≈8 |
| 5 kg | ₹2,124 | ₹424.80 | ≈40 |
| 10 kg | ₹4,248 | ₹424.80 | ≈80 |
| 50 kg | ₹21,240 | ₹424.80 | ≈402 |
₹55.89 of wax per 135 g tin at 1 kg pricing Buy Natural Soy Pearl Wax
The two baskets side by side
Both baskets below buy the same three wick candidates and the same five oils. Everything else scales with the number of candles, and the wick line is deliberately left identical so you can see where the money actually goes.
Full grid versus staged · CSI live pricing, September 2026
Line by line, and where the ₹4,097.42 difference comes from
| Line | Full grid · 30 tins | Staged · 10 tins | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Soy Pearl Wax | 4 × 1 kg · ₹1,800 (3,726 g needed) | 2 × 1 kg · ₹900 (1,242 g needed) | ₹900 |
| Five fragrance oils | 5 × 100 gm · ₹2,282.48 | 1 × 100 gm + 4 × 50 gm · ₹1,407.30 | ₹875.18 |
| Tin containers, 135 gram | 3 packs of 12 · ₹3,483.36 | 1 pack of 12 · ₹1,161.12 | ₹2,322.24 |
| Three wick candidates | C1 ₹59 + C2 ₹188.80 + wooden ₹590 · ₹837.80 | Identical · ₹837.80 | ₹0 |
| Candle Wick Stickers | 1 sheet of 40 · ₹100 | 1 sheet of 40 · ₹100 | ₹0 |
| Total | ₹8,503.64 | ₹4,406.22 | ₹4,097.42 |
The fourth row is the point of the table. The wicks cost the same either way — ₹837.80 for one of each candidate — so nobody is saving money by testing fewer wick types. What the grid costs extra is wax, tins and bottles: ₹900 of wax, ₹2,322.24 of tins and ₹875.18 of fragrance, spent on candle mass rather than on answers. And the bottle line deserves a second look: the grid forces you to buy 100 gm of five oils you have not yet smelled in cured wax, which is the single purchase this whole series argues against.
The CSI principle
Test every combination only when no decision transfers. Two of yours do.
A fully crossed grid is the right design when you have no idea which variables interact. Here you do: wick follows diameter and wax, load follows the oil and the stated ceiling, scent follows nobody. Sequencing decisions by portability is not a shortcut — it is what the mechanism allows.
Where the shortcut genuinely costs you something
Eight cells go unpoured. It would be dishonest to pretend nothing is lost.
What a staged design cannot see is an interaction — a case where one particular oil performs best on a wick that lost stage one. That is a real possibility, not a theoretical one: oils differ in viscosity and in how they behave in the flame, and several CSI oil pages carry a line recommending wick testing based on container size for exactly this reason. If Blue Ocean happens to need the wooden wick and stage one chose C2, the staged plan will rank Blue Ocean on a wick that does not suit it, and Blue Ocean may lose a comparison it would have won.
Three things make that acceptable. First, stage three catches the version of it that matters most — the winner being on the wrong wick — for the price of two tins. Second, a candle that needs an unusual wick to work is commercially awkward anyway: if four of your five oils burn well on one wick and the fifth needs a different one, the fifth costs you a second wick line, a second set of instructions and a second thing to get wrong in production. Third, the alternative is not "the grid" but "the grid, scored properly, over six weeks" — and a partially scored grid is less reliable than a fully scored staged plan.
What each plan can and cannot detect
The honest scoreboard, before you choose
| Question | Full grid, 30 candles | Staged, 10 candles |
|---|---|---|
| Which wick suits this tin and wax? | Yes, five times over | Yes, once — on the reference oil |
| Which of the five oils performs best? | Yes, on each wick | Yes, on one shared wick |
| Does one oil prefer a different wick? | Yes — this is the grid's only real advantage | Only for the winner, in stage three |
| Does the chosen formula repeat? | Not unless you add a further round | Yes — that is stage three |
| Will you actually score every candle? | Sixty burn sessions over several weeks | Twenty — realistic for one person |
| Cost of the materials | ₹8,503.64 | ₹4,406.22 |
Don't resolve a tie by adding a variable. If two oils finish level in stage two, the wrong move is to re-pour them on different wicks and different loads at once — you will have two candles and three explanations. Re-pour both on the same wick, changed nothing, and use the second pour as a tie-break; if they are still level, choose on cost per candle, on which page states a load you can work within, or on which one your customers ask for. A tie between two good oils is a nice problem, and it does not need a grid to solve. Where the wick-versus-load question is the real issue, start with weak hot throw: load or wick first?
Once a pair repeats, the per-unit prices start to matter: Performance Wooden Wicks 50 for ₹2,360 (₹47.20 each) or 100 for ₹4,130 (₹41.30 each), and Natural Soy Pearl Wax 5 kg ₹2,124 at ₹424.80 a kilo. Bulk pricing, GST invoicing and SDS or IFRA documentation are handled on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsApp
Running the three stages
Three pour sessions across about six weeks, ten tins, twenty burns. Everything that is not the stage's variable stays frozen and written down.
1
Measure the tin, then pour stage oneMeasure the internal diameter of one tin and write it at the top of the log with the wax, the load and the reference oil. Pour three tins: 372.6 g of wax with 28.8 g of the reference oil, split into three 135 g fills, one on C1, one on C2, one on a wooden wick. Fit each with a wick sticker. Because this wax's page states no temperatures, record the ones you use — they become your reference for every later stage.
2
Cure, then burn all three the same wayTrim each to about 5 mm and burn for up to three hours in the same closed room, on the same day, one after another rather than side by side. Record minutes to a melt pool that touches the wall, flame height, soot, mushrooming and how hot the tin's outside becomes — metal runs warmer than glass, so note it consistently and place every tin on a heatproof surface. Never leave a burning candle unattended, and end any burn whose flame is clearly too tall; that is a hazard and not a data point. What a high flame means is covered in candle flame too high: how to fix.
3
Choose the wick, or accept a tieKeep the wick that reached the wall in roughly two to three hours with a steady flame and no soot. If none did, do not proceed to stage two — repeat stage one with a different bracket, because a stage two run on a failing wick will rank all five oils as poor. If two tie, carry both forward: stage two becomes ten tins instead of five, 1,242 g instead of 621 g, and the total plan becomes thirteen tins. That is still well under half the grid. If a wick tunnels, read why a candle tunnels even with the correct wick before buying anything.
4
Pour stage two as one melt, five dosesMelt 621 g in one pot and split it into five weighed portions of 124.2 g, dosing each with 10.8 g of its oil. One melt removes the wax as an explanation. Same wick, same temperatures, same room, same hour, all five. Include a fresh tin of the reference oil rather than reusing the stage-one tin, so that all five oils were poured on the same day under the same conditions.
5
Score the five on cold throw, then on two burnsCold-sniff all five before lighting and note them. Then burn each for up to three hours and score throw at 30 and 120 minutes on a single consistent 1–5 scale. Because stage two has one tin per oil, the cure read is a single point — so cure them all for the same number of days and treat the ranking as provisional until stage three. The fuller scoring method is in how to test hot throw before launching a candle fragrance.
6
Pour stage three and check the assumption you madeTwo tins of the winning oil on the winning wick, on a fresh day, nothing changed: 248.4 g of wax and 21.6 g of oil. Burn one at day 7 and one at day 14. You are looking for two things at once — whether the result repeats, and whether the wick that suited the reference oil still suits this one. If the pool is now slow or the flame now tall, the wick needs one step of adjustment for this oil, and the eight unpoured cells turn out to have mattered slightly after all. Two tins is a cheap way to find that out.
A grid tests every combination because it assumes you know nothing. You know that a wick follows the jar — so spend that knowledge instead of re-buying it.
— CandleMakingSuppliesIndia
Why trust this guide
CANDLEMAKINGSUPPLIESINDIA supplies raw materials, not finished candles. The full grid is the bigger order by ₹4,097.42, and we are arguing against it. The reason is not modesty about our own range — it is that thirty test candles is more scoring than one person reliably does, and an experiment that gets abandoned two-thirds of the way through produces worse decisions than a smaller one finished properly. A maker who reaches a repeatable formula becomes a customer for 5 kg bags and 100-wick packs; a maker who spends ₹8,503 on an unfinished grid usually becomes nobody's customer.
Every price, pack size and specification here comes from live CSI stock in September 2026 and links to the product page, where current pricing always takes precedence. Stated figures are quoted only where the page states them: the "135g Tin – Ideal for standard-size candles and longer burns" wording is from the Tin Containers page, whose body text also describes 100 g and 200 g tins and whose stated dimensions cover two different tins; "One Pack contains 10 wicks and wick tabs" is from the Performance Wooden Wicks page, which states no diameter; the Eco Candle Wicks page states no diameter guidance for C1 or C2; and the Natural Soy Pearl Wax page states neither a maximum fragrance load nor any temperatures, which we flag rather than fill in. Performance Wooden Wicks are listed as imported. Where a page states nothing, we say so. Fragrance loads are formulation limits, not regulatory limits, and the 14-day cure and the 3–5% wastage allowance are planning judgements rather than published specifications.
For help bracketing a wick for a specific vessel, bulk pricing once a formula repeats, GST invoicing, or MSDS and IFRA documentation for a particular oil, message us on WhatsApp at +91 7397976926.
Frequently asked questions
How many test candles do I need for five fragrances and three wicks?
Eight for the decision and ten including a confirmation round — not thirty. Stage one is three candles (one oil, three wicks), stage two is five (five oils, the winning wick) and stage three is two of the winning pair. That is 1,242 g of wax and 108 g of oil in a 135 g tin at 8%. A fully crossed grid with two candles per cell is thirty candles, 3,726 g of wax and 324 g of oil — and its only genuine advantage is detecting an oil that prefers a losing wick.
Should I test wick or fragrance first?
Wick first, on a single oil. A wick is chosen mainly from the container's internal diameter and the wax, so the answer largely transfers to your other oils in the same vessel — which means you pay for it once. A scent preference transfers to nothing, so it must be asked of every oil individually and is therefore the cheaper question to ask second, at one candle per oil. Testing both at once produces a grid you cannot afford to score.
Can I test three wick sizes in one batch of wax?
Yes — and you should, because it makes the wax a control rather than a variable. Melt 372.6 g with 28.8 g of oil, split it into three 135 g fills and pour one onto each wick candidate. Every candle then has identical wax, identical load, identical temperature and identical pour time, so the only difference is the wick. What you must not do is pour the three on different days or at different fill weights; either of those reintroduces exactly what you are trying to isolate.
How many wick sizes does CSI actually list?
Eco Candle Wicks are listed in two sizes — Thin (C1) at ₹5.90 each and Thick (C2) at ₹9.44 each — so a three-way bracket needs a third candidate of a different type, usually Performance Wooden Wicks at ₹59 each in the pack of 10. Other options exist for wider vessels: Cotton Braided Wicks Ready Made state that they are engineered for large-diameter candles exceeding 8 cm, and Eco Candle Wicks Loose state that they are designed specifically for 2 inch diameters.
Do different fragrance oils need different wicks?
Sometimes, but it is a second-order effect. The dominant inputs to a wick decision are the container's internal diameter and the wax; the oil and the load modify how that wick burns rather than deciding it. Several CSI oil pages say as much, recommending cotton, eco or wooden wicks with wick testing based on container size. That is why the staged plan settles the wick once and then re-checks it for the winner in stage three — the check costs two candles, which is cheaper than eight extra grid cells.
Is it worth buying 100 gm bottles of five oils to test properly?
Only if you are pouring the full grid, which needs 64.8 g of each oil. The staged plan needs 10.8 g of four of them and 43.2 g of the reference, so four 50 gm bottles and one 100 gm bottle cost ₹1,407.30 against ₹2,282.48 for five 100 gm bottles. The per-gram price genuinely falls with bottle size, but a per-gram saving only pays out on oil you pour — and buying 100 gm of an oil you have not yet burned in cured wax is the most common expensive mistake a beginner makes.
Eight candles, not thirty
Settle the wick once, screen the scents on it, then confirm — and keep ₹4,097.42 for the wax you will actually sell.
Eco Candle Wicks Thin (C1) 10 for ₹59 and Thick (C2) 20 for ₹188.80, Performance Wooden Wicks 10 for ₹590, Tin Containers for Candle Making 135 gram, 12 for ₹1,161.12 (₹96.76 each), Natural Soy Pearl Wax 1 kg ₹450, four 50 gm oils from ₹200 and one 100 gm reference bottle. Staged plan: ₹4,406.22 of materials against ₹8,503.64 for the full grid. Message us for bulk pricing, GST invoicing and documentation once a formula repeats.
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Continue the read
- Should every fragrance test use the same jar and wick?
- One kilo and three oils: three scents, or three rounds?
- Dividing 2 kg of soy wax into meaningful test batches
- Best wick for candle making: complete guide by diameter
- Cotton wick vs wooden wick: which should a beginner choose?
- Best eco-friendly candle wicks: selection guide for Indian makers
- Wrong wick size is killing your hot throw
Editorial standards & sources
About this guide: Written by the CANDLEMAKINGSUPPLIESINDIA team. Product recommendations reflect the CSI range; the factorial arithmetic, the staging logic and the two baskets apply whoever you buy from.Customer reviews: The five reviews at the top of this page are genuine, published Judge.me reviews left by CSI customers on their product pages. Names, star ratings, dates and products are as recorded by Judge.me; one longer review is shortened with an ellipsis and otherwise unedited.
Figures verified September 2026: Eco Candle Wicks Thin (C1) 10 ₹59, 20 ₹118, 50 ₹295, 100 ₹590, 500 ₹2,950, 1000 ₹5,900 — ₹5.90 each at every listed pack; Thick (C2) 20 ₹188.80, 50 ₹472, 100 ₹944 — ₹9.44 each, the 10-pack currently sold out; the page states no jar-diameter guidance for either size. Performance Wooden Wicks | Imported: Pack of 10 ₹590 (₹59 each), Pack of 50 ₹2,360 (₹47.20 each), Pack of 100 ₹4,130 (₹41.30 each) — page states "One Pack contains 10 wicks and wick tabs" and no diameter. Cotton Braided Wicks Ready Made — page states "engineered for large-diameter candles exceeding 8 cm" and a wick height of 10.16 cm. Eco Candle Wicks Loose — page states "designed specifically for 2 inch diameters". Tin Containers for Candle Making - 85 & 135g: 85 gram (Pack of 12) ₹849.60, 135 gram (Pack of 12) ₹1,161.12 (₹96.76 each) — page states "85g Tin – Best for testers, gifts, and travel candles. 135g Tin – Ideal for standard-size candles and longer burns", gives dimensions as "This 6 cm x 4 cm tin" and "this 7.5 cm x 5 cm tin holds approximately 200g of wax", and elsewhere says the tins are "available in 100g and 200g wax capacities" — a conflict with the labelled variants, which is why this page tells you to weigh a filled tin. Natural Soy Pearl Wax 1 kg ₹450, 5 kg ₹2,124 (₹424.80/kg), 10 kg ₹4,248, 50 kg ₹21,240 — page states no maximum fragrance load and no temperatures. Fragrance oils at 50 gm / 100 gm: Apple Cinnamon ₹237.18 / ₹474.36 (page states 6–10% for soy wax candles with a 48–72 hour cure), Blue Ocean ₹247 / ₹495 (page states up to 10% for soy, paraffin and natural wax blends; flash point 143°C / 290°F), Woody Oud ₹271.40 / ₹453.12 (page states 6–10% for candles and a 48–72 hour soy cure), Japanese Cherry Blossom ₹270 / ₹500 (page states 6–13% for candles), Zesty Lemon ₹200 / ₹360 (page states up to 10% for soy, start at 8% for a first test batch, cure 48–72 hours; the page declines a flash point and refers to the SDS). Candle Wick Stickers 1 sheet of 40 ₹100. Arithmetic: each 135 g tin at 8% = 124.2 g wax + 10.8 g oil. Full grid = 15 cells × 2 candles = 30 tins = 3,726 g wax + 324 g oil, i.e. 64.8 g of each oil, three packs of tins, four 1 kg wax packs; basket ₹1,800 + ₹2,282.48 + ₹3,483.36 + ₹837.80 + ₹100 = ₹8,503.64. Staged = 3 + 5 + 2 = 10 tins = 1,242 g wax + 108 g oil, one pack of tins, two 1 kg wax packs, one 100 gm bottle and four 50 gm bottles; basket ₹900 + ₹1,407.30 + ₹1,161.12 + ₹837.80 + ₹100 = ₹4,406.22. Difference ₹4,097.42, of which ₹900 is wax, ₹875.18 is fragrance and ₹2,322.24 is tins. Stages 1–2 alone = 8 tins, 993.6 g wax, 86.4 g oil, and pour 7 of the 15 cells. Tie variant = 3 + 10 = 13 tins, 1,614.6 g wax, 140.4 g oil. Assumptions, stated as assumptions: fragrance load is calculated as a share of finished candle weight, this series' convention; two candles per cell is a testing judgement, not a rule; a 14–21 day cure for soy containers is general practice rather than a published specification, and the day 7 / day 14 read points are a judgement; the claim that wick choice is driven mainly by internal diameter and wax is a mechanism argument, not a measured result, which is why stage three re-checks it; one wick per single-wick candle. Prices and availability change — the linked product pages are always authoritative.