-day answer. Here is the test set that gives you one, and what to do when the calendar does not leave 90 days to wait. 21 cand

Write the pass rule before you pour anything

Most makers who “tested for 90 days” cannot say what result would have stopped them. Before the first candle is poured, write down what an acceptable day-90 candle looks like. It might read: “In a blind comparison with a fresh reference, at least two of three assessors rate the aged candle’s cold throw as acceptable for sale; hot throw within one point of the reference on our five-point scale; no new sour, sharp or solvent-like note; wax colour within our approved range.” Those thresholds are yours to set; the wording above is a suggested starting point.

Fix it now because at day 90 you will want the candle to pass. Thousands of rupees of oil and a Diwali calendar will be leaning on your judgement. A rule written in advance is the only protection against your own wishful nose.

Record the formula precisely at the same time: wax, oil and lot, load as a percentage of total candle weight, wick, jar, lid, pour and add temperatures, cure time and storage place. If any of these change before production, the test no longer describes your stock.

The eight tests and what each one answers

Checkpoints at day 30, 60 and 90 are suggested; you may add day 7 or 14 if you want an early warning. Burn testing consumes a candle, which is why each checkpoint has its own three. Cold throw can be assessed on the burn candles before they are lit.

What the test set costs for one fragrance

Take Bergamot Amber as the worked example, in CSI 468 coconut-soy, 200 g candles at 8% of total weight. Scented candles take 184 g wax and 16 g oil; unscented controls take 200 g wax.

The 12 g of oil left over becomes part of your retained sample alongside a sealed portion you set aside on arrival. Jars, wicks, lids and cartons are your production items and are not priced here; packaging is never sold by CSI, so add your own cost. The point of the table is proportion: ₹1,680.00 + ₹3,185.00 = ₹4,865.00 of oil and wax to decide whether thousands of candles can wait 90 days.

Running the hold without spoiling the evidence

Reading the checkpoints

Results rarely arrive as a clean pass or fail. Here is how to read the patterns you are most likely to see, using the same Bergamot Amber set.

Whatever you see, write it in the same words each time — cold throw, hot throw, character, colour, surface — so that day 90 can be compared with day 30 without relying on memory.

When Diwali does not leave you 90 days

Often the honest problem is arithmetic: the stock must be poured before a 90-day test could finish. That does not make the test pointless; it changes how you use it.

What to buy, and what to ask first

For the test set: three 100 g samples of the oil, one 5 kg pack of the wax, and your own jars and lids. For production: only after day 90 passes, and then only the quantity your waves need. CSI lists no fragrance-oil pack above 1 kg, so production oil is bought as 1 kg packs at the listed price or quoted on WhatsApp. No bulk discount is published.

CSI oil pages give no shelf life or storage temperature. Message +91 7397976926 for the IFRA certificate, MSDS and any storage or shelf-life guidance for that oil and lot, and keep the answer in writing next to your test record. Then let your own day-90 candle, not the paperwork, make the final call.

Where this page fits

CSI already has guides that cover parts of this question. This page answers one fragrance-ageing decision; these cover the neighbouring questions:

Three things to buy for this decision

Frequently asked questions