I Want to Make a Jasmine-Sandalwood Candle — How Do I Calculate a Fragrance Blend Ratio and Then Convert It Into an 8% Candle Fragrance Load?

The two-step formula

Makers get stuck here because two percentages are in play at once. The ratio says how the blend is made: 60 parts jasmine to 40 parts sandalwood. The load says how much blend goes into the candle: 8% of the total candle weight. Work the load first, then the ratio, every time.

The ratio does not have to add to 100 to work. A 3:2 ratio is the same as 60:40: divide each part by the sum of the parts, so jasmine is 3 ÷ 5 = 0.60 of the oil.

Percent of candle versus percent of wax

CSI product pages phrase loads as a percentage of total wax weight. This series calculates load as a percentage of total candle weight, because it keeps the finished candle at its labelled weight. The two are close but not identical, so know which one you are using.

At 16 g of oil in 184 g of wax, the oil is 16 ÷ 184 = 8.70% of the wax weight. Going the other way, if you add 8% of wax to 184 g of wax you get 14.72 g of oil and a 198.72 g candle. Neither is wrong; mixing them up between test and production is. Write your convention at the top of the batch sheet.

The convention matters most at the ceiling. Suppose a page states a maximum of 10% of wax weight and you want to know the most oil a 200 g candle can carry. Oil is 0.10 × wax, and wax + oil = 200 g, so wax = 200 ÷ 1.10 = 181.82 g and oil = 18.18 g. On this series' total-weight convention, that is 18.18 ÷ 200 = 9.09%. In other words, a 10%-of-wax ceiling is a little under 9.1% of the whole candle.

The same 8% at four different ratios

Most makers test more than one ratio. Because the total oil is fixed at 16 g for a 200 g candle, changing the ratio only redistributes it. The table also shows the 150 g version at 8%, which is 12 g of oil and 138 g of wax.

Which ratio smells best is your call, and it depends on whether you want a floral candle with a creamy wood behind it, or a woody candle lifted by jasmine. A sensible first test, as a suggested starting point, is 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 at 8%, each in a 200 g candle. That uses 11.2 + 9.6 + 8.0 = 28.8 g of Jasmine and 4.8 + 6.4 + 8.0 = 19.2 g of Sandalwood.

Turning a strip ratio into a weighed ratio

Many makers find their ratio first on smelling strips, counting drops: three drops of jasmine, two of sandalwood. Drops are not a reliable unit, because a drop of one oil can weigh a different amount from a drop of another, depending on how thick each oil is. Treat the drop count as a rough guide, then re-make the blend by weight in grams before any candle is poured, and smell the weighed version on a fresh strip to confirm it still matches.

Adding the blend has one rule that comes from the two oils, not the ratio: stay below the lower published flashpoint. Jasmine is 185°C and Sandalwood is 203°C, so 185°C is your ceiling, and normal candle-making temperatures sit well below it. Do not run the melter at its maximum to speed things up.

Scaling to a batch with a master blend

Once a ratio wins, stop weighing two oils into every jar. Weigh a master blend for the whole batch, stir it, then dose 16 g from it per candle.

Mix a little extra blend, perhaps 5% more as a suggested starting point, to cover what clings to the jug and stirrer. Weigh out the master blend once, record the actual grams, and keep the sheet with the batch.

There is a practical reason the master blend matters here. CSI's weighing scale reads in grams or ounces, but its page publishes no resolution, so do not assume it shows tenths of a gram. Weighing 9.6 g and 6.4 g separately into every jar asks more of a scale than 192 g and 128 g weighed once into a jug. Batch-level weights are the honest way to hold a ratio steady.

Pricing the blend per candle

Price each oil from its 1 kg pack: Jasmine ₹3,923.00 ÷ 1,000 = ₹3.923 per gram; Sandalwood ₹5,026.80 ÷ 1,000 = ₹5.0268 per gram. CSI 464 at ₹507.40 per kg is ₹0.5074 per gram.

The ratios sit within a few rupees of each other, because Jasmine is cheaper per gram than Sandalwood and the swing only moves a few grams. Choose the ratio on the burn, not on price. Packaging, labels, labour, shipping and GST are extra and are your own figures.

Buy this to test, buy this once validated

For the three-ratio test you need 28.8 g of Jasmine and 19.2 g of Sandalwood. Buy Jasmine 50 g ₹230.00 and, because Sandalwood's 50 g and 100 g are out of stock, two 15 g bottles at 2 × ₹93.22 = ₹186.44. Add CSI 464 1 kg ₹507.40, which covers three 184 g candles plus a re-pour, a five-pack of matte 200 ml jars at ₹354.00, and Eco C1 20 wicks ₹118.00 with Eco C2 10 wicks ₹94.40 to compare. Test each ratio with both wicks if you have the oil for it; otherwise pick the ratio first and wick-test the winner.

Once validated, use the batch sheet: 500 g of each oil and a wax pack sized to your run. The 500 g Sandalwood is a real commitment at ₹2,513.40, so approve the ratio and the wick before buying it.

Where this page fits

CSI already has guides that cover parts of this question. This page turns the product above into a raw-material list; these go deeper on the rest:

Three things to buy for this job

Frequently asked questions