It seems that the glycerin to rest of liquid stickiness threshold for me is somewhere close to one drop per tbsp of other liquid. Anything more than that and the stickiness starts to show up...
My first batch of AS Splash loosely based on this recipe was this:
5 tsp vodka
2 tsp Witch Hazel Toner
1 drop glycerin
1 large drop of Aloe Gel hard to measure this...
2 drops pine oil
1 drop bergamot oil
1 drop sage oil
Probably need slightly more scent and it did not have much sting so my shave today was very good or I need higher proof alcohol. Could also add more glycerin no stickiness yet detected. The menthol crystals are in the mail...
I went with tsp amounts cause I did not want too much if it was horrible. It is not but the scent is very mild...
I did not have the bay rum scented oils listed above so those go on the wanted list as well.
Thanks for the feedback. I was very encouraged that the first attempt was not a "sink cleaner". My base has changed slightly but the basic approach is still as above. I am also trying concentrated aloe juice instead of gel. The juice is much easier to measure, seems to give the face feel I am after and hopefully due to the alcohol content will not go bad unrefrigerated.I've found that Everclear 151 proof gives the AS the kick I'm looking for. Vodka doesn't give me a sting or bite. I like the EO you're using. Typically I'm around 6 to 10 drops of glycerin in a 5 oz bottle. Last night I added aloe vera for the first time into a citrus AS i made and I liked the feel. As you say, hard to measure.
Pine oil is a nice note. I'm using Pine Balsam so it's a thicker. Really like Sage and Bergamont oils as well. Sage is a clean smell then you get the sage scent. Bergamont has a citrus scent but I can't tell you what type of citrus.
I know you're not looking for my input but if this was my mix I'd increase the drops of the berg to around 6, sage to 4 and keep pine where you're at 2. If you have Vanilla EO you can add 2 or 3 drops of that for a deeper back note and that tends (at least to me) to reduce the sharpness. I think you're onto a nice fresh smelling mix. The EO videos I've watched say the layering of EO into the container is important, base EO first, then Mid followed by top notes. I have no idea what difference it makes as you add alcohol and mix it all up for the overall scent, but they who am I to judge someone who wears crystals for health, right?
Keep us posted of your successes and sink cleaners. (Yes, I've made more sink cleaners than I have decent AS).
Steve
Some of the bay rums do have some burn on purpose.I get a "burn" from using any kind of Bay Rum as aftershave on my face. It is not a nice soothing burn of a postshave splash you get with say Proraso, but a "oh snap, I just put something very irritating on my skin". I use Bay Rum as a splash-on cologne on my chest (liberally) before I put a shirt on -- I love the smell. Just nowhere near my post-shaven face.