Money to burn

I would suggest you not start with a general flavoring kit as they are usually include staples you need for many recipes but rarely do they include enough to make a recipe that your are actually interested in. Look through ELR and find something you like…here is a simple one of 4 ingredients plus the VG/PG & Nic you will need that I happen to enjoy. http://e-liquid-recipes.com/recipe/220518/illuminati%20v2

I would suggest a vendor like Nicotine River for your supplies. Perhaps order your nicotine in the strength you like already premixed in either VG or PG (I went with vg). I like 70/30 so my first order included a gallon of VG and a liter of PG. What e-liquids do you normally vape now that you would like to be able to start making for yourself. The choices you have at your disposal are huge. Don’t find the volume anything but your guide… it is very simple to make your own vape and in the end, you will find that your are only spending $1-2 per bottle vs the $18-25 you might be paying at retail. Significant savings.

So with that $50 1st buy:
VG
PG
Nic
syringes
gloves
a dozen flavors you have found that will make 3 exact recipes you think sound ideal.

Also, check out www.onedropflavors.com and see if they still have any stock left from their introductory flavor line… 16 flavors for $0.79 each with free US shipping. $12.64 for all total. They only have 4,000 of each to sell and half were gone midday yesterday.

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I disagree with you… the kits from Nic River and liquid barn are both good ways to start since in both cases you choose what flavors you want…

Research the flavors before buying
Look at recipes you think you might like based of your flavors you like

Then decide what flavors to choose…

In my opinion it’s the least expensive way to get into DIY… besides you always in the end . You always end up buying more flavors to try…

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At first I’d thought I’d go with the pre-made flavors (cappuchino, orange creamsicle, etc), and later, as I get better, to mix my own concoctions

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So far I’ve only tried liquid barn cappuccino. I have another from Nic River sitting on the shelf … but as a single flavor I don’t like it… needs to be mixed with something else to tone it down

Here’s one I found that I like

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Thanks, I’ll certainly give it a try. Now I need to put together a list. Not sure which brand/brands I’ll use. That was my next question

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It is in your best interest to go to the recipes side of this site, go over and click on the rating side to bring up the most highly rated recipes then pick some from there and get the flavors to make them in your starter kit. If you go haphazardly picking random flavors from random manufactures you’ll have a good chance of ending up unhappy with the DIY experience you’ll have. Once you made a few tried and true recipes then start building your flavor stash, studying notes and mixing testers for each flavor to understand each flavors specific flavor profile to mix them into desirable or even vapable juice. I’m quite certain there’s already at least one topic on just this subject and even a flavor list from the top however many recipes already if you search for it. heres one but its a pretty old post

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There’s about five online vendors I frequent that have outrageous specials: 120 mls for $5-$10. But when shipping is factored in comes to about $10-$15 per order.

DIY sounds REALLY good right now

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Yes, as much as possible I was going with one vendor for flavors. Mixing and matching manufacturers sounds like a recipe (no pun intended) for disaster.

Flavourart? Flavorah? Flavor Apprentice? I’d better check out that recipe section and find out.

Much mahalos to everyone for the advice!

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i would suggest researching these flaves very well for the most part they need additional flavors to make them what they are supposed to be , there are some like RFSC strawberry milkshake that are good alone , just research or you may end up buying a bunch of subpar flaves

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I can attest to the wisdom in that statement. My first DIY purchase was indeed a haphazard ‘close your eyes and pick’ sort of fiasco that netted disappointing results, because I failed to do the single most important thing… proper research. Until you get some DIY time under your belt, it’s hard to quantify just how important proper research actually is. I was deflated with the results of my initial DIY mixes. I thought I was a failure and it was much harder than I realized, but the truth is, research, patience, and practice will get you where you want to be. I’m very happy with what I can actually create now, and immensely glad I chose to stick with it. You will be too.

The folks here have you well covered. Good luck on your journey!

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One thing you could do before ordering your diy kit…

Add the flavors that interest you to your flavor stash on the recipe side of elr… we will use nicotine rivers diy kit for an example.

15 flavors either that interest you or recipes you see on elr that you might like…

Add the 15 flavors to your profile and see what you can make…

The more you research before you buy the more successful your journey will be…

Here’s a few recipes I’ve made with flavors I’ve gotten from nicotine river

I like hubba babba after it’s steeped a week

Also probably a very important step once you order your diy kit and receive it… you’ll probably want to make the recipes that interest you . Go right ahead but also make a few single flavor test batches so you can see what a particular flavor tastes like.

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Best advice right there! Every flavor purchased you should do test batches. Makes notes! Otherwise you will never know what works for you and at what percentage.

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That was my approach when I began and first approach Nic River in November. I didn’t order a ‘kit’ but I ordered the base ingredients and their TOP 20 flavors from a category and perhaps 5 flavors that I knew I learn toward.

Yes a KIT is good if you know what 10 (?) flavors you would like to include in your package. They supply you with all the tools you need and just enough base to get you off the ground.

The suggestion I made above was to create you own kit without using their formulaic approach, and really I think I outlined the core things to get. Did I not. Researching flavors without an understanding of how each might need to be combined with another to achieve the end result which you thought the flavor’s name suggested you might achieve is much more complicated than reading through notes with their extensive discussion of each persons thought of the flavor as a SFV. Those notes are baseline information which a seasoned person might understand is done to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of one Vanilla Custard vs another, and most of the notes do not actually include enough reference to the potential use of Caps VC vs TFAs VC and FLV VC… nor when you might want to layer 2 of them for a certain result.

At the time of my 1st order, I knew custards would be part of my repertoire, and I knew I enjoyed Amazing Mango… but I failed to investigate what a good Mango recipe looks like, let alone which mango to purchase. I did have someone who helped steer me towards the right Milk & Honey I would enjoy. And he help me make a few other brand decisions for things like my Blood Orange and which Pineapple. It forgot to investigate not only the flavors I like as edibles, but what they need to be combined with to make a vape good enough to be an ADV. Never having tried Cuttwood’s blend of cantaloupe, mango and papaya, that popular recipe would have jolted me to grab it, Cantaloupe doesn’t sound appealing as a vape. was not aware of the interplay these flavors have when making a vape, as opposed to a full understanding of what you need to do with your stove to make simple syrup in order to properly prepare a Sazerac cocktail. I know that a screwdriver is OJ and vodka, Add Grand Marnier and it is a Philips Screwdriver. AI you bought Cointreau thinking they are alike, it doesn’t mix… maybe with tequila, but not vodka. I now see there is one attempt at a Naked 100 Amazing Mango here: Juicy Peach, Sweet Strawberry, Super Sweet (all CAP) and TFA’s VBIC. Looking at Naked100’s label, I might have guessed it included mango, A peach, and some cream thing… but not known which peach nor what cream.

I didn’t occur to me to ensure that 2 of their suggest best in category flavor packs and my 5 others might not be everything I would need to create something basic. I entered my stash into elr and had Sherlock do his thing resulting in about 5 options of things I could make.“Basic Bake” was the only non SFV I found, Biscuit & Vanilla Swirl, which by itself takes awful.

Had someone suggested I do the legwork and find 3 recipes and ensure I bought the 12 ingredients that they would require. I might have not taken a step back and opt for a concentrate to really get my feet wet at just handling these strange new items in my home.

If I had been given the analogy that what I was about to do was no different than making breaded chicken cutlets for dinner… I would have made a more immediately useful 1st purchase. Not saying what I got was bad… it just simply geared more to help me build my stash. If tonights dinner is going to be hamburgers, I need to get chop 85% lean chop meat, seeded buns, ketchup, red onions and some frozen shoestring fries as well as 2 liters of coke and a 6-pack of gatorate for Stevie, but I better check my lighter fluid for we definitely are out of Kingsford and if I’m going to grill them, I need to be able to start he Weber Kettle.

But I digress, please smile. no comment needed in return, I will ask that you simply grab your vape and take three sweet hits of 2-4 seconds each and let the clouds out as you see fit. Then perhaps, check you inbox and see if another topic also needs to be addressed. I’m off to bed. Be well. I still shop at Nic River, and I have used ecigx too, but it has taken about 5 orders to get me where my stash is today- I live on a fixed income- 2 checks a month… and for some reason, I still only have Butter Cream and not Golden Butter. I even went out of my way to order Rich Cinnamon for I knew what I’m working on was missing something snd that will resolve the gap to my happiness. The swap of butters, I can live with.

That is what I ended up doing… made a second order of concentrates to test the tires, and get a feel for the turning radius of the frame for this new vehicle.

Nic River’s Golden Eye is a wonderful bottle to try… but it needs time to steep. I personally am not a fan of Shake and Vape mixing. I don’t find the taste to be the same as what is achieved by mixing it up and letting it oxidize for 2-6 weeks depending on what it is. As a general guideline. Fruits do not need to have more than a good soak in a coffee cup with hot water for a bit and they are vapable. They still do improve with age. but many people here must vape at a faster rate then I do… for I barely finish a 60 ml bottle in 7 days, and I vape at 115w 90% of the time. I just look at my puff counters and I know I’m over 12,000 puffs in the last 100 days. Can’t ell you what that translates to in eliquid.

ADORE sells good concentrates. They offer about 16 of them and with code DJLsB you get 15% off. Ooooflavors.com (One on One flavors) really has super concentrate too. If you order form OoO, they offer a very easy package where the flavor is in one bottle. Just enough base is in a second bottle and your nic comes separate. When you are done. There is nothing you need to store in a cabinet. You are not buying the whole fishtank, airfilter, pebbles and castle plus goldfish and some algae eaters plus a few angel fish and food to feed them for 6 months. One on One makes it so simple, you will feel like you just made the best Kraft macaroni and cheese you ever had,

I also think you can order 15 flavors, as other suggested, in kit form, as long as those flavors come from a few specific recipes that appeal to you. 3/4 of the concentrate do not appeal to me at all. I am not a strawberry milkshake vaper. But it only takes one Milk and Honey concentrate for me to be satiated for a while.

You can spend $50 to buy a kit, defined as I originally outlined your core needs, or as in kit form ( I misspoke when I used the phrase GENERAL FLAVORING KIT-- I SHOULD HAVE SAID— WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO IS WHAT NICR RIVER OFFERS CALLED “20 Best Desserts & Creams” — those are helpful to stock you cupboard, but won’t easily turn into a recipe.

Be well, kick back, tons of people here ot help you on your way.

here is a vid with a discount code for nic river and it explains their kit. not sure if code works 6 months later but very likely could https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=traMasZAIBI

Have you chosen some flavors yet kama’aina? Feel free to post the recipes you are considering and what you are planning to buy on this thread. There may be some experts who will look at the recipe and let you know if they think it might help to change the brand of a specific flavor used. You will be very pleased with the end result of your DIY efforts. It’s also a fun thing to do (and saves you a good deal of money too).

Sorry for the very late response. I’ll have to check the recipe section first, then select my flavors based on those. What does ‘TPA’ in the recipe section stand for?

TPA Stands for The Perfumer’s Apprentice. Same as The Flavor Apprentice.

I don’t have an exhausted list of the flavor abbreviations. In fact, there should be one along with other abbreviations we use, and it seems I remember seeing a post about that at one point but I clearly can’t remember that well :slight_smile:

Here are some of the other abbreviations for flavor companies. This is by no means all of them, and maybe @daath @Alisa @Amy2 or someone else has the full list and can chime in. In no particular order…

TPA - The Perfumer’s/Flavor Apprentice
FA - FlavourArt
FLV - Flavorah
INW - Inawera
RF - Real Flavors
PUR - Purilum
CAP - Capella
FW - Flavor West
LOR (or LA) LorAnn
DIYFS - DIY Flavor Shack
MF - Medicine Flower
LB - Liquid Barn
NF - Northwest Flavors
OOO - One on One Flavors

Like I said, this is by no means the full list. Not sure if one even exists.

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http://e-liquid-recipes.com/vaping-abbreviations

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Thanks man, I knew I had seen it somewhere.

YATS! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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