I know!!! Itās almost like an addiction. 
5 Likes
After 300 I just stopped counting and embraced the insanity 
I try to justify it by saying it keeps me away from more expensive hobbies but I am just lying to myself 
I love it and wouldnāt change a thingā¦DIY for the win!
10 Likes
Hey Dannyb784, welcome to the rabbit hole. I too didnāt like any store bought juices. I vaped Fw Vanilla Butternut single flavor at 6% for nearly two years before branching out to other flavor profiles. I have a simple three ingredient recipe I make for my daughter that doesnāt require a lot of steep time. 5% lemon meringue pie, 5% strawberry ripe and .3% cake batter. Ok shake and vape. Really good at 3 days. I can tell you that I like about 1 out of every 50 juices I make, so youāre not alone.
8 Likes
Edit: I left out the brand names. 5% CAP lemon meringue pie, 5% TFA strawberry ripe, and 0.3% CAP cake batter. Original recipe called for 1% cake batter, but I found that after a few days, the cake batter took over the mix. So I dropped it to 0.3%. I snagged this recipe from a review of one of the flavors off the Bullcity site.
6 Likes
Iāve been at it for about 1 1/2 years and I only have a few recipes that are on repeat. Itās a process, like most things, and even if I donāt love it, Iāll vape it, esp. if ot has a lot of nic in it (I usually test w/3mg or below but vape higher nic).
What Iām doing is list all recipes by highest rating and work my way thru those that sound good to me. I read descriptions of manufacturerās juice & before I buy anything I try to find a clone recipe. I donāt love most but as I see this as a learning project and I love any type of experiment, Iām enjoying it.
Of course, run the What Can I Make & list by highest rating. If you want to try simple first, I know thereās an argument you can tack on the end of the URL to limit based on number of flavors. I donāt remember what it is off-hand bit searching may find it, or @daath may provide if you ask.
Keep at it, and Good luck!
4 Likes
Hey there! Try not to be too bummed. Iāve been vaping 9+ years, have stopped and started DIY 3x for the same reason, and am JUST NOW getting to the point that I have tried and true recipes of others that I likeā¦ and HUGE milestone for meā¦
I FINALLY created my first recipe that I actually adore! Usually my mixes are flat out crap. lol But my Krispy Kreme de la Creme tastes to me like a melted fresh Krispy Kreme glazed donut, and Iām just tickled pink about it. 
Ones I canāt live withoutā¦ and if you notice a bunch are by Shroomalistic, youāre not wrong. So far Iāve found 3 mixers, @Shroomalistic and @GalacticResidue and @MysticRose whoās recipes seem to speak to me. Youāll find your fave mixersā¦ and it makes taking a chance on a recipe MUCH easier.
Edit: @dannyb784 I just noticed you mentioned āhigher vgā. All of my suggestions are mixed at max VG, and great that way, so you can adjust your base to your preference without jacking up flavor.
Also, @Skullblade789 hasnāt published recipe in our database, but HAS graciously shared it in the forumsā¦ Add ANY fruit and a ton of dessert flavors to thisā¦ its flat.out.awesome! Great as a stand alone vanilla, too!
90 ML recipeā¦ Skullblade789ās Home Churned Ice Cream Stone:
Italian Cream (Hangsen) - 1.8 grams 2%
Sweet Cream (TPA) - .9 grams 1%
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (FW) - 9.36 grams 10% (also good w TPA VBIC)
Vanilla Custard (CAP) - .9 grams 1%
Vanilla Swirl (TPA) - 1.89 grams 2%
Good luck! Make sure you check out this thread, too. Its basically a bunch of us posting our all time fave vapepocalypse ELR mixesā¦ by anyone but ourselvesā¦
8 Likes
Almost my left bum cheek! lol Its TOTALLY an addiction! At the very least, Obsession.
@mjag Youāve got me beat! Iām rapidly edging up to 250ā¦ still a bazillion more Iām dying for, though. MUST restrain myself!
4 Likes
I really have 0 regrets jumping into the rabbit hole with much gusto and looks like your there too, it is fun. It does get better over time but still your gonna fail more times than you succeed. As the old saying goes, We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success.
We have all been there at one time or another with DIY, just gotta keep at it and most importantly have fun.
7 Likes
lol āwith gustoā describes it perfectly. My only regret is the moola involved, but any āhobbyā is costly. And this is about the only one I can think of that allows me to rescue friends and family from the eeeeviiiil clutches of Big Tobacco, which I do regularly. I just helped transition my brother to vaping about 3 mos ago, and he was dipping (yeeech!) about 4 cans of tobacco a day. So, reallyā¦ though I canāt afford it, its easy to justify by weighing the cost against health of friends and family members. SO much easier to get someone to start vaping if its a matter of cost of a cheap, good starter kit, instead of also throwing in a hundred $ plus monthly on commercial juice, most of which theyāll likely dislike.
Soā¦ I mix for people I love. 
Oh, and I forgot one of my very very fave ācanāt live withoutā mixes!
Butā¦ Caveat. I like it about 90% better when you sub VBIC (TPA) for the CAP that the recipe calls for at same %.
When mixed with TPA Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, it tastes like the perfect, creamy, funfetti birthday cake, slathered with Cream Cheese Icing. Sooo good.
5 Likes
Just for a comparison, I spend more on restringing my basses every month then I do on vaping. This hobby is cheap in comparison. 
5 Likes
lmao, @anon28032772 Ok, Iām missing the EXACT same flavors for the Dozen primates obo-yo BONOGURT (clone). What are the chances? Theyāre on my next shop list, as well.
@1337fuzz Way to keep after your target profile flavor! So cool that you finally nailed it! Iāve nailed ONE of my absolute goals so far, my āKrispy Kreme de la Cremeāā¦ imo, its the perfect Krispy Kreme Glazed Donut flavor. Took ages to get it right, but nowhere near the time you invested in yours. Canāt wait to try your yogurt yum!
Perfect milky fruit loops w lemony aspect, perfect fruity blend, perfect Rice Krispy treat are still eluding me. But damnā¦ it feels amazing when you finally pin down that elusive recipe after youāve been hacking at it for months, with a million revisions. Canāt wait to try your mix!
@Letitia @1337fuzz Listening to you guys, Iām VERY grateful I picked up TFA Greek in my last order! Iāve not tried many yogurt blends, but now Iām dying to!
@dannyb784 You mentioned you like the ācoolingā effect in some juices, but actively dislike Koolada in most juices. Me too, totally. Thereās an Additive called āWS-23ā (WS-23 30%, here on flavor list. Think I picked it up at Nic River) that adds a NICE bit of cool but zero menthol taste, especially to recipes like ice creams etc that are supposed to be cold, also great with fruits. People say start at .25%, but thatās CRAZY cool to my taste. I start with about 3 drops per 30 ml, and go up to taste.
@Dardy I love your āsuicide juiceā bottle idea! But hereās the rubā¦ what happens if you end up with a knock your socks off, blow your hair back, AMAZEBALLS flavor, and you have no idea how you got there to recreate it?? lol That would haunt me, I swear. Do you keep track of what you dump in the pit, somehow? Aaah, I see. @suomynoma solved that conundrum, a few posts down. ty ty!
@Tracy8 What Vanilla Butternut brand did it for you as a stand alone? That sounds SO good to me, Iāll order asap in next order, just donāt know which to get.
6 Likes
Some just look in the rabbit hole.Some will go in but with out a light others take lights and go deeper. Some have taken food and want to see where it goes. Them you have folks like me i take all that and oxygen.
The funny thing is i have only mixed a handful of originals in the 3 years i have have mixed.
The number of mixes out there and all there is to learn from videos and podcasts. Donāt really need to experiment ( It is fun though ).
I have 546 different flavors concentrates. My wife says i am a whole ass guy,Nothing half-assed.
Great subject.
I want to add this basic link for new folks. I learned a few things.
https://forum.e-liquid-recipes.com/t/a-beginners-guide-to-making-the-most-highly-rated-recipes/83612
8 Likes
Yeah Iāve thought about that one @OddModicum. Also take on board what our friend @anon28032772 said as well. Only problem (for me at least) is that to truly know whatās inside that āsuicide bottleā Iād have to note down exact mls of what I dump in there and keep a running tab on flavors and % thereof and so on. My stellar mix might end up with 36 different flavors in it 
Nah, I prefer the āKISSā principle to be honest. Rather just adjust the nicotine and VG/PG levels of said unknown reject juice and pass on to friends and family.
P.S. Glad to see you highlighted the Ellaās Shortbread Biscuit recipe up above. Iāve ātweakedā that particular one a few times and have added my V3 mix into my ākeepersā. This DIY caper is not as easy as I thought and Iāve only got 9 mixes that I make up on a regular basis. The rest of the time Iām researching, making up testers, tweaking and so on. Iām on a quest for the āholy grailā as we all are I suppose. But how much fun do we have in the process eh? Failures are good insofar as they teach me what NOT to do and what I donāt like. I love the rabbit hole 
7 Likes
It is Flavor West. Bullcity carries it. I still use it some as an ingredient in a couple recipes. It does not taste like squash. More like a soft warm? vanilla.
4 Likes
If you want to sweeten the TFA greek up add a bit of WF mascarpone. Lovely with berries.
5 Likes
Ooh, that sounds good. I donāt have the WF Marscapone, but I DO have the Hangsen Italian Cream, which Iām guessing is pretty similar? Iāll check it out.
@Tracy8 In my cart for next order! Iāve become totally enamored of FW lately. They do some flavor profiles REALLY well, esp cakes and vanillas. Desserts in general, really. Thanks for the suggestion.
4 Likes
Not similar, the marscapone is a lightly sweetened cream cheese. HS italian is much richer and rather decadent. I prefer it with FW yogurt or a cheesecake.
6 Likes
Youāre welcome. Enjoy!
5 Likes
Wow @dannyb784 what a welcome to the forum, practically everybody gave you an answer, their perspective thoughts and hints!!
My turnā¦
This happened probably because your experience itās very similar to most of us, start with store bought, spend a lot of money and find out that you donāt particularly like any.
When youāll delve deeper into DIY itāll get even worst, you taste them and start saying itās simple, or: Are they actually selling this? Or is this the hype? Itās just full of sucraloseā¦
Happened to me yesterday again, my wife wanted to taste some tobacco rather then my Latakia mixes and I thought, everybody is talking about this DEA Mexico Tobacco, letās try it, and see (It was about two years I didnāt buy a ready made juice) brought home gave it to her and I decided to taste itā¦ Oh my god ā¦. another one of thoseā¦ itās just some RY4/Western with AP and a dash of hazelnutā¦ Is that all??? Yes it will get worst, because the more experienced you get, the better youāll get, the fussier youāll be!
But donāt be discouraged, itās just a just a new hobby and needs study and experience, but, all of a sudden, one day youāll look at a recipe and something happened, youāll start seeing the layers, the accent or why the mixer did this or that or why they used FLV instead of FAās or INW.
Read, search, test and mixā¦ read search test and mix, and mix, and mix again, did I say mix? Itās the only way, when you start this quest no 5 star recipes will help you get better.
But, as you saw, this great community is ready to give you a hand!
Welcome to ELR Danny!
9 Likes