As stated, i just got the starter kit. I am a novice, so do not take these as expert opinions. I just thought some amateur info is better than none. Whether you wish to listen to the feedback is entirely your decision. I will not give ratings as my frame of reference is almost none, but I will talk about the flavor profiles and balance as I would for any food dish.
If others have seen my thread commending Nude Nic on their customer service, know that it was offset because one wrong flavoring was sent. Nothing but a minor annoyance, but given how they promise to thoroughly vet orders, it was disappointing. I got an extra bottle, but they also mistakenly gave me one wrong. So, I was at a fairly neutral mindset when I tried this. To the point, my mindset did not affect my perspective.
I tried to note any bias due to personal flavor preference.
To avoid cross contamination, I removed the wicks from my coils and dry-burned coils then ran through warm water. I used a Mutation X V2 on a K100 clone (not that it should make any difference). My coils were at .19 ohm on a 35A Efest.
Dilution percentages are noted. All mixing was done by weight. VG/PG used was 75/25. 1g total solution made for sampling flavor. No nic was added during sampling.
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White Chocolate Raspberry - 2.5% start. The smell of the flavoring was a bit offensive in the bottle, almost a bit like cat urine. It did not smell like it vaped. I felt the flavor was a bit weak, so I upped it to 4%. I liked it there. I had powdered white chocolate raspberry hot chocolate at one point in my life, and immediately it brought me to that. I had completely forgotten about it until vaping this. The white chocolate is in the forefront, and it mutes the raspberry. The raspberry doesn't cut through the white chocolate like I'd want it to. I'd say it lacked acidity if it were a food dish. The flavors also tasted a bit separate. It was White chocolate and raspberry, not white chocolate raspberry. I'd like the white chocolate to have a bit more of a creamy flavor. For me, it needed sweetener. I added 1 drop sucralose from a 1mL lure-lock syringe with the included fine tip (don't know gauge off the top of my head). To me, It evened out the flavor and brought them together. I thought it helped a bunch. The raspberry is still muted though. I wasn't blown away by this flavor, but am very intrigued with it's potential when mixed. I think this will be better after a bit of steeping. When I get my other flavors, I am going to try this with just the tiniest touch more raspberry and perhaps a dab of cream or vanilla custard. I would love to see how this blends with a tea, I don't know why, I just would.
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Watermelon Mint - 2.5% start. Smell in the bottle: like straight watermelon with an undertone of mint. Smelled like it vaped. This is a strong flavor. The watermelon is not overly sweet, but definitely on the artificial side. That's okay for me, I like artificial watermelon flavor. The balance is nice, it's not overly minty like so many other fruit/mint blends I have tried, but it is there for sure. I didn't think this needed any sweetener. Just like the WCR, I'd say that it is a solid flavor, but I wasn't blown away. I'm not sure if I'd want more mint in it or not, but I will definitely be trying that.
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Blueberry Mojito - 2.5% start. A bit of an alcohol smell in the bottle, but otherwise smelled like it vaped. I thought it was a bit weak, so I mixed to just under 4%. I thought it was the best of the 3 I tried, but I am very partial to blueberry mint flavors. The lime is there, it's a little heavier than I'd like but not overpowering and, were it a drink, it'd have been properly muddled with the mint. Again, the mint was light on this one, but there. I like that subtle mint flavor. The lime was a tad artificial, but the blueberry definitely was not. I liked this blueberry. It wasn't overly tart, nor was it overly sweet. It tasted like fresh picked blueberries. Overall, the flavors did need a bit of coaxing. 1 drop from 1mL lurelock syringe using same fine tip of Ethyl Maltol really brought this together and made it vape like I was sipping a blueberry mojito on the beach. If you like the flavor of the drink, I'd recommend giving this a try.
Overall, I really liked that none of these flavors were sweet by themselves. With the natural sweetness of VG/PG, it's nice to err on the side of less sweet. You can always add more.
Thus ends the tasting notes section. As I try the remaining flavors I will be sure to post my notes from those as well.
I had to give some kind of mix a try. I went with Blueberry Mojito and Watermelon Mint. I would have loved to throw some Guava Papaya in there, but alas that was the missing bottle. The recipe was as follows:
- 4% BM (.40g)
- 2.5% WM (.25g)
- 10 drops Ethyl Maltol 1mL lurelock syringe fine tip
- 6mg/mL nicotine 100% VG (.6g per bottle)
- Diluted to 10g total weight at 75/25 VG/PG.
I cheated and did a bad thing out of impatience. My VG was particularly cold because it's about 20F here so everything was cloudy and there were mixing gradients. I had my space heater going (not in the mixing room, up in my room), so I rested the bottle on there for a minute and mixed. Obviously not safe, don't do this, but it worked rather well.
I really liked the mix and it makes me hopeful for this excursion into DIY. It has almost a faint undertone of bubblegum, the Watermelon and Blueberry Mojito went together pretty well and the balance was decent. The watermelon made this quite juicy which helped the dryness of the Mojito. The lime cut through both and added a bit of acidity. I'd probably add a drop more mint, and it was a touch cloudy, but hey, not bad for a first shot.
I will say that the PG, VG, and most importantly nicotine was as excellent as I expected. No flavor whatsoever to any of them, none of that pepperiness I've seen complained about in the nicotine. And I loved the included QC sheet showing the mass spec breakdown. Their results weren't pharmaceutical company accurate, but they were all like 99.5% and up purity.
Again, complete amateur at all this, so take what I've said with a grain of salt. But, if anybody was wanting to try Nude Nic flavorings but wanted info first, it's at least something. Any tips/suggestions are appreciated. Any questions I will be more than happy to answer.
Edit: forgot to add smell notes from bottles.
Wow...great review! (and nice user name ;) ). I've never been interested much in their flavors, but I buy their phenomenal nic exclusively. Definitely going to try some flavors on my next order. Thanks for an informative, highly detailed post. Heh, heh...I said "highly."
Glad I could be of help!
These 3 I've tried have been pretty good. They definitely hit on what they were going for on all of them. It seems they're all meant to be more or less standalone flavors for the beginning vapor to just mix and vape, and the selection is limited but I will say they have some different flavors that I haven't seen elsewhere. Definitely worth a try.
And come on officer, it's totally about the greek meaning of the word and alliteration! Gosh golly, I'd never ever smoke the reefer!
Also, what made this review good for you? How could I improve it? I am going to be doing reviews/tasting notes on all the flavorings I get, so I'd love to know how I could make this better for the community. The community has done so much for me in starting out, I feel it only fair to give back as best possible
Great post. I just recently received my kit as well. I also got the Blueberry Mojito and Watermelon Mint.
I went with 3% on my first mix of single flavors. I found the 3% was perfect for me in the Blueberry Mojito but my Watermelon mint seems a tad light on flavor. Will see how it does after a few days of steeping.
Glad I could help. What made the post good for you? I plan on doing reviews for all the flavors I get and I'd love some feedback on how I can make these better/more informative for the community in the future.
I'm surprised about the watermelon mint. When I tried it solo, the watermelon came on pretty strong. When I tried mixing it, at an even ratio I found it to overwhelm the BM. And if Nude Nic does anything right, it's their QC.
And I think I made my flavorings a bit stronger for my tastes than I'd recommend. I'll probably shoot for around 3% in the future. My VG was really cold when I got it as it had been sitting with USPS and it's about 20F where I live right now, and temperature plays a big, BIG factor in solvency, meaning the flavor might not have been as well mixed as it should have been.
What made the post great IMO is how thorough you where in your descriptions. Seems like all your bases were covered and very detailed. As far as the Watermelon Mint being on the light side of flavor for me. It may just be me. Wife can get the watermelon taste out of it no problem. I mainly pick up on the mint.
Looking forward to future flavor reviews from you.
If you get a chance their Banana Cream Pie and Ooples and Boonoonoos is very nice also. I have enjoyed both of them and will be needing to get some VG/PG soon that will include some more noonoos ;-) enjoy Mate.
I may do that when I need more nicotine, but to be perfectly honest, I really only see the benefit in Nude Nic in their nicotine. PG and VG are used in enough applications that there is a purity standard in the industry. Dissolved nicotine though is not as consistent; Nude Nic's freshness and QC makes their's heads and tails above the rest.
Their flavorings are on point, but the limited selection, lack of basic flavors for building your own recipes, and high shipping costs make me want to go elsewhere. They're good, but not worth making a special order for them. I bought a 500mL bottle of 100mg/ml nic from them so that I wouldn't have to go back except for more nicotine.
I will be reviewing the other flavorings I get, if you enjoyed this please let me know what you liked or what I could do better if you'd like to see these things addressed in the next reviews.
I agree, definitely not going to nude nic for flavors, but the nic is great and I might as well get my pg and vg while I'm paying the shipping. I got a bunch of flavors from ecigexpress, $4 for 30 ml is a pretty good deal from what I've seen. As soon as I figured out that signature on that site is rebranded tfa I was all about it. Loving tfa watermelon, tfa dragon fruit, fw strawberry and fw gummy. And the tfa cotton candy circus smells awesome, haven't found a good recipe for it yet though.
Butting in. Novice here as well. We just got our order from Wizard Labs. They also mix their nicotine to order, so it is very fresh. They have a TON of flavors available from several different distributors. Just in case you wanted to look around. Thanks for a great flavor review!
Glad I could help.
Even if they mix to order, they don't mass spec nicotine for quality. Many people have gotten batches from them that have been peppery. I'm not saying that they won't have good batches, but the reading I've done seems to point to a consensus that Nude Nic has the highest quality nicotine available for the average DIY'er.
I still have a vial of the O&B, and I tried it. It hasn't quite hit the spot. What % did you wind up at? Mine tasted chemically, and I wasn't happy with the outcome at different percentages.
I used mine @ 7% and added some Cotton Candy to it in a small amount. I made it up and forgot I had it. I'm vaping it now and its very nice. It has been in the cupboard for a couple months. No chemical taste here. With the flavors I have mixed of NN I usually let them steep for at least a month or two. For me things always taste better with a long steep. No hurry to vape freshly made juice for me there is no need to.
Awesome post! Thank you for this. I am just starting out in diy. I have nic but I need to buy flavors still. These descriptions really helped.
Glad I could help. As I've asked everyone here who has commented, what made it good for you and how could I improve it? I am going to be doing reviews for all the flavorings I get; this sub has been very helpful to me in getting started, so I want to give back. Any feedback will help me improve future reviews.
If you are looking for specifically flavoring, I wouldn't go to Nude Nic. Their starter kit is great, the owner is an extremely cool dude, but their main strength is in their nicotine. From what I have read, there is a lot of nicotine you'll get that has a 'peppery' taste from being old. Nude Nic mass specs everything and has a fantastic QC system. After having tried it, I have not had a smoother nic in any juices I've tried.
Their flavors are on point, and good for starters, so if they have something you think, 'man, that flavor sounds good to vape' then go for it, otherwise those flavors are not meant for experimenting. They are already complex in themselves; you won't find many flavorings there that are basic for when you want to try your own recipe like you would make a new dish. Their shipping is very expensive and their flavoring selection is limited. As is in the side post, I'd recommend Bull City or Wizard Labs for flavoring. They have all the major brands and they're inexpensive. Bull City is cheaper, but they are a smaller company and can often be out of stock. They have failed to remove products that they either no longer carry or clearly are not wanting to carry in the future (things with diacetyl and acetoin). The manufacturers are well known and their quality standards will not change between vendors, so you don't run into any of those quality problems.
Right now Nude Nic is really backed up. I got lucky and it took only a week from placing the order to getting it, but I've heard of several weeks until the product arrives.
TL;DR You already have the nicotine, go somewhere else for flavoring. Bull City or Wizard Labs have a larger selection and many major brands. They are made by flavoring manufacturers that won't have QC problems. Please leave feedback to help improve further reviews.
Ha! That is kinda exactly the train of thought I was going with. I bought some nude nic when it was on sale but then had to move... So now that I'm settled I was going to look into which place to buy flavors from. I will definitely take your suggestions.
As for your post, I loved the smell profile of the juice in the bottle as well as the actual vape flavor. I also like how you kinda in a way compared it to tasting food. I've seen some vape reviews state.. Well it tastes like so and so's juice. But if I have never had either that is not real helpful :) (I do want to say in regards to diy juice... That comparison to a known juice helps but it's important to have that detailed description too!)
I think that you did a good job at keeping your personal preference out as well. You are very good at using the right words too- when you said the white chocolate raspberry was white chocolate and raspberry vs all together I knew exactly what you meant.
Overall I am jealous I cannot describe juice as well as you do :)
Random suggestion? Keep a log maybe. I've seen other people use Google docs. That way every time you review something you update the log with specifics on what percentage you mixed and flavor profile.. Sweet/not acidic enough/artifical lime but spot on blueberry and so on. Kinda like a tl;dr of your reviews :)
I got the starter kit with 5 flavors last week, but I also ordered some tfa and fw flavors from a another site. I've wanted to try the nn flavors but they all smell like alcohol when I sniff the vials, kind of off putting. Maybe I'll give them a fair shot this weekend.
Any flavorings you get aren't going to smell great straight out of the bottle. Many cream or tobacco flavors smell like cat piss. If you've ever tasted a concentrated flavoring, it doesn't taste anything like what it will when it's diluted. And extracting flavorings often involves alcohol. You'll find this when you get the other flavorings; nothing is going to smell right from the bottle.
I don't think that's true really, the tfa and fw flavors I got don't smell like alcohol at all.
Because there are 2 extremely common solvents for flavoring. PG is most common, alcohol (often ethanol) is 2nd and used for ones that PG doesn't dissolve. Third is VG, though it is much, much less common. PG and VG aren't going to smell like alcohol, they're more or less odorless, in fact. NN actually states on their website what they use as a solvent, and it has alcohol in it. Nothing wrong with that, perfectly safe to vape.
But those flavorings still may not smell right. The reason some flavors smell like cat piss is because they have a certain amount of ammonia in them, at the proper dilution this is part of their flavor, at a high concentration it smells like urine. I don't mean that every bottle will smell like alcohol, but that they won't smell like they will taste in a juice.
You'll notice TFA flavors recommend 5-15% dilution and come in 13mL bottles rather than 8mL. That's because they're not as concentrated, partially for reasons like stated above. You're more likely to get a similar smell as to what they'll actually taste like in a juice, though that's not guaranteed. There are pros and cons to those different concentration levels, which I will not get in to here.
I'm offering a review for what I got. I have no idea how this is a circle jerk... Because I said the quality of their nicotine was high? They give you the mass spec sheet to prove it, and what I got was definitely high quality. It had no taste or pepperiness, and really had no throat hit. I've tried many different brands and I've never had a juice with nic in it that smooth.
This sub has always had a MAJOR hard on for nude nicotine but the past few days have been really intense. even tho they can't figure out how to ship on time. They have good nic but this sub kind of already knows that