What Are E-Liquids?

E-liquids (also known as vape juices or vape liquids) are the bread and butter of any vaping experience. They’re what produce the flavour and vapour and come in a plethora of different flavour combinations, nicotine strengths, and ratios/thicknesses.

We know, with so much going on it can feel a little overwhelming! But fear not, here at Ecigone we’re here to help you on every step of your vaping journey so you can enjoy every single hit on your favourite vaping device.

VG and PG

Let’s start by breaking down the basic composition. All e-liquids will contain a mix of VG (vegetable glycerin) and PG (propylene glycol). These can come in different ratios, and in turn, attribute themselves better to different vaping styles.

For instance, standard RDL (Restricted Direct Lung) and DTL (Direct to Lung) vaping styles are at their best when using 70VG/30PG ratio e-liquid. This is the most commonly found in shortfill e-liquids as standard but, always check first before buying.

For MTL (Mouth to Lung) vaping, a 50VG/50PG ratio e-liquid works best as the coils used in MTL devices tend to be much smaller, so require a thinner e-liquid to perform correctly.

For the more advanced vapers out there that consider themselves ‘Cloud Chasers’, a thicker e-liquid such as an 80VG/20PG ratio would be perfect, as the higher VG content helps create thicker, more dense vapour clouds.

Flavouring

Along with VG and PG content, flavouring is the next important ingredient. Usually food-grade and completely safe to ingest and vape, flavourings tend to be premixed with your shortfill or nic salt - but they can also be purchased separately and are called ‘Concentrates’ - these are mainly for those that wish to craft their own e-liquids.

There are thousands of different vape brands and flavours on the market, but some of the best we’ve tried are Elux Legend Pink Lemonade, Bar Drop Malaysian Mango, and Bar Juice 5000 Blueberry Cherry Cranberry.

Nicotine

The final ingredient is nicotine, and the final step of the e-liquid journey. Vape juices come in all kinds of nicotine strengths, from 0 mg up to 20 mg. This makes it much easier to control your nicotine intake and is the main reason switching from tobacco products to vaping is seen as a healthier choice.

Not only are you free from all the nasty chemicals tobacco products contain, but you have the option to tailor your e-liquid to your desired strength. It makes vaping an excellent choice for those that wish to quit smoking, starting high and then slowly decreasing the strength over time to either stay there or attempt to quit altogether - the choice is yours.

DIY E-liquids

Amongst all the pre-mixed e-liquids, there’s a little niche for those who take their vape juice composition very seriously - the DIY market. This is mainly for experienced vapers as knowledge of e-liquid mixing is required, although there are plenty of excellent online resources if you wish to learn how to do it yourself.

For DIY e-liquid you will need four separate ingredients: flavour concentrate, VG, PG, and nicotine, all of which are usually purchased separately or sometimes all together in DIY vape juice mixing kits.

This method offers much greater flexibility over pre-mixed e-liquids, and gives you exclusive control on flavour profile, thickness or thinness and nicotine levels.

Nic Salts

Nic salts are the most common form of e-liquids found on the market today. For years the only way to get high nicotine strengths was to use freebase juices with a high nicotine concentration, and while in theory it worked, it often resulted in a harsh e-liquid that gave an equally harsh ‘throat-hit’.

And so, the nic salt was born. It provides an equally high nicotine level but offers a very smooth ‘throat hit’ that’s more palatable to most people.

Since the advent of the TPD/TRPR regulations, the maximum nicotine level permitted per 10 ml of e-liquids is 20 mg, and generally nic salts are available in either 10mg or 20mg nicotine levels, however some companies like Bar Juice provide 5 mg and 15 mg as well.

As nic salts tend to be a 50VG/50PG ratio e-liquid, they’re ideal for pod kits and for RDL (Restricted Direct Lung) and MTL (Mouth to Lung) vaping styles.

Nic salts are most commonly found in 10 ml size bottles, but some e-liquid manufacturers have released what are known as Longfills.

Longfills typically come in kit form, and require you to add the included VG/PG to the flavour concentrate in the 60ml bottle, and then add the desired amount of nic salt to the mixture to make either 10mg or 20mg of 60ml nic salts. This can often work out cheaper when compared to purchasing 6x 10ml nic salts on their own.

Shortfills

Shortfills are the next most common form of e-liquid and are generally in a 70VG/30PG ratio and contain 0 mg of nicotine as standard. This can be changed, however, by purchasing the required ‘Nicotine Shots’ separately.

So in order to make a standard 50ml shortfill up to 3 mg nicotine strength, you’ll need one 10 ml nicotine shot and add it to your shortfill, which will make 60 ml of 3mg nicotine strength e-liquid.

The ratios grow exponentially as the bottle size increases, but there are many excellent e-liquid mixing guides online to help you get the measurements just right.

By volume, shortfills are a cheaper way to vape over the standard 10ml bottles, and as mentioned above, if you’re into nic salts, many companies now do Longfills, so there’s a large variety of ways to enjoy different e-liquids, it all comes down to what your preferences are.

Shortfills generally come in two bottle sizes, 50ml and 100ml, with enough room in the bottle for either one or two nic shots, so you end up with either 60ml or 120ml of final e-liquid.

DIY E-liquids

For vapers who want to have greater control over their e-liquid composition, DIY e-liquids are the way to go. While geared more towards advanced vapers as knowledge of e-liquid mixing is required, there are many excellent online forums and websites that can teach you how to do it.

DIY e-liquids are broken down into their individual parts - flavour concentrate, VG & PG, and nicotine, and then using readily available online e-liquid mixing calculators, each component is added according to the measurements given to make your desired e-liquid.

The main benefits of going down the DIY e-liquid route is that everything is up to you. From flavours to VG/PG ratio and nicotine strengths, whatever you put in is what you get out, so you can channel your inner witch and concoct the perfect vape juice just for you. It can even end up saving you money in the long-run compared to purchasing ‘off the shelf’ e-liquids.

Disposable-Inspired E-liquids

Off the back of the disposable vape ban coming into place in the UK from June 2025, disposable-inspired e-liquids have become extremely popular, mimicking the favourite flavours found in their disposable cousins.

As we all know, disposable vapes are not just unsustainable and bad for the environment, they’re also not the most cost effective. They’re a great way to switch from traditional tobacco products, with the added benefits of less harmful effects on the body. However, once the switch has been made with success, it's now our job as vape retailers to encourage the move across to pod kits and nic salts.

To make this switch one that can be stuck to, the same distinct super-concentrated flavours found in disposables have now been mimicked by many e-liquid manufacturers into nic salts, so you can still enjoy your favourite flavours while making your vaping journey much more sustainable!

Find Your New Favourite Vape Juice Today!

Here at Ecigone, we stock many big brands who produce disposable-inspired juices, such as Elf Bar and their famous Elfliq Nic Salt, Elux Legend Salts, Bar Juice 5000, Drop E-liquids, Lost Mary & many more.

We also offer a 4 for £10 multi buy offer on all 10ml nic salts, as well as 7-days a week dispatch and free next day UK delivery on all orders over £30 - so you can mix & match across all ranges of e-liquids without breaking the bank, and get them in your hands quicker than ever!

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Crystal Clear Nic Salts 10ml