Afterglow - massage candle by Jimmyjane - review by Alicia

I've been curious about massage candles for quite a while. Even though I had heard that the wax is actually an oil that melts at a low temperature I have to say, I was a bit skeptical that maybe someone else's idea of "not hot" was not mine. So, I ordered my Afterglow candle hoping that I'd be able to use it for more then just a regular candle. I ordered it along with the Contour M and Contour Q stone massagers, so once I knew the date it was set to arrive I planned for a relaxing night with my husband.


The Afterglow comes in a nice little box, very elegant looking. I can leave this box out in the open because there is nothing on it that is suggestive.. well ok, at the top it lets you know "Black Currant is sweet, but not too sweet - like a good lover." But that's about it as for as being suggestive on the box. The rest just tells you that it's a natural massage candle and looks like a box that a product from a candle store might come in. When you open the lid of the Afterglow massage candle box you see a message saying "Melt Me", after I had just opened my Contour M's box that said "Knead Me" I was really feeling like Alice after just falling down the Rabbit Hole. I hoped that I'd be in the Johnny Depp version!

There is a little booklet that gives you important information about the Afterglow candle, some safety warnings (just typical candle warnings) and how to get the best use out of it. There is also matches (which say flip me over if you are holding the box upside down..love those messages!) and a little brush that you can dip into the oil to transfer it to your skin. Then, below all this is the candle. Now, when the package came in the mail we actually weren't home and it was 95 degrees that day. I was a bit worried that since the package was thrown in my bushes that the wax might have begun to melt and be all over the place. I was relieved to find that the candle was still solid, though a soft solid, and also that it had an adhesive plastic sticker/wrapper over the top of it. So, even if it had melted it wouldn't have gotten all over everything.

At first the scent of the Black Currant was a bit strong. I think this was mainly due to it being so warm because of the heat outside. At that point it was filling the room even when not lit. Now I can smell it if I'm near it but not if it's on the other side of the room. I personally like that I can smell it so clearly when it's not lit because it makes me feel relaxed since it reminds me of my massages with it. My husband still doesn't like the smell entirely, he says it reminds him of citronella. I think he has a good nose because it does contain Citronellol, but I personally don't think it smells like a citronella candle. It's fruity, a little flowery, and a bit sweet. I have bad allergies sometimes and the scent didn't throw me into a sneezing fit so that's a plus too!

Now for the specifics of the Afterglow. The ingredients list is: Soybean Oil, Shea Butter, Palmarosa Oil, Jojoba Oil, Aloe Vera, Vitamin E, Citronellol, Dioctyl Adipate, Geraniol, Terpinyl Acetate, Hexyl Cinnamic Aldehyde, Triplal, Geranyl Acetate, Veloutone, Styrallyl Acetate, P-mentha-8-thiol-3-one, Phenyl Ethyl Isubutyrate, Rose Oxide. As you can see there's quite a few soothing and skin softening ingredients in the Afterglow. The ingredients also allow for a low temperature melting point. It's free of paraffin, dyes, and the wick is lead free to provide a clean and efficient burn. The Afterglow has a burn time of up to 42 hours, this will of course vary depending on how much oil you use each time.

After using your Afterglow candle you should recenter the wick if needed, any leftover wax will cool and solidify again to be ready for next time. After the candle is cool you should trim the wick to 1/4" before each use. The brush that comes with the Afterglow can be washed with warm water and a good shampoo after use. You could also use a make up brush cleaner if you'd like. Some oil did spill over onto the side of my Afterglow. You can wipe it down after use to ensure that the oil doesn't stain the surface that you put your candle on.