A Tacky Race Against Time

What separates this candle from the other nicely scented household candles is the nature of the wax. This soy-based candle melts into a warm oil rather than a pool of hot wax. Once it has burned for at least 30 minutes and been left alone for about 30 seconds, the oil is ready for finger-dipping or pouring onto the skin. It can make for a nice mood-enhancer, what with the image and scent of a burning candle coupled with the prospect of fragrant oil for a massage later.

This is not meant to be ingested or used as a lubricant, nor is it meant to be applied to genitals, orifices, or open wounds. Some ingredients that may place allergy concerns include glycine soja wax (a soybean product), hydrogenated vegetable oil, grape oil, and algae extract. For the Camu Camu candle, there is also camu camu fruit powder.

The massage oil that is produced as a result of melting feels a bit greasy and oily, and it starts to become thicker and more difficult to pour after about two minutes away from a flame. As it dries, it becomes more tacky in texture and harder to rub into the skin. Oddly enough though, when I rubbed the unmelted wax onto my skin, it was absorbed more cleanly than the rapidly cooling oil. Granted, it took a lot more effort to rub the cold soy wax.

My mother, who is a barista at Starbucks and therefore an authority on scents, evaluated this previously unheard of "Camu Camu" scent. She observed that the scent was a light vanilla with an underlying note of musk that warmed the vanilla. Since my nose is nowhere nearly as refined, the only way I could describe it is what I would imagine a room to smell like after a vanilla bean and a coconut had sex. It is understandable then, why I consulted an outside source!

The solid wax (taken from the tip to expose the wick) absorbed quite well and cleanly into my skin, so I had high hopes for the oil. I allowed the candle to burn for about forty minutes before blowing it out. The wax looked like regular melted wax, so when I dipped my finger in after the recommended thirty second wait period, I was surprised to discover just how oily it was. I rubbed it into my skin and while I felt a bit of tackiness, it absorbed into the skin fairly cleanly.

After having cooled for about five minutes, it was clear that the oil was starting to re-solidify. I dipped my finger in and let the oil drip, but it solidified before it could leave my finger. It did not harden quickly like regular candles. Rather, it became thicker and more opaque. I tried rubbing it into my skin and while I thought it would absorb, I found flakes of wax on my wrist ten minutes later. Running my skin under water didn't remove it, so I had to use soap as well.