Sunday, August 1, 2010

Lotion Candle

If you've ever been to a Renaissance Festival, you know that there is an assortment of people, food, clothing, and souvenirs to be seen. Yesterday I made my usual trip to the Colorado Renaissance Festival with some family friends. It's been a long standing tradition and we've been going every year together since I was probably about eight years old. Now what on earth does this have to do with anything beauty?

Well, the Renaissance Festival is home to a variety of vendors from all over the country, offering everything from cinnamon almonds to dried rose necklaces, and the newest item I saw was a Lotion Candle! Intrigued by the name I had to see what this was about and wandered into the store to find scents such as Cool Water, Mango Breeze, Dragon's Blood, White Tea and Ginger, Chocolate Raspberry, Angel Wings, Peppermint Vanilla, Patchouli, and my personal favorite, Paradise.


The store had several candles lit and one of the ladies who worked there, dressed in a corset of course, did a demonstration of how the candles work. The candles themselves are entirely lotion and made of natural ingredients (soya, shea butter, jojoba, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and essential oils). She had us hold out our hands and then she dipped a few fingers into the melted lotion jar and put the lotion right on our hands and rubbed it in. I was a little weary at first because I assumed the lotion would be too hot to put directly on the skin, but much to my surprise it was not even as hot as a paraffin treatment and so the temperature was quite comfortable!

Usually I am very picky about lotions. For some reason, I am one of those people who gets annoyed by thick hand creams and lotions and I don't like anything oily or greasy on the palms of my hands, and so often times I don't use anything. I was hesitant to try the lotion itself because I didn't want to go over to ye old privie (that's what they call the toilets there, I didn't make it up) to wash off this candle gunk. HOWEVER, I was incredibly surprised to find that despite the presence of numerous oils in the ingredient list, the lotion gave my skin a touch of moisture without the grease!

At the end of the day, my family friends (knowing how much I love beauty products) surprised me with my very own Paradise candle :) They even got me the largest size, which lasts two years! The candle itself (while it doesn't list the specific blend of essential oils) has hints of passionfruit, mango, and possibly guava, and overall smells like a Hawaiian tropical smoothie!


When trying this candle at home, it's important to take lotion closer to the edge of the candle rather than right next to the wick (where it will be the hottest temperature). If you get too close to the wick you might burn your finger a little bit but the wax doesn't get that hot since it is really just solid lotion and doesn't have a high melting point.


I can't say that I will be using this candle on a regular basis because it is not the most practical of objects and open flame is prohibited in the dorms, so I don't think I'll be bringing this to school. It will however be a nice treat to return home to and I'd love to use this at a spa night for my friends. Either way, it is sure to get some love and last me for a long time!

The candle store had three different sizes of candles: a 3 month candle, a 1 year candle, and a large 2 year candle. The 3 month candle was $15, and for such a tiny jar I would not have bought it. Truth be told, it is not something I would purchase again just because of the price ($35 for the 2 year but it was on-sale for $25), but it would be a fun gift for someone who either loves candles, lotion, or a hybrid of both!

To find out a little more about this candle company, you can visit their website: www.rencandle.com It is not a very extensive website and only features the fragrances and contact information, but if you are looking to place an order or find out if they are coming to a town near you, check it out!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday! I'm off to take a Ylang Ylang and Vanilla scented aromatherapy bath and unwind from a very busy weekend.