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.

When it was finally time for our relaxing massages we lit the Afterglow with the matches that it comes with. The pictures show the match box being a large one but ours was a mini pack with 10 matches. This isn't a big deal since I don't particularly like the matches that came with it. I like their box, but the matches themselves seem harder to light then the ones that I normally use and I broke one trying to get it to light. After you have your Afterglow lit the booklet recommends that you leave it lit for 30 minutes. If you're impatient you can use some of the oil before then but the reason it's recommended that you do not is so that the candle has a chance to melt entirely to the edge of the container and that way the candle will burn evenly each time you use it.

Once you wait the 30 minutes you blow out the candle and the oil will stay liquid for about 30 minutes more so you have plenty of time to go back and get more if you need it. You can either pour the oil directly onto your partner's body or use the brush that comes with the Afterglow to deliver the oil. I had my husband drip the oil directly when giving me my massage and it feels wonderful. It's nice and warm but not too hot, almost like bath water but much more silky. Dipping the brush and spreading the oil that way worked well too but I found that the heat transferred better and lasted longer when the oil was applied directly to the skin.

The oil stays slick while using it and gave about a good 20 minutes or so before the amount I had put on my husband's back was rubbed in. It left his skin so soft and smooth that I could have continued kneading it easily even once the oil was absorbed. The oil did not leave a greasy residue or anything and we didn't need showers before going to bed later that night. That's really saying something for Mike. He normally hates oily products and always feels the need to shower after using them. But for this he didn't need to. He did want to wash his hands after using it to give me my massage, he said that it still felt greasy there, although I didn't have the same experience when doing his.

The day after our massages I woke up feeling silky smooth. My actual first thought upon waking was that my legs felt so smooth and moisturized. We went out for breakfast that morning and I noticed that the scent stayed on my skin fairly well, only downside was that the bugs that were out also seemed to notice and were very attracted to me. My husband had already showered that morning and wasn't having the same happen to him so I can only assume that it was the Afterglow. (So much for that Citronella scent huh!)

I still love my afterglow candle. While it doesn't get used as often as my other massage creams or oils, simply because we need to let it heat up and melt first, it's still awesome for a romantic evening. It also smells fabulous even when not heated, though you do need to be in close proximity to it. The smell is a huge turn on for me, though my husband still feels it resembles citronella too much to turn him on. Luckily he's not turned off by it either though, and is just more indifferent to it.

Really, the only thing that I would change about it Jimmyjane has already taken care of! I don't like the mess that the candle makes because it has no spout. I never really cared for using the brush (it's just another thing to have to clean up!) and I prefer to pour it directly onto the skin. The newer versions of this candle (which I have to add I am not sure if Eden carries these yet, so keep that in mind) do have a little spout, which takes care of the mess factor. It really turns an awesome product into a perfect one!