My candle came in the Passion Fruit scent, a very pleasing tropical fragrance that reminded me of a fruity Victoria’s Secret or Bath and Body Works body splash. Although it's made of natural oils, the fragrance smells more like regular perfume than all-natural oils. The candle smells rather strongly when it’s unlit, but when it’s burning, it does not quickly fill and overpower the air with its scent, like room-deodorizing candles do. When applied as oil to the skin, it smells about as strong as your average scented lotion. It's made of soy and other oils; soy burns cleaner than beeswax, and is considered to be a more environmentally-friendly material for a candle.

When looking for a candle to play with, it is especially important to avoid beeswax candles, which can get hot enough to damage skin tissue. The usual rule of thumb is, the softer the candle material is, the lower the melting temperature and the safer for the skin. The Tantric candle is soft and the wax was pleasantly warm, which feels wonderful on a sore back. It didn’t hurt or burn at all. The melted candle wax (which is really oil) does not harden quickly like beeswax, and will function much like regular massage oil.

The full list of ingredients is impressive: soybean oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, apricot oil, jojoba oil, Vitamin E and “fragrance derived from natural sources.” The wide range of nutritious and yummy oils that promise to be kind to the skin is a nice feature. The only likely irritant is the fragrance, but if you wear already wear perfume and don’t have any allergic reactions to it, this product is unlikely to irritate your skin. It does soften and moisturize skin, but you’ll probably want to take a shower after use because it does leave more residue than regular body lotion. (It only leaves about as much residue as any massage oil, however.)

The instructions say that the candle should last for about 60 hours of burning, but if you dump out oil and use it for massage that will obviously reduce the burning time. The manufacturers include a little plastic spoon to help you scoop out the oil if you prefer not to overturn the entire candle to drizzle its oil on your lover. Keeping the wick trimmed down (to 1/4 inch, according to the instructions) will help the candle burn evenly and as long as it can. If you’re going to be playing with the candle, it’s especially important to be vigilant about keeping the wick trimmed so that the flame is not too high or uneven. The candle comes in a tin with a re-usable lid, which is useful for when you want to store it.

Overall, I really like this candle and am looking forward to persuading my lover to give me another massage with it.