Massage candles come in all sorts of price ranges and, though you would think they would all be pretty much the same, experience has shown me this is not the case.

All massage candles have a soy wax base.  Soy wax melts at a lower temperature than paraffin or beeswax so it is ideal for this use.  It burns clean, melts to a comfortable temperature and is safe for the body.  In order to make a regular soy candle a massage candle, though, you need to add other oils at the right proportions to keep it solid at room temperature but also create a nice massage oil that absorbs and doesn’t feel waxy, that feels like a massage oil, not a wax.

Some products get this balance just right.  Some do not.

The Suntouched Edible Candle tempted me because of it being billed as edible – meaning you can get this in your mouth, lick and kiss skin that it’s been applied to without a foul, perfume-y taste, not that you should scoop it out of the tin and eat it for dessert.  I love Jimmyjane massage candles but they are definitely not edible.  The idea that this one might work as well but not taste like I sprayed some cologne on my tongue was appealing. Very appealing.

Unfortunately, Suntouched candles don’t quite get the mixture of soy wax to oils quite right.  While they do melt down into a pool of wax/oil that you can rub onto the body the resulting oil doesn’t absorb as well as high priced, premium massage candles do and it has a thicker, waxier feel to it.

The candles come in a cute little heart shaped tin with a sassy image on the cover to convey the flavor – or scent – you chose.  Mine had a mouth biting into some cherries on the lid.  The tin itself is tin colored and absolutely reusable once you’ve used up the candle.

The cover on the tin lifts off and you are immediately confronted with a very sweet, very overpowering, very candy-like scent.  The cherry scent was reminiscent of…  wild cherry Lifesavers?  A bag of cherry licorice?  A cherry Jolly Rancher! I’m not sure I can describe it, only that it’s quite strong and very young. I’m normally a big fan of fruity, sweet scents and wear cotton candy body spray almost daily but this took me a bit aback.

It’s very fake cherry scented.  Like a cherry car air freshener shaped like a pine tree!

Fortunately, it’s not quite that strong when it’s burning.  In fact, I could barely detect the scent once I got a few feet away from the candle itself so those prone to headaches from scents shouldn’t have a problem just burning this one.  It takes about a half hour to get a nice pool of wax you can use for a massage or as a body oil – though I’d suggest burning it a bit longer.  The more of the surface, from edge to edge in the tin, that you can get to melt down, the better your candle will burn in the long run.  If you only burn down a small circle of wax, then pour it off, you’re going to burn a “well” or pool into your candle and the edges will never melt down.

This candle does come with a little…  spoon.  Kind of like the spoon you get with a single serving ice cream, I guess.  It’s quite useless, as it’s too small to even pick up enough of the oil to do more than drizzle a pea sized bit onto the skin.  My advice?  Toss the spoon and pour the melted wax directly onto the body or into your hand from the bottom of the heart where the tin comes to a rounded point.

The wax/oil is warm when it’s melted but not hot, absolutely safe for use on the body.  Those who are sensitive should pour into the hand first or from a greater distance to give the oil time to cool, those less sensitive can pour directly onto the skin from a foot or less above the body.

The oil, when poured, works like a massage lotion though it is a bit waxy and thick in feel, not smooth and thin and luxurious like the oil some of the higher end candles produce.  It also doesn’t last quite as long, allowing a ten or fifteen minute massage if you’re lucky and it doesn’t quite sink in all the way.  It leaves the skin feeling a little bit coated.  Not a lot, but enough that you may want a shower after you use this.

It IS edible, lickable, kissable and tastes slightly sweet but mostly just “non perfume-y”.  I can’t say it really has a flavor, just a light sweetness.  The scent, though strong while using the oil, fades quickly and doesn’t linger on the skin for very long.

Soap and water will clean it off quite well, though spills on bedding or clothes should be pretreated and washed in warm or hot water.

Ingredients are all natural and body safe; soybean oil, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, apricot oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, vitamin E and fragrance.

I can’t say this is the worst massage candle I’ve tried but it’s certainly not the best.  I would absolutely recommend splurging on the Jimmyjane candles if you can but this one isn’t awful and may seem nicer to those less spoiled. I don’t mean that in a stuck up way but, the reality is, I was way less picky about massage candles when I hadn’t tried a really great one yet.  Those new to them may find this one to be absolutely enough to suit their needs.