Shunga Massage Candle Review
By Carnal Queen.
I’ve said it before, and no doubt I’ll say it again, I love massage candles. There’s just something about the warmth, and the beautiful aromas they create, that I really adore. It’s so much nicer to scent the room with the candle, whilst you’re waiting for it to melt, to get your senses buzzing, and evoke the right kind of mood. The warmth of the oil as it hits your skin … Mmm, it’s delicious and so sensual! So, I was delighted when Meo sent me two Shunga, Exotic Fruit Massage Candles in a review package. The chance to lie there and be pampered (thanks CK) and the opportunity to try a new brand of candles, yes please!
Shunga Erotic Art is a Canadian company, formed in 1988, originally as a high-end cosmetics brand. In 2000, they decided to launch a range of intimate cosmetics, based around the idea of love making being a form of art. The products are still all produced in Canada, and their packaging is adorned in Japanese style artwork, giving them a high-end, luxurious feel. Shunga make products using high quality ingredients, some of which are known for their aphrodisiac properties. A real treat for the senses!
The candles are made from 100% natural oils, and are 30ml each. I really like that they’re packaged in tins, it’s a simple thing, but it makes a difference. My favourite massage candle brand come in a porcelain pot, and have no lid, meaning any bits of dust and fluff can get into a partially burnt candle. I can’t just leave them by the bed because of this, because when you live with a hairy Husky, you soon realise hair gets EVERYWHERE. With the Shunga candles, I can just pop the lid on, and I know they’re safe, and not growing fur!
Using massage candles really couldn’t be any simpler, you just light (on a heat safe surface), allow to melt, and once you’ve blown out the flame, you slather yourself (or somebody else) in divine oil. The directions suggest a pre-massage burn time of about 20 minutes, but we found 35-40 minutes gives you a better pool of wax to work with. The initial scent is definitely fruity, but I can’t put my finger on exactly what it reminds me of, it’s certainly nothing common like strawberry or cherry!
When CK first poured the melted wax on to my skin, I got that familiar feeling that I love. The oil is very warm, but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable or too hot in any way, it’s lovely. I really enjoy the fragrance that comes with massage candles, I think it’s probably because the fluid is warm, but I can certainly always smell the product far more than with a cold, out-of-a-bottle massage oil. It’s sooooo relaxing, I could lie there for hours.
The Shunga candles, when melted, lasted quite well on the skin. Some can disappear in the blink of an eye, meaning you need to stop and reapply, but these stayed slippy and luxurious on the skin for a nice amount of time. We did find though, that if you go crazy and try to work it for a long time, they do go a little bit sticky and tacky, almost like the oil is trying to return itself to a wax-like state. This isn’t too much of an issue though, because for us, this takes about 20 or so minutes, and by then, the massage has either moved on to other body parts, or other things entirely … wink, wink.
The candles seem to be blended like a fine fragrance would be, in that it has different levels of notes. At first, you get the top notes of sweet fruit, which settle to mid-notes, again of fruit, but less sweet and with more warmth, and it finishes on a base note that’s almost like vanilla – richer and with more depth. The scent lingers on the skin, it doesn’t last for hours and hours, but on me it lingers long enough to make me smile and bring back memories of the fun we’ve had before.
After we’ve finished, I like to wipe off the excess oil from my skin. It’s not essential, but I find the bits left on the surface feel like they’re trying to regress back to their waxy days. Underneath though, my skin is always delicious soft and delicately scented.
I do really like the Shunga candles. Admittedly, I wouldn’t swap my favourite brand out for them permanently, but I like to have a change, and these have been very pleasurable to use. I love the 30ml size tin, because it means they’re fabulous to travel with, and you can easily mix up the different scents depending on your mood, but there’s still a great amount of wax, easily 3-5 massages per tin. I’d certainly like to try more of the different varieties in the future!
Meo sent me the Shunga Erotic Art Massage Candles for free, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not alter my thoughts or experiences in any way. If you’d like to purchase a Shunga Massage Candle, you can do so here. Affiliate links have been used in this post.