The BDSM Wax Play Candles are the first of two reviews I’m doing for Passion Craft Store. Founded in 2017, it was created by two friends who found they had trouble sourcing quality rope and other gear for their own play, and ended up creating a business to fill that gap. As well as rope and waxplay candles, they also produce leather bondage cuffs, harnesses, and impact toys.
First, I want to say that the BDSM Wax Play Candles—as well as the jute rope that I’m also reviewing for Passion Craft Store—were packaged really nicely. I know I don’t normally comment on packaging, it’s not strictly necessary, and I would never ‘mark a product down’ over having more utilitarian packaging, nice packaging does make the experience feel more special. Even though the candles were individually wrapped in bubble wrap for practical reasons—and it worked; none of them were chipped or damaged in the slightest—within their bubble wrap they were also wrapped up in red tissue paper, which made them feel like a little gift.
The four candles in the kit vary in size, both in length and in width. I really like this actually—it means there’s a lot of ways you can set up or stage candles for your scenes depending on the vibe or theme of the scene you’re doing. The thickest and shortest candle (1.4 inches wide and 2.69 inches long) works well as a pillar candle, while the longer and thinner ones work better handle held or in a candleholder. I love the contrast between the different sizes of candle aesthetically—my fantasies and what I want to roleplay tends to shift more gothic/vampire-y/etc in the early autumn, and something specific that really does it for me aesthetic-wise is a pile of slightly melted together candles of different sizes (like in this photo) in fireplaces or on altar-like tables. While I haven’t melted my Passion Craft Store BDSM Wax Play Candles together (and don’t plan to!) the varying heights are still evocative enough to get me right into that headspace.
My candle set is red, although Passion Craft Store do also make black candles and can make custom colours on request. It’s quite a bright red—not at all neon, but not the darker wine-red that the product photos suggest either. The colour is pretty even, although I did notice quite a few air bubbles on one candle in particular.
These candles are paraffin based, meaning they burn at a slightly hotter temperature than soy candles, which is what I tend to use for waxplay. I personally actually enjoyed the intensity of these candles more than soy candles I used for comparison, but different people like different kinds of sensation so your milage may vary.
Safety
I want to give a quick safety note, in case you’re new to wax play (although I would still encourage you to seek out other educational resources rather than relying on what I’ve written here). While wax play is safer than some other kinds of play—e.g. Fireplay—it still comes with some risks. Household candles shouldn’t be used for waxplay, as they often burn at unsafe temperatures, especially if they’re beeswax and/or scented. I’m a big proponent of tops always using toys or gear on themselves before they use it on a bottom, and waxplay is no exception—before getting into a scene, test it both on yourself (including experimenting with intensities dripping from different heights) and your bottom (to get an idea of their pain preferences and tolerances). I tend to use the inside of the wrist as a testing point for pain.
Pouring wax from a greater height will make it cooler on impact and less intense. However, the greater the height the greater the risk of splashing, so the more careful you need to be about where wax is being poured. Especially avoid pouring wax anywhere near the face, open wounds, or openings of the genitals. While using candles isn’t quite fireplay, it does still involve the risk of an open flame. Take care to move flammable objects from around your play area, as well as wash off any flammable cosmetics either partner may be wearing, like perfume or hairspray.
Using The Candles
I mentioned earlier that because these candles are paraffin, they burn a little hotter than the soy candles I’m used to using. And the sensation is just really good. My partner and I experimenting with dripping wax from different heights and found that our preferred way to play (when I bottomed at least) was at a reasonably short distance so the ‘punchy-ness’ of the wax’s heat really came through. If you’re into more sensual D/s play, it might not be the vibe, but it worked really well for a more SM-heavy scene. The wax is quite thin (more on this in a second) which means the heat tends to dissipate quite quickly. My partner says she thinks that this makes them well suited for people new to waxplay, as “if you decide you hate it, it’s over very quickly”. I’m not sure I completely agree with her, as I think it is noticeably more intense than the soy candles we’ve used, but I see where she’s coming from and agree with the logic.
As a top, my partner prefers the thicker candles, both in terms of how they feel to hold and how much wax melts between uses. I agree with her on the second point—while I do prefer holding the thinner style candle, I do agree that it doesn’t leave you with as much wax to play with. Some excess drips down the candle, and there just tends to be a less of it. The candles also—and we both commented on this, even though neither of us have feelings on this one way or the other—feels a bit like a crayon to hold.
Wax Removal
I found quite a lot of wax just came off my body from movement, without needing to be removed specifically. I think this is due to the above mentioned thinness of the wax—it’s not very viscous, and I feel like a lot more would come off a bottom less hairy than me. We did used a wooden knife for the last bits of removal, and it was very smooth and easy.
I want to highlight the easy removal here, especially as I’ve got a lot more hairy since the last time I did any kind of wax play review. I think a lot of BDSM communities have a tendency to assume that masochists, subs, and bottoms are the more ‘feminine’ partner, and so less hairy. When waxplay and body hair come in conversation together, the response is often ‘why don’t you just shave?’, which is a solution that doesn’t work for a lot of people. Personally, I’m quite a hairy guy and quite like being hairy, so would prefer candles not to interfere with that fact. I’ve generally accepted I’m always going to lose a few hairs removing anything from my skin (e.g. plasters), but I’m pretty sure I didn’t lose any removing the wax flakes from the Passion Craft Store Waxplay Set, which is a genuine achievement. The colour saturation of the wax flakes may not be as intense as some other candles I’ve tried, but the boon of not having an impromptu waxing session more than makes up for it.
Overall
I really like the Passion Craft Store BDSM Wax Play Candles—it delivers the short bursts of intense sensations I really like from waxplay and doesn’t put my glorious pelt at risk. If you know you’d prefer particular dimensions, each candle size is available individually—we’re likely going to stick with the L size when we order more candles in future—but if you’re not sure, the variety of sizes does give a bunch of options. If you too are into shorter and more intense sensation and/or are or have a bottom who’s hairy and likes to be that way, I would really recommend them!
This product was sent to me by Passion Craft Store in exchange for a fair and impartial review. No affiliate links were used in this post.
