So you’re the proud owner of a MICHAEL RENE luxury candle and you want your candle to live its absolute best life. Here are our Ten Bougie Candle Commandments for a clean, healthy and uniquely chic candle.
1. LET IT BURN
In preparation for your first burn, make sure your wick is the proper length. We recommend using a wick trimmer since it creates a nice clean cut and maintains the integrity of the wick. You want your wick to be about ¼” in length before burning. Trim the wick to this size for every subsequent burn. Only trim your wick on cooled candles, to prevent debris from falling into hot wax.
2. POSE
Find the perfect surface for burning your Michael Rene luxury candle. The ideal surface is even, heat safe, away from drafts, and out of reach of pets and children.
3. LET’S GET LIT
Now to the fun part … lighting your candle. Lighters are great for early burns, but as the candle wax gets lower, we recommend a long reach lighter or a long match to avoid burning yourself.
4. BURNING LOVE
(1) Burn your candle at least two hours on first use. This will allow the top layer of wax to fully melt, ensuring an even burn for your next light. Wax has a memory so it is important not to skip this step to make sure you get the most even burning out of your candle (2) trim your wick regularly - trimming the wick before every use is very important. The longer the wick the quicker your candle will burn, so trimming it will make it last longer. It also prevents black smoke from occurring and ensures the glass isn't over-heating.
5. ALL EYES ON ME
Helping your candle burn to its full potential is a delicate balance of leaving it alone and keeping an eye on it. Most surfaces aren’t perfectly even, so we recommend rotating your candle 180 degrees every 30 minutes. This will ensure that you get an even pool of liquid wax.
6. AIN’T NO MISBEHAVING
It’s imperative that your candle burns completely across the surface during every burn. The time it takes for the candle to completely liquefy depends on the wax, fragrance, surface placement, and the room temperature. Typically this is between 2 to 4 hours. Burning a candle is meant to be a pleasant experience, so make sure you can settle in with it for at least as long as it takes to burn across the surface. However, life can happen and sometimes you need to blow out a candle before it’s ready. This can create a little “memory ring” and can cause tunnel burning.
7. TUNNEL VISION
Tunnel burning is when the candle burns straight down like a little tunnel, leaving a wasted ring of wax along the sides of the jar. The best way to fix this is with what we call a foil skully. Get a strip of tin foil and fold it in half, length wise. Make it into a little hat with an opening in the middle and place it around the candle, being very careful not to burn the foil or yourself. Leave the foil on the candle for 15-20 minutes. The foil skully concentrates heat on the surface of the candle, which allows the wax to fully liquefy. Once it has become completely liquid, you can resume burning as usual!
8. SO FRESH, SO CLEAN
Keeping your wicks trimmed and your candles free of debris is the best way to avoid soot and smoke. However, dealing with fire can often leave a bit of soot along the inside of the glass. To keep your candle clean get a paper towel and some coconut oil. When the candle is cooled, wipe the inside of the glass with the coconut oil.
9. BURNING IT DOWN
(1) Don’t play with the wax or try to move the wax around the jar. This will make the wax uneven and promote uneven burning; (2) don’t burn for more than 4 hours consecutively. Your wick can “mushroom” and create a large and unstable flame; (3) don’t forget to trim your wick! Untrimmed wicks lead to popping, smoking, and soot. This is how candles end up looking dirty and full of debris; (4) don’t burn in a small unventilated room; (5) don’t burn when the wax has reached about 1/2" from the bottom; (6) don’t fall asleep with your candle burning or leave unattended.
10. TRASHION
Turn your empty Michael Rene vessel into a beautiful home decor staple. Trashion (a combination of trash and fashion – because we all know that fashion and décor go hand in hand) is a term for art, jewelry, fashion and objects for the home created from used, thrown-out, found and repurposed elements. Trashion is a subgenre of found object art, which is basically using objects that already have some other defined purpose (i.e., your candle vessel), and turning it into art. To achieve this simply pour hot water in the empty vessel, empty the water and wipe with a paper towel. Repeat this process a couple of times or until the vessel is completely clean. You can make an entirely new candle by purchasing and using our MR scent refill packs. Alternatively, you can turn your empty vessel into a beautiful vase or a decorative storage accessory in your home or office.