If anyone asks me (asks me)
“Right, 내가 바로 불을 지폈지” (지폈지)
이젠 나에게 물어, “Choose what?”
그 불을 끌지 더 타오를지 (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, arson)

— Arson by J-Hope

As part of his Jack In The Box album promotion in July, BTS’ J-Hope revealed a scented candle with the word ‘ARSON’ emblazoned on the front of the container. A glossy black square glass candle vessel filled with bright pink soy wax and a singular wick, with a scent personally chosen by J-Hope himself. Being a candlemaker myself, I knew I had to get my hands on this candle so I put in an order for two of them at $36.23 each.

Flash-forward to a rainy Monday in October and my Arson candles have finally arrived from Cokodive. Despite the wait time for these candles, they arrived surrounded by three layers of different types of bubble wrap and each candle box had a thick layer of styrofoam on the inside to further protect the candles.

The design of the candle box is a perfect compliment to J-Hope’s Jack In The Box featuring the familiar hot pink motif and “ARSON” written in a flame-style font, a black and white checkerboard design, and “BURN DONE” written repeatedly on the sides.

Inside of the box is a glossy black candle with the word ARSON cut out from the front, revealing the colourful wax inside. Scratched into the top of the painted black wooden lid is the word “BURN”, so the intention of this candle is pretty clear. The lid has a silicone gasket around the rim that helps create a seal when the candle is not in use, a great addition to help prolong the life of a candle’s scent.

The description for the Arson candle fragrance is a “woody musk blended with vanilla for the base note, spicy balsam and jasmine for the middle note, and powdery scent for the top note.” Upon first impression, the subtle scent came off mildly powdery and sweet with a hint of spice. I could smell the floral notes but the powdery top note definitely felt like the main fragrance of the candle. The fragrance wasn’t overwhelming or particularly strong. It reminded me of the fragrance of a fancy hotel corridor.

Appearance-wise, the soy wax is much more red than the pink it was advertised as, however differences in wax colour are incredibly common so I’m not surprised. Although the surface of the candle was smooth, I did notice a decent amount of frosting creeping around the edges of the wax. This could be an error on the production side or it could just be a result from shipping, but it’s just a minor cosmetic defect that doesn’t really effect the candle.

When I lit the flame and let the candle burn for a few hours, I was a little disappointed to find that the wick was slightly off-center and the wax pool wasn’t quite reaching the edge of the glass. If the wick was correctly centered in the vessel then the heat produced from the flame would be able to evenly reach the edges of the vessel.

Once lit, the Arson candle’s musky fragrance notes became evident however the scent throw itself was still pretty underwhelming. Personally, I prefer candles with more fruity and sweet scents rather than powdery and musky, and I also prefer candles with a strong scent throw as opposed to a subtle one. I think the Arson candle is probably best for someone who isn’t looking for a very powerful fragrance.

Overall, I think J-Hope had a great vision for his first scented candle! The execution of the design is great and although the scent isn’t my personal cup of tea, I really appreciate the care and attention to detail put into the product. Maybe some day in the future we’ll be able to look forward to a full candle range from J-Hope!