Scents of Decor • Cedar Park

Scents of Decor • Cedar Park

Written by Kara Vaught Tuesday, 07 August 2007

Skinny Dipping popular with lotion candle

Many people admit to Karen Porter that they’ve dipped their fingers in candle wax before.

While she says the practice probably isn’t harmful to skin, it’s definitely not beneficial, unless the candle in question is one of her Skinny Dip lotion candles, made exclusively in Cedar Park.

In 2004, Porter and her daughter, Laurel Vaughn, were selling paraffin candles, Karen Porter, owner lotion, lip balm and bath salts at a holiday craft show. In the booth across from them, a woman was demonstrating the mildness of her soy candles by dipping her fingers into the wax.

An idea took shape for a candle that would offer a delightfully fun way to moisturize skin.

“The market is so saturated with paraffin candles that it was just so hard to compete. When we stumbled on this, it was so unique that it was apparent it was turning into a little business without us trying,” Porter said.

Laurel’s husband, Chad, is now the “master candle maker and production guru" for Karen and Laurel’s company, Scents of Decor, which operates from a non-retail space in Cedar Park. He mixes Skinny Dip’s proprietary blend of cocoa butter, shea butter, avocado butter, beeswax, sunflower seed oil, vitamin E and cosmetic-grade soy with essential oils and botanicals for scent.

Because soy burns at a much lower temperature than paraffin, it is safe to pour the liquid from a Skinny Dip Candle directly onto skin. It can be used to moisturize dry cuticles, or as a massage oil or body lotion.

Porter only cautions users to blow out the candle prior to using the liquid, especially when young children are watching.

The candles are available at several local retail outlets, including Davlynn’s Gifts & Craft Mall, and online. Porter says the candles have been shipped to almost all 50 states and abroad, including Norway, France, Greece, the United Kingdom and Canada.

“We’re very pleased with the growth because it’s been mostly word of mouth and search engine results,” Porter said.

Although the candles are the main focus of business, Scents of Decor also produces lip balm made from Laurel’s own recipe. The trio is also dabbling with products like children’s lip balm, Skinny Dips for quilters’ hands and candles with scents like Open Road, Hog Wild and Leather and Lace for motorcycle enthusiasts.

Other products are on the back burner for the future, Porter said, and new scents are rotated into the lineup regularly.

“We’re not going to go more than 24 scents at a time as far as the regular line, but we keep it fresh and seasonally appropriate,” she said.

How To use a skinny dip candle

Light the candle and let a melted pool form. Extinguish the flame. Sparingly use the 101-degree lotion on cuticles, elbows, heels or other dry skin. The liquid can also be used as massage oil. To use the candle in its solid state, scoop out a small amount and massage into skin like a body balm.

Scents of Decor, www.skinnydipcandle.com