CandleLit is a monthly subscription box that features books by authors of color, soy candles, organic tea, and handmade wellness products created by people of color. CandleLit simplifies scheduled self-care despite your busy life. We partner with POC-owned brands to support a holistic wellness lifestyle.
CandleLit Box offers monthly and quarterly subscription plans as well as single box and gift box options. Subscribers have the option to receive an e-book (Kindle) or hardcover book.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About CandleLit
The Subscription Box: CandleLit Box
The Cost: $40 every month or $120 every 3 months. Boxes ship the first week of the month.
The Products: A new hand-picked hardcover or e-book by an author of color, a soy candle, organic tea, and other handmade wellness products
Ships To: the US only
CandleLit January 2019 Review
Included in the box is a card that highlights this month's box. The front of the card reads:
This box is an ode to women who continue to light our flame. We are here to light yours.
The back of the card highlights the box partners and featured editor for the month as well as other useful information about the box.
Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me by Charlamagne Tha God - Retail Value $26.00 (found here for $13.00)
Book summary from Amazon:
Being “shook” is more than a rap lyric for Charlamagne, it’s his mission to overcome. While it may seem like he's ahead of the game, he is actually plagued by anxieties, such as the fear of losing his roots, the fear of being a bad dad, and the fear of being a terrible husband. Shook One chronicles his journey to beat those fears and shows a path that you too can take to overcome the anxieties that may be holding you back. […] Charlamagne hopes Shook One can be a call to action: Getting help is your right. Therapy and showing weakness are not always easy subjects, but if you go to the gym three or four times a week, why can’t you put that same effort and energy into getting mentally strong?
Shook One By Charlamagne chronicles the radio DJ and author’s struggles with anxiety and depression. How can I not be on board with a book that sheds light on the mental health challenges faced by the black community and encourages black men to seek therapy? Well, let me explain.
Charlamagne is known for his outrageous antics as a co-host on The Breakfast Club. It appears that he will say anything for attention and likes on social media which brings his character into question. He comes off as arrogant and will take every opportunity to brag about himself. For example, in his book, he talks about how great his neighborhood is by bragging that he pays 17k in taxes alone. He talks about how great he is at sex, how much money he has and takes every opportunity to name drop celebrities.
Furthermore, Shook One has a ton of misinformation about mental wellness. As a person who has had struggles with both anxiety and depression, this was disheartening to read. Thank goodness for whoever had the foresight to include Dr. Ish Major to provide his clinical interruptions of Charlamagne’s vulgar and at times lewd stories ensuring that at least some accurate information could be found in this book.
Finally, for a box created by and for women of color, I’m truly surprised at the selection of Charlamagne as this month's featured editor. He has been accused of sexual assault - later pleading guilty to the delinquency of a minor. Recently tweets have surfaced showing truly disgusting comments from Charlamagne regarding the R. Kelly and Bill Cosby allegations. Given all the amazing books by authors of color who admire and respect black women, I'm left perplexed that Charlamagne would be chosen.
Lux Living Candle Co. Holiday SZN - Buy a 10oz candle in a glass jar with wooden wick here for $25
Lux Living Candle Co. makes beautiful hand-poured candles using safe and non-toxic soy wax, high-quality fragrance oils, eco-friendly wood wicks, and glass jars. Lux Living describes the Holiday SZN scent as a mix of winter berries, cinnamon apples, and pine that’s perfect for the holidays. It’s the middle of January, I’ve swapped out my holiday wreath and put away the Christmas stocking so this scent feels a little too late. It does smell great though. Since this candle is sample sized, it doesn't contain the wood wicks (which I've come to love) and is in a tin can instead of the signature glass jar.
Cuples Tea House ‘Tea Tube Testers' - Mango Black Tea, 1oz – Retail Value $6
Cuples Tea House is a family owned business offering loose leaf teas, tea sets, tea accessories and “urban tea experiences”. This mango black tea doesn’t taste like much plain but I added a little honey and brown sugar and it was delicious. I love that it has an extra kick of caffeine which helped me through my afternoon slump. I’ve come to really enjoy Cuples tea but would like to see other tea brands featured in future boxes.
Mint & Ocean Small White Sage Stick, 1.15oz – Retail Value $2.85
I like the pretty packaging of this handmade and organic smudge stick. Burning sage is a way to remove negative energy from your space. For the New Year, I used white sage and Palo Santo to purify my home, warding off negative energy and inviting positivity into our home. I can never have enough sage but I do recall that this same product was included in the November 2018 box. It would have been nice to receive a different Mint & Ocean wellness product.
CandleLit Affirmation Notes
Each month, the CandleLit boxes include affirmation notes. This month’s sticky notes read: "I have an abundant life and will receive all blessing”. To me, living an abundant life full of God’s blessing is living life to the fullest. It's living a life full of gratitude, one that exceeds all expectations and is more than can be anticipated. I’m onboard with this affirmation!
Verdict: I love that this box highlights authors and partners that are people of color. It was quickly becoming one of my favorite boxes but this month's box is disappointing. The choice of Shook One was a big letdown, the holiday-scented candle would have been better for a November or December box and the wellness product, while nice, was featured in the November 2018 box. Also, it's worth noting that the missing product from the December box was not included in this month's box as promised. Similar to last month, I believe that the price of this box left room to include a full-sized candle from Lux Living, more Cuples tea or maybe another wellness item.
This CandleLit Box costs $40.00 and includes the book, candle, tea, wellness product, and affirmation notes. Given that the book is currently on sale for half price, the overall value of this box falls below the cost of the box so it's not a good value.
To Wrap Up:
Can I get this box if I sign up today?: If you subscribed by the end of the month you will receive the February CandleLit box. You may also be able to purchase this box as a Single Box order from the CandleLit Shop.
Value Breakdown: This box costs $40 + free shipping, which means that each of the 5 items in the box has an average cost of $8.00.
Check out all of our CandleLit Box reviews and more self-care subscription boxes in the Women's Subscription Box List!
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What do you think of this CandleLit Box January box?
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