The Candle Pour — Attraction in Tampa

It kills me to only give them a two star review as this is a nice, local business right in Hyde Park. I’ve gone twice and wanted to make sure of my review prior to posting.

Prior to COVID, I haven’t had the opportunity yet to create a candle so not sure how it was before, but based on past reviews it seems to have been a lot better of an experience. I’ll be honest, I received a half baked experience both times I visited.

Let’s first start that now they keep their doors locked even during business hours and when they have customers in the shop creating candles. I’m not a fire safety expert however, I do think doing that is very dangerous in case there is a fire. I know some stores even have signage that states “doors must remain unlocked during occupancy.” Not sure what promoted them to think this was a good idea especially a candle store when there is fire and melting of wax involved...

Another reason I felt my experience was half baked is that they require you to wear mask the ENTIRE TIME you are there. Not like at restaurants where you can remove your mask once you are seated. I’ll be honest, smelling multiple oils through a mask is not a great time and in fact, it was very hard for me to smell certain oils. I’ll be quite blunt here and say, that smelling and creating your own scent is 99% of the experience and if this management doesn’t feel comfortable having customers remove their masks, then they should re-evaluate their current operating model and perhaps move to a DIY kit.

Speaking of smelling scents and oils, they have no coffee beans to clear your noise. The lady working told us to smell our skin...not sure if that helps or she was just being smart with me. Also, if you have to use the restroom or wash your hands good luck! Their restrooms are currently closed which is a HUGE turn-away for me. Instead the closet restrooms are across the street. They should have a professional cleaning staff come in daily and clean the restrooms. The last time I was in there I got some oil on my fingers and had to just deal with it.

If you’re still reading this I appreciate you. My next issue is that they don’t allow you to drink drinks inside. I read prior that you could BYOB which would make for a fun night but that isn’t the case anymore. So that expensive latte you just got from Buddy Brew will be watered down since you can’t drink that or water or anything inside. After all who needs to drink liquid, it’s only Florida and pretty much summer year round. My sister made a valid point that if they would keep the doors unloocked people could walk outside to drink but instead unlocking the doors for someone seemed like it was to much of an inconvenience for the staff.

My last few points I promise. There are some cute aprons that are hung up on the wall. Not sure if those are for display or if people could wear them while making their candles? I think it would be nice and add to the experience if people could wear those. If the owners are worried about COVID, lysol them down after each use then was them at the EOD.

What makes an experience is also the people. The first time I went our lady helping us was for a better term lackluster. We asked her if there was descriptions of the scents ( for example, what does snowy day smell like?) and we also asked her if there are popular scent combos. She looked at us like we were nuts for asking and had 0 personality. Meanwhile, the party next us was laughing away and having a great time with the guy they had. My second time around we had a different lady, but still she seemed to just there and not really into entertaining. My recomendation is that they have a list of scent descriptions and popular combinations for people who have no idea where to start since their list if very long.

All in all, I sadly wouldn’t recommend coming here at this time. You pay for a half baked experience at full price. I will say that they do state their COVID policies on the website and while booking but still the experience fell short for myself...

I went to The Candle Pour today with my 2 children (age 10 & 12) and had a great experience. This was our first time making candles and the staff was extremely helpful! When you first arrive, you are greeted and given a form for you to circle your favorite scents (they have approximately 100 to choose from and Holiday scents as well). You go through the scents at your own pace and after you have made you selections you sit down and have the staff sit to help you make your customized candle. I was a little "all over the place" and the staff was able to help give recommendations on finding my desired scent/scents. My children's tastes were completely different from mine and she guided them to their suited tastes. During this process, she was very helpful and told us that at any time we did not like the smell or that it started to go in a way that we were not happy with, to let her know and she would help guide us out. This was very reassuring as this was our first time. The candle scent is made step-by-step by you and can be adjusted during this process.. so if it begins to go in a direction that you are not happy with, they can help you adjust it. I read a prior comment that someone recommended that the participants should be 14 or older and this absolutely NOT necessary. After talking with the staff, I found out that they sometimes do parties for children approximately of the age of 6 and up. My 10 year old is a high energy boy and at no time was he not capable of making his candle nor was it dangerous. The staff places the melted wax in the vessel you choose and you add the scent and stir for 2 min. Obviously, you will want to observe and be present but he was fully capable of doing this. Overall, the candle making process was lots of fun. After making the candles, I asked my children how the process was vs. how they expected it to be. They responded that it was more fun than they were expecting and they definitely would do it again. I would recommend this for individuals, families, groups and date nights. I look forward to burning our candles in 2 weeks and I have to say that originally we went to make a couple gifts for family and we ended up having to make a couple extra, simply because we want to enjoy...

This is one of my favorite places in Tampa! I have visited both pre-pandemic and recently. Although the pre-pandemic experience is better because of the scent wall, that is no reason to skip out on this gem! This place deserves all the love and business possible.

The big difference in the experience because of the pandemic is that you don’t get to start off your visit smelling every single scent along the wall. Instead, you’ll select about 10 different scents at the counter and the person helping you will waft the scents so that you can smell them through your mask.

Don’t worry about not being able to smell through your mask. If you have a hard time for any reason, it’s likely because the actual scent your trying to smell is naturally very light. If you really are struggling to smell things though, Candle Pour will provide a thinner mask for you to change into. How thoughtful and convenient!

The experience itself of selecting scents is really fun and interesting. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and helpful. They literally help you curate your ideal scent and will introduce you to scents you would have never thought to try out.

Depending on when you go, you can either pick up your candle same day a few hours later or the next day. The candles are packaged for you in a super cute bag with handy usage instruction. If you’re visiting from out of town like I am, they can ship your candle to you for a very reasonable price! I came in prepared to only make a candle for a family member as a gift and ended up doing that, plus making myself one that will be shipped across the country.

The best part is that they keep a log of your previous candles so you can easily recreate one if needed. Then you can pick it up or have it shipped to you. I was obsessed with the candle I made the first time (pre-pandemic) and am very excited to receive a duplicate via mail!

Did I mention they even have flameless options like sprays and reed diffusers?! There is an option for everyone, even non-candle people (but who doesn’t like a candle).

Highly recommend this place and will be replacing my beloved candle every time it runs out. Honestly, this is my dream...