My eldest son asked for bees for his 16th birthday. So, in preparation, we both enrolled on a weekend “basic beekeeping” course. From there, what started as a shared curiosity soon grew into something more and I decided to try making fragranced candles using beeswax to help him fund his new hobby.
We don’t use wax from our own hives (they’re not quite producing enough) but that remains our long-term goal. For now, we carefully source our beeswax and work with it in its natural state, understanding that no two batches are ever exactly the same. What bees produce changes with the seasons, with weather and with what they forage and that variability is part of the material’s character.
Working with beeswax has been a massive learning curve. It’s dense, temperamental and far less forgiving than modern waxes. There were years of testing, plenty of frustration and more than a few moments where it would have been much easier to just give up and switch to something simpler. But that was never the point.
While I love essential oils and use them throughout my skincare range, I avoid them in fragranced candles. Many essential oils don’t withstand high temperatures and can change character when burned.
Instead, I use premium-grade fragrance oils made specifically for candles that are safe, stable and phthalate and paraben free. My signature blend combines beeswax with a touch of coconut wax to support consistent fragrance release and diffusion, so each candle performs at its best.
Since then, The Hidden Hives has grown. Alongside our botanical candles, we now offer wax melts, tealights, room and linen mists, reed diffusers, car diffusers and larger statement reed diffusers. We also handcraft traditional cold-processed soaps, aromatherapy shower steamers, nourishing bath tea infusions and treatment candles, all made using skin-kind natural butters, oils and essential oils.
Our range continues to develop through testing, refinement and listening, both to the materials we work with and to the people who use our products. Each addition is considered carefully, with the same focus on quality, performance and ingredients.
If you ever need help choosing something, or simply want to talk scent, wax or formulation, you’re always welcome to get in touch.
