FAQs
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🐾 Shop Related Questions
Why Kuro Neko ?
I’ve chosen the name Kuro Neko in honor of two things that I adore - black cats, like my supurrviser and manager Simon, and Japanese culture. I’ve been deep into anime, music and video games, mostly jrpgs, since I was really young - and many of my planned collections are meant to honor those art forms and bring them to life in a medium that is not often explored in fan merchandise.
This is meant to be a fun place to explore one of my passions and share it with the world.
So you’re a weeb, basically.
Pretty much. Nya.
Who are the members of Kuro Neko Melt Co. ?
Esper (Me) makes the wax melts, and is helped by Mista, my dear partner and love of my life, who runs the store, and Stavros, my brother, who does the post office runs for me.
But the real bosses are of course Simon (the kuro of Kuro Neko, who you can see in our logo), Ollie (half persian, half siamese, all entitled, adorable brat) and Jackie (Sweetest boy known to man, always ready to model his tuxedo).
Where Are You Located ?
We all live together in Quebec, Canada, and the kitchen is my craft room. Whelp.
Why Wax Melts ? What Has Drawn You To Scents As A Medium ?
I was always drawn to the arts - writing from my teenage years to now, drawing as a child and teen, then jewelry and mixed media art in my 20s. I began to be more interested in scents when I was diagnosed with keratoconus in 2016. Keratoconus occurs when the cornea — the clear, dome-shaped front surface of the eye — thins and gradually bulges outward into a cone shape. This can lead to multiple symptoms, like blurred or distorted vision, increased sensitivity to bright light and glare, a need for frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions, and sudden worsening or clouding of vision. There can be scarring of the cornea caused by its thinning and stretching that can also affect your vision. This can be corrected in multiple ways, none of which were deemed to be good fit for my situations. (I cannot wear contacts and two cornea transplants are more likely to leave me worse off than I am now.)
Keratoconus is generally diagnosed during one’s teenage years, but mine went unnoticed until I was 30 in spite of having frequent eye exams. I have severe coning and scarring but was lucky that my vision is relatively good - I can get around without issues and while my vision from close by is relatively good, my vision of far away objects is terrible, and light sensitivity is by far my worst symptom. As a result of this, I cannot drive at all, and must wear sunglasses if I am to spend a significant amount of time outside.
I got surgery, called cross-linking, in 2017, to harden my cornea and stop it from coning further. Cross-linking, however, did not fix my condition - it only made it so that it can’t get worse. My condition led me to spend more time inside, and scents were one of the things that made being stuck inside a little more interesting - I gravitated to wax melts thanks to discovering a Glade melter and its matching melts, but I’ve always felt the scents did not last long.
I met my friend Gideon in early 2021, when xe was getting ready to launch xir own business, Luminis Candle Co. I was one of xir very first scent testers, and xe has become a very dear friend over the past years - and xir products were just above and beyond what I had experienced from store-bought melts and candles. Xir work was the catalyst that led me to my own, as with xem doing the initial run of my character scents as a commission. I found myself blending xir scents by combining multiple wax melts - doing ‘scent alchemy’, as it were.
I was hooked. I loved the idea of expressing characters and locales through scents as it was, but doing so with my characters, some of which I have played and written for years ? That was just mind blowing. I had so many thoughts and ideas.
But Gideon has multiple projects to juggle, and little time on xir hands - so, with xir encouragement, I started experimenting with making my own scents in spring of 2022, which proved to be a very calming thing for me, and provided release for my creativity and helped settle my anxiety. I gave out my first melts for free to my friends, or for the cost of shipping, but eventually, with their encouragement, Kuro Neko Melt Co was launched in fall of 2022. I owe so much particularly to Gideon but also my friend Turkborne of Erie Craft - none of this would have been possible without their experience and encouragement.
(And loving bullying. Lord, the bullying)
🐾 Product Questions
What scents do you have available?
Our full scent listing is here - individual product availability is shown on shop listings.
What Are Wax Melts ?
Wax melts are a flameless alternative to candles - to be used with a wax melter.. Multiple kinds of wax melters are available in all sizes and shapes to fit your home décor and your needs - from electric bases to light bulb to those who even use tealights ! I strongly recommend also using wax liners to make clean-up and switching scents before your cubes have let out all of their scents a breeze ! My wax melts are quite strongly scented and will last for a long time. They can be warmed up and cooled down multiple times, and the wax discarded once no scent remains.
Both wax melters and wax liners can be easily found in general stores or online. For the moment, I do not sell either on this site.
Wax melts are not better or worse than candles when crafted with love and care - they simply have their own advantages and disadvantages, just like candles do.
I have chosen to specialize in wax melts because they are the product I prefer to use, and also because the shop mascot, Simon, is as curious as a cat can be - he can and will shove his face in lit candles.
How long does your melts last ?
This is a hard question to pin a precise answer to - not because I am intentionally trying to be vague, but because it honestly depends. Unlike a candle, which would have a pretty set total burn time that would be consistent, wax melts have a variable - the melter itself. Some melters get hotter than others - generally, tealight melters will get hotter than electric based melters, which in turn generally are hotter than lightbulb based melters. The hotter the melter, the more quickly it will burn though the fragrance. From my testing, on my electric melter, I can get more than 24 hours out of one wax cube if melted without stopping, which is not recommended. A cube can last weeks when used normally (a few hours at a time).
What do I do with the wax once there is no scent left ?
Unlike a candle, the wax itself does not get consumed when using a wax melt. Once there is no scent left, the wax should be discarded - its generally not recommended to try to re-scent the wax.
Will You Ever Offer Candles ?
Maybe one day ! For now, and until I have a bigger space to conduct test burns safely without my boss’ direct assistance, it’s unlikely. My eye condition also makes burning candles in my direct field of vision difficult, which while not strictly needed for testing, does mean staring into a bright light to assess the flame’s status is painful and blinding.
If you prefer candles, I recommend going over to my friend Gideon at Luminis Candle Co ! Xe is bound to have a candle to fit your needs, and also offers cosmetics in xir various scents.
That’s A Lot Of Scents Going On, How Does It All Work ?
You’ll notice that none of my wax melts are just a single scent, like lavender or vanilla, but a mix of multiple different scents. This is known in perfumery as notes.
There are three different type of scent notes :
The Top Notes are, as you’d expect, what you will smell first once the wax melt is exposed to heat. These are generally lighter scents, and set an initial impression of the scent and sets a transition to the heart notes.
The middle, or heart notes make up, well, the heart of the fragrance, deepening on the top notes. These make for the bulk of the scent.
The base notes is the foundation upon which the scent is built on, and its purpose is to accompany and elevate the heart notes. This is the component of the scent that lasts the longest.
I'm allergic to X - Will Y Be A Problem ?
I use fragrance oil in my melts, which are basically lab made scents that do not contain the actual ingredient, unlike essential oils. So it is unlikely that the scents would trigger an allergic reaction. Some of our fragrances do contain essential oils, however - If your allergy is especially severe to skin contact, please contact us and we will make sure to double check for you just to be absolutely certain.
There are currently twe type of waxes my melts are made of are - coconut, which is the wax I started with, and a mix of soy and paraffin wax, which I use currently. I would say to err on the side of caution, and that you might get an allergic reaction from touching them, if your specific allergy reacts to coconut or soy in lotions, though I’ve yet to find a case where an allergic reaction did occur.
My Wax Melts Are Slightly Sunken In / Cracked !
This is more common in the older stock - that’s what coconut wax does, I'm afraid. White coconut is a natural wax and a wonderful carrier for scent, the wax in its cooled form is very hard and can crack a bit, and the way the cooling process happens means the exterior part of the wax cools before the inside, which causes it to sink slightly.
These are only cosmetic imperfections, and will not affect the wax melt’s performance !
Since You Are Doing Scents Of Your Characters, Will You Take Commissions?
This is definitely something I would love to offer on a limited basis in the future - I'm still working out the initial pricing for them.
If I ever open commissions, they will likely be offered to our Ko-Fi members first as a trial, then announced on social media as I get more comfortable with the process.
I Missed X Limited Collection - Will You Run It Again ?
It’s certainly possible that I might re-run a collection if it proves popular enough - or even a special mix of the fan favorites of multiple collections. These, like all collections, will be announced on social media.
🐾 Policy Related Questions
How Do You Use the Information You Collect During My Order?
Kuro Neko Melt Co. only collects the information necessary to process and ship your order. You have the option to create an account with us if you wish but it is not required for purchases. We will not sell your information to third parties.
What Is Your Shipping Policy?
All orders are shipped via Canada Post with tracking. All orders will be securely packed and use recycled packaging when possible. The buyer is responsible for any import customs fees that occur.
Please note: we are unable to ship to the UK, Germany or Australia at this time.
What Is Your Refund Policy?
We do not offer refunds on our products. Items are handmade in small batches and despite best efforts they may vary slightly in color from the examples in the photo listings.
If you have concerns about the wax used or scent notes in a product you are always welcome to contact us via email at kuronekomeltco@gmail.com or on social media.
What Is Your Return Policy?
We do not accept returns on our products. All sales are final.
If you have concerns about the wax used or scent notes in a product you are always welcome to contact us via email at kuronekomeltco@gmail.com or on social media.