How to score one of those 'swamp ass' candles you saw on TikTok
If you’ve been on TikTok in the last couple weeks, you may have glimpsed a Shrek-like figure face down, ass up with a candle wick between his cheeks. Great news: That is a real candle. And yes, you can actually buy one.
The entrepreneurs responsible are Abby and Nuvia Zepeda, two sisters in El Paso, Texas, who run a small company called Oddball Candles. (Abby is 21 and Nuvia is 24.) Their philosophy is that candles with smooth, flat surfaces are boring. Instead, they want to create objects that show off their "weirdo" personalities.
The candle, which is aptly named "Swamp Ass," started as a joke, the sisters explained in an interview. The two saw a meme featuring the same design on a cake (a mild Reddit phenomenon) and thought it was funny, so Abby Photoshopped the design onto a candle. Then, the sisters sent it to their family and some friends, who "gently bullied" them into making a few prototypes.
When Abby uploaded the sample candles to TikTok, she expected engagement from just family and friends. She was not expecting the TikTok to get almost 3 million views and more than 7,000 comments — but it did.
It only took 30 minutes for the TikTok to blow up — and for people to start asking where they could buy the candles. In a flash, Oddball Instagram account gained about 1,000 followers and all the other candles on the site sold out.
“The comments were just the most hilarious thing that we’ve ever seen,” Nuvia said. “And it was very touching to see how people were reacting to it.”
“Yeah, it was so exciting all at once,” Abby added.
But selling a green ogre ass candle requires a few big decisions. For example, what should a green ogre ass candle smell like?
“I wanted it to be onions,” Abby said. “I thought that would be so funny.”
They did look for onion candle fragrances, but they couldn't find any. So they went through the collection they already had, ultimately deciding on teakwood as the primary scent. Fortunately, this means the candle actually smells good and not like onions or literal swamp ass (though judging by the TikTok comments, plenty of enthusiastic buyers are fine with it smelling like a swamp). They also struggled to find a mold of a Shrek-like head, so they ordered a small figurine and made their own.
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The Swamp Ass candle launches on Black Friday (Nov. 27) as part of a seven-candle collection. The Zepedas had planned on making only about 10 of each candle, but after going viral they're making an exception for the Swamp Ass only. On Nov. 27 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time (that's 8 p.m. Eastern), they'll have between 40 and 50 Swamp Ass candles available on their site for $30 apiece.
The six other candles dropping alongside Swamp Ass have less meme-y designs, but they'll make equally great holiday gifts. Abby is most excited about the "Champurrado" candle because she and Nuvia mixed the fragrance themselves. (Champurrado is a thick Mexican hot chocolate drink.)
Going forward, the sisters plan to aim high. They hope to expand their business to in-person shopping eventually, and want to invest in equipment to help them work more efficiently. Right now, Abby works on Oddball Candles full-time, while Nuvia works a 9-to-5 job and makes candles on nights and weekends. They're currently using wax-melting pitchers that can hold only enough wax to make four to five candles at a time, but have their eyes on a pot that can melt enough wax for batches of 19. (The pot also has a spout at the bottom, which will make it easier to pour wax into jars.)
As Oddball Candles scales up, the sisters will also need to decide on new designs. Based on the reaction to the Swamp Ass candle, they plan to lean more into pop culture references — and they're not ruling anything out.
“As soon as it took off, we just kind of realized, wow. We can really just do whatever we want now.” Abby said. “And we could just go like, full weird, because that's really what ... inspired us to even start making candles in the first place. Just like, we have all these crazy ideas.”
If you’re into weird stuff and candles, set a reminder on your phone for 6 p.m. MT on Nov. 27, so you don’t miss your chance to get your hands on that ass. And keep an eye out for fun future creations from Oddball Candles.
Topics Black Friday TikTok
Miller Kern is the Deputy Editor of Shopping and Reviews at Mashable, where she writes and edits reviews, roundups, deals, and news stories about tech products, including headphones, skincare devices, laptops, sex toys, e-readers, robot vacuums, and more. She's been covering all things shopping and tech, including shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, for Mashable since 2019. Miller can tell you which products are actually worth your money. She also explores trends in the shopping sphere, such as dupes and viral TikTok moments.
