Aneelia Balraj overcomes anxiety with aromatherapy

IF you're familiar with the internet trend and Netflix series Is It Cake? then Aneelia Balraj can probably have her own spinoff called Is It a Candle?

The 19-year-old entrepreneur has been making realistic-looking speciality dessert candles and aromatherapy candles, among other types, for the past seven years.

But while she now has a successful business, it all started by her seeking different ways to boost her mental health.

Balraj grew up in Bamboo Settlement No 2 and still lives there.

Throughout her childhood, and while attending the Bamboo Settlement Primary School and Laksmi Girls Hindu College, she was obsessed with arts and crafts.

She told Sunday Newsday, “I was always an art person. I’ve entered lots of art competitions and that was my passion.

“I loved (all forms of art) – drawing, painting, physical models, I used to love doing those things.”

Laughing while recalling a younger version of herself, she said wanted to be “so many different things” and was also interested in law and science.

She studies pre-law at the Academy of Tertiary Studies (ATS) and recently completed a certificate in software engineering at CTS College of Business and Computer Science. She is now set to do a degree in IT (information technology) there too.

Her mother, Mala Basdeo, makes bath and body products and in 2016, decided to get certified by doing a course in candle-making and soap-making with the Ministry of Community Development.

At the time, Balraj was 12 years old and with her mother being her transport home, she’d attend the classes with Basdeo owing to time constraints.

“I was just tagging along but the teacher was like, I’m so involved and I’m doing well and that my mom should register me. She did, and I ended up being the youngest to graduate from the course on the island.”

Not too long before this, Balraj was diagnosed with anxiety after struggling to find out what was happening to her for some time.

“It took a really long to figure out what it was.

“I went to doctor after doctor, did a lot of tests – ECGs, blood tests – and no one knew what the issue was. Then I went to another doctor, and he said I had anxiety and the (complications) I was experiencing were panic attacks.”

She tried using prescription medication but unfortunately, her symptoms worsened.

“I know medication helps a lot of people and they should definitely go for it, but it wasn’t helping me.”

It was then she decided to try making a lavender-rose aromatherapy candle to assist with her anxiety.

These types of candles are widely known for helping with sleep, reducing stress, easing anxiety.

One of her priorities right now is also bringing more awareness to the importance of mental health in Trinidad and Tobago.

“So I experimented and then I realised this could actually help other people because I was feeling a difference.

“I gave to my friends, I gave to my family, and they said they were willing to buy (the candles).”

Before this, she had never thought about turning this passion into a business. But with support from her mother, her father, Balraj Basdeo, friends and the rest of her family, she got the motivation to make that decision.

She then launched WaxCraft by Aneelia.

“I’ve done a lot of trial and error, lost lots of (material) and figured out a way to master making these different types of candles.

“So it started with aromatherapy, then I expanded to dessert candles and luxury candles.”

She uses soy wax because it is eco-friendly/biodegradable and lasts longer.

Her candles smell exactly what they are modeled after as well. A visit to any of her pop-up shops may make you feel like you just walked into a bakery or coffee shop.

Luxury candles, she explained, are simpler and more elegant, mainly consisting of dry herbs and spices.

Scents for those types include things like bamboo lime, frosted cocoa, vanilla, among others.

When it comes to dessert/food-and-beverage candles, she has made replicas of cupcakes, pumpkin spice lattes, espresso, ice cream, hot chocolate, milkshakes masala chai, among others.

She has also replicated succulents.

She also does custom orders, adding that people have asked her to replicate popcorn, among other things.

She said “the highlight of (her) entire business” is witnessing people’s reactions to her products.

“They’re shocked to see something can be replicated so well – the smell and the appearance.”

In fact, she told WMN, many visitors admitted they were lured to her set-up because of the scent.

She said sometimes, people ask if they can eat the candles because they smell so good. She usually informs them that while they are edible because of the soy wax, but “It’s not going to taste good, so please don’t.”

So how does Balraj make her products smell so close to the real things?

She said she firstly “figures out what (she is) aiming for” and blends different fragrances “and finds a way to make it smell similar.

“Sometimes we’d buy the real thing (actual snacks/drinks) and make (a candle replica) and have them side-by-side to compare looks and scents”

A coffee lover herself, she said the coffee-scented/themed products are the ones customers gravitate to the most.

Her prices currently range from $85-$225, with the lowest-priced ones being the aromatherapy candles.

“Mental health is an important thing and I really want ppl to have this type of candle.”

She does not have a physical store but it is a major goal of hers.

Deliveries to Grand Bazaar are free, and between $20 and $30 elsewhere.

Although she is young, she wants other people to know it is never too late to do what they love.

“My mom was late into it and she discovered something she loved later in life.

“There are going to be trials and errors but keep going, keep doing what you love.”

Anyone interested in learning more about her business or purchasing her products, she can be reached at 476-2922, waxcraftbyaneelia.com, or under the social media handle WaxCraft by Aneelia on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok