Exploding vagina candles: Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop issues warning

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow's candles are hot - so read the instructions. Photo / File

Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop brand has responded after one of her "This Smells Like My Vagina" candles exploded in flames in a woman's living room.

A spokesperson has said that candle owners need to read and understand the fire safety instructions that come with the candle.

"'We're in touch with the woman to see if she followed the specific fire safety instructions included with the candle, such as trimming the wick and not burning it for more than two hours," a spokesperson told Metro.co.uk.

"At Goop, we vet the products we sell and make customer safety a priority, so we've alerted the manufacturer to the woman's issue and have also reached out to her to send her some goop products to help pass the days in quarantine."

Linda Thompson was horrified when her Goop "This Smells Like My Vagina" candle, which she won in a quiz, suddenly exploded into flames in her living room, the New York Post reported earlier this week.

"The candle exploded and emitted huge flames, with bits flying everywhere," Thompson, 50, told the outlet.

"I've never seen anything like it. The whole thing was ablaze and it was too hot to touch. There was an inferno in the room."

Thompson, who lives in London with her partner David Snow, said they threw the burning candle out the front door.

"It could have burned the place down. It was scary at the time, but funny looking back that Gwyneth's vagina candle exploded in my living room."

Paltrow, 48, launched the pricey candle in January 2020.

According to her online store, the NZ$113 candle emits her personal scent, with notes of geranium, cedar, damask rose and citrusy bergamot.

The website reveals that the candle started as a joke between Paltrow and perfumer Douglas Little.

"The two were working on a fragrance, and she blurted out, 'Uhhh..this smells like a vagina' — but evolved into a funny, gorgeous, sexy, and beautifully unexpected scent. [That turned out to be perfect as a candle.]"

The New York Post contacted Goop for comment about the candle.

Since its launch as a humble newsletter in 2008, Paltrow's Goop has grown into a global lifestyle brand.

From the infamous candle to vitamin supplements named Why Am I So Effing Tired, her products have caused a stir in the wellness world.

Britain's National Health Service chief executive Simon Stevens called Paltrow's Netflix series The Goop Lab "a considerable health risk" and accused it of spreading misinformation by promoting alternative treatments for conditions like mental health.

Goop's head of editorial content Elise Loehnen told Vogue, "We typically straddle the world of evidence and science-backed claims and that which cannot yet be explained."