Bath & Body Works will be getting some new competition with the grand opening of Moonflower Essentials— a Black woman owned self-care candle company set to open in Miami Gardens, tomorrow July 10th.

Founded by Miami Gardens native, May Reign, the self-care company aims to be a space for all to find quality natural products that will help them to reset, unwind and feel at peace. As a special treat, Moonflower Essentials will be having sales on select products for customers to buy. The grand opening of the boutique and candle bar will kick off at noon on Sunday.

Moonflower Essentials by May Reign is located in the Miami Gardens Promenade Plaza at 17942 NW 27th Avenue (facing 27th Avenue behind Taco Bell). The Miami Gardens Promenade now sits where the Old 183rd Street Flea Market plaza once stood. The grand opening will feature music, lite bites, and live poetry.

“It still doesn’t feel real, but it is. The storefront is opening. It’s the City of Miami Gardens’ first black-owned self-care boutique and candle bar,” said Reign in a statement on social media. “I’m inviting the community to come to celebrate the growth of Moonflower Essentials.”

May Reign is a poet, author, and International Spoken Word artist who grew up in Miami Gardens and is a graduate of the city’s Miami Carol City Senior High School. In 2011, she began making candles as gifts for friends and family when she had the epiphany that it could be a way to make extra money. Before long, Reign said she became the go-to person for locals suffering from anxiety and sleep deprivation, depression, and mental fatigue. Although Reign does not have a medical background, several repeat customers proclaim that her candles are an essential part of their meditation as well. In 2018, Reign began creating other natural self-care products including body butter, body scrub, bath teas, and soap. Reign said she named her company Moonflower because actual moonflowers bloom in the darkness. She said this company represents her ability to grow through her darkest times.

Moonflower Essentials features a full line of scented candles, body butter, soaps, and body scrubs, and more. Over the years Hy-Lo News has featured this company as part of our annual Black-Owned Candle Companies to Patronize list. Reign has taken her love for self-care and expanded to brick mortar locations from online sales and pop-up shops. Their first physical location was a kiosk that opened in Pembroke Lakes Mall in 2021. The success of that location has allowed Reign to open her first full-service brick-and-mortar store.

“We look forward to seeing our customers new and old at the grand opening. Moreover, we hope the surrounding community will support our efforts to thrive as a Black woman-owned small business, and as part of the overall goal of building a stronger economy for the Miami Gardens community, at large,” said Reign.

For more information on the grand opening visit Moonflower Essentials Facebook Page.