One thing to clarify.....I am assuming that your designer is referring to WAX candles and not the METAL refillable ones as natural wax.......candles are either made of beeswax or parrafin wax.......when dry and hardened.....the wax is naturally matte finish.
While you can spray leafshine, floral paints, tints on candles to give them most any effect you like.....The chemicals and oils in the sprays can increse the flammability of the candle ...... I have seen painted candles shoot out sparks from the base of the flame similar to a sparkler type firework. Leafshne, Pledge furniture polish, can give a shine to most any surface....but advise caution if the candle is lit.
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If you have never seen candle making....it is really neat to see the processes for making candles.
Pillar candles are made from a wax snow. - They take and shoot melted parrafin wax from a sprayer head...like a lawn sprinkler.....upwards into a chilled area....The liquid wax droplets harden and fall back down as tiny wax beads......almost like a piling of snow.....they then take the snow and put it into molds to make pillar candles.
Votives are made differentlt......they use a metal table with votive shaped holes all over it......melted wax is poured over the table and them the table turns cold.......they use a scraper to remove the wax on top the table and then they raise up a part of the table and a rake of sorts just rakes hundreds of votives into a big bin.
Tapers are dipped into big vats of melted wax something like twenty times or so to get the tapered shpe of the candle.
