Most candle brands are built around relaxation. Wind down. Switch off. Light this at the end of the day. But what if you want your home to feel sexy? Expensive? Joyful? Magnetic?
Caitlin Louise Collection was built on the idea that scent can help shape the mood of a space - and the version of you inside it.
We sat down with Amy, CLC's founder, to talk about where the idea came from, how a scent gets matched to a feeling, and what she thinks about when she's building a world from scratch.
Most candle brands organise by scent or season. Why did you build yours around mood?
Most brands are built around calm or escape - and that's completely fine. Candles do offer those feelings to people but I wanted to go a step further and create something that empowers customers to use fragrance in all moments of the day. Taking ownership of how they want to feel - it's not always calm. Sometimes I want my home to feel luxe and bougie, even if I'm sitting around in my pj's and Uggs. Our candles help create those feelings - from the calm, to the luxe, to the joyful.
Where did 'Mood on Demand' come from?
The phrase itself was actually thought of by a friend of mine, after I described what I wanted the CLC candle to stand for. But the concept came from a more personal place. I was stepping back from teaching and studying counselling, and in a moment of real clarity, I just thought: "this is my life. I can design it any way I want". I wanted our customers to also feel and remember that they can live their lives however they wish to as well. The tagline is the prompt to take ownership of your mood.
How do you actually match a scent to a mood? What does that process look like?
It's sensory. It's about the emotions and feelings that are evoked when you smell something. I have an idea of what kind of world I want to create, and then I brain dump everything I can think of that would fit into that world. Textures, foods, drinks, colours. From there, I move to what kind of scent notes will take me to those things on my list. A lot of trial and error!
The 12 scents in the Signature Collection each have their own distinct world. Some are grounding and earthy. Some are sexy and sultry. Some feel like a Rosé pouring, self-care Friday night. No two days ask the same thing of you so why should your candle be basic?
Is there a scent that surprised you - one that became something different from what you expected?
I was surprised by how popular Coastal Driftwood became to be honest. It leans more masculine than some of our other scents, so I expected it to divide people a little more but everyone who has ever picked it up has loved it. I see it as a walk along the beach after it has been raining. Waves crashing. It has that real salty, woodsy kind of scent.
For someone who's never bought from CLC before - where do they start?
Start by thinking about what kind of feeling you want in your home. You might want a grounding and earthy scent, or you might be after a joyful and lighthearted vibe. The descriptions on each scent will take you into the world it creates, as well as the scent notes. But if you're not sure - that's exactly what the Discovery Set is for.
We created it specifically for the Signature Collection, so people could try six scents in a mini tin candle format before committing to a full size.
The Signature Collection exists because Amy believed mood was something you could design, not just wait for. Twelve scents. Twelve worlds. Which one will you step into?
Start with the Signature Discovery Set - six mini candle tins, $49.95.
