why i launched blissli: the story behind the candles

i want to start with something honest: i didn't launch blissli because i thought i had a revolutionary idea.

i launched it because i kept buying candles that weren't quite right and i got tired of it.

the frustration that started it

i love candles. i've bought a lot of them. and for a long time i had a vague but persistent sense that the ones i actually wanted didn't seem to exist.

the big brand candles, the ones with the iconic names and the posh boxes, always felt like i was paying for the packaging as much as the product. they smell nice but they're safe. studied and careful and designed to offend no one. not particularly interested in actually having a personality.

then there's the other end: small makers who put a lot of love into their craft but whose branding looks like it was put together quickly. the product might be brilliant, but the overall experience doesn't reflect that.

i wanted the craft and the confidence. a candle that was genuinely well-made, clean, considered, and also felt like it had something to say. like someone with a point of view made it.

i couldn't find it. so i decided to make it.

what i actually wanted to build

a few things felt non-negotiable from the start.

clean ingredients. soy wax, no phthalates, no parabens, vegan and cruelty-free. not because i wanted to make a point about it, but because once i learned what was in most mainstream candles, it felt wrong to go back. clean should be the default, not the premium.

proper fragrance. not safe or generic. i wanted scents that had personality. some playful, some sophisticated, some that you couldn't easily categorise. that's where a lot of the fun happened: building the collection and figuring out which scents felt genuinely blissli.

an honest price. you pay for what went into it, not what went on the box.

and underneath all of it: a brand that felt like a person made it. because a person did.

the bit they don't tell you in the business content

starting a candle brand is messier than the business content makes it look. there is a phase of your kitchen looking genuinely alarming, of your first labels being slightly off-centre, of an early batch you made in the wrong conditions and had to throw away.

none of that put me off. which i take as a sign.

i still work full-time alongside running blissli. some evenings i'm pouring until midnight and getting up early the next day. it's not glamorous and i wouldn't pretend otherwise. but i'm building something i actually believe in, and that makes the long evenings feel worth it in a way that's hard to explain.

who i made this for

blissli is for people who make deliberate choices. not necessarily expensive ones, deliberate ones. the person who reads the ingredient label not because they're anxious about it but because they're interested. who already invests in their wellbeing in other ways and wants their home environment to reflect that.

it's for the person who has big earrings and shops independent and doesn't need everything to match. who wants a candle that's as considered as the rest of their routine.

you know who you are.

to finish

blissli launches this august. there's still a lot to figure out as i go, but the thing i wanted to make (a candle with real craft and actual personality, made without the ingredients you'd rather not have in your home) is exactly what's in the jar.

i hope you love it.

love, amy.

explore the blissli collection here.