If you’ve ever messaged me to ask for a candle recommendation and received a novel-length response… I’m sorry for overwhelming you. I can’t help it. I love giving candle recommendations.
Last summer, while I was on maternity leave, I had an idea. I was feeling guilty that I could no longer keep up with reader questions. To be fair, you probably didn’t want advice from someone running on newborn-level sleep deprivation anyway.
At the same time, I was looking for a better way to share candle recommendations. This blog isn’t my full-time job, which means I can’t devote as much time as I’d like to writing reviews and responding to comments. I wanted to find a way to help readers get recommendations more quickly, even when I wasn’t available.
So I started designing something to help you find your favorite candle without having to wait for me to respond personally. I’ve been working on it for awhile and I’m finally ready to share it.
Introducing, the Candle Finder Quiz!
Just answer 4 quick questions and I’ll give you 4 curated candle recommendations.
It’s a candle quiz (and recommendation engine) powered by everything I’ve learned from years of making, buying, burning, and reviewing hundreds of candles. It’s basically a candle concierge.
👉 Try it here: https://candleculture.blog/candle-quiz/
What It Is
The Candle Finder Quiz is:
- Free
- Brand agnostic
- Personalized
- Constantly evolving
And most importantly, it doesn’t require your email address.
One of my biggest pet peeves is having to constantly give my e-mail address to random websites just to get information or use a tool. So I don’t want your e-mail address. There are no opt-ins. This isn’t a sneaky way to get you to sign up for my newsletter. I will not hold the recommendations hostage until you give me your information.
How It Works
Tell me how much you want to spend, a few likes, a few dislikes, and which matters more to you – scent or looks.
Instead of ranking the candles based on your answers and then recommending the highest scoring options, I wanted to make the recommendations a little more thoughtful. You’ll get the top 2 scoring candles, but you’ll also get 2 more recommendations that I’m very excited about:
- The Hidden Gem Pick: I like introducing people to brands they’ve never heard of so I’m including a “Hidden Gem” pick that features wonderful but sometimes overlooked brands (and a few candles from popular brands that are severely underrated, in my opinion).
- The Design Lover Pick: I believe a great candle should look as good as it smells so there’s also a Design Lover Pick, a candle that matches your scent preferences while doubling as a beautiful addition to your coffee table.
What It’s Not
It is not:
- A list of my favorite candles
- Sponsored by any brand
- A popularity contest
Building a tool that only recommended my personal favorites was very tempting. If I had complete control, we’d all be burning tomato leaf candles year-round but I know that wouldn’t appeal to most of you. Instead, I built something that can recommend candles across a wide range of budgets, scents, styles, and brands.
Why It’s Free
Transparency matters so it’s important for me to mention that some of the links in the quiz, but not all, are affiliate links. That means that I may earn a small commission if you buy a candle using those links. This doesn’t change the fact that the quiz is completely free for you to use. Recommendations are based on quiz responses, not affiliate partnerships. Most of my favorite brands do not have affiliate programs and they’re still included in the quiz and throughout the blog.
This year, for the first time, the affiliate income from this site has been enough to offset the costs of running it. It covers the website hosting fees, my monthly Canva subscription, and the occasional cup of coffee. It’s what allows me to keep this site free for you so I appreciate your support.
Try It (and Tell Me What You Think)!
Try it out! It takes less than a minute. And then come back and tell me what you think. I’m still tweaking things behind the scenes and your feedback genuinely helps.
👉 Take the Candle Finder Quiz: https://candleculture.blog/candle-quiz/
I tend to receive more e-mails than blog comments, but however you’d like to reach out is fine. I can’t wait to hear what you think. The good, the bad, the confusing, the surprisingly accurate, the wildly inaccurate. I’m interested in all of it because I want to keep making it better.
This project has been living in my head for a very long time. I can’t get over the fact that I started thinking about this on maternity leave and I’m finally hitting publish right after my daughter turns one. It took awhile, but I can finally share this. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed making it!
