#BeautyBoss: Lindsay Silberman, Founder of Hotel Lobby Candle
Lindsay Silberman.
Our latest #BeautyBoss is Lindsay Silberman, Founder of Hotel Lobby Candle—a luxury candle brand inspired by five-star hotels. A former magazine editor, Silberman came up with the idea for her line during the pandemic with the goal of bringing the five-star hotel experience into people’s homes.
Each candle is inspired by scent memories by some of Silberman’s favorite places ranging from New York to the Caribbean, and all of her products are made with all-natural soy wax (made with U.S,-grown soybeans) and lead-free cotton wicks. The candles are also free from phthalates, parabens, sulfates, and synthetic dyes in order to ensure the cleanest burn.
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Silberman divides her time between New York City and Miami and enjoys ordering a martini in hotel lobby bars and indulging in turn-down service when she gets the chance. She also publishes a lifestyle blog where she shares her favorite products recommendations, travel advice, and beauty tips to a community of nearly 200,000 fans and followers.
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We chatted with Silberman who shared the inspiration behind the brand, secrets for success, beauty tips, and much more.
When was Hotel Lobby Candle founded and what does the name mean?
I launched Hotel Lobby Candle in October of 2020—during the height of the pandemic—after leaving my career as a magazine editor. Our name pretty much says it all: we're a luxury candle brand inspired by the scents inside five-star hotel lobbies.
What inspired the creation of the brand?
Before launching HLC, I had spent more than a decade covering travel and beauty (for outlets like Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, Town & Country, and Elle Decor) and saw an opportunity to create a uniquely positioned brand with a focus on combining fine fragrance and luxury travel destinations. During my time in editorial, I also noticed a serious lack of high-end candle brands using clean ingredients. (To this day, we’re the only luxury candle brand on the market that uses 100% soy wax.)
I've always been enamored with hotels and their signature scents, and my goal was to create a brand that gave people the "luxury hotel experience" at home.
Hotel Lobby Candle’s City Collection Trio ($149) features three full-sized candles to satisfy three fragrance moods: New York (cozy), Miami (fresh), and Paris Nuit (spicy).
Does Hotel Lobby Candle have a hero product?
Yes! Our Signature scent is the first candle we launched with in 2020 and it continues to be our number one best seller to this day. It's warm, spicy, and complex with notes of agarwood, vetiver, atlas cedar, amber, and white musk. It's the kind of fragrance that can only be described as "intoxicating."
What are your favorite products from the brand?
It depends on the day, but right now I've been lighting our New York candle non-stop. I've called NYC home for the past 15 years, so when I was developing that scent, it was deeply personal. I went through at least 50 different revisions until I landed on a fragrance that is one of the most unique and indescribable scents I've ever personally come across. It has sold out three times since we launched it.
Where are your products sold?
On our website. We're also sold online and in-store at select Neiman Marcus locations around the country.
Future plans for the brand?
We’re excited to be entering into several new product categories over the next year.
Hotel Lobby Candle’s Core Collection Trio ($149) expands the five-star hotel at home experience with three full-sized candles: Linen (pink pepper, linen, and sandalwood), Signature (agarwood, vetiver, atlas cedar), and Spa (eucalyptus, water mine, sage, jasmine, amber).
Who inspires you?
There are so many female founders in the beauty space who inspire me, but if I had to choose one, I would say Ouai founder, Jen Atkin. She has an incredible knack for building community, creating cult-worthy products, and genius marketing campaigns.
Secret to success?
Working my ass off, staying humble, and having an obsessive attention to detail.
Beauty secrets?
Use contact lens cases to store liquids like foundation, moisturizer, and eye cream when you travel. It frees up so much room in your toiletry bag.
Best advice?
Be adaptable to change, always be willing to pivot, and know that sometimes the greatest risks in life end up yielding the greatest rewards.
Favorite way to relax?
Putting on my pajamas, pouring myself a glass of wine, and lighting a candle (HLC of course.)
For more information, visit Hotel Lobby Candle’s website and follow on Instagram: @hotellobbycandle
[Images courtesy of Hotel Lobby Candle]
Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk