Hunting good scents with Rando the incense mouse since 2013
Pleasant, sweet, floral, quite commercial. Vanilla is prominent. This is an attractive incense - it would be widely acceptable. I like it, though find it a little too sweet and floral and commercial for my personal taste. I'd like some rough contrast to the sweetness which can become a little cloying. However, when I want to sweeten the house before a visitor, this is the incense I've been using.…
Yamuna's Incense in Kaunas , Lithuania's second largest city, is a marriage of Indian and Lithuanian cultures. Yamuna tells me that "Yamuna’s Incense is conceptualized in Lithuania, most of the fragrances are inspired and created by me and the incense is manufactured in India. We use some local ingredients, for instance Baltic amber oil, spruce resin, sage, thyme, etc". There are now quite a…
Candy sweet on the stick - rose scented Turkish delight. The name, Ishwari , refers to the Hindu goddess Mahadevi , and suggests feminine energy, so the intended fragrance would be soft, feminine, alluring, with plenty of florals, yet grounded in a firm resinous base. Though initially attractive, the sweetness and strength of the cold throw scent can soon become a little satiating, so it's good to…
When I started this blog I created a page which listed incense brands such as Satya, Hem, and Happy Hari, but some of the companies on my list, such as Happy Hari, did not make the incense themselves - they either commissioned it, or bought it loose off the shelf and rebadged it to sell under their brand name. As a maker is not the same as a trader (think Van Gogh compared to Amazon), I split the…
While hunting incense from Lithuania (in the Baltic States of Northern Europe), Daniela Coelho-Rodriguez of nature design website, Forest Homes , where I bought the Lithuanian related Smells Like Spells incense sticks, points me in the direction of Yamuna's Incense in Kaunas , Lithuania's second largest city. The incense names are interesting , and the packaging and presentation is simple, clean,…
Rose Crystal is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, but now increased to eight. They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US , LotusZen in the UK , and PadmaStore in the EU , for example. The incense represents "Love". The ingredients description from the American Shoyeido website is a little unclear - in one place it says "Silky…
Blue Topaz contains green tea, sandalwood, clove, vanilla, and spices, and represents "Joy". This is a little more compellingly attractive on the stick than the previous two new Gems. Spice is the prominent aroma, and there is that curry association with the spices, though this is fairly sweet with an awareness of vanilla. And I can convince myself there is some green tea elements in the scent.…
Obsidian is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, then later increased to eight. They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US , LotusZen in the UK , and PadmaStore in the EU , for example. It contains frankincense, aromatic ginger (or is it ginger lily?), sandalwood, and spices, and represents "Hope". Chocolate is what my senses tell me…
Mystic Jade is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, then increased to eight. They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US , LotusZen in the UK , and PadmaStore in the EU , for example. The ingredients are given as sandalwood, myrrh, clove, and spices, and represents "Peace". The dusky brown grey stick smells of coriander, turmeric, school…
Amethyst is the last of the "original" set of the Jewel series, and represents "Balance". It contains sandalwood, cinnamon, and spikenard ( Nardostachys jatamansi - a plant in the honeysuckle family). It has a sweet musky scent on the stick, white chocolate, tea and herbs also, but mostly it is sweet, musky, sensual, and earthy from the spikenard essential oil. As far as I'm aware, this is my…
Ruby is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, but now increased to eight. They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US , LotusZen in the UK , and PadmaStore in the EU , for example. Ruby contains cinnamon, sandalwood, and patchouli, and represents "Strength". The stick colour is a dusky sandy rose. The scent is kinda rose like, though that…
There is an interesting cross-cultural blend in play in the incense sold by the retail brand Smells Like Spells. The company is registered in the UK , has a store in Lithuania , sources the incense from Nepal , and uses Norse mythology as part of the imagery to sell the incense. Thor is the Norse god of thunder - the Lithuanian (or Baltic) equivalent is Perkunas - also a god of thunder. Fragrances…
An interesting aspect of Smells Like Spells incense is that each tube is marked with the phase of the moon it was made. My tube of Eir Healing Spell is marked "Waxing Gibbous Moon", while this Odin Focus Spell is marked "Waxing Crescent Moon". SeaWitchBotanicals provide a guide to the phases of the moon. Craftworkers and herbalists who align their incense making with the phases of the moon treat…
There is a pleasant note of sweet licorice on the cold throw scent on the stick. Warm, quite natural scent on the burn. Fairly soft and attractive. There's a feel of a rustic music festival from the Seventies - bonfires in the distance, and cannabis closer by. Some chocolate, resin, and licorice notes rounds it out nicely. I get out the document that comes with the incense (each Smells Like Smells…
Smells Like Spells in a British owned retail shop in Vilnius , the capital of Lithuania, which sells " Norse Magic " related candles, home fragrance, and incense under the Smells Like Spells brand. The incense, as indicated on the accompanying paperwork, is made in Nepal . In discussion with the owners, Vilius and Marius, they assured me that despite all indications to the contrary, the sticks are…
Described by Nippon Kodo as "Spicy Sandalwood" with " various materials utilized in Chinese medicine for centuries " giving the keynotes of sandalwood and cinnamon. Eiju, which translates as "long life", is one of Nippon Kodo's popular everyday incenses. Meiko in this context translates as "excellent" or "special", so Meiko Eiju translates as something rather prosaic like "Special Long Lasting…
I couldn't find a reliable website for Gyokushodo - information mostly comes from sales bling on various shop websites, so I have treated it with some caution. Many shops say the company was formed in 1804, though that appears to be the year a merchant, Sakubei II, moved his wholesale business from Hiroshima to Osaka , which has developed a reputation as a major label incense centre with companies…
Shorindo is b ased on Awaji Island , which has 14 incense makers , and has a claim to make 70% of Japan's incense . Incense making on the island started in 1850 when an island er, Tatsuzo Tanaka, copied incense production methods from the then capital of Japanese incense making, Sakai , and brought them to Awaji, where the nishi-kaze (west wind) dried the incense, and its port enabled the incense…
Baieido ( USA website ) are a well known Japanese incense producer, who promote themselves skilfully. Baieido make statements about themselves which is then copied across the internet by various traders and shops. They trace their history back to Kakuuemon Yamatoya, a wholesaler of medicinal herbs in Sakai , who named himself "Jinkoya Sakubei" (which means agarwood trader) in 1657 . As such,…
Kameyama is a popular scented candle company founded by a carpenter in 1927 in the Japanese city of Kameyama , which has a reputation for candle making. They expanded into incense making in 1987 , and also make copies of popular perfumes such as Christian Dior and Ralph Lauren . Flower Aroma (Hanafuzei) is their well established and popular flagship range of low cost and low smoke floral daily…
Violets have a sweet gentle scent that powers the evocative flavour of Parma Violets . It's not a common scent for incense, but it should be. However, the violent scent in incense is not from the flowers. They are too delicate to yield their fragrance via extraction , so the scent is replicated by synthetic ionones which were developed in 1898 by Tiemann and Kruger . Reviews Kameyama Flower Aroma…
I am very interested in the resin-on-a-stick style of incense, and quite excited that the style is spreading around the world. Banjara is the brand name of R M Enterprises, an Indian incense house based in Bangalore who have moved into making these sticks for wholesale mainly to the West via Dragon Euro Trade in North Holland and Ancient Wisdom in the UK. And patchouli is one of my favourite…
This is a sweet and very attractive Nag Champa which closely follows the original Satya Nag Champa . It's fairly soft and delicate, with an engaging balance of pale wood and floral notes. There are some modern scent tones, along the lines of white musk , and these work well to make this a clean and tidy accord which will likely have a wide appeal. My preference is for an accord that is more…
Incense houses and dealers Anand Incense (Mumbai) Anand Products & Co are based in Mumbai, and were founded in 1973. They sell both scented and masala incense. They have taken over sales of one of my favourite incenses, Mayur Flora . A small but solid fairly typical decent quality Indian incense company. Reviews: 5 Top score: 42 Low score: 37 Average: 40 ***** Baykeri's of Mumbai Baykeri 's are a…
Very attractive Flora style soaked oil fragrance on the stick. Nips of icy volatiles among the musk and candy powder. Pleasant florals and creamy caramel weave their way through the wool-tinged accord. A delightful blend of attars and modern aroma-chemicals. This, for me, leans more in the direction of the makers in Pune than Mumbai. There is a wonderful blend of Persian/Arabian incense tradition…