HEM White Sage

Second review - scroll down for earlier

HEM White Sage was one of the first incenses I reviewed - way back in March 2013. I wasn't impressed, and gave it a harsh score of 9 out of 50. It was my first experience of white sage - I've had a few more since - a total of 15 by now, with an average score of  27, which is everyday average. Though I've bought and used some sage smudges, I've only reviewed sage incense, approximately half of which have been cones. I find sage to be quite cleansing and pleasant enough, and it can attractively smudge the home, even in stick or cone form. However, I don't find the scent to be that interesting or compelling. For me it mostly works as a simple room freshener, though now and then a white sage incense will captivate me, such as Satya White Sage and Green Tree Californian White Sage.  This HEM has not captivated me, though I find it quite acceptable - certainly not unpleasant as I did in 2013. It's a gentle scent with a decent oily wood base close to sandalwood - the top notes are vaguely floral, supported by some herbal heart notes. I catch some sage characteristics now and again, which adds a bit of interest, but this isn't, for me - your mileage may vary, a white sage focused incense. Yeah, it's OK. I don't quite understand my dislike of it back in 2013, though I recall I bought a few other HEM incenses from that stall in Spitalfields Market, and tended to dislike them. I think they were perhaps poorly stored, or maybe they had got damp. Anyway. This, in 2015, is OK. I like it.  

Date: June 2025   Score: 30

First review

Bought from a stall in Old Spitalfields Market. White Sage, or Salvia apiana, is a plant that is burnt by a number of native American tribes as part of purification rites, and is more common as an incense fragrance in America than it is in India or Europe. The only company (as of 2013)* that offers White Sage incense cones or sticks in the UK is HEM, though loose packets of dried White Sage leaves can be bought from some suppliers, such as Shopping Knight.  *As of 2021, there are several companies offering White Sage, including Satya  and Green Tree. 

As with other some HEM products I've tried this has the damp and stale flowery aroma associated with some older ladies. It tends to catch at the back of my throat. The aroma is not that distinctive or especially pleasant - there's a sandalwood base, some rough wood smoke, and the cloying flowery high notes along with touches of vanilla and spikes of fruit - a bit of raspberry, along with hints of cigar. The cones produce an attractive amount of blue white smoke. As with most boxes of HEM cones, this contains 10 cones plus a small metal disk to burn the cones on.


Date: March 2013    Score: 9/50

***

HEM Corporation

White Sage