Stamford Mythical Range Incense Witches' Curse

Third review - for earlier scroll down

There's fruit - tangerine - in the scent on the cone, along with baby milk vomit, faint coconut, damp marsh weeds, and apple. It's curious and somewhat light and uplifting. While the scents on the cones have been broadly acceptable, in a perfumed way, for the Mythical Range, I have been somewhat disappointed with the scents on the burn. This one is a little more acceptable (or fresher) than most of the others, and does carry much of the scent from the cone, though it is a little blurred by the smouldering sawdust scent. It is clear to me that not enough perfume has been used when dipping the cones, or not fixative was put in the perfume mix. Or perhaps both. I have a memory of Stamford's perfumed incense being bold and reliable, but on looking back on my reviews of Stamford branded perfumed incense, I note that my comments often are that they smell nice on the stick or cone, but the scents on the burn are poor. It's curious how initial impressions are so powerful, and it takes a lot to rewrite the memory of that first impression.  There is a meme that people are selected or rejected at interview within the first five seconds - I've not researched how true that is, but it does align with anecdotal experience. Same as that meme of "love at first sight".  Anyway, there is a pleasant musk warmth on the burn.   

The brass dish I've been using for revisiting the Mythical Range cones was sent to me by Aida of IncenseBurnerHolder.com.  

Date: May 2024   Score: 24 

Second review

We did a mega comparison scent test. Originally this wasn't part of it, but it seemed fun to slip it in. It got the lowest scores, and responses were that it was OK, but a bit plain, with a little too much smoke in relation to the scent.  

 To be fair I think I've had this sample in my drawer for a while, and perfumed incense doesn't keep well - the perfume, being volatile, tends to evaporate. The stick has the sweet candy fragrance I noted on the cone in my last review. Pleasant, but quite faint. I get more of the sweet candy this time when burning - I suppose it has been absorbed and held by the charcoal - which seems to be good quality. I tested some ash on my palm and it was quite smooth. Along with the candy there is something vegetal and then something musky, and hints of old leather. Nothing chemical about this perfume - it is well made. Quite clean. It's low points are that it doesn't really make an impression, and it hovers around the same scent zone, so there is no journey, no delicious contrasts. It doesn't quite lift above the ordinary. I put a lot of that down to age - there is a lack of brightness and vibrancy.   The score this time will be less than my last review, but I won't alter its ranking on my chart due to it being an old packet of perfumed incense. 


Date: Nov 2021   Score: 24 

First review

Has a pleasing sweet candy fragrance on the cone which is less apparent when burning. It's an OK scent, which has some fruity floral memory of the cone aroma, but is less attractive. Soft smoke with mild sandalwood and musk undertones. It's OK, but there's a lack of imagination about this. Overall a soft, pleasant and relaxing scent which harmonises with the home and creates a gentle atmosphere. There's a mild hint of seduction, so could be used when you invite someone home you fancy, but don't wish to make it obvious.


Date: Dec 2016    Score: 28  

***

A little scent comparison

Stamford
Mythical (Black Magic) cones

Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Sifcon Enchanting Bouquet Variety Pack

I like that general hardware stores are selling incense, so I always support the initiative by buying. I picked up this set of four fragrances for £1.29 from my local general hardware store. To be honest I wasn't expecting much as these cheap incense sticks tend to be charcoal sticks dipped in some cheap perfume solvent that fades, so when burning what you get is the base organic material rather than the perfume fragrance. This Enchanted Bouquet, however, is quite charming, and is excellent value for money. The aromas are fairly simple floral notes, but very pleasant and ideal for everyday use. They have an attractive scent when burning, and the scent lingers for an impressive amount of time. They are great for freshening up a house in the morning or before visitors. They are not exotic or special enough for burning while visitors are in the house, or for intimate occasions, but they are better than basic toilet fresheners. They make for great everyday incense.  I like them a lot.

They are made in India for the UK based  Sifcon International company who are a wholesalers dealing in household goods. The sticks are not perfume dipped, but are made from natural hand rolled masala ingredients. I don't know what the arrangement Sifcon has with the manufacturers - if they are, like Aargee, working with a large company such as  Mysore Sugandhi, or if, like Gokula and Happy Hari,  they commission directly themselves from a smaller independent producer; but they are clearly using folks who are making the sticks in a traditional manner, and  - importantly for me - are doing it the way that most incense in Indian is made, rather than the current hip American way of including halmaddi. Halmaddi, for me, intrudes on an incense, and has unpleasant physical side-effects. I am possibly unique in this, as halmaddi is very popular in America, and increasingly so here in the UK where importers like Aargee are commissioning more and more incense made with it. But I am pleased whenever I find a decent incense that doesn't use halmaddi. I feel physically better off for it, feel financially better off as when incense contains halmaddi the price goes up, and feel morally better off as the tree from which halmaddi is extracted is under constant threat of extinction due to the demand in the West for incense made from it.

This is an excellent find, and I will be buying a stock of them, and hope the company extends its range, and is successful. I would love to see more everyday incense being sold in general stores and in supermarkets. I feel sad when I pass by the air freshener aisle and see all the chemicals on display there, and absolutely no incense. We have aerosol sprays which harm the atmosphere, and we have plug-ins which use energy. We have chemicals of all sorts. But none of the big supermarkets carry  natural and beautiful hand rolled masala incense.

Rose

Mildly sharp with an invigorating freshness verging on lemon. There are flowery notes behind the lemon, and a sense of the floral quality of roses. Quite impressive for the price.

Score: 34

Magnolia

Flowery with vanilla overtones and a sense of soapy linen. Freshens a room pleasantly with a natural scent. Not heavy or intrusive - simply pleasant. Excellent value everyday scent. The only complaint is that it is underwhelming and a little ordinary, but sometimes that is just what we want.

Score: 32

Lotus Lake

The mildest and most subtle of the four, there is perhaps too much intrusion of the base organic material in the floral notes, though that could be the result of inadequate rolling in this batch than the ingredients or menu. The perfumes inclines a little more toward rose than lotus.

Score: 29

Orchid

Predominantly floral though not heady. The perfume drifts on the breeze. It's not faint, simply soft and gentle. There's some sandalwood underlying this giving a sensual warmth. This is perhaps the most evening accented of the four scents. I really like this one.

Score: 35

Overall score: 33

***

 What's The Best Incense In The World?

Sifcon International

Best floral incense

Stamford Mythical Range Incense Fairy's Mist

 

Third review - scroll down for earlier

A complex aroma on the cone - musk, chocolate, parma violets. Very engaging and pleasant. The burn has the typical bargain basement aroma of smouldering sawdust that the cheaper perfume-dipped incense has, though there's some of the scent from the cone present, some floral notes, few sweet notes, some vague HEM-like damp rose, though muffled and subdued. Shame. Blurb is "Fill the air with a mystical sense of calm and let the captivating blend of white rose and soft lily of Fairy's Mist incense guide you along the tranquil paths of Nirvana."

Date: May 2024   Score: 19

Second review

Modestly sweet and pleasant, but a bit clunky and damp and old fashioned. OK for the toilet.


Date: Aug 2019   Score: 22

First review

There's a sherbet sweet, slightly medicinal, slightly acidic scent on the cone which is reasonably pleasant, but also slightly volatile and chemical like. On burning it smells like cheap old fashioned perfume, what my wife calls "Old ladies' knickers". It has a sort of sharp lingering damp rose smell which catches in the throat.

I don't particularly like this. There appears to be little difference between this and some cheap and nasty air freshener spray.


Date: Oct 2016    Score: 18

***

Stamford
Mythical Black Incense cones

Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Stamford Mythical Range Incense Demon's Lust

  

Second review - scroll down for earlier

Scent on the cone is synthetic, chemical, pine disinfectant, musty leather, some familiar scents I can't pin down, coconut fibre, violets, kinda attractive in a modest way - nice balance between top and base notes.  The fragrance on the burn is mostly sawdust.

Date: May 2024  Score: 19

First review

From the sublime to the ridiculous. Unicorn's Grace was a lovely incense, full of sweetness and charm, while this Demon's Lust is just another bog-standard cheap cone which has no scent, only the smell of the base material. There is a pleasant violet aroma on the cone, and that may account for the lack of scent when burning, as the chemical component of violets that produces the scent is ionone, which then binds to the scent receptors in the nose and shuts them off to that scent temporarily. It may be that there is so much ionone in the cone, or a particular quirk of burning it, means that it immediately switches off the scent receptors, so all that can be smelt is the base material. Anyway, not much cop these cones. On a level with the bargain basement stuff you can buy off eBay in various gaudy colours.


Date: Oct 2016   Score: 19

***

Stamford
Mythical Black Incense cones

Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Stamford Mythical Range Incense Unicorn's Grace

Perfumed volatility on the cone. Synthetic room-freshener scent - familiar, but I can't quite catch it. Green, fresh, citric, lime, lemon, slightly floral mid or heart tones, few base notes - perhaps some woody pine. It's attractive - it's got me sniffing away... 

The scent on the burn is again green, but with more base so it's like cooking cabbage and/or spinach, but more attractive than that sounds - some cheeky little citric top notes start playing around.  This is a nice incense. As I've been going through this new pack of Stamford Mythical cones, sold now by Stamford London rather than Aargee, I'm finding a fair divergence from either my experiences back in 2016 and 2017 when I initially reviewed them, or in the quality of the cones themselves. It's possible that Stamford are sourcing from a different incense maker, or it could be that my own appreciation of incense has altered. I am marking them down quite a bit from the original scores, and though I will also be marking this one down, I don't think I'll be going down too far.  

I've just looked at my review from 2016, and I see that packs back then did have blurbs on them. And the blurb then was the same as it is today: "Adore the mythical aroma of aloe vera in Unicorn's Grace, its magical presence is sure to transport you to a serene and tranquil land." Ah, yes, aloe vera, that is the elusive "green" scent I have.  I'm not sure, even now, knowing it is meant to be aloe vera, that I would pin it down to that.  Kiwi! that's what I'm smelling. It's kiwi.  Hmm, as it burns down to the thicker part of the cone, so I'm getting hints of scorched sawdust. Shame. That, for me, is one of the weak points of burning cones - the way the scent changes, and usually not for the better, as the heat gets down to the thicker end of the cone.  It's not much, but it is there. I'll be moving the score down a little more than I initially intended.  The brass incense holder in the pic was sent to me by Aida of IncenseBurnerHolder. It is also available from the Chinese website Shein. 

Date: May 2024   Score:  31

First review

Unicorn's Grace is part of  the Mythical series by Stamford that I dubbed "Black Magic" before I knew the official name. The full set of 12 scents is available from Bargain Shop on Amazon for £12.38 including postage. There are twelve cones in each box, along with one of those thin metal stands which are actually little use as the heat goes through them. Our family love the mythical theme of the series, and my daughter chose this one to burn first as she loves unicorns. It has a rose and grassy aroma touched with some sandalwood. The blurb on the box says: "Adore the mythical aroma of aloe vera in Unicorn's Grace, its magical presence is sure to transport you to a serene and tranquil land." It is relaxing, and very pleasant. The scent on the cones is sweet, jammy and sherbet like with some herby, medicine-like peaks.

Made in India by an unknown source, these are not charcoal perfumed-dipped cones, but cones made by hand from natural fragrant ingredients. These are lovely.

Date: Oct 2016   Score: 36

***

Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Stamford
Mythical Black Incense cones

The Candle Company Floral Scented Incense Sticks

A set of six packs of floral scented sticks, each pack with eight sticks machine extruded and colour coded to suit the named fragrance. Bought for something cheap in a 99p or £1 store - or maybe a local hardware store. Bought more to support the notion of incense being sold rather than aerosols to freshen up a room. I didn't expect these to be any good. But for a toilet freshener they are cheap as chips, excellent value for money, and less harmful to the environment.

The names of the different packs are Lily, Rose, Lotus, Blossom, Lavender, and Jasmine, but they all end up smelly pretty much the same. The aroma is just the base sawdust. It just smells of burning wood. They are not of much use except to cover up bad smells in the kitchen or toilet. But they at least are not offensive.

The brand is The Candle Company. The company who imports the sticks are ITP Imports of Yorkshire who have an online site Discount Warehouse. They sell them wholesale for 52p a unit. 

Date: Sept 2016   Score:  12

Best floral incense

Stamford Dragon's Fire sticks

Just picked up an almost empty pack of these that had fallen under my desk. I had assumed I'd already reviewed them, but couldn't remember doing so, so came to my blog to check, and find that I hadn't. So here we are. I haven't been doing much incense reviewing for a while - I've been busy on some of my other blogs, and on Real Life. I really need to get busy because I am surrounded by almost empty packets of incense, plus plenty of samples I've been sent which I haven't got around to doing.

This is a nice incense. I tend to like Aargee products. They use a selection of manufacturers, some great, some good, and some not quite so good. They seem, however, to have an incense for every occasion and for every person.  This incense seems to be marketed at those who wish to create a mood, and are perhaps into crystals and healing. The aroma is benzoin and musk. It's warm, seductive, and relaxing. There's a pleasant touch of spice just to stir things up a little. Nice.

And it leaves a pleasant sweet infusion in the room for over 12 hours afterwards. I like when an incense has a lasting and pleasant aroma.


Date: Sept 2016  Score: 30

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Stamford Joss Styx Chakra Muladhara Root Incense Cones

I reviewed the Chakra Muladhara Root incense sticks back in August 2013, and I loved them, giving them a score of 40, which put them at that time into my Top Ten best incense.  The scent is a blend of myrrh and patchouli, two of my favourite scent sources. This review is for the cones, which are made from the same ingredients, though prepared slightly differently. The sticks are made from a charcoal paste with a masala mix of ground down myrrh and patchouli  which is then rolled around a bamboo stick. The cones appear to also utilise charcoal paste, but also makko, which is an odourless flammable material like charcoal.

The scent on the cone is a delicate pine, with some floral notes and soapy lemon. OK, but not promising. The scent when burning is initially a little dry and smoky. I am getting rather more base material than the more fragrant notes. There's charcoal and basic sandalwood powder, but little evidence at the moment of myrrh or patchouli.  As times rolls on,  pleasant floral notes with suggestions of lime and lavender develop, but still nothing of myrrh or patchouli. This is an OK everyday incense, but I'm not getting anything particularly special from it.  I've burned these cones a few times now and been a little underwhelmed. There's nothing particularly wrong with the scent, it just doesn't lift in any direction, and is best used simply as a background room freshener.


Date: Aug 2016  Score:  25

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense no longer available)

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 Incense Ratings - Top of the Dhoops!

Satya Nag Champa Fresh Rose Dhoop Cones

A fresh box of Satya Rose. Oooh. This is lovely. Sugar sweet. Delicate floral rose - not heavy and old fashioned, but light and playful and a little bit sexy with hints of strawberries. Really like this one. Lifts the room, lifts the mood. An incense to make you smile and if you're young to dream ahead and hope, while if you're old, to reminisce of old romances.... 

Checking the box, I note that it is an older style box with the old Satya family logo, and the old website address of nagchampa.co.in (now taken over by a Chinese company). The incense smells really fresh - not like stock dating from before 2014 (when the brothers split up, and the logos changed). 

The logo on the box is the pre-2014 one

It is a highly perfumed incense, and I feel that the perfume would have evaporated if kept in storage for at least six years. I wonder if this is a fake? Next time I buy some incense I'll get another box of the Satya Rose and see what logo is used. Fake or not, this is a very attractive cone! 

Date: Dec 2020    Score: 40 

OK. I have a sample box of the Satya rose cones I burned last year, and I've popped one into a cute looking, but totally impracticable Chinese jade burner I bought off eBay many years ago. They are still listed there  - thousands of them - usually listed as vintage jade or vintage silver. They can be bought very cheap, but they can also go up to silly prices because they look so cute. But they are not genuine, they are not old, and they are not incense burners. They are purely ornamental. In order to get them to burn incense you have to make holes in the bottom in order to get an air flow, otherwise the cones just goes out. Also, you need to put the cones on a heat resistant stand (you often get free stands in a cone packet - either a metal one, or ceramic, or clay) before putting it in the burner, otherwise the burner gets VERY HOT! Even with that, it is advisable to put the burner on a heat resistant surface.

Anyway - the rose incense. It's a delicate floral scent, hints of strawberry in with the rose. It is a pleasant scent - quite soft, delicate, and light, so if you don't want a rich, heady rose scent, then this is a good alternative. Rose is not one of my favourite scents, so I'm not inclined to get this again, but it is quite nice.

Date: Feb 2017    Score: 28

Tatty little box of cones found near the bottom of my incense collection. The seal had been broken, so I've burned these in the past, and the remainder have been exposed to the air, so they are not fresh. I'm not getting any of the high floral notes, just the basic base notes. Really no point in giving a score as they are not as they should be. Put this here as a marker to remind me to get some fresh cones to rate.


Date: July 2016  Score: NA

***

Satya 
Shrinivas Sugandhalaya of Bangalore

Best rose incense

Top Ten incense cones

Goloka Chandan Dhoop Cones

Second review - scroll down for earlier

I've been burning a few sandalwood cones over the past couple of days, and this Goloka cone remains by far my favourite. It smells of top quality sandalwood with creamy vanilla tones. Soft, seductive and very heavenly. Love it. Upped the score a bit.

Date: April 2018   Score: 45

First review

I love sandalwood (chandan), and I love Goloka incense, so a Goloka-made sandalwood is heaven. I've already rated the sticks, back in April 2013, and gave them a high score of 46. I bought a large box of the cones last year, but haven't got around until now to rating them. I love the cones. Soft and very yummy. I did have a rummage in my box and in my drawers for the sticks, but while I have lots and lots of Goloka sticks, none of them are the sandalwood, so I can't do a side by side comparison of the cones and the sticks. That will have to wait until I order some more incense (probably not for a long while as I have too much to work through already!)

This is a very refined scent. The wood is fresh, warm, woody - with a sort of polished quality. The smoke is soft and suggestive and very pleasant, so everything is soft and inviting, with no harshness, assertiveness, or sharpness. There is an enveloping seductive warmth about this which makes it suitable for all occasions. Great for the bedroom with it's spicy seductive undertones, also great for welcoming quests with its warm inviting friendliness, great for everyday use with its lingering gentle woody tones. A great incense.


Date: July 2016  Score: 42

***

Goloka

Sandalwood

Top Ten incense cones

Satya (Original - 2014) Nag Champa Dhoop Cones

Second review - scroll down for earlier

Having a tidy up of my desk and I come upon this sample box of Satya's Nah Champa cones. The logo is pre-2014, but the cones is still quite fresh and lovely. My experience is as it was in 2016 - a soft gently floral (rose) scent, though I also note an underlying musk and patchouli. This is a pleasant, slightly sweet scent, which puts thoughts of Turkish delight in my mind, no doubt due to that combination of rose and sweetness. Yeah, it's nice. Definitely something I'd be happy to buy again and keep in stock. 

Date: Dec 2021   Score: 37 

Having a rummage at the bottom of my incense box for some more cones for our cone bowl in the bathroom (we use cones instead of air freshener sprays - you use the toilet, you light a cone....), and I come upon this old box of Satya's Nag Champa cones. It's from 2014, but - as with so much incense I have in the house - I hadn't yet got around to rating it. I burn it and it's quite soft, and doesn't have the prickly edge or freshness of the sticks. So I rummage and find a box of the Satya Nag Champa agarbatti to do a side by side comparison. Yes, straight-away I note that prickly edge, and the damp lambs wool. But also I am getting a lot of petrol fumes which I don't recall having experienced previously. I look at the box and it says "2012 series". Does that really mean it was made in 2012? Is it really that old? I recall buying a large supply quite cheaply a few years ago, and this is what is left of that supply. It might be worth getting some fresh (perhaps "2016 series"), and making a comparison. I'm not enjoying either of these. The cones are the least objectionable as they are quite soft, with a flowery, almost rose like quality, that I don't really associate with Nag Champa, but which is quite pleasant, while the sticks are fairly sharp and assertive, with that petrol fume aroma which is quite off-putting.

Score is for the cones.


Date: July 2016  Score:  33 

***

Top Ten incense cones

Nag Champa

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)