Sifcon Buddha Incense Variety Pack (Vanilla, Amber, Musk, Sandalwood)

Another decent value UK import from Sifcon bought in my local hardware shop. It's an everyday incense, so don't expect an aromatherapy experience. This is simply something to put a pleasant scent in your home. There are four fairly generic aromas, Vanilla, Amber, Musk and Sandalwood. They are all hand rolled onto a plain bamboo stick of varying thickness, with a brown powder of sandalwood sawdust, and then dipped into a perfume solvent.  The solvents all approximate the fragrance they are supposed to, and are reasonably pleasant, though the quality varies from stick to stick, and also during the burning of a single stick, with all too often just the core sawdust being the main fragrance - a slightly hot scent.

The musk has its moments, but never really lifts. There's nothing here that makes me go "hmmmm", nothing that excites or interests or tantalises, and it isn't warm and seductive. But it is on the whole reasonably pleasant. I'm not sure its one that I would favour as an everyday incense as the musk fragrance too often fades leaving just the hot scent of the sawdust.

Score: 19


The sandalwood is a bit meh. It's a bit soapy and floral for something that is supposed to be sandalwood, but there are some light and sweet woody notes that hover around sandalwood. It's a softer, more stable, more attractive scent than the musk, and wouldn't object to placing a few of these around the house on a cool afternoon.

Score: 20


The amber is also a bit soapy and hot, and is the one that smells the least like it's supposed to, revealing the most of it's sawdust core.  There is a sense of something fragranced and floral, but it's too faint and too vague. It's not an offensive scent, but is simply a toilet cleaner.

Score: 18


The vanilla is by far the nicest. It does have a creamy sweet vanilla ice cream scent, but also caramel or butterscotch. I'd be happy burning this at any time of the day. It's attractive enough to burn before visitors arrive to give the house a yummy sort of smell. Quite sweet and welcoming. There's underlying notes of musk which gives it a seductive depth. The more I burn this one the more I like it.

Score: 29


Overall I think this is a decent value set of fragrances.  Nothing special or exciting about them, but two are decent enough to burn in the house, and two are more than acceptable to use to freshen up the toilet or outhouse.

Overall score: 21
***

Sifcon International

Amber

Vanilla