While putting in an order recently on the American website ExoticIncense I grabbed three packs of Escential Essences because they say "Made in USA", and I'm interested in incenses made in countries outside of Asia. Escential Essences is the brand name of a small company, MatchlessGifts, which operates out of a PO address in Laguna Niguel, California. They import packaged incense such as Satya Nag Champa, and loose incense which they bag and sell under the brand name Mystic Temple, and smudges made by American tribes in New Mexico, such as the Jicarilla Apache, who make Sage Spirit. I don't know, but it seems plausible that these Escential Essences sticks are made by Sage Spirit or some other American tribes co-operative for Matchless Gifts.
The sticks are very long - 11 inches, though only 7 inches of that is paste. The paste is a simple black charcoal which has been machine extruded onto the bamboo splint, and impregnated with the liquid fragrance. There is a fair degree of room freshener disinfectant volatility about the scent, though the scent itself is reasonably attractive - musky, leathery, warm and mildly sensual. There's a hint of cigar smoke and musty books, and a general ambiance of a traditional headmaster's office or study. And almost out of reach, some mineral notes and a tantalisingly faint sweetness. All of which makes it sound more interesting and attractive than it actually is.
The burn is moderate and steady and lasts around 45-50 minutes. The burn scent is fairly true to that on the stick - largely because it's composed of so few top notes. This is a stick that likely could be used in an upside down incense holder, and I shall include this in the incense holder experiment we are going to do later, in which we compare conventional holders with an upside down holder. The scent is highly likely to be that wonder perfume molecule ambroxide, used in the fragrance industry under the brand name Ambroxan. There is no genuine natural amber fragrance used these days - it'll either be the plant labdanum, or something synthetic like Ambroxan - and mostly it's something synthetic.
This produces a very attractive musky amber scent. There are pleasant vanilla notes at one end, and some scratchy burning wood notes at the other end. It's a fairly simple fragrance, but no less effective for that. It's not a work of art, it's not mystical or magical, it is essentially the power of a scent molecule that impacts on our senses and emotions. It works. My complaints: it's fairly narrow, it's fairly predicable, it's not exciting, there's no romance, it's too woody and ashy - not enough top notes, contrasts, balance. But for all that, it's an enjoyable musky amber scent. $3.50 for 16 sticks from ExoticIncense.
The sticks are very long - 11 inches, though only 7 inches of that is paste. The paste is a simple black charcoal which has been machine extruded onto the bamboo splint, and impregnated with the liquid fragrance. There is a fair degree of room freshener disinfectant volatility about the scent, though the scent itself is reasonably attractive - musky, leathery, warm and mildly sensual. There's a hint of cigar smoke and musty books, and a general ambiance of a traditional headmaster's office or study. And almost out of reach, some mineral notes and a tantalisingly faint sweetness. All of which makes it sound more interesting and attractive than it actually is.
The burn is moderate and steady and lasts around 45-50 minutes. The burn scent is fairly true to that on the stick - largely because it's composed of so few top notes. This is a stick that likely could be used in an upside down incense holder, and I shall include this in the incense holder experiment we are going to do later, in which we compare conventional holders with an upside down holder. The scent is highly likely to be that wonder perfume molecule ambroxide, used in the fragrance industry under the brand name Ambroxan. There is no genuine natural amber fragrance used these days - it'll either be the plant labdanum, or something synthetic like Ambroxan - and mostly it's something synthetic.
This produces a very attractive musky amber scent. There are pleasant vanilla notes at one end, and some scratchy burning wood notes at the other end. It's a fairly simple fragrance, but no less effective for that. It's not a work of art, it's not mystical or magical, it is essentially the power of a scent molecule that impacts on our senses and emotions. It works. My complaints: it's fairly narrow, it's fairly predicable, it's not exciting, there's no romance, it's too woody and ashy - not enough top notes, contrasts, balance. But for all that, it's an enjoyable musky amber scent. $3.50 for 16 sticks from ExoticIncense.
Date: May 2024 Score: 34
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