Oneironaut Outdoors No 25

 

Quite an earthy fragrance on the stick of this Oneironaut incense, and then along comes fruit, along with some fresh late summer grass, and then a volatility. The first Oneironaut where I become aware of a cool, sharp volatility. It's difficult, even after several years of experiencing, questioning, and researching, to know exactly what is going on in an incense, or why I (or anyone else) reacts in a certain way to certain incense. We all react slightly differently due partly to our genetics and chemical composition, and partly to our experience, memories, moods, and emotions; due partly to the environment we are in where the incense is burning - and Irene's incense blog, Rauchfahne, is excellent for exploring that aspect of incense, and I have learned so much from her regarding how space and ventilation impact on incense experiences; and due partly to the unknown unknowns that mysteriously influence everything that happens. 

Knowing the ingredients and/or production method of an incense is interesting, and can point to aspects of the scent experience that may have been overlooked, though may alternatively suggest a scent that is actually not present (despite the scent ingredient being present). And knowing the ingredients and method before the experience can result in an expected response: give someone a piece of apple, but tell them its a pear, and they will focus on the qualities that remind them of pears. They may at some point recognise the apple qualities, but the initial focus will be on pear. I feel the best way to open ourselves up to the experience of an incense is to not focus too much in advance on ingredients or production method. Let the interaction be open and truly valid, without any preconceptions or prejudices. 

In the same way that two or more colours make a third colour, two or more scent ingredients may blend together in such a way that they create a third scent. A number of perfumers use this knowledge to create out of cheaper ingredients the fragrance of a more expensive, or difficult to obtain, scent - such as musk. Bold and interesting perfume and incense makers can blend together various scent ingredients to make something new and interesting. And I like those people. At one time the Nag Champa fragrance was new and interesting. Today it is a rather tired and overly familiar scent. And the more I experience it, the more familiar I become with it, and the less exciting and interesting that encounter becomes. It's not that the scent has diminished over the years, it's just that it has become tired with familiarity. The only way, then, to spark it up, is to experience a new variation. It doesn't mean the new variation is better than the first one; it just means that our mind becomes more excited at noticing the variation in something familiar. 

All this is to say, that I like what Oneironaut are doing with their scent blends. I don't know exactly what their working relationship is with the incense maker, but the suggestion from comments they've made is that they have some control over deciding the blends in some of the sticks they are selling. And it appears to me that they are approaching these blends from a fresh angle, which is fascinating for me.  It's also to say that I don't know the production method, but have made some assumptions based on prior experience. My assumption is that the sticks are made in Asia - hand-rolled from wood and joss powder, and then dipped in a perfume solution. All the sticks are sold at the same price, so my assumption is that if expensive scents are being used, that the maker will balance out the cost by using an ingredient like DEP to act as both fixative and carrier - diluting the scent so it goes further, but also amplifying the fragrance, so the dilution is balanced out. If small amounts of  DEP are used, it will not be noticed. However, if large amounts are used, such as with many low cost Floras, then I tend to feel it as a cold sharpness in my nose, eyes, and throat. If I burn too much incense with DEP I can get headaches which tend to focus on my forehead. (I am somewhat caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, because as well as reacting badly to DEP, I also react badly to halmaddi and other tree resins which are more traditional scent fixatives). Anyway, though I like the scent blend used on this stick, I feel that some DEP has been used, which is pushing me away both physically and aesthetically. But I am still feeling very positive. 

Oooh. This smells lovely on the burn. Pine and Christmas are the immediate impressions. And a feeling of being outdoors in early, crispy Spring. There's some quiet, warm musky notes, like soft moss, to support the lively pine. There's a bit of smoke in the fragrance, and a general lack of clarity. It settles into a general woodiness, though without the initial clarity of the pine when first experienced. I guess the senses get a bit overloaded by a range of wood notes that are so close together that eventually the mind just deals with it as "woodiness" and perhaps brings in a bit of smoke as burning wood. As time goes by some orange notes develop, though that could be my own association of oranges with Christmas, so I'm twisting some of the citrus notes into something personal and individual.

I like this (quite a lot!), though feel it's a little muddled. I like the original sharpness I experienced, and I like the journey the incense has taken me on. I liked the walk through a pine wood in early frosty Spring, and I liked the memories and thoughts of Christmas that were brought to me. Yeah. Nice one. 

Date: Mar 2025    Score: 35

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Oneironaut in Shoreditch