I quite like the scent of vanilla. I'm not mad about it, but I do find it fairly attractive in small doses. It's a complex and somewhat unique scent, and is easy to synthesise - which is useful as the vanilla orchid is difficult to grow, and supply of true vanilla cannot keep up with the global demand. And, on the whole, I like HEM incense. They make solid perfumed incense. They don't have a distinctive style, and some of the scents I like, some I really don't like, and most are kinda average. But they are cheap, well made, easily available, and have a huge range of scents. When browsing on Amazon I'll sometimes come upon some cheap bundle of HEM fragrances and go for it. They are fun and easy to review, and when done we have a supply of room fresheners for the kitchen, bathroom, outhouse, and sometimes the house. So here we have a sort of middle of the road scent by a middle of the road incense house. Nothing too exciting or interesting, but nothing too scary either.
The scent on the stick is a sort of dirty, smudgy, synthetic vanilla. That is - it's sweet and creamy with warm plastic notes, some dirt (interesting), and a vague smoky note. The dirty edge to this makes it, for me, more interesting than a straight, sweet vanilla. I'm not bothered that HEM wouldn't have designed that dirt element as part of the fragrance accord to make it interesting. I'm a follower of reader-response literary theory, in which the reader does not seek out the author's intention, but instead engages individually with the text, and responds via their personal experiences and memories. As such, what HEM intends doesn't interest me as much as what I experience when I encounter the incense. Essentially I'm not responding to either HEM or the intended vanilla - I'm just responding to what is in front of me. Though, of course, my prior experiences with HEM and with vanilla, and with the cultural baggage that comes with both, will play its part.
The scent on the stick is a sort of dirty, smudgy, synthetic vanilla. That is - it's sweet and creamy with warm plastic notes, some dirt (interesting), and a vague smoky note. The dirty edge to this makes it, for me, more interesting than a straight, sweet vanilla. I'm not bothered that HEM wouldn't have designed that dirt element as part of the fragrance accord to make it interesting. I'm a follower of reader-response literary theory, in which the reader does not seek out the author's intention, but instead engages individually with the text, and responds via their personal experiences and memories. As such, what HEM intends doesn't interest me as much as what I experience when I encounter the incense. Essentially I'm not responding to either HEM or the intended vanilla - I'm just responding to what is in front of me. Though, of course, my prior experiences with HEM and with vanilla, and with the cultural baggage that comes with both, will play its part.
The scent on the burn is attractive. It's a simple vanilla scent, but that dirty element gives it an interesting edge. Sadly the dirty edge gets pushed out over time, and more of the vanilla makes itself known. I think that's probably in the nature of vanilla, it is a somewhat tenacious and lingering scent.
I've reviewed HEM Vanilla in the cone version three times, with differing responses each time. And I can see that happening with this stick version. I think how much I like this will vary with my mood and the circumstances. At the moment I quite like it - I'm not appalled, but neither am I blown away. I do like it though. And I like it a tad above average.
I've reviewed HEM Vanilla in the cone version three times, with differing responses each time. And I can see that happening with this stick version. I think how much I like this will vary with my mood and the circumstances. At the moment I quite like it - I'm not appalled, but neither am I blown away. I do like it though. And I like it a tad above average.
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