Temu Yongchun County Small Auspicious Clouds Ambergris

 

Ambergris is a traditional perfume ingredient. It is produced in the stomach of a whale, and is occasionally washed ashore. Trade in ambergris is banned in some countries, such as USA and India, but is allowed in others, such as China and the UK. It has a musk aroma, though is mainly used in perfume as a fixative. 

The Google translation of the ingredients indicates that this doesn't contain any actual ambergris, but, rather, a number of natural ingredients intended to replicate the scent: "Agarwood, sandalwood, frankincense, cloves, nardostachys grandiflora (spikenard)".  

The five tubes of Small Auspicious Clouds

The scent on the tablet is delicately perfumed. It's like a floral scented soap, with a hint of sandalwood base notes. It's a fairly volatile aroma for a Chinese incense. Reasonably acceptable, and kinda commercial, it's not really my thing. It doesn't say quality, and it's only interesting in the sense that this is intended to be a musky sort of incense, yet comes across as prettily floral, so there's a curiosity as regards if this is the intended scent, or have they put the wrong tablets in the tube. It also presents as a synthetic room freshener or clothes conditioner scent rather than anything natural. 

The scent on the burn is a blend of the synthetic florals found on the tablet and smouldering cardboard. The florals do tend to dominate over the smouldering cardboard so the end result isn't offensive. There's a hint of butterkist, which adds a moderate interest. Ho hum. 

Available on Temu for around £5 for a pack of five different fragrances. 

Date: Sept 2025   Score: 24

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Good & bad Chinese incense