Temple of Incense Arabian Attar

 

With a title like Arabian Attar I would expect a woody, oud style base, some amber heart notes, and floral, perhaps rose and jasmine, top notes, with perhaps some fruits. The ToI description is "like an oriental perfume with a touch of musk and berries".  The scent on the stick is delightful. Mostly creamy sandalwood, but there are interesting touches around that core which lift the stick just above the ordinary "incense" fragrance. There's spice and some sweet and savoury gourmand notes - a meaty kind of baklava with herbs and smoked almonds. The stick is machine extruded with no finishing powder, and presents in many aspects like an Asian perfumed wood incense, though with a more assertive scent. I'm OK with machine extruded, though some traditional Indian incense makers frown at it, saying that it doesn't work as well as hand-rolled. Those incense makers who have transitioned to extruded, say that it's just a matter of adjusting the paste formulation - less water to prevent sticking and shrinkage, more binder to hold the paste firm, more oil or resin to smooth the paste, a finer grind to prevent clogging. The result is a smoother, more consistent burn. I note that most machine extruded uses wood rather than charcoal, but - to be fair - this stick didn't have noticeable wood off-scents.

The fragrance on the burn of this Arabian Attar is gentle and pleasant, quite sweet and floral with the pale creamy sandalwood embracing and supporting the delicate florals which do have a soft pear juice quality. It's quite charming, quite girly, and just a tad boring. The scents gather in the same area so there's little in the way of interesting contrasts, and there's no real scent journey to speak of. It ends up like a Teen Spirit everyday body spray, and though it does freshen and sweeten the room, it's not a room freshener incense I can see myself using that often. 

Date: Feb 2026   Score: 29

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Temple of Incense

Reviewed in USA

Note: It is not revealed where Temple of Incense source the incense for their brand; however, a number of the incenses are similar to those made by HMS of Pune.