Shoyeido Magnifiscents Rose Crystal

Rose Crystal is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, but now increased to eight.  They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US, LotusZen in the UK, and PadmaStore in the EU, for example. 

The incense represents "Love". The ingredients description from the American Shoyeido website is a little unclear - in one place it says "Silky sandalwood, creamy resins, herbs, and spikenard", and in another it says "Benzoin, sandalwood".  A light coloured sandy brown stick which has some creamy pale sandalwood scent with possibly some mineral vanilla qualities than could come from the benzoin. I'm not getting any spikenard from the stick. The scent on the burn is similar to that on the stick - mostly wood and vanilla, though some pungent notes of burning herbs also comes through. I'm not getting any awareness of the spikenard at all.  This is a fairy simple scent, as most of the "New Gems" appear to be. The new Gem range is dryer, more inclined toward bitter or pungent burning herbs, less attractive, less sweet, less compelling, and less interesting than the original Gems. This one reminds me of Tibet incense, which is not to my taste. But it is acceptable.  

Date: Jan 2023  Score: 22/50

***

Japanese incense

Shoyeido

Shoyeido Magnifiscents Blue Topaz

Blue Topaz contains green tea, sandalwood, clove, vanilla, and spices, and represents "Joy". This is a little more compellingly attractive on the stick than the previous two new Gems. Spice is the prominent aroma, and there is that curry association with the spices, though this is fairly sweet with an awareness of vanilla. And I can convince myself there is some green tea elements in the scent. Burning greenery is the main initial note on the burn. Tea is now at the forefront, and something mineral and marine. It's an interesting and fairly compelling aroma, though not necessarily attractive in an aesthetic sense. Some marijuana is now settling in the scent, though not pure high quality grass, this is more like - um - fake marijuana, like someone's put together dried nettles.  Ah, the vanilla is coming back in. I kinda like this scent. It's a little random and awkward, but I like the way it contrasts the sweet vanilla with the almost acrid burning greenery of the tea.   

Blue Topaz is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, but now increased to eight.  They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US, LotusZen in the UK, and PadmaStore in the EU, for example. 

Date: Jan 2023  Score: 30/50   

***

Japanese incense

Shoyeido

Shoyeido Magnifiscents Obsidian

Obsidian is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, then later increased to eight.  They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US, LotusZen in the UK, and PadmaStore in the EU, for example. 

It contains frankincense, aromatic ginger (or is it ginger lily?), sandalwood, and spices, and represents "Hope".  Chocolate is what my senses tell me first when approaching the stick, and it's hard to move away from that, though fragrant wood resin does start to emerge, which I could associate with frankincense, though there's also cardboard, pencil shavings and school rubber. Likeable, but not in any compelling or inviting manner. The scent on the burn is again dark and warm like chocolate, though not exactly chocolate - it's fairly woody with warm spices. Quite gentle and gently attractive without being desirable. It's a scent I'm happy to have in my home, but not one that lifts me up or excites me. It's a scent I feel I can grasp quite quickly and has little more to offer.  

Date: Jan 2023   Score: 26/50 

***

Japanese incense

Shoyeido

Shoyeido Magnifiscents Mystic Jade

 

Mystic Jade is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, then increased to eight.  They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US, LotusZen in the UK, and PadmaStore in the EU, for example. 

The ingredients are give as sandalwood, myrrh, clove, and spices, and represents "Peace".  The dusky brown grey stick smells of coriander, turmeric, school rubber, and far distant wood and vague resin. It's quite attractive, but again in a fairly neutral manner. The scent is fairly woody ash on the burn - not actually unpleasant, there are those spices to keep it interesting and moderately attractive, but rather more like a cheap Indian bamboo core joss stick than I thought I would be smelling. I think there's not quite enough fragrant ingredients here to overcome the tabuko / makko powder smell. This is definitely my least favourite so far, and I really don't want to spend more time on it, small though it is.  

Date: Jan 2023   Score: 20/50 

***

Japanese incense

Shoyeido

Shoyeido Magnifiscents Amethyst

Amethyst is the last of the "original" set of the Jewel series, and represents "Balance". It contains sandalwood, cinnamon, and spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi - a plant in the honeysuckle family). It has a sweet musky scent on the stick, white chocolate, tea and herbs also, but mostly it is sweet, musky, sensual, and earthy from the spikenard essential oil. As far as I'm aware, this is my first experience of spikenard, and I love it. This is a precious, ancient, sacred, and adored oil. I've just ordered some! It could replace patchouli as my favourite essential oil to wear.  

Added: The company produce an Amethyst Gift Set in which they say that the ingredients are "sandalwood, cinnamon, and saussurea".  Saussurea, also called snow lotus, is a plant that grows in the Himalayas along the India-Tibet border. Costus root, which was traded with the Romans, was believed to come from that plant, but is now believed to come from Dolomiaea costus, which grows in South Asia and China, and is made into an essential oil. A search for "saussurea oil" will result in costus root oil. The spikenard oil I ordered has arrived, and it does have a musky earthy scent reminiscent of patchouli - the oil I have is not as sweet as the scent on the Amethyst, and is more earthy and grassy, though does appear to be the same. Costus root oil is reported as also being musky, but more woody and animal like, and is compared to wet dog. I'm not that curious as to buy any! 

Though a little sharp, the scent on the burn is the closest to the scent on the stick of the four samples I have burned so far. The scent is dominated by the spikenard, and I'll certainly be on the lookout for other incense that uses spikenard. What a yummy oil it is! The company do say it is one of their more popular incenses, and I can see why. I'd like to experience it with a decent sized incense stick - these little thin sticks are just a little too lacking in an enveloping experience - it's easy to forget the incense is there it makes such a small impact. If the breeze is in the wrong direction, then the scent is gone. Great for those who enjoy an understated and subtle scent experience, but personally I prefer a bit more oomph. At least with a proper packet I could light up two or three longer sticks and settle down to enjoy the view. Hmm, warm, musky, sweet, sensual. Really, my kind of scent. Be nice if the Shoyeido Amethyst blend did a bit more, and if there were other scents to cut in or counter balance, but, hey, spikenard is groovy!  

Amethyst is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents; later increased to eight.  They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US, LotusZen in the UK, and PadmaStore in the EU, for example. 

Date: Jan 2023   Score: 39/50

***

Japanese incense

Shoyeido

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

Shoyeido Magnifiscents Ruby

Ruby is part of Shoyeido's Jewel or Gem series - originally four scents, but now increased to eight.  They are widely available across the globe. Via the Shoyeido site in the US, LotusZen in the UK, and PadmaStore in the EU, for example. 

 

Ruby contains cinnamon, sandalwood, and patchouli, and represents "Strength".  The stick colour is a dusky sandy rose. The scent is kinda rose like, though that might be suggestive due to the colour. I'm getting rose, butcher's blood, and warm mineral with a touch of school rubber. It's an OK scent, though nothing special - I'd be just as happy smelling a freshly sharpened pencil. Well, actually I'd be happier - I LOVE the smell of a freshly sharpened pencil! 

As with the Diamond, the scent on the burn is a tad smoky, suggesting that the formulation is budget minded, and perhaps more intended for casual burning than for ko-do - the "way of scent". But the scent does make itself felt more than the Diamond. It's a warm scent, warmer and less sweet than Diamond. Delicate and pleasant spice - like a milky cinnamon. I liked this a little more than the Diamond, though it was hard to get to grips with the scent on such a thin, short stick - it was over before it had hardly begun; pause for thought and the stick has burned away. The sampler feels more like a tease than a proper sampler.  

Date: Jan 2023   Score: 31/50 

***

Japanese incense

Shoyeido

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

Smells Like Spells Thor Career Spell

There is an interesting cross-cultural blend in play in the incense sold by the retail brand Smells Like Spells. The company is registered in the UK, has a store in Lithuania, sources the incense from Nepal, and uses Norse mythology as part of the imagery to sell the incense. Thor is the Norse god of thunder - the Lithuanian (or Baltic) equivalent is Perkunas - also a god of thunder. 

Fragrances listed are nards (spikenard - Nardostachys jatamansi - a plant in the honeysuckle family), juniper berries, and valerian (a herb related to spikenard, and whose roots are similar in character and fragrance).  This is a savoury and fairly smoky incense - fragrant bonfire, tobacco, and smouldering dried peat. It's OK, but not really my thing - fairly typical basic Nepalese incense. 

Available in a glass tube of approx five sticks from Forest Home at £7, shipping extra; or from Smells Like Spells for €8, shipping extra.  As a handy comparison - average cost per pack of Nepal/Tibet incense sold by Padma Store in Germany is around €4, with average price per five sticks working out at around €1, plus  shipping. 

Date: Jun 2026   Score:  25/50 

***

Smells Like Spells

Smells Like Spells Odin Focus Spell

An interesting aspect of Smells Like Spells incense is that each tube is marked with the phase of the moon it was made. My tube of Eir Healing Spell is marked "Waxing Gibbous Moon", while this Odin Focus Spell is marked "Waxing Crescent Moon". SeaWitchBotanicals provide a guide to the phases of the moon. Craftworkers and herbalists who align their incense making with the phases of the moon treat the lunar cycle as a sort of energy clock that governs the intent, formulation, and efficacy of the incense making - along the lines of "planting, building, celebrating, releasing". This is a system of symbolic and spiritual connections that informs the decisions of the maker,  rather than any specific chemical or scientific action. The moon's influence on human behaviour has been researched and documented,  and while considered statistically small, research does not completely rule it out. But the general conclusion is that while the effect of the moon on incense making provides a potential framework of mindfulness and psychological structure for the craftsperson who wishes  to be open to ritual tradition, it is unlikely to a matter of physical chemistry, so the moon's phases would not have an influence on machinery involved in the incense making. 

On my first run through of the Smells Like Spells incense range, I was so struck by the Nepalese incense style of the sticks, that I hadn't really noticed their soft resinous nature, and now that I am tuned into it, I am liking these sticks more and more. I shall come back to them in a month or two to see how I feel then.

Sage and curry spices and something delicate and sweet, almost floral, are the scent notes I pick up on the stick. Musky resin is the first scent impression on the burn, followed by woods and dried berry fruit. The fragrance ingredients are given as agarwood, champaca, and juniper berries - a curious combination. Agarwood seems a bit too serious and rustic for the delicate champaca notes - sandalwood might be a better base. Indeed, I'm mostly getting woods from this on the burn. The sweet floral notes I picked up on the stick appear to not be strong enough to make themselves known when the incense is burned. After getting into a position where I was feeling that these Smells Like Spells Nepal sticks were a little more special than the everyday Himalayan incense, this one brings me back down to earth. But it's OK. 

Available from Forest Home at £7 for a glass tube of approx five sticks; shipping extra; or from Smells Like Spells for €8, shipping extra.  As a handy comparison - average cost per pack of Nepal/Tibet incense sold by Padma Store in Germany is around €4, with average price per five sticks working out at around €1, plus  shipping. 

Date: Jun 2026   Score: 27/50

***

Smells Like Spells

Smells Like Spells Idunn Beauty Spell

There is a pleasant note of sweet licorice on the cold throw scent on the stick. Warm, quite natural scent on the burn. Fairly soft and attractive. There's a feel of a rustic music festival from the Seventies - bonfires in the distance, and cannabis closer by. Some chocolate, resin, and licorice notes rounds it out nicely. I get out the document that comes with the incense (each Smells Like Smells incense comes with quite a detailed document giving details of the ingredients, the person in Norse mythology after whom the incense is named, and a ritual to perform while burning the incense), and note that the main fragrance ingredients are listed as frankincense, agarwood, and licorice. And I can see that. This is actually much softer, and more rounded, and more resin based than other Nepalese style incense I've burned. I quite like this. Much more than I expected. 

Available as a glass tube of approx five sticks from Forest Home at £7, shipping extra; or from Smells Like Spells for €8, shipping extra.  As a handy comparison - average cost per pack of Nepal/Tibet incense sold by Padma Store in Germany is around €4, with average price per five sticks working out at around €1, plus  shipping. 

Date: Jun 2026   Score:  35/50

***

Smells Like Spells

Smells Like Spells

 

Smells Like Spells in a British owned retail shop in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, which sells "Norse Magic" related candles, home fragrance, and incense under the Smells Like Spells brand. The incense, as indicated on the accompanying paperwork, is made in Nepal. In discussion with the owners, Vilius and Marius, they assured me that despite all indications to the contrary, the sticks are made by their team in Lithuania under various stages of the moon, which are noted on the packaging, and not in Nepal. There is an adage that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck. The Smells Like Spells sticks, look, walk, and quack like a Nepalese duck, and the paperwork appears to confirm this. But the owners assure me the paperwork connection to Nepal is due to Nepal having certain Norse Mythology related herbs that are not available in Lithuania. That the sticks look, burn, and smell exactly like Nepalese incense is, it seems, simply a coincidence. For those who wish to engage with the Norse Magic of Lithuanian-made incense sticks, they will need to suspend disbelief while reading this book of spells. Others may simply, and perhaps more realistically, compare these sticks to what else is available from the Himalayan region, and consider if the Lithuanian connection is worth the extra money. 

I'm not a big fan of Nepalese incense, though I have enjoyed these sticks; and I do love the imagery and packaging around them. Also, as an incense hunter, I love to see what is going on in other countries. And I'm enchanted by the Lithuanian connection as well as the references to the phases of the moon when the incense was made (true or not, I love the idea), and that they are sold in glass tubes with corked lids. So there is much about Smells Like Spells which I've enjoyed - including the incense itself. And I know there are those who do love Nepalese incense more than me, and would also be enchanted by the Norse mythology and the Lithuanian connection, so there is a market out there for Smells Like Spells incense, and I wish Vilius and Marius well for future sales and development. 

Reviews 

Smells Like Spells Idunn Beauty Spell
Jun - 2026 - Score: 35/50 

  

  Smells Like Spells Eir Healing Spell
Jun 2026 - Score: 30/50

Smells Like Spells Odin Focus Spell
Jun 2026 - Score: 27

   

Smells Like Spells Thor Career Spell
Jun 2026 - Score: 25

  

Reviews: 4 

Top score: 35 

Low score: 25

Average: 29

***

Incense around the world

  

Nepalese incense

Nippon Kodo Meiko Eiju

Described by Nippon Kodo as "Spicy Sandalwood" with "various materials utilized in Chinese medicine for centuries" giving the keynotes of sandalwood and cinnamon.  Eiju, which translates as "long life", is one of Nippon Kodo's popular everyday incenses. Meiko in this context translates as "excellent" or "special", so Meiko Eiju translates as something rather prosaic like "Special Long Lasting Incense". I've seen some shops describe the scent keynotes as "Cinnamon & Amber", and Irene of Rauchfahne has reviewed a packet subtitled "Spicy Amber". 

  

There is a bright, pleasant scent on the stick which presents to me as rather like the fantasy scent amber, along with some powdery perfume notes, suggesting modern aroma chemicals, and some vague wood notes. Scent on the burn is a little rough from the sandalwood and binder wood paste. I'm not really getting much spice, though there is a general sweet warmth - quite modest, but present. Caramel notes wisp in and out, which would likely come from the cinnamon; and the cinnamon could also give an impression of amber. Given the sweetness, the general perfume quality of some of the fragrance, and the relative low cost of this Japanese incense, I suspect that the powdered cassia bark has been assisted by something like cassia oil and/or cinnamaldehyde.  On the whole a modest but pleasant everyday room freshener incense.

Available from eBay, and from Nippon Kodo. A trial pack of five sticks is available from eBay for £1.69 plus postage.

Date: Jun 2026    Score: 28/50 

***

Nippon Kodo

Japanese incense

Best cinnamon incense

Reviewed in Germany

Gyokushodo Jinko Kojurin

I couldn't find a reliable website for Gyokushodo - information mostly comes from sales bling on various shop websites, so I have treated it with some caution. Many shops say the company was formed in 1804, though that appears to be the year a merchant, Sakubei II, moved his wholesale business from Hiroshima to Osaka, which has developed a reputation as a major label incense centre with companies such as Baieido and Nippon Kodo, as well as Gyokushodo. In 1804, Sakubei II was trading in Chinese herbs and ingredients for incense making, but wasn't making incense himself. It appears to be 1850 when he started making his own incense, based on knowledge he acquired from  dealing with China traders, and formed Gyokushodo. Its popular everyday line is Kojurin, which means something like "Forest Fragrance", and combines natural woods with fragrance oils. Jinko means agarwood, 

  

Pleasant gourmandy scent, a touch of roasted shallots, some dry fried fish, fragrant wood, and a general rustic, savoury, and mysterious accord. It's not a sophisticated, intelligent, or balanced accord - difficult to assume anyone has designed this. It is what it is, and you'll either like it or not. I'm OK with it, and I can see why it would be popular in Japan, though I can also see why it's a low cost everyday incense. If rustic woody scents which lean toward fairground onions rocks your world, then this may the incense for you. 

Available in several places - AtmosphereIncense in Singapore who ship worldwide, Wa-No-Kaori  in Japan, JapaneseIncense in the USA, and from Shi on eBay in the UK, who also sell a trial pack. 

Date: Jun 2026  Score: 28/50

***

Japanese incense

   

Agarwood Incense

Reviewed in USA - 2009
Reviewed in USA - 2014

Shorindo Chahana / Chabana - Tea Flower / Camellia

Shorindo is based on Awaji Island, which has 14 incense makers, and has a claim to make 70% of Japan's incense. Incense making on the island started in 1850 when an islander, Tatsuzo Tanaka, copied incense production methods from the then capital of Japanese incense making, Sakai, and brought them to Awaji, where the nishi-kaze (west wind) dried the incense, and its port enabled the incense to be easily traded around Japan. The legend of agarwood washing ashore in Japan in 595 places the beach on Awaji Island, which sounds like colourful marketing by the local incense makers. Though there are claims that the Awaji incense makers were the first to make smoke-less incense, I've not found reliable evidence of that, though the island is well known for its daily incense and low-smoke incense, which is popular with modern Japanese because homes tend to be small with closed windows, so there is a preference for mild and low smoke incense.  Awaji is also known for "blending western perfumes with the eastern cultural use of incense woods", which means they use modern aroma chemicals. 

Shorino is popular in Japan for this particular incense - Chahana (or Chabana - it is translated both ways). The word translates as "Tea Flower", though "Camellia" is sometimes used as that is a tea flower. Camellia (or "tea flower") does not produce a significant scent, so modern aroma chemicals are used instead. Shorino use charcoal and makko dust which is blended into a paste with a camellia aroma chemical, and then dried in the nishi-kaze wind. 

  

茶花線香 - Cha-hana - Tea Flower

When burned this produces a soft and delicate floral aroma, mingled with some rustic wood and charcoal notes. Modestly pleasant room freshener. Though the dispersal and retention is barely significant, there is a place for such delicate floral everyday incenses. Not really my thing, but the story of Awaji Island is interesting, and this is a popular incense in Japan, so worth hunting down. 

Available in several places - AtmosphereIncense in Singapore who ship worldwide, Wa-No-Kaori  based in Japan who ship worldwide, and from Shi on eBay in the UK, who also sells a trial pack. 

Date: Jun 2026  Score: 26/50

***

Japanese incense

   

Reviewed in USA - 2008

Baieido - World's Second Oldest Incense House

 

Baieido (USA website) are a well known Japanese incense producer, who promote themselves skilfully. Baieido make statements about themselves which is then copied across the internet by various traders and shops. They trace their history back to Kakuuemon Yamatoya, a wholesaler of medicinal herbs in Sakai, who named himself "Jinkoya Sakubei" (which means agarwood trader) in 1657. As such, Baieido is commercially promoted as one of the longest established incense makers in Japan. Contrary to a viable alternative claim (Nippon Kodo's claim to a 1575 founding date is bogus - they were founded in 1965, and later bought an incense shop with a date going back to 1575, which they then claimed as their own), Baieido is the world's second oldest continuous use incense house. 

Reviews

Baieido Tokusen Kobunboku
May 2025 - Score: 35/50

Baieido Kaiunko (Kai Un Koh)
May 2025 - Score: 30/50

Baieido Kobunboku Regular - Plum Blossom
Feb 2023 -Score: 29/50↓↓

Reviews: 3

Top score: 35

Bottom score: 29

Average: 31/50

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Japanese incense

Incense around the world

The Best Incense Makers