Dr. Yonten’s Tibetan Healing Incense

This is a small red box of healing incense which is variously called "Himalayan Healing Incense", "Tibetan Healing Incense", "Original Healing Incense" and "Dr Pasang Yonten's Healing Incense". I note there are boxes available on the internet in various colours and names which all seem to relate to a recipe devised by Dr Pasang Yonten which involves 31 natural ingredients.

Dr Pasang Yonten

Dr Yonton's life history is outlined here, and given in more detail here. He is closely associated with the Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute, also known as Men-Tsee-Khang, and is an expert on Tibetan dream interpretation as part of a healing process, as he explains in this interview.

In my box the sticks were wrapped in a piece of yellow paper with some description of the incense and instructions for use.

It is claimed the incense cures headaches, back and chest pain, insomnia, and stress, among other ailments. This may well be true - it's always worth keeping an open mind, and different things work in different ways for different folk. I found the aroma to be on a par with other Tibetan incense I have burned - it is somewhat acrid and crude. It is not an incense I can remain in the same room with for long periods while it burns, and it doesn't create any positive moods for me. There's a rugged old fashioned men's deodorant scent about it, and a sort of woodsy, outdoors, camp fire smell. It's like your old man's Old Spice stained cardigan after he's come in from burning some compost and damp wood in the garden bonfire.

I'm curious about Tibetan incense, and will keep trying it, but I'm not quite getting there with it yet.

Date: March 2017   Score: 26

***

  

Himalayan incense
Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan

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FlyAway Citronella Incense Coil

There are several uses for incense, and one of them is for keeping insects away. There are some dedicated incense just for that purpose, usually just for outdoor use, and this is one such. The aroma is not that pleasant - some base sawdust mixed with a lemon tinged chemical note.  When we eat outside we often burn incense, and we like to use some of our favourite incense that is going to produce a good mood, just as we do indoors. There's no need to go cheap and nasty just because you're outside. You can still smell it when you're outside, and so can your neighbours, so give everyone a break and burn stuff that smells nice. Leave stuff like this on the shop shelf. This stuff is imported by Manchester based company, 151Products Ltd, who also own the incense brand Pan Aroma.

Date: March 2017   Score: 8

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Lemongrass & Citronella scents

Stamford Mythical Range Incense Mermaid's Love cones

Second review - scroll down for earlier

A sweet fruity and floral scent on the cone - like cherry blossom, with a sage edge. Perfumed, but very pleasant, light, jolly, and uplifting. The scent on the burn is also perfumed, though less attractively so for me. Initially it's like an everyday rose scented body spray underneath a warm nylon top - it's on that borderline of attractive and off-putting (but curiously erotic).  As it settles in the room there is a gentle floral sheen underscored by soft woody base notes - the intriguing and erotic prickles have faded down, and the general impression is soft, floral, and acceptable. The blub says: "The innocent allure of the Mermaid's Love combines the sensual aroma of white rose with the dewy notes of fresh lily that diffuse to arouse pleasure and eternal bliss."  It's an OK room-freshener, though I'm either liking it less than I did in 2017, or the formulation has changed. I think it's more likely me that's changed. The brass incense holder in the pic was sent to me by Aida of IncenseBurnerHolder. It is also available from the Chinese website Shein. 

Date: May 2024   Score: 27

First review

Mermaid's Love has a gentle floral aroma with hints of jasmine, which creates a tranquil mood. It's quite creamy, like soap or skin scream, yet has a pleasant edge like fresh sweet tobacco. There is plenty going on here to keep the interest while the room is harmonised in an interesting way. This is a decent little scent, and I quite like it.


Date: March 2017   Score: 33

***

Stamford London

Stamford

"Mythical" Black Incense cones

Stamford Mythical Range Incense Vampire's Kiss cones

Second review - scroll down for earlier

The cone is well perfumed - this is quite a heady cone. The scent is pleasant - warm, rounded, sweet, musky - mostly base notes, though there's some herby, floral heart and top notes playing around.  The fragrance on the burn is quite noticeable and fairly penetrating - there's the musk, soft, but pleasant, but mainly it's a smoky impression coupled with a bit of eye and nose irritation. It's a little too assertive, and a little too smoky to burn too close. [I tend to review with the incense burning on my desk (the images in the photos are taken for the blog - they are not images of me reviewing, which mostly takes place after the photos are taken - sometimes a few days or more after the photos were taken).  At the time of reviewing I am closer to the burning incense than I would be normally. I will at times, depending on the nature of the incense, burn the incense at a distance and/or burn the incense in a different room, and then enter the room. But pretty much all incense reviews will start with the incense burning on the desk in front of me - which is really too close for many reasons.]  On the whole a pleasant soft musky incense, though a tad too smoky for comfort in small rooms. 

The blurb says: "Heighten your senses and create an inner feeling of power and control as the playful incense of Vampire's Kiss unfolds its sharp mix of Lavender, Musk, & Cedar wood notes."  I didn't really pick up the lavender, though I felt prickles of herbs and floral, so I assume that must have been the lavender. I see that I note "burning sawdust" when I reviewed this in 2017, which is probably the same as my current feeling that this is a smoky incense. All in all, it's OK, but I'm less impressed today than I was in 2017.

Date: May 2024    Score: 28 

First review

I do like this Stamford Black series - the theme is fun, and the scents are mostly quite yummy. This is sweet yet medicinal with sharp notes, and beneath that is a bed of flower petals creating an hallucinatory scene of losing consciousness during an erotic seduction on a hot summer's night in a dentist chair..... Interesting!

Some of the base sandalwood comes through as burning sawdust, but not enough to spoil the fun. I like Vampire's Kiss, it's a fun everyday scent.


Date: March 2017   Score: 34

***

Stamford London

Stamford

"Mythical" Black Incense cones

Bintang Cemerlang Tahio J1368 Jasmine Coil

I bought this box of coils ages ago. They are made by Bintang Cemerlang of Indonesia, a company started by one man, "Mr Andi", in 1998, and by now they have over 200 employers, and are claiming to be the largest Chinese incense company in Indonesia. They are imported into the UK by Ancient Wisdom, They are attractively packaged, and the box did come with a coil holder, but I have lost that, so I rigged up my own coil incense burner.

I do remember when I first got these coils I was delighted with the novelty of them, but the reality is that they are very fiddly, and the coils do break, so when the novelty wears off they become a bit of a nuisance. At that point it is the quality of the incense that really matters, and to be honest the quality is fairly basic. There is a mild jasmine scent mixed in with the base organic burning material, which appears to be cheap sandalwood powder. For those who like the earthy aroma of burning dried cow dung, then these will be fine. They reminded me of some of the cheaper Tibetan incense that is available, and there is a market for such stuff, but it's not for me. They may be useful for throwing on a bonfire come Guy Fawkes Night, but are a little crude for indoor burning.


Date: Mar 2017  Score: 16

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Stamford Mythical Range Incense Wizard's Spell cones

Third review - scroll down for earlier

Lemon scent on the cone. Some raspberry, and perhaps faint vanilla. The scent on the burn is darker, some wood, scorching wood like a cigarette burn. some hot ash, small touches of the lemon, and glimpses of vanilla as a suggestion on the wind. To be honest it smells like a cheap perfumed cone. The blurb says: "Enjoy this enchanting aroma of Patchouli and Vanilla in Wizard's Spell. It's unique and subtle essence will drift you gently to a magical kingdom".  I have come down a long way from my original score of  35.  I'm not liking this at all. I get no patchouli (never have in any of the versions we've had), and only hints of vanilla. The main scent has always been lemon, and the some burning wood. 


Date: May 2024   Score: 18 

Second review

There's a sort of sour candy scent to this. A bit of lemon and a bit of banana, but when burned the smoky sawdust core intrudes. Not the best as my daughter says.


Date: June 2019   Score: 28

First review

Volatile lemon notes. Crisp, clean, slightly chemical, but quite fresh. This is quite sharp compared to the candy-sweetness of some others in the range, though the candy-sweetness does come through when burning, edged with the sharp steel of the lemon. This is like a lemon-sharp boiled sweet - you get both the acidic bite, and the soothing sugar. There's also a pleasing balsamic sandalwood supporting the scent, making this quite rounded. While initially sceptical, I am coming under the charm of this wizard's spell!


Date: March 2017  Score: 35

***

Stamford
Mythical Black Incense cones

Stamford Mythical Range Incense cones

A range of very fragrant incense cones from Aargee. The series name is Mythical, though this is not shown on the packaging. I originally termed these as Black Incense, then, as it had a theme of magic, and the boxes are all black, I named the series Black Magic, until I discovered the official name on the Aargee website.  But over time I have noted that others are calling the series simply Black Incense, so I am returning to that name. My seven year old daughter loves this series, and I like it as well. Attractive, candy-sweet everyday scents that really do lighten and sweeten a room, and which produce a range of scents including tranquil floral, to warm and spicy. I bought the mixed box from Amazon for £12.38, including UK postage, and that seems a good deal for such fun.

Dragon's Fire
Score: 40

Werewolf's Bite
Score: 39

Unicorn's Grace
Score: 36

Wizard's Spell
Score: 35

Vampire's Kiss
Score: 34

Mermaid's Love
Score: 33

Angel's Touch
Score: 32

Pixie's Dance
Score: 28

Witches' Curse (P)
Jun 2025 - Score: 25↓=↑  

Goblin's Lair

Score: 26

Demon's Lust
Score: 19

Fairy's Mist
Score: 18

12 scents in the range
Highest score: 40
Lowest score: 18
Average: 31

***

Stamford London

Incense cones

Stamford Natura Sandalwood

Second review - scroll down for earlier

A harmless basic perfume-dipped incense. Bottom end of everyday incense - bordering toilet cleaner. A gentle, inoffensive, slightly chemical scent.

Date: July 2018    Score:  20

First review

Aargee's Stamford Natura range appears to have been discontinued, though one of two scents can still be bought on eBay.  I only have the Sandalwood. This is a perfume-dipped incense in a premium packaging of stiff unprinted and uncoloured hand made paper, with a silver string carrying the information card. The packaging, along with the range name of Natura, gives the impression this is going to be a natural an d hand-made product, so it is disappointing that we don't find a masala incense inside. The scent is mildly pleasant. I like sandalwood, so that will tend to always work for me. It's inoffensive, with a low awareness of the solvent.

Not a great incense, but quite harmless and pleasant, and OK for general everyday use. It sweetens a room quite gently.

Date: March 2017    Score: 27

***

Sandalwood

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Fair Trade Nitiraj Original

I reviewed Nitiraj Red Nag Champa back in August 2013, and quite liked it. I've not really noticed Nitiraj around since then, but recently came upon this Nitiraj Original for £1.99 for 10g and a Nitiraj Sandalwood for 99p from SoundTravels. This Original is a masala incense with a very sweet sandalwood aroma on the stick, quite warm, sweet, seductive, with soft wool - suggesting halmaddi, and some playful sweet fruits and light floral notes. I was really knocked out and excited on taking the sticks out of the packet. The aroma on burning does approximate that of the stick, though the halmaddi, while light, does come in to make itself felt. The aroma is richly sandalwood with some touches of frankincense, but that halmaddi intrudes with its sort of old fashioned and old aroma of damp wool and old hippies, and then it pinches my nose and makes my eyes smart, and my mouth curl up, and my head begins to thump. It becomes quite intense, and I can't remain in the same room.

The packet is a plain silver with blue writing. Not the best designed thing, and not attractive. There is a blurb that this incense is "the original" natural masala incense, and has been recommended by top yoga instructors since 1978. On looking up the company, I find that Nitiraj is a brand owned by Bombay Incense Co., a British firm, who were founded in 1979 in London, and now operate from Birmingham and Florida.  The sticks are made in India, though Bombay Incense don't say by who. It could be one of thousands of small incense makers in India, or it could be one of the bigger "factories".  Who knows, this may well be available under a different name by another distributor. 

The sticks do burn for nearly an hour, and the aroma does linger with points of sandalwood and frankincense, but mostly of dampness and old furry things. I am curious to burn this again, but I am conscious that for me the experience is quite intense, and while I find the aroma pleasing, enticing, and interesting, I also find it oddly old and damp, and quite disturbing to my senses, filling my head with irritation.

Date: March 2017  Score: 35

***

Nag Champa

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Fair Trade Incense Works

Reviewed on ORS

Sky Aromatherapy Variety Pack No. 2

Cheap and colourful - only 50p from a gift shop. The sticks are made in Thailand for the Salco Group. There are four differently coloured sets (well, two sets are the same colour), but despite the fragrance names of Strawberry, Jasmine, Lavender and Ocean, the main aroma on each is the base sawdust. These are not vulgar sticks, but they are fairly blank. Their only possible use is to cover up very modest smells (even when burning four at once there is little aroma) or to keep away flying insects in the summer. On the whole fairly pointless, and even at only 50p, not value for money.


Date: March 2017   Score: 11

***

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