Incense brand experiences

[Emerald]

I'd be interested to hear about peoples experiences with different incense brands, both stick and cone, although I've only used stick so far. The ones I have are made in India so likely to be available throughout the world. Also if anyone knows what about the brands I have tried makes them either have a good scent or have not much scent and give me a headache.

I can't tell what brand the really cheap crap I got with my holder is. It had no scent at all and barely any actual incense on the stick.

Tridev: the stuff I get from my local $2 shop type store. Comes in a hexagonal box. Good scent from the sticks that spreads through the room. Incense on the stick is black and is thicker than the Kamini ones. There are a good range of scents, I especially love the sandalwood.

Kamini: comes in boxes of 8 sticks. Have interesting sounding scents and got from online pagan store here in NZ. Haven't tried all the scents I got but the ones I have tried so far don't give much scent and make my head hurt. Incense coating on the sandalwood and pagan magic sticks are both yellow and thin.

Darshan: comes in boxes of 8 sticks. Got from the same pagan online store. Have tried the Musk and Vanilla scents, both have a thicker coating of incense on the stick like the Tridev do. Incense coating on the sticks are black. I like these ones and they give off a good amount of scent.

Sai Baba Nag Champa. Not sure which is the brand and which is the incense type. Got them from the local $2 shop type place. They give off a good amount of scent, just didn't like the scent, too overpowering for my liking.

KAYA: from the other $2 shop type place in town. I have the lavender one though I saw 2-3 other scents there too. Similar quality to the Tridev, also has black incense coating on the sticks.

I hope this all made sense. I definitely will make sure I order Darshan sticks next time and no Kamini ones if the other sticks disappoint me and give me a headache too. I wonder if some of them having black coating and some having yellow means anything?

[MadZealot]

 .....  

 
Hello there!  

I'm guessing you don't have any pagan/newagey stores in your vicinity?  Or religious supply shops?  
Of the Indian brands you've listed Nag Champa is the only one I've tried.  I happen to like the smell but it IS strong.  
I find sandalwood to have a pleasant smell and not too overpowering.  Plus it's a 'ritual trigger' for me.  
Last year I found a box of cedar incense; not for ritual, but I do like it.

[Firaza]

I've only tried two types: Namaste, which is Indian and comes as cones; and Nippon Kodo joss incense sticks, which are Japanese.

The Namaste brand varies depending on scent. I love the frankincense but not the myrrh, and those are the only ones I've tried. Myrrh tended to be pretty strong, so avoid that if you get headaches. You can buy them online for approximately $1.50 a box, I think, and each box has 16 or so cones.

Nippon Kodo sticks are more expensive, but you can get 50-200 sticks per box depending on how much you want. I love the scents I've tried (lotus and lavender), which aren't too strong but not unnoticeable, either. Plus, Nippon Kodo brand incense has the added bonus of not containing any possibly impure* ingredients such as cow dung or urea.

* Impure by Kemetic standards, naturally.

[Emerald]

Hello there!  

I'm guessing you don't have any pagan/newagey stores in your vicinity?  Or religious supply shops?  
Of the Indian brands you've listed Nag Champa is the only one I've tried.  I happen to like the smell but it IS strong.  
I find sandalwood to have a pleasant smell and not too overpowering.  Plus it's a 'ritual trigger' for me.  
Last year I found a box of cedar incense; not for ritual, but I do like it.

 
No shops like that in my town and I can't drive so I can't go to a nearby town/city that does. Good thing there's online shopping. I like to use incense during meditation, prayer and offerings. Different ones for different things.

[Emerald]

Nippon Kodo sticks are more expensive, but you can get 50-200 sticks per box depending on how much you want. I love the scents I've tried (lotus and lavender), which aren't too strong but not unnoticeable, either. Plus, Nippon Kodo brand incense has the added bonus of not containing any possibly impure* ingredients such as cow dung or urea.

* Impure by Kemetic standards, naturally.

 
A quick google turned up a couple of sites that sell their incense here in NZ. From what I gather the most expensive is made with Aloeswood, which from a quick search seems to be a fragrant and resinous wood that is becoming harder to get. There are a lot of other expensive incense sticks from them, also NK Pure Natural Scents which appear to cost less but are all out of stock (surprise).

Thank you all for the replies so far.

[veggiewolf]

...

 
I use kyphi from Alchemy Works because it is pure (by Kemetic standards).  I've all three blends listed on their page and like the Edfu best.

[asdfghjkl]

I'd be interested to hear about peoples experiences with different incense brands, both stick and cone, although I've only used stick so far.

 
I usually prefer to use ritually harvested cedar and juniper, but stick can be very convenient. Pretty much the only brand I use is Spiritual Guide, which I can find at my local antique store for cheap cheap. I've never been able to find it anywhere else. I'm actually kind of worried about what I'll do after I buy the store out of it's stock! It's really nice. I don't really know what it smells like, but it's nice. Not too heavy or cloying either.

[Nyktelios]

I'd be interested to hear about peoples experiences with different incense brands, both stick and cone, although I've only used stick so far. The ones I have are made in India so likely to be available throughout the world. Also if anyone knows what about the brands I have tried makes them either have a good scent or have not much scent and give me a headache.

I can't tell what brand the really cheap crap I got with my holder is. It had no scent at all and barely any actual incense on the stick.

Tridev: the stuff I get from my local $2 shop type store. Comes in a hexagonal box. Good scent from the sticks that spreads through the room. Incense on the stick is black and is thicker than the Kamini ones. There are a good range of scents, I especially love the sandalwood.

Kamini: comes in boxes of 8 sticks. Have interesting sounding scents and got from online pagan store here in NZ. Haven't tried all the scents I got but the ones I have tried so far don't give much scent and make my head hurt. Incense coating on the sandalwood and pagan magic sticks are both yellow and thin.

Darshan: comes in boxes of 8 sticks. Got from the same pagan online store. Have tried the Musk and Vanilla scents, both have a thicker coating of incense on the stick like the Tridev do. Incense coating on the sticks are black. I like these ones and they give off a good amount of scent.

Sai Baba Nag Champa. Not sure which is the brand and which is the incense type. Got them from the local $2 shop type place. They give off a good amount of scent, just didn't like the scent, too overpowering for my liking.

KAYA: from the other $2 shop type place in town. I have the lavender one though I saw 2-3 other scents there too. Similar quality to the Tridev, also has black incense coating on the sticks.

I hope this all made sense. I definitely will make sure I order Darshan sticks next time and no Kamini ones if the other sticks disappoint me and give me a headache too. I wonder if some of them having black coating and some having yellow means anything?

 
My favourite brand is HEM, and Indian brand I buy at a Hindu shop. Their myrrh incense smells really good, and I also like their frankincense. Sandalwood Gonesh Sticks are another one of my favourites. Indian incense tends to be really strong, just to warn you.

[Darkhawk]

My favourite brand is HEM, and Indian brand I buy at a Hindu shop. Their myrrh incense smells really good, and I also like their frankincense. Sandalwood Gonesh Sticks are another one of my favourites. Indian incense tends to be really strong, just to warn you.

 
I have a little stash of HEM stuff myself - they've got a good coconut incense and I needed that for part of my training.  My incense is HEM, Alchemy Works, a small locally produced brand, and raw components.

[Annie Roonie]

I'd be interested to hear about peoples experiences with different incense brands, both stick and cone, although I've only used stick so far.

Mine will repeat a few.

I also use Tridev. I adore the Lakshmi scent. And it's only a buck for 20 sticks here. Nice!
Ganesh is okay too. But those are the only 2 scents I've found locally of that brand.

I've also used Spiritual Guide for a long time. It's a Padmini Product and it used to be called Spiritual Master. I became enamored of it a long time ago and it disappeared for a bit. It is a wonderful blend IMO. It is in demand and the price is a bit  higher per box than Hem.

Hem - Of Course! It's everywhere here and inexpensive. Amber and Sandalwood together or separate are my favorites but I try new ones frequently.

Chadra Devi is from Nepal and it comes in little boxes with holes in the ends to hold the mini sticks. They are a dhoop. I forget what they do not contain. Sticks and cones usually have some bonding agent in them to stay together or cling to a stick. Dhoops don't. Rose is too strong for me but musk is fine. They box is about 6 inches long and is about $1.50.

Padmini also puts out a mini dhoop stick box. And it is only about 2 inches long. That little cutie is perfect for travel and usually I find it for 50-60 cents a box.

The Morning Star line comes with a mini tile for their skinny woodless sticks. I don't know what is used to bind the stuff, but it claims to be made in a traditional Japanese style on the box. Lots of scents. Lighter than the dhoops. The tile comes in very handy.

By far the strongest and longest lasting incense I have is Laxmi Dhoop by Surya Devya. 8 very thick and moist woodless sticks. Clay-like but it lights alone and comes with a tin holder. If lit by itself one stick can last for many many hours. I have not been able to wait out a whole stick. I pinch off dabs at a time. If used on a charcoal tablet it burns fast and is still very strong, but it doesn't permeate the way it will if lit alone. It can take a bit longer to light, but once lit it holds the fire. It's out of Mumbai. It will scent a house and everything in it for days.

Traditional Incense Co.  makes jars of grains and powders that are burned on tablets. My eyes are bad but I think the jar says Nitraj Corp. out of India. Their web address doesn't seem to work but I found it here online. I love the sandalwood and I can even take the Frankincense & Myrrh from them. Sometimes those two do not mix well for me, but I've yet to find and incense from this company that I dislike. In the college town nearby they charge 2-3 times what I have found it for online.

Song of India also has a wide variety of scents in resins both chunks and powders for tablet burning. I dislike the bezoin but the valerian grew on me so much that if tablets were easier I's use it before bed every night. It's not cheap. About 8 bucks for 40 grams. They also make sticks and I have tried those but see no difference between those and Hem. Their sticks can be very expensive but I've found boxes for 3-5 dollars.  The temple incense comes in sticks and is meh, but the rose in sticks IMO is not coming back in my house. Pyew.

Other than those, I buy as local or artisan as much as possible. There's usually someone trying a hand at making it, so I try to support them. I budget for fairs precisely for incense and I store them in an old wooden dresser. It smells outstanding.

There are more brands in the dresser but they would require a bit more digging than I am apt to do right now. There are many head shops, metaphysical shops and a few old record stores that carry all kinds of boxed incense as does Target. I have a bad habit of picking up a box to try everywhere it's sold and then depositing it in a drawer and forgetting about it.

OH! There is one place online from which I bought some intensely strong incense at a very inexpensive price per stick. Maybe 100 sticks for 10 bucks or so. Saveonscents. They have kits to make your own if you're into that. You can choose from a few different strength levels. I chose the highest and in two scents that I knew I loved: Witches Brew and Blue Sonata. Neither ended up smelling like the scents I knew. Witches Brew varies from maker to maker, but not too much. It's been getting pricey at shops. I save it for working. Blue Sonata smells like ... well the man at the shop I bought it at said it smelled like spring break hotel hallways. I have no idea what he meant, but he smiled wryly at me. When an 80 year old man does that, I make myself like the scent and it was easy. So caveat with Saveonscents would be not to expect the scent you may be accustomed to.

I love herbal blends too and during blog reading was tipped to this Etsy shop belonging to a TC member. Here's the blog entry. The shop is closing soon and there is a sale going on. There is something special to me about using herbals. They scent the air differently. I use them as a treat to myself. They require more watching, but it takes me away from everything and I love that.

[Shine]

Nippon Kodo sticks are more expensive, but you can get 50-200 sticks per box depending on how much you want. I love the scents I've tried (lotus and lavender), which aren't too strong but not unnoticeable, either. Plus, Nippon Kodo brand incense has the added bonus of not containing any possibly impure* ingredients such as cow dung or urea.

* Impure by Kemetic standards, naturally.

 
How much smoke does Kodo incense give off? I've been thinking about buying some, but I have allergies and asthma that don't like heavy smoke at all.

[Firaza]

How much smoke does Kodo incense give off? I've been thinking about buying some, but I have allergies and asthma that don't like heavy smoke at all.

 
I'd say it gives off a fair amount of smoke, but if you keep a door or window open, it shouldn't be bad at all.

[Shine]

I'd say it gives off a fair amount of smoke, but if you keep a door or window open, it shouldn't be bad at all.

 
Thanks for letting me know. I'll give it a shot.

[Catherine]

The Morning Star line comes with a mini tile for their skinny woodless sticks. I don't know what is used to bind the stuff, but it claims to be made in a traditional Japanese style on the box. Lots of scents. Lighter than the dhoops. The tile comes in very handy.

 
This is the brand I use most often. I like the short stick and short burn time, it's not so overwhelming in a small space. This is one of the few brands that doesn't trigger my husband's allergies, so no complaints there.  

They make a fig that's a must have for Juno. Their rose, lavender and sandalwood scents are quite nice as well.

[Emerald]

My favourite brand is HEM, and Indian brand I buy at a Hindu shop. Their myrrh incense smells really good, and I also like their frankincense. Sandalwood Gonesh Sticks are another one of my favourites. Indian incense tends to be really strong, just to warn you.

 
Sounds like some really nice incense you've all been using. Will have to see if any of the others are available here. Since my last post I've used some of the Kamini white sage sticks and frankincense sticks, they definitely smelled better and no headache this time. You're right about some of the Indian incense being really strong.