| | I like incense. I'm very glad Mr Linnet likes incense too, because it gives my twisted, alternative little heart a warm glow to make his living spaces all homey with warm smoky scents.
I placed a good-sized order from Essence Of The Ages recently when I found out that Nippon Kodo discontinued its Morning Star Gold line, and I had to scramble to stock up lest I be caught without cheap aloeswood sticks. I added boxes of several kinds I'd never tried, because duh. How do you order incense and not order new incense?
Unfortunately, the results were craptastic. I ordered 3 boxes from the Fragrance Memories line, and only one of those is pleasant enough to use up the whole box: Sahara Moon is a pretty low-key, smooth, spicy-musky blend. Green Oasis was so offensive I had to seal it in a Ziploc before I put it in the closet with the rest of my stuff to swap or give away -- very strong dryer-sheet smell that assaulted me as soon as I opened the box (not the incense box, mind you, the box it all was mailed to me in). Wake Up was just ... weird. I expected a blend of citrus and pink pepper to be a little quirky, but we just didn't get along at all. And Fig, from the basic Morning Star line, was strongly reminiscent of fruity tree-shaped car air freshener.
Ultimately, most of the Morning Star and Fragrance Memory lines are just too synthetic smelling for me: I've developed a taste for incense that smells like its ingredients, not perfume oils set on fire. I'm actually much happier with the big box of Morning Star sandalwood I grabbed for a steal at the East Asia supermarket -- it's mellow and spicy (I strongly suspect this is because it's been sitting on a dusty shelf for a long time, and sandalwood ages well. I need to convince Mr Linnet that we should stock up on 4 or 5 boxes to stick in a dark cool place for another couple years). And it was a real bargain. Unlike the Fig sticks and the Fragrance Memories line this variety appears to have no artificial colorants in it and I expect that although it's not high-grade, it's actual sandalwood based.
Speaking of sandalwood, Essence Of The Ages included a sample pack of Shah Sandalwood Dhoop Sticks. They're dhoop logs, meaning they're short and squatty with no stick, and don't fit well in the included holder. They're OK. I'm not impressed. I'd rather have the Morning Star Sandalwood.
Stay tuned as I explore the scary world of real aloeswood now that I've been forced out of my Morning Star Gold comfort zone. Carolyn reports good results with NK's Kohdo Spicy Aloeswood, so that's one possibility, and NK's Zuiun Aloeswood looks promising as well for under $6/pack.
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| | Posted 9/8/2008 8:05 PM - 82 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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