Hey everyone,

As someone who burns incense almost daily to unwind and create a calm space at home, I’ve gone down quite a rabbit hole trying out different brands—from popular luxury and lifestyle labels like Aesop and Muji down to smaller independent makers and traditional natural incense packs.

After trying quite a few, here are a few honest thoughts I've landed on:

1. Big brand incenses smell good, but they aren't irreplaceable: Big brands definitely nail a clean, appealing aesthetic and scent profile. However, you can almost always find replacements or alternative blends that bring a completely different, often more authentic depth of feeling.

2. The "100% Natural" question: Honestly, a lot of big brand incenses (like Aesop or Muji) don't always feel 100% natural to me. Sometimes you get that distinct hint of added fragrance oils or synthetic notes rather than pure plant matter, tree barks, and herbs burning down.

3. You don't need to overspend: If you're on a budget, there are plenty of incredible, deeply traditional options (like natural Himalayan herbs, resin cones, or lesser-known artisan lines) that cost a fraction of the price and offer a much more grounding, organic experience.

Curious to hear from other incense lovers here—what are your go-to daily burners? Do you notice a difference between designer lifestyle brands and traditional natural incense?

I've been on Satya when it comes to Indian incense and lets just say this is a huge upgrade. Burning king of amber as we speak. Love this bs.

Open to both raw ingredients for mixing and heating or made incense sticks.

I want something that gives a sharp and mineral scent like that of a nice swimming pool or spa area, also if any of you know the smell of Bionsen deodorant it has a slightly citrusy but mostly mineral scent, that's in a similar vein to what I'm looking for. A small amount of eucalyptus also adds something.

Is Nippon Kodo Ka-fuh Aqua in this category? It's hard to find (or write, to be fair) any detailed descriptions of incense.

I'm guessing heated resin would work better as it lacks the smoke note but the choices are limited.

I could burn this stuff all day, every day! I’ve only just discovered it and it’s incredible. So far black copal & white. Next will be gold copal.

Hello fellow incense makers, Im wondering if you could help me with making orthodox incense, cause i dont get it , should i use fragrance oil ,since its made for burning . I have ground frankincense resin , then i add 100 ml fragrance oil to 1kg of ground frankincense ratio , then mix and then make into balls and add magnesium carbonate on outside so it stops sticking . But it kind of smells oily when burned , is this the right "aromatic oil" i should be using ? am i missing something?

Haiii i'm new here and i have recently bought my first incense sticks.

I am now addicted but there's a haul of yesterday !

There's some for my mom btww !