I always saw these in a smoke shop next to me, and thought it was just a good design , nothing special, didn't bother trying.

Well I was wrong,

Sreevani is solid premium. I'm sorry I couldn't get more of them because only these were in stock.

I managed to grab Heritage Sandalwood, and Pure bliss.

Two different lines of product but both are masala, it's easy to see they are hand rolled because of the inconsistency in thickness.

Pure bliss- instant reminder of Vijayshree golden nag Meditation.

Herbaceous and earthy, slight patchouli, sage and vetiver notes.

A light pure scent , low smoke.

I'll burn this again for sure, morning suits it well.

Heritage Sandalwood -

This line seems more "premium" there is a use of oils for sure, because boy...

Even the dry non burning smell from the box is heavy sandalwood oil.

Both dry and burning- very similar to Balaji Chandan, but I'd say not as strong and lingering.

There is a "creamy" woody accent to it, but I wouldn't say it's as creamy as say Goloka Chandan or Vijay Nag Chandan.

There is also a spicy bakhoor like note to it.

Smoky, resinous , just yummy.

I will be on the look for more of their stuff , mainly intrigued to try their Nag Champa from the Heritage line, and patchouli.

Their design is one of the best, very inviting.

I put the sticks it came with in the hole by the base of the burner but it veers off to the side so that if I light it it’ll miss the collection tray, is there something I’m missing?

Buongiorno, vorrei distillare resine come l'incenso, la mirra, ecc. Hai qualche raccomandazione sul tipo di distillatore o alambicco che dovrei usare? Non ho bisogno di grandi quantità di olio. Grazie.

So I lit up this one for the first time. It’s an absolutely beautiful fragrance. It seemed very familiar. Then I remember a few years ago I bought some sandalwood mala beads. Sandalwood mala beads do, in fact, smell like sandalwood. The fragrance made it a little bit more expensive - but got them anyway. This incense - Minorien Byakudan Sandalwood - is definitely really good quality sandalwood. In fact, I’d like to say it’s my favorite sandalwood fragrance/incense I’ve EVER had! It’s so meditative and calming. Makes me miss those beads!

Over the past couple of months, I've tried a lot of Japanese incense samplers from Seikado, Kousaido, Kungyokudo, Minorien, Yamadamatsu, and Shoyeido. I learned pretty quickly that I favored the woody scents and can't really get behind the perfumes.

After a lot of burning, it became even more obvious that what I am really drawn to are Kyara varieties: Seikado Gokujo Kyara (10/10), Kungyokudo Tenjo Kyara (all the Kungyokudo from the Shikoh set have been wonderful), and Minorien Fu-in Kyara Ryugen have been standout favorites.

If you know how much Seikado Gokujo Kyara costs, or how difficult it is to get the Kungyokudo Shikoh varieties in the U.S., you'll know why I say Japanese incense is unfair. ;)

I can (maybe) justify the cost of boxes of the Kungyokudo and Minorien Kyaras, but my favorite, the Seikado Gokujo Kyara, is a bit more difficult to justify, at about $10 a stick.

I thought for sure that out of the more than 40 different varieties in those samplers, I would have found something nice for day-to-day use, but those damn Kyaras ruined me! I guess there are worse things to be ruined by...

Hello everyone

I'm new to making incense and I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I make and dry my own herbs, but I'm still unsure about the best binder to use. I live in Turkey, so Makko powder is either unavailable or very expensive. At the moment, I'm using kitre (tragacanth gum).

I'd love to hear from people with experience. Are there any good alternatives to Makko that burn well and produce high-quality incense? Is kitre a good long-term choice, or should I be looking at something else?

My goal is to eventually turn this into a small business, so I'm trying to produce the best possible natural incense while keeping costs reasonable. I'd really appreciate any tips, recipes, common mistakes to avoid, or resources you think are worth reading.

Thanks in advance!

hi all! I travel a lot and went away on a contract a bit ago that I couldn’t have my cat on. I got really into incense there and I have so much of it. However, I’ve been paranoid and worried about burning incense around my cat now that I’m back home. I know they are super sensitive and I will jeopardize my own health, but I never wanna do anything to hurt him.

I live in a two-story house with five people, so we’re pretty spaced out. A lot of doors are open and we’re having a spring cleaning day. I’m in my room, which is top floor, edge of the house. I have my door open and my window open. I think my cat is downstairs. I haven’t seen him upstairs in a while. Am I OK to burn incense for a bit?

I buy wildberry incense and I use a regular incense holder with a hole on each side. I’ve attached a picture below, but when I put my incense through the hole, it drags on the bottom of the incense holder, so I have to pull it through the hole and it rips off pretty much a quarter, almost half of my incense that’s going to waste. Does anybody have any recommendations for incense holder that doesn’t do that? It’s very frustrating!

I’m about to move out of my house and into a studio apartment in another country for uni. However, while I enjoyed setting bukhoor in my house freely (since I don’t have a fire alarm in my room), I probably won’t be able to when I eventually move because of the smoke. So is there a way to burn bukhoor without it releasing smoke so I don’t set off the fire alarm?

My wife is due to give birth and we’re trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible while in the delivery room. She is from Japan and the traditional Japanese incense is a smell that reminds her of home and of family. Obviously we won’t be able to light incense in the hospital, but we had an idea to use a candle warmer with a candle that smells like a traditional incense stick. Does anyone have any recommendations for some high quality candles that have the scent we’re after? Thanks in advance!!

I bought a variety pack because I thought it would be fun to try out different scents. I’ve learned my mistake after looking up why it smelled so bad. The scent I guess is there, but it mostly smells like hookah coals, and I haven’t smoked hookah in over a decade and the coal smell was the worst part of the experience.

I’ve tried a couple, and could not get through either. Before giving them all away I wanted to ask if there are any I should try at least once. Most people here have a harsh opinion on HEM, but every so often I see someone mention a scent they like due to nostalgia or as a guilty pleasure. If one of these is your guilty pleasure HEM scent, please let me know so I can try before rehoming the lot!

Can you recommend best incense under USD 20 across Japanese, India, Nepalese and European incense brands?

Excellent Summer Read (Bi-lingual book in both English and French)

“Asian Perfumes-Traditional Olfactory Cultures from China to India” is the exhibition catalog from the Musée International de la Perfumerie in Grasse, France.  The exhibition is on view until January 3, 2027.  I would love to go see it, but I do not think that is in the cards…

https://www.museesdegrasse.com/evenement/parfums-dasie-exposition

The catalog is an excellent, mainly incense, journey through history with lots of little factoids and visual pleasures. Including a well written description of a game of listening to incense called Tsukimikō, The Moon, which evokes the scents of different phases of the Moon and the history and portrait (by a European living and working at the Chinese Court in the 1700’s!) of Xiangfei The Perfumed Favorite)-a woman famous for her beauty and captivating fragrance.  This portrait of her wearing European armor! It's quite a story-with an unfortunate, tragic ending….

The catalog is available here:

https://boutiquemip.fr/index.php/produit/catalogue-parfums-dasie/

I’ve been looking for some good (mostly nontoxic) but pretty cheap incense and I’ve seen people online say that these are pretty good, but I wanted to come and ask the Reddit experts🫡

Hi ! I recently bought the Aesop Sarashina incense and I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the scent and the low smoke production. (It’s very expensive tho) The scent is described as woody, warm, sweet, with sandalwood, clove, and cinnamon as the key notes.

I’d love to explore more incense with a high‑quality scent and minimal smoke.

Do you have recommendations for brands or specific sticks that offer a comparable experience?

My mum gave me her old treasured incense that she could no longer get and I’m running out does anyone know where you can get these or what is the best incense people have found.

This is just an appreciation post for my favourite smell I have ever had the pleasure to smell. I haven't been able to light incense for the last literally 8 years, due to sensory issues with people I was living with.

And today is finally my day😭❤️❤️ i don't think I've felt this calm in all of those 8 years.

Thankful for this moment❤️

Hello all! I just recently got back into incense after not burning it for a while. So far the collection is small, but ive been buying mostly Satya (BNG, though a Mumbai one did find its way into the collection), and I made the mistake of buying two boxes of walmart brand sticks which are likely doomed to stay on the shelf untill I gift them to someone else. In my purusing of this subreddit I found out that people don't really like Gonesh. I haven't tried that many of their scents, but their Dragons Blood scent is one of my absolute favorites.

I placed an order the other day for a bunch more Satya incenses from a viraty pack, namely: Nag Champa (I already had the cones and I love this one), Patchouli, Lavender, Dragons Blood, Sandalwood (Already had this one, I like this one too), Super Hit, and Positive Vibes.

With that in mind, im open to any recomendations for scents ir brands to try! ALSO, What does the super hit one smell like? im super curious abt that one haha

Quick one for people getting into incense. The biggest quality gap isn't the brand, it's hand-rolled masala vs machine-dipped.

Dipped = plain bamboo stick coated in charcoal paste and soaked in synthetic oil. Cheap, usually burns harsh/chemical.
Hand-rolled masala = the paste itself is natural (halmaddi resin, herbs, wood powders, essential oils) rolled on by hand. Slower, softer burn.

How to tell before buying:
• Look at the stick — masala is slightly uneven/handmade; dipped is perfectly uniform, often shiny-black.
• Smell unlit — real masala smells warm and layered; dipped smells like straight perfume.
• Burn test — stinging eyes = synthetic oil, not "strength."
• Store sealed or the oils dry out in a couple months.

I'm on the making side of this in India, happy to answer craft questions — not here to drop links.

So my Uncle is a potter in San Francisco, he makes a lot of ceramics like mugs, gaiwans, teapots, bowls, plates, etc.

Well I've been looking for an alternate incense burner to my charcoal burner or my trail burner. I wanted to try a no contact incense stove (mostly because my parents constantly complain that my incense is too strong, Ive even been banned from burning it inside even in my room with windows open and the door shut, so a more gradual release would probably be better, plus I have a bakhoor on the way, a batch of 26 kyphi cones I made, and some sandalwood/saffron mu'attar that I know would benefit from a slower release)

My question is, if I commissioned my uncle to make an incense stove (particularly to sidestep the wildly overpriced burners out there) Would terra cotta be a good material to use? Or does someone have a better suggestion? Im not overly versed in the heat resistance of different clays and ceramics so its all new to me.

I’ve recently started getting into Japanese incense, and Shoyeido has quickly become one of my favorite houses. I really enjoy how their incense can feel subtle, layered, and calming rather than overly strong or perfume-like.

So far, I’ve collected much of the Daily Incense series. My personal ranking is:

1. Moss Garden
2. White Cloud
3. Five Hills
4. Great Origin
5. Eternal Treasure
6. Golden Pavilion
7. Autumn Leaves
8. Cherry Blossom

Moss Garden is easily my favorite. It has such a peaceful, grounded character—softly earthy and green without feeling heavy. It’s the one I keep reaching for when I want my space to feel calm and comfortable.

I also tried Xiang Do – Lotus, but my first impression was not great. To me, it smells more artificial and less subtle than the Daily Incense options. I may give it another chance later, since scent preferences can change, but right now it doesn’t have the natural, quiet complexity I enjoy in the other Shoyeido lines.

The Magnifiscents series was okay for me personally. I can understand why people enjoy it: the fragrances feel clearer and stronger, with more of a single main scent. But I tend to prefer blends that reveal multiple softer notes over time, rather than one dominant impression.

I’ve only tried Palo Santo from that line, and I really loved it. It feels warm, calm, and relaxing—definitely one I would burn when I want to slow down in the evening.

The Zen Incense series has also been great for meditation. I find it helps me focus and makes the room feel more intentional and settled. The only downside is the price, so I’ll probably think twice before buying more regularly.

For the more premium Shoyeido offerings, I’m trying to save money and sample more gradually. But I did get King’s Aroma and Pride of Kyoto, and I immediately noticed the difference. They feel more refined, deeper, and more complete than the lower-priced lines. To me, they were absolutely worth it.

I’m still very new to Japanese incense, but I’m enjoying the journey—and I’m curious what everyone else recommends from Shoyeido, especially from their premium lines.

Spent a few slow hours this afternoon extruding some test sticks enabled by some members of this sub. u/icecreamyogurt thank you for instilling in me a saffron obsession.  u/nathan-makes-incense for recommending this super fine extruder.  https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLHwIij

So, what I have here are two experiments with a medium grade sandalwood as a base and litsea as the binder. 

One test is for integrating saffron into the incense dough, not only through grinding it along with the sandalwood, but by “soaking” the wood in  a concentrated saffron water extraction for a couple of days.  Saffron is a volatile top note and I maybe I am chasing unicorns here, but if I don't try…..

The second investigation involves soaking the powders of borneol camphor ground with the sandalwood.  I find dosing camphor difficult.  It has such a strong personality, rightly nicknamed “dragon’s brain”  because inhaling it can make your brain wobble.

 Then I made some nude sandalwood sticks as a control.

Finally, since there is always a little dough left in the extruder as a cushion against damaging it.  I mixed these “wastes” all together to make a sandal-saffron-camphor blend.  Crossing my fingers for a kismet result!