What's on your burner today?
- Thread starter YouNight
- Start date
Well I guess I will just place my order for the ambergris sticks along with some other stuff I am really inquisitive about.
epidoc; I'd be interested in a report on the ambergris incense sticks if/when you try them.
If they share anything in common with the beauty of heating pure, high-quality, raw ambergris, then I wont want to be without some.
I bought some of Fred Soll's "Honey Amber" sticks, upon reading that ambergris part of the blend, but I can't smell ambergris through the sweet "amber" of them.
If they share anything in common with the beauty of heating pure, high-quality, raw ambergris, then I wont want to be without some.
I bought some of Fred Soll's "Honey Amber" sticks, upon reading that ambergris part of the blend, but I can't smell ambergris through the sweet "amber" of them.
I heated some of Enfleurage's Oman Nagdi frankincense last night and this morning. While quite nice, I didn't pick-up on an orange blossom note, specifically. Definitely got a citrus note from it, and a light, earthy, almost copal-like undercurrent. I appreciate it for its non-overly clean and zesty profile.
Not sure if that's the same frankincense ("Black") which masstika was referring to, though.
Not sure if that's the same frankincense ("Black") which masstika was referring to, though.
I got no ambergris from agarscents incense. I was not particularly impressed with any of their sticks so I may not be the person to go to for judgement. I did like the tiny sample of East Indian ambergris oil that they "scent" me, reminded me of the good old days when a woman friend had a ball of ambergris in a case in her purse and would put it on like applying body oil.
I am staying with my ninety year old father and he told me to stop smoking up the house just before he passed out five minutes before new year....lol. I am off the resin for a few days in his honor. Late night was Byakudan Kokoh which is a delightful sandalwood but after my overzealous resin fest it really was hard to fully savor its subtlety. I also spent part of the day spraying my own mukhallat in the air and then walking through it. This is a very hard day of the year for me, my wife abandoned me when I was deathly ill on New Years eve four years ago.
Well, the description is "Premium quality Kyara and spices. Exquisite!", but because I've never had the pleasure of smelling kyara, much less "Premium quality Kyara" (isn't that redundant?), I couldn't say whether the aloeswood notes are specific to Kyara.
Setting that aside, it's a very beautiful blend. As long as a pure aloeswood, or sandalwood, etc. isn't your specific craving for the moment, then it's wonderful.
I think I've got 5 of the 9 granulated blends by Shoyeido, and even the least-expensive one is enjoyable. Some are more gourmand (in spices) than others, but all are variations on a fairly-similar theme.
Setting that aside, it's a very beautiful blend. As long as a pure aloeswood, or sandalwood, etc. isn't your specific craving for the moment, then it's wonderful.
I think I've got 5 of the 9 granulated blends by Shoyeido, and even the least-expensive one is enjoyable. Some are more gourmand (in spices) than others, but all are variations on a fairly-similar theme.
I use charcoal but just found out that the charcoal I use is not healthy or natural. I have the Japanese charcoal that crackles when you light it and read that the crackling is caused by the presence of saltpetre when they press it. I quickly ordered some all natural bamboo briquettes from scents of the earth. I find I do quite well with charcoal as long as i use ash on top of the briquette to moderate the heat. I also use ash in bottom of my ceramic bowl and always make a cone of it to support the briquette, this allows the charcoal to heat evenly. I assume this same technique will work just fine even if I am using the new charcoal.
As I have always been on a search for an Indian Oud Incense stick that will do justice to the Genre in a similar fashion to what Japanese Incense does to Aloeswood. However, throughout my previous experiences I found out that the Indian Incense sticks never feature the wood (Oud) itself. It is always mixed with so many other ingredients that it becomes impossible to pick. Recently I bought from Essence of the ages The Oudh and Asli Bakhoor sticks that are featured this month and today I burned a bit of both. The Oudh is a hand rolled Indian Natural by N. Ranga Rao and Sons Export about 8" long, yellow color and medium size. The smell is a combination of sweet spices and fragrances in a similar fashion to Amulya Attar. a smell burn is enough for a room sized 15'x12' and has a lasting effects. Though the scent could be overpowering it does not seem to have any cloying pr synthetic that burns the eyes or throat. There is a bit of acidity as if from sandalwood that could be detected in the after burn.
Next came Asli Bakhoor, a medium size light green color stick. This one is less sweet with notes of Halmadi, lotus flower oil and vertiver. It's a clean smell as if one has taken a shower and less of a Bakhoor smell in the classical Arabic sense. This is a big smell for big rooms. I found it better to put it in a closed room for 5 minutes and then put it out and let the room air for another 5 minutes. The after smell is much more agreeable than while the stick is burning. The notes become more separated and less overpowering.
Next came Asli Bakhoor, a medium size light green color stick. This one is less sweet with notes of Halmadi, lotus flower oil and vertiver. It's a clean smell as if one has taken a shower and less of a Bakhoor smell in the classical Arabic sense. This is a big smell for big rooms. I found it better to put it in a closed room for 5 minutes and then put it out and let the room air for another 5 minutes. The after smell is much more agreeable than while the stick is burning. The notes become more separated and less overpowering.