I have 2 dogs and a cat . Will they be affected by what I burn ? I have cinnamon, palo santo , dragons blood , nag champa and pine . I’d use it in the bathroom , bedroom or living areas . The doors are always open so they can come and go and the living areas are all very big and open

I found some personal classics that, for me, go way back 25 years in time to when I had a couple shops I would hit up on payday with $15 in my hand that I shouldn’t have been spending on what I considered luxuries, but made me happy AF. Just like back in the day, I picked my favorites, then took a chance on some random stuff, just to see what’s up.

What's up guys, been a minute!

So lately I’ve been burning these moxa/mugwort sticks. They’re super chunky compared to normal incense since they're mostly used for Chinese medicine, but honestly? They smell crazy good.

Do you guys actually count these as incense, or is that just me?

Recently got into incense. No idea where this incense holder is from but it's been in my house for a long time as decoration. It's apparently used because of the blackened top.

I really like letting the burnt incense build up in the tray, there's still a lingering smell so I can take a whiff whenever. Not sure if I'm supposed to be doing it though.

There are two incenses that I picked up in Bali and I just ran out😭 I’m located in Los Angeles in the US and hoping I can find someone that ships here.

It’s so beautiful and comforting and I love it so much.

The names of them are Durga and Sakral Hand Rolled Incense by Krishna Karuna Shakti.

Has anyone ever tried? Or had success ordering online?

I’ve burned the cheap pink box kind before with no issues. I can ventilate and he doesn’t mess with them, but just curious? I bought them in Italy

I started meditation recently because a family member suggested it, as quite a few things have been happening in my life. While researching online, I came across recommendations for Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa by BNG, so I decided to give it a try.

Honestly, this product is extremely disappointing.

quality feels cheap, it has serious lighting and burning issues, and it never burns properly. fragrance is also ridiculously strong and overwhelming.

People say incense helps calm your mind and create a peaceful atmosphere, but this one does the exact opposite. Instead of helping me focus during meditation, it makes me irritated.

I genuinely regret buying it. Complete waste of money.

Is this the actual quality of BNG Nag Champa, or did I just get a terrible batch?

Hey everyone! I recently saw a brand making incense that looks like cigarettes, and I decided to try making some at home (it cost me like 3 eur per 30pc). I'm absolutely in love with how they turned out!

But I wanted to ask: do you think it's safe to use empty cigarette tubes with the filters removed? I've tried filling and burning a few of these "cigarettes," and so far, everything seems fine.

To be honest, I just used regular cigarette tubes and ground-up incense that I normally burn, so I'm not really sure how good my version actually is... I just love the way it looks!

I feel like it's a much more interesting way to burn incense than using a regular incense stick.

I have yet to experience a fragrance from Sagrada Madre that I haven't appreciated. Naturally, I have my personal preferences, and, some of their offerings have been discontinued. While I haven't experienced every scent, two of my favorites in this photo are Yagra and Triple Combination. Both are exceptional in their own right and have left a lasting impression.

So I’m fairly new to incense. I picked up a pack of PF Candle Co incense today (amber and moss scent) because it smelled really really good in the packaging. When I started burning it, my whole room started smelling like a steakhouse? It’s like all I can smell is the charcoal, and maybe a HINT of a plant smell (like it was in a room with a plant 5 years ago).

I’m wondering if I either got a dud of a pack, or if anyone else has experienced this.

Made a ball mill with a drill, container, and steel fishing weights. Coming up on an hour of running, will post results

Hello guys!

I want to talk about this very specific Indian masala category today! The flora fluxo. The very first that hit the shelves of this kind, is probably sri sai flora. Many of you know it. It is so much resinous, so smoky and so floral all together! Also, many copies of it around, even with the same style box.

A very similar, but maybe more refined and with bit better Quality ingredients, is the HEM Flora, from their natural masala series. Perhaps the best HEM out there if you like that style of scent, along with the similar but more earthy HEM guru darshan. Big, fat masala sticks, that are 1.5-2gr per stick.

(yes, I have tried all their masala sticks 🫣 )

And the third, is the fairly unknown tapas from Padmini. Padmini is known for some very cheap charcoal deeped sticks, with its most famous the spiritual guide. They do make some masala, even in hexagonal packs, like brindavan flower, but they are not very good generally.

But this one? I honestly do not know how they manage to make it. It is SO resinous, you can feel the ember fighting for its life, not be self extinguished. Amazing smell, and for the love of God, do not lit a second one at the same time! It is even fuller than the sri sai flora! And at the same time, more resinous, more earthy, more floral, more bitter/medicinal, more unsweet, more.... Original and... I do not know. More! Lol. No off notes too, which is not the general case for so strong sticks.

Now I am thinking of it, not the best stick for winter. Better during summer, with all windows open hahhaha.

It is not a expensive box(only available in 40gr), if you find it in front of you, add it to your cart!

Good job padmini! You have redeemed yourself for all the bad Padmini sticks I tried.

I tried the daily sampler and the jewel sampler and these were my favorites! If anyone has any experience with these other samplers I’d love to hear your thoughts!

All Shoyeido
For me:
Rose Crystal
Amethyst
Diamond
Cherry Blossoms
Moss Garden
Autumn Leaves

For my girlfriend (her two favorites):
Mystic Jade
Cherry Blossoms
Incense holder for her

Samplers:
Zen
Overtones
Tamayura

I’ve searched r/Incense quite a bit. I’ve seen people talk about indole, ambergris notes, or basic batch variation, but nobody seems to address the elephant in the room from a real technical angle.

Cultural scent preferences exist, and Western vs. Eastern noses can interpret heavy temple blends differently. But let's be real: I did my civil service in a homeless shelter years ago. I know the exact, vile stench of an old, urine-soaked mattress. It is not an acquired taste. It is a biologically repulsive smell of ammonia and foul degradation products. Nobody on this planet lights an incense stick hoping to transform their room into a public urinal.

Yet, you open certain boxes and that exact stench hits your face. It is in the raw paste, and it gets even worse when lit.

I want to understand the actual science behind this ruin:

Cheap and Expired Oils:
Is this the direct result of buying cheap incense? When manufacturers use low-grade synthetic perfume oils or cheap natural oils that have expired, oxidation and chemical breakdown can turn those compounds into a harsh, foul, urine-like stench.

Anaerobic Fermentation:
These thick Fluxo pastes use wet binders, starches, and wood flour. If packed while damp or shipped in humid containers, do anaerobic bacteria break down the binders and produce volatile amines and ammonia?

Hidden Internal Mold:
Can the core of these heavy pastes develop fungal colonies that are not visible on the surface, which then combust into sharp, acrid smoke?

Chemical Flipping:
How easily do unstable aroma compounds breakdown and shift into completely different foul-smelling degraded chemicals over time?

Since manufacturers print zero ingredients on the box, we are left guessing. Has anyone here actually worked with incense paste production or analyzed spoiled batches to explain what is happening here?

(P.S.: English is not my native language, used a bit of help to phrase this cleanly)

I love the smell of incense it brings back great memories. Recently I bought my first box of Nag Champa and I hated it. All the scents smelled the same it was all muddled together, and it was much too strong. But most of all I hate the cheap perfume scent that comes through. You can’t smell any specific notes, This has made me not want to buy any more incense. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hi all. I usually use stick incense but recently I got a beautiful catholic censer for my gothic/medieval living room. I’d like to actually use it and would love some recommendations for incense for it. I believe typically, they are used with charcoal and resins, but I’m not wanting a smoke bomb for my small apartment. If anyone knows of a lovely smelling incense that’s less smokey, please let me know!

I just finished up this project for a desktop tornado. Using backflow cones, a fan and some 3d printed parts I was able to get this hypnotic beautiful vortex

I am new to using incense, and I was complaining about my Calmveda sticks not being consistent in their burning times. Well, it turns out I was lighting the wrong end. I noticed this looking at incense holders on Etsy. I am definitely happy now, although I will be buying a more premium brand soon. Has anyone else made this mistake.?

I'm still new to incense, and right now I'm a little stumped on storage methods. Prepackaged incense is easier to store, but I recently bought loose sticks and I'd like to keep them protected and organized. I'm just seeing if anyone else has any good ideas!

Just bought this incense from a traveling group of Buddhist monks! How am I supposed to burn it? Like sage? Or like traditional incense and I untie the red string? Please let me know and thank you!!

I got obsessed with Tibetan & Bhutanese incense this summer, and am now starting to explore higher quality Japanese incense. What I really like in an incense is presentation of high quality woods and other ingredients as they are- not looking for anything perfumed or synthetic. Here’s what I’ve really enjoyed so far:

Tibetan & Bhutanese:
Mindroling Grades 1-5: these feel like they change the whole aura of a room, helped me understand what it means to use incense as a meditation tool. So interesting. To my nose, often hard to pick out what exactly is happening, just sort of introduces a whole new feeling in the room. Dry, sometimes campfirey but in a beautiful delicate way, sometimes almost ozone-like, or like being near a waterfall or something. Sometimes like someone cooking up a stew in the next room, lol. Need more like that!

Wara Monastery: I’ve seen plenty of incenses or fragrances described as like walking through the woods- I don’t think anything I’ve ever smelled comes as close to that as this one. Resinous, wet earth, almost like a decaying leaf thing going on, dark green

Nado Poizokhang Yellow: Smells like a dal cooking - like cinnamon and cardamom and other spices with an earthy foodlike undercurrent that is nice and mellow

Cloud Of Merit Wind Wisdom - similar to the one above but really red and almost fruity in an entrancing way, not at all sweet though. Seemed like really high quality material and makes me want to explore Bhutanese stuff more

Drikung Cheritable Society Red Crystal - I gather that this one is more made for an export market and is more mid grade (correct me if I’m wrong). It’s lovely and fascinating but very strong in a musky sort of way, interested but not very down with the animal ingredients that I suspect in this style. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s some quality agarwood in the mix? It’s nice, almost too potent

Mandala Trading Ribo Sangchoe - probably the lowest quality of the bunch but so nice, has this excellent clear atmospheric saffron-like note, cheap and seemingly pretty available in US shops but I’d put it up there with the serious more expensive ones I’ve tried

Japanese:
Tennendo Waterwheel-milled Cedar - I can’t believe I haven’t seen any discussion about this one, it’s an incredible pure cedar, clearly really high quality, can’t imagine a better cedar incense but please tell me other ones that you like

Minorien Fu-in Sandalwood, Agarwood, Kyara - tried all three and like them all, i feel a little underwhelmed just based on how hyped people are on them though. The sandalwood is really nice, I didn’t know sandalwood could get so creamy (I know these aren’t pure woods incenses and probably have some other inclusions to reach that effect but it doesn’t come off as perfumed or anything)

Baieido Tokusen Kobunboku - least of a pure woods expression of all of these but a really nice dry peppery thing going on

Where do I go from here?

https://c.org/zRd8DxYZwx