Incense is having a real moment and in this episode we're exploring why and also talking through some of our favourite incense scents.

Why is incense so popular again?

Incense has moved from temples and churches into living rooms,

studios and perfume wardrobes; it’s become a chic, modern ritual as

much as a smell.

Trend reports link the boom to the hunger for spiritual and holistic

practices – incense is an easy way to pause, “set an intention” and

create a little ceremony around everyday life.

Incense vs frankincense

 “Incense” is the whole blend you burn – it might be on a stick, cone, coil

or rope – and can contain resins, woods, herbs, spices and florals.

 “Frankincense” (also called olibanum) is one particular resin, tapped

from Boswellia sacra trees in Oman, Yemen and parts of the Horn of

Africa.

 Etymology you can play with: “frankincense” comes from Old French

“franc encens” – high quality or “pure” incense – while “incense” itself

goes back to Latin for “to burn.”

 When a perfume lists “incense” as a note, it may mean a full accord of

resins (frankincense, myrrh, opoponax, labdanum, elemi, woods,

flowers) or a composition that highlights frankincense alone.

What incense actually smells like

 Frankincense: resinous yet airy; earthy, piney, slightly smoky with a

surprising citrus brightness.

 Myrrh: darker, spicier, slightly medicinal and very “churchy”, often

associated with ritual and antiquity.

 Opoponax: honeyed, vanillic, balsamic and comforting – it softens the

harsher edges of smoke.

 Labdanum: rich, ambery, leathery and almost animalic; gives incense

perfumes that plush, warm body.

 Elemi: sharp, lemony, peppery resin that brings sparkle and lift to the

smoke.

 Woods (sandalwood, cedar etc.): add dryness, creaminess or

pencilshaving smokiness and form the backbone of many incenseheavy

fragrances.

Quotes from perfumers:

 Francis Kurkdjian on why he loves Japanese incense at home: partly

practicality, because “it fills the room in five minutes, whereas candles

take ages.”

 Yasmin Sewell on the moodshift: “Where a candle may take twenty

minutes to resonate in your space, when you light incense there is an

immediate scent that fills the room.”

 Sewell again on why incense made more sense than candles for her

brand’s next step: “I felt that incense really connected with our values,

since it’s been used in spiritual rituals for so long,” and “what I really

love about incense is that it shifts the mood instantly.”

 Lyn Harris on her daily ritual: “It sets a spiritual tone to my day,” and

incense is “an ethereal veil that lingers in the air.” She burns it in the

morning to set her mood, sometimes midday to reinvigorate her senses,

and even before bed so “there is a sensual haze passing over my

nostrils before I sleep.”

 Chris Rusak on the psychology of burning it: incense is “a great vehicle

for empowerment or catharsis via controlled destruction” and “incense

use is intentional. It requires fire or directed heat for full expression,

which we must effect, contain, and control, in order to destroy it but not

ourselves.”

 How it’s harvested: frankincense resin oozes from cuts in the

Boswellia sacra tree and dries into golden “tears”, sometimes called

“frankincense tears” or “olibanum tears”.

 The jinn love story: a girl from the jinn falls in love with a human boy –

forbidden, of course. As punishment she’s turned into a tree; her grief

becomes crystal tears that people burn on coal for healing smoke with a

bitter taste that mourns lost love.

 Ecology: frankincense forests in northern Ethiopia are under threat as

they’re cleared for agriculture, with scientists warning production could

halve over the next 15 years.

 Mood altering science: frankincense contains a compound called

incensole acetate, which has been shown to have pain relieving and

psychoactive effects – helping with depression and anxiety and

activating a warmth perception channel in the skin.

 That might explain why those “sexy church smells” (as Alice du Parcq

so memorably terms them) can feel both spiritually elevated and

physically comforting – sacred, nostalgic, a bit forbidden and strangely

swoony all at once.

Suzy’s faves:

@amouage Purpose 50

@jeroboamperfumes Ambra extrait

@eaudeboujee Gilded

@vancleefarpels Perfume Extraordinaire Encens Précieux

@ataratmalondon Aroha Absolute

@nissaba.fragrances Berbera

Nicola's choices:

@aromariamx giant incense sticks

@the_virtue Holy Smoke

@lartisanparfumeur Passage d'Enfer

@matierepremiereparfums Crystal Saffron

Season 7 Ep 15: Holy Smoke! Our Favourite Incense Fragrances

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