finally, i got my hands on some hem at a local discount home goods shop. they were only a dollar each and pretty much lived up to their price tag. that isn't to say they're bad by any means, but the scents are heavy and sometimes overwhelming. each stick's burnable length is 17cm but they burn for much too long, so although it's inconvenient, i have to break them in half or else i get a headache burning them in my small apartment.

it's a bit strange, but i've noticed that despite the

• 《strawberry jasmine》 sweet, floral.
• 《precious flowers》
• 《aloe vera》 fresh, wet, herbal. a much lighter-bodied and less perfumey scent than the others. musky and nostalgic, like the inside of a mausoleum.

➢ home shop $1.00/20 ct

these are all from a variety pack of 14 scents, each containing 3 mini-sticks about 2.5" long. they are indian style and apparently hand-rolled, and although the amazon reviews are weirdly scathing i think they were decent for my first taste of real incense (besides the price).

right off the bat i want to say i'm not too sure how keen i am on indian incense. i find these sticks smell much better before being burned, during which the smoke from the bamboo core strongly overpowers what i originally thought the scent was.

• 《jasmine》 sweet, floral, earthy. reminiscent of what i believe to be those old crayola scented crayons, though i'm not sure which, since none of them were jasmine scented.
• 《sandalwood》 dark, woodsy, fresh. reminds me of borc though that might be influenced by the smoke from the core. a little musty and vintage. makes me kind of dizzy.

gonesh is an american brand that makes indian style incense, proudly(?) claiming to use an entirely charcoal base dipped in oil which is pretty hilarious, as ors has also noted.

• 《no.8 - perfumes of spring mist》 fruity, sweet, sugary. it smells strongly of hookah and mr. sketch markers with hints of bubblegum and kids' medicine. in any case, very artificial. a scent i think i'd enjoy (somewhat ironically) if not in incense form.
  • ➢ amazon $7.99/20 ct

i did not buy these, but was sent them as free samples

• 《bamboo》
• 《camellia》
• 《lavender》

➢ murata $19.90/40ct 14cm

i am back, about two years later, with another murata order, and with the most expensive incense i've bought so far. kayuragi sticks are small for what you get, only 14cm, but the wooden box and

• 《aloeswood》

➢ murata $19.00/40ct

for arguably one of the lowest-end japanese incenses, morning star is quite lovely. the sticks are smaller than i imagined (12cm) but the price is definitely fair, including the adorable ceramic stands that come with each box. plus the packaging is charmingly coordinated to the point where my collecting/organizing brain is shorting out just thinking about it.

the difference with coreless incense is easily discernible, though there is a slight smoky smell that still penetrates through. i have read that can be a typical feature of cheaper incense (particularly in reference to morning star) so i'm not too worried.

• 《iris》 floral, woodsy, light. burns with a warm and smoky sweetness. if i had to compare it to anything, i would say memere's house. possibly my favourite from the florals in this line.
• 《lavender》 musky, herbal. similar to typical men's scents, but not...

ka fuh seems to be a slight step up from morning star: in price, in curation of scent offerings, and in stick length (14cm). they are labeled as 'low smoke', which proves to be true, but consequently the formulation is a bit strange. they're more difficult to light, produce a more pale ash, and burn very neatly.

• 《white plum》 floral, sweet, fresh, perfume. a very clear and light scent. one of the notes (though i'm not sure which) smells a little bit like my miniso sakura perfume.
• 《aqua》 floral, watery, light. the scent is layered and complex with an absence of any sharp, spicy, or confusing notes. i absolutely adore it - it reminds me of memere's basement, i think.
• 《hinoki》 woodsy, sharp, citrus. an absolutely breathtaking scent with so many layers and complex, intricate notes. strangely lemony and hypnotic in its shift between tartness and sweetness. it's dawning on me that it reminds me of somet...

• 《vanilla》

➢ murata $6.95/35ct 22cm

the lauded shoyeido at last. maybe it's just placebo from hearing so much good, but these are convincingly higher quality than anything else i've tried so far. (the transparency in their ingredient list may contribute to that.) each stick is 22cm so i break them in half when burning.

i adore how easily their clear and unintruded scent fills the room, although the ingredient blends i've tried so far aren't my absolute favourites. they linger for hours on end, to the point where i can burn half a stick before bed and still catch hints of it the next morning. i hope to keep trying more from shoyeido and eventually find something that really tickles me.

• 《kyonishiki》 spicy, warm. also known as kyoto autumn leaves. it took me a moment to put my finger on it but it smells exactly like the potpourri sachets we put inside the christmas tree. th...

in what was perhaps not my proudest moment i purchased a huge wholesale bag of backflow incense cones from trusted online retailer aliexpress. embarrassingly enough, the purchase was made before my deep dive into incense and yet only arrived long after i was thoroughly immersed. needless to say by that point i had developed a decent standard.

➢ aliexpress $4.80/72 ct