Disclaimer: This post was inspired by samples of product received for free from Vienna Imports in exchange for my reviews. All pricing information provided below is based on the pricing of these products as found on the Vienna Imports website as of April 5th, 2019.
Whether you're into aromatherapy, use of incense for religious or spiritual purposes, or just love filling your home with nice smells and have a preference for natural over synthetic, finding quality incense can range from a necessity like buying groceries to full-blown preoccupation. No matter how dire the quality of incense is to you, we can all agree we want to make sure we are paying a fair price for the level of quality.
It's not much of a stretch to say that the cost of super-low quality incense like you find at [insert name of any large retail chain store selling boxes of incense] for, like, $1 a box is fair enough. You're paying that $1 for something, after all. But if we accept that $1 is fair for super-cheap quality so low as to not justify the use of resources to make the incense in the first place, does that mean we need to dish out a ton of money to invest in high quality incense?
I think not.
I don't know many incense-lovers who are not fans of Nag Champa. It's almost an unspoken rule that if you burn incense regularly, Nag Champa has to be included in your stockpile. As someone who enjoys Nag Champa, I generally don't buy it. Why? Because it's either too cheap to be worth even a low price or it's good quality that I enjoy, but way out of my price-range budget-wise to make it a regular purchase. This was my first time burning Shanthimalai red Nag Champa and I expected it be pretty much like all others out there. Thank the Gods, was I wrong! This has to be my absolute favorite Nag Champa to date. It smells fantastic, fills the house, and lingers in the room it was burned for up to days afterwards! At only $1.70/box, other Nag Champa varieties better watch out!
If you're into burning resins, you've more than likely had the pleasure of burning copal. I've always used white copal, myself, somehow completely missing the memo that there are other varieties out there in the big, wide world of incense. When I first experienced white copal as a resin years ago, I didn't really get what the hype was about. I definitely preferred frankincense, myrrh, and dragon's blood for stand-alone resins over the white copal. But with its subtle sweetness, white copal does make a rather great base (without overpowering) for dry incense mixes to help them burn longer and stronger. Now, Vienna Imports does carry a couple varieties of white copal and, at only $1.50/ounce, is a more-than-fair price if your preferences are like mine. But getting to experience their Mayan Black Copal Resin ($1.50/ounce), was a bit of shock. Expecting nothing different, I was pleased to find that black copal resin really does make it on my list of favorite stand-alone resins.
From my experiences, it never fails to amaze me how many groups and individuals who practice smudging reduce the use of materials for smudging to sage as though it's the only way to smudge. *rolls eyes* While I certainly enjoy smudging with just about any sage as much as the next American-born Eclectic Wicca-influenced Witch, I am all about Palo Santo Wood. Unlike a bundle of sage going "bad" if it's not used after awhile, palo santo sticks rarely suffer the same fate. (In fact, superstition says the wood must be fallen for several years before the mystical properties come into effect.) And, despite being a wood, it's just as "herbal" as any sage bundle in strength with a scent that is somehow soft and refreshing. Now, at $9 for four ounces worth of sticks (or $6 for 1 ounce of chips), this may seem rather pricey. However, when you consider that palo santo wood is from the wood of the Bursera tree, and regulations require that it be gathered from the fallen branches and twigs, I would pay the higher price any day for the ethical (and legal) harvesting method. And did I mention a little goes a long way?
Whether you're into aromatherapy, use of incense for religious or spiritual purposes, or just love filling your home with nice smells and have a preference for natural over synthetic, finding quality incense can range from a necessity like buying groceries to full-blown preoccupation. No matter how dire the quality of incense is to you, we can all agree we want to make sure we are paying a fair price for the level of quality.
It's not much of a stretch to say that the cost of super-low quality incense like you find at [insert name of any large retail chain store selling boxes of incense] for, like, $1 a box is fair enough. You're paying that $1 for something, after all. But if we accept that $1 is fair for super-cheap quality so low as to not justify the use of resources to make the incense in the first place, does that mean we need to dish out a ton of money to invest in high quality incense?
I think not.
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| Nandi Divine Flora incense sticks, Chandan Pure Mysore Sandal Sticks Mild, Shanthimalai red Nag Champa incense sticks. |
In this hunt for affordable, high quality incense, I started with the Divine Flora ($2.50/box). I found the scent delightfully appropriate for the Spring Equinox celebrations in my home. I generally avoid the flower scents because they either aren't strong enough to be worth burning in the first place or they are too sickeningly sweet/strong for me. That said, there's no doubt about Divine Flora having just the right amount of floral aroma as its scent travels room to room. Even if you're like me and not big on flower scented incense, you may want to give this one a try. I'll definitely be burning this one again.
Next, I quite enjoyed the Chandan Sandal incense ($1.50/box). I'm personally a fan of sandalwood aroma, though I find incense to be hit or miss on getting the notes just right. For that reason, I typically restrict my use of sandalwood in incense to using a drop or two of high quality essential oil into a dry incense mixture (as you can imagine, this technique can get rather expensive if used regularly). This is why I was excited about burning the Chandan incense sticks; you get a wonderful sandalwood aroma done right at a price that is more than reasonable.
I don't know many incense-lovers who are not fans of Nag Champa. It's almost an unspoken rule that if you burn incense regularly, Nag Champa has to be included in your stockpile. As someone who enjoys Nag Champa, I generally don't buy it. Why? Because it's either too cheap to be worth even a low price or it's good quality that I enjoy, but way out of my price-range budget-wise to make it a regular purchase. This was my first time burning Shanthimalai red Nag Champa and I expected it be pretty much like all others out there. Thank the Gods, was I wrong! This has to be my absolute favorite Nag Champa to date. It smells fantastic, fills the house, and lingers in the room it was burned for up to days afterwards! At only $1.70/box, other Nag Champa varieties better watch out!
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| Mayan Black Copal Resin |
If you're into burning resins, you've more than likely had the pleasure of burning copal. I've always used white copal, myself, somehow completely missing the memo that there are other varieties out there in the big, wide world of incense. When I first experienced white copal as a resin years ago, I didn't really get what the hype was about. I definitely preferred frankincense, myrrh, and dragon's blood for stand-alone resins over the white copal. But with its subtle sweetness, white copal does make a rather great base (without overpowering) for dry incense mixes to help them burn longer and stronger. Now, Vienna Imports does carry a couple varieties of white copal and, at only $1.50/ounce, is a more-than-fair price if your preferences are like mine. But getting to experience their Mayan Black Copal Resin ($1.50/ounce), was a bit of shock. Expecting nothing different, I was pleased to find that black copal resin really does make it on my list of favorite stand-alone resins.
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| India Temple Incense |
I don't think anyone who has ever stepped foot into a metaphysical shop or imports store selling a variety of incense has missed out on the India Temple Incense Sticks ($1.60/package). Like Nag Champa, this is like a staple item among incense lovers. Even if you've never burned it, you've probably stuck it in your car or somewhere in your home for its awesome ability to act like potpourri without ever opening the package. (Fun note: That's the only way I ever used it for years before noticing that the back of the package actually instructs you to use as potpourri before burning. So much for thinking myself a genius...) I've seen this same 25g package run for up to $9.99 at some stores, so if you're a fan of India Temple incense and budget-conscious, you may want to make Vienna Imports your first stop for this one.
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| Palo Santo Wood |
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| Native Soul Holy Smoke Incense |
Okay, so this one was hilarious to me (and, yes, I realize that in saying that, it's about to be half as funny as I think it is). Now when you see the packaging of the Native Soul's Holy Smoke incense smudging sticks ($2.50/box), complete with a dream-catcher image, you might think, "Oh, this is different!" You open up the box to find a paper bag tied at the end and a sticker holding a feather in place. This packaging is beautiful and enticing. It just screams "Native American." So, in typical I-live-in-America-and-am-familiar-with-Native-American-based-company-products, I flip to the back of the box to find out which reservation or program profit proceeds go to. Well, that was silly thinking on my part, because they don't. As it turns out, Native Soul incense smudge sticks are produced by the Green Tree Candle Company in the Netherlands (yep, that would be in Europe), and where do you think they are made? Yes, that's right. Travel all the way through to Asia to beautiful India. (-_- wrong "Indian.") To the best as I can tell, no Native Americans are involved in any way with this product.
But before this has a chance to set you off on a cultural appropriation spiel, let me point out that there isn't anything on the packaging claiming this is authentic Native American in any way. Rather, the description explains the practice of smudging used as "a cleansing ritual that dates back to the Native American Indian people" and how this practice of purifying bad spirits and negative vibrations for a new start inspired the use of the herbs and spices to make this incense line. Holy smoke in particular is described as trying to evoke the imagery "of campfires and wilderness" while drawing positive energies. Did they go a bit too far by misleading with the name and imagery on the packaging? Yeah, I think so. (Our world is way too busy for many of us to do our homework on every product we see.) But they do try to make up for it by their stamps of being hand-rolled incense, ethically produced eco-friendly product, and child labor free. And, I have to admit, it smells absolutely wonderful and does evoke a mindset that is ready for spiritual practice, be it Yoga, meditation, journeying, ritual, or prayer.
So the moral of this story review is that you can find high quality incense worth every penny at affordable prices. In fact, some of these prices are but mere cents more than that low quality "incense" we managed to convince ourselves was worth buying when our budgets are tight. Save that $1 and put it toward some real, high quality incense. You'll appreciate yourself for it!
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