Incense Pure Sonoma Scent Studio for women and men

It smells nice overall, but I can detect a sour note which is a little repulsive. It has good longevity and projection , but for now I will not be getting it!

This is rather similar in character to Matthew Williamson Incense, IMO, and also bears a resemblance to Avignon, however for the price and for Sonoma's genuinely caring approach to their business, I really like this one. Well worth a try.

29-Dec. 2011 / This is a perfect match of crystallized Larch tree sap from trees on the dry side of the Cascades north of Blewett pass (US 97) in Washington State.
I harvest the the sap crystals in the fall for winter use in a tin on my woodstove. I’m sorry that I cannot find a notion of sandalwood or amber or a powdery sense. Albeit it in a different category, my benchmark for powdery sandalwood is M. Micallef “GAIAC”; I know I can sense sandalwood. I wonder if the sample was mixed up or incomplete. I can’t think of an instance where I’d want to wear the scent of the sample in my possession. It is a perfect match of a natural scent though. Darn, I was so looking forward to the Amber, elmemi and sandalwood.

On my first trip to India, many years ago, there was a restaurant we students used to frequent called The Kings Court. It was billed as a fancy restaurant but was quite shabby--the lights were low enough so that you could not quite make out the stains on the tablecloths and napkins.

Anyway, we were frequently the only customers there, and often very early by Indian standards, so as soon as we would arrive the waiters would light incense. The incense was quite strong and acrid, but unfortunately it did not cover up the smell of urine that emanated from the restroom. Together the two smells were rather unpleasant, though quite unique. As soon as I applied Incense Pure I was brought back to the Kings Court Hotel (restaurants are called hotels in India) and its smell of strong incense and pee, with a few spicy cooking smells in the background. The incense used in Hindu India (as opposed to the Tibetan incense, which is more woody and cool-aromatic)is often sickly sweet. I think Incense Pure is a remarkable take on Hindu incense. But I find it too strong for me, and the background smell of urine made me scrub it off. Perhaps another day, when I am not expecting visitors, I will leave it and see what happens.

There are some perfumes that I’m hesitant to try because I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed, and Incense Pure was one of them. I had high expectations, but I have to say that they were met, just not quite in the way I expected. What I was expecting was a “church” incense in the image of CDG Avignon or Heeley Cardinal, which are both near-impossible acts to follow, but that’s not what this is at all.

Incense Pure is a thick, heavy, dark frankincense-sandalwood-evergreen sap combination. The sandalwood provides a strong, primitive, sensuous and insistent bass(base) line for the other elements that play against it: olibanum, labdanum resin, and a hint of myrrh. It’s resinous, not smoky. This is incense in the making, not incense burned. I can almost feel the stickiness of tree sap everywhere around me. The elemi works with the high notes of the sandalwood, blowing them up to larger-than-life proportions.

Sillage is quite strong, and the scent lasts and lasts, with the sandalwood drydown persisting for more than 12 hours on skin. I would classify this more as a sandalwood scent than an incense one. It’s just the kind of fragrance I like, so of course I love it. I’m sure not everyone will love it, but everyone should try it.

This is a great incense composition, however I wouldn't place it as churchy. It starts out with the smell of incense burning in a cold, dark forest. The cedar fades substantially after the dry down, then you stumble into a warm cabin as sandalwood, amber and vanilla warm up the scent from there. I love the layers that unfold as you wear it, as it keeps you coming back to it again and again.

what i smell is incense smoke mixed with peppery notes. It vaguely reminds me of Azzaro "Visit", but not as harsh, yet it's more natural smelling and has volume, giving you the feeling that you are actually attending a church messe.