From Shrinivas Sugandhalaya’s Oriental series comes Celestial. A powerful scent that sweeps into the room and takes no prisoners and offers no apologies. Aww, who am I kidding? It is pleasant, enjoyable and absolutely nothing to write home about. Like the others scents in the Oriental series it is built on a base of vanilla and sandalwood and that at the very least gives you a pleasantly warm, sweet, and slightly earthy scent. It just doesn’t do much more than that.

I am a big fan of sandalwood. A fact that should be obvious if you have read very many of my reviews on incense. I am also a fan of Shrinivas Sugandhalaya and the incense they produce under various names. I am still having a hard time figuring out their Oriental series though. The series is based on a sandalwood and vanilla mixture with other scents added in to make up the individual offerings in the line.

Shrinivas Sugandhalaya is probably best known for the famous and widely loved Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa in the iconic blue box. They do however offer many other scents. Although I have found that it is sometimes a bit hit and miss with those other scents. For instance Satya Patchouli Forest is absolutely wonderful while this offering from the same Oriental collection is a bit generic and plain.

Which brings me to Morning Star by Nippon-Kodo and their sandalwood. Right out of the box the scent is just about perfect. Spicy, wooody and with the faintest hint of earthiness to make the scent full bodied and warm. I was enjoying the scent of the stick so much that I hesitated to put it in the included ceramic burner and light it.

The name on Gonesh No. 2 Oils and Spices is better suited to this stick. Fresh from the package I smelled notes of patchouli, sandalwood, sage and something sharply floral, like holly or bayberry. Let me start off by saying that I love the way this stick smells unlit

Since beginning this site I have noticed several searches with the keywords “hippie incense” as though people are searching for incense that is linked inextricably somehow with Hippies. So I thought I would address that as best I could and maybe help people out who are searching for an authentic scent of the American sixties and the counterculture movement.

Sandalwood refers to several aromatic woods, including Indian Sandalwood and Australian Sandalwood. Its fragrance provides a wood base note to many perfumes. Sandalwood smells similar to other wood scents, but it has a bright, fresh edge. Sandalwood oil is widely used by the cosmetics industry, and it is very expensive.

If my first thought was “delicious” upon initially opening the package then my first thoughts upon smelling the smoke were (strangely) Al Stewarts “Year of The Cat” and a music store I frequented in the late 1970′s that also happened to sell incense and accessories