As a teenager, often down to my last few dollars between paydays from Coles, I could always rely on a cheap packet of incense from my local “hippie” shop whenever I needed some retail therapy.
These impulse purchases – not to be confused with the deodorant spray, Impulse, which formed a permanent aerosol haze over my school – of nag champa have left many of us with a limited view of what incense can be like. But, believe it or not, it’s experiencing a rebirth as a luxury item.
Designer and incense purveyor Corey Ashford.Credit: Eddie Jim
While luxury home scents once mainly focused on candles and mists at the pricier end, incense is mounting a pretty stiff challenge for the title of “most improved interior fragrance”, thanks in part to creatives – and captains of cool – such as Corey Ashford and Yasmin Sewell, and retailers such as Mecca and Adore Beauty.
Even supermodel Kate Moss is jumping on the trend, as she announced last week that incense would be added to her growing Cosmoss beauty and wellness brand, which launched 18 months ago. And where Moss goes, well, everyone follows.
Ashford, a Melbourne-based designer, was inspired to launch an incense range by memories of his relationship with his grandmother. “I was really close with my nanna, and she was scent-obsessed,” he says. “I’d try her perfumes and guess the notes, sitting with her while she cooked.”
Having a fine-tuned nose helped Ashford develop scents such as “A cafe in Paris”, which is described as evoking “caramelised sugar and buttery pastries”, and Supper Club, which has a scent profile including notes of cedar, tobacco and apricot.
At $45 a box, Ashford’s incense isn’t cheap, but for 50 sticks, each with a 25-minute burn time, it’s a more affordable investment than many candles, which also require at least two hours’ burn time at first use.
“Incense has had this misconception that it can’t be a luxury experience the same way a fragrance of a candle can,” Ashford says. “But the pandemic highlighted the need for self-care and pausing.”
Creative director Sewell, who divides her time between Sydney and London, founded fragrance brand Vyrao, which is sold through Mecca. She says creating incense gave her customers a more affordable way to experience her scents. For example, Vyrao’s eau de parfums start at $200 for 30 millilitres and candles start at $147, while the corresponding incense sells for $74 for 30 sticks.
“I love how instantaneous incense is,” she says. “Unlike a candle, you can light an incense and your mood shifts in the space of a few seconds.”
Indeed, the breadth of retailers selling incense has increased since the now-defunct Ishka was the one-stop shop for many teenagers growing up in the 1990s. You’re now just as likely to find incense at a fashion boutique as you are a homewares store.
Kirrily Johnston, creative director of Melbourne-based Husk, introduced incense about five years ago. She says the product makes an easy, affordable gift, and is part of her self-care ritual. “Incense always brings on the meditative calmness that I experience when I do yoga classes,” she says. “It’s something I always travel with, and it’s my absolute ritual on a Friday night.”
So, what separates a good incense from the stuff from our youth? Sewell’s incense is made from a bamboo core and bamboo powder, meaning minimal smoke “so you can really enjoy the purity of the perfume oils”.
When it comes to scent selection, Sewell suggests something invigorating for the morning to help energise, and something comforting or woody for evenings, to calm the energy of the surrounding space.
Fashion figure turned fragrance developer Yasmin Sewell.
For maximum benefit, Ashford suggests the following steps when lighting incense: choose a moment you can be really mindful; light it in an open space with ventilation to allow the scent to permeate the air; and use a good holder.
“We have done candles for a long time, and they’re fabulous, but this gives us a different way to explore scent in the home,” he says. “There’s something really peaceful and meditative about watching it burn, and it being a finite experience.”
Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.