Bhagwan – Classic Frankincense

Classic Frankincense were among a selection of new fragrances from the Bhagwan Incense range that Eugene Andrushchenko (the owner) sent me in January 2025.

The variety is available for €3.95 per 15g pack, which should correspond to about 9 sticks. That’d be about €0.44 per stick. The burning time is, as usual with Bhagwan, specified as 40-45 minutes, but it seemed to me as though they’d burn faster than their other sticks. I ran a stopwatch with one stick and measured 45 minutes. This might suggest that other Bhagwan sticks tend to burn longer than stated.

Classic Frankincense offers an interesting combination of the actually classic, dry and aromatic-resinous frankincense smell – which one can either associate with church, or with the term “incense” commonly used in perfumery as a fragrance note – and a sweet, balsamic scent that moves the composition somewhat towards “Loban” or “Sambrani” -types of smells. Under these terms, one frequently finds mixtures of resins, of which one is usually benzoin. Classic Frankincense, however, remains clearly in olfactory frankincense territory.

As far as the dry frankincense scent goes, they immediately reminded me of Mother’s Church Incense, so I compared the two:
Church Incense has, in contrast to Classic Frankincense, a much more pronounced masala character and seems woodier and even drier than Classic Frankincense. I found Church Incense very well-made, and I’m sticking with that; compared to Classic Frankincense, they still score lower, though.
Despite the sweet component in Classic Frankincense, which is emphasised even more by the comparison, they have a clearer frankincense character which sometimes even shows a hint of citrusy freshness.

It’s worth noting that the scent of this variety is less potent than I’m accustomed to from the thicker sticks in the Bhagwan range. The fragrance of Classic Frankincense doesn’t dominate the room like many of the other varieties do; nevertheless, it’s not a weak scent. I find the intensity level very pleasant.