pureYemen: Dragon’s Blood, Frankincense, Myrrh
I got these three samples from my friend and fellow blogger Steve. You can find his reviews here.
When I read his reviews at the beginning of 2025, I followed the provided link to the pureYemen website. Back then, the site looked different, though. They were quite extensively drawing attention to the fact that they’d give away samples. You just had to fill in the contact form below.
As I was very curious about the sticks, I filled in and submitted the form. However, I never received samples from pureYemen nor any sort of reply. 🙁
On the current site, there’s no more sample offer. The only two products offered for purchase are sets: an incense gift box (which besides incense tongs and a stick holder contains the sticks, the pure resins and 9 mysterious incense blends that aren’t named nor described in more detail) and a wellness gift box.
There’s also an Etsy shop of theirs, offering individual incense stick varieties, but only from 100 pieces, for either €181.92 or €245.91 depending on the variety.
The sticks are 6″ (~ 15cm) long and burn for over an hour.
pureYemen seem to be mainly targeting resellers with their business. Steve bought his sticks from the brand Herbal Dimensions. They’re based in the UK. For 10 sticks of any variety, you pay €10.95.
As far as information about the ingredients of their incense sticks is concerned, the old site was more forthcoming. It said that they use locally produced honey in their sticks, and the sticks are made from the stems of date palm leaves. Charcoal was also mentioned.
Dragon’s Blood
Dragon’s Blood smells strongly of frankincense to me, especially at the beginning; In the first 2-3 minutes after lighting, a fresh, resinous frankincense smell comes through.
After that, the proportion of dragon’s blood becomes more pronounced and recognizable.
I find a balsamic softness, accompanied by a tart but also sweetish aroma, that can recall warm plastic. Added to that is a very subtle florality that I find typical of Socotran dragon’s blood.
I have the impression that the frankincense makes the dragon’s blood smell somewhat sweeter and lifts the floral note. Though the honey could also be responsible for that.
In comparison to Frankincense, the resinous aspect of Dragon’s Blood smells fresher and almost a bit fruity.
When I tried one of the sticks at the beginning of the year, I found the plastic note much louder and I also perceived a smell like burnt hair or horn. At ambient temperatures over 20°C, there’s nothing of the latter to be noticed any more. The plastic smell is simply a natural aspect of dragon’s blood resin that comes out strongly if burned on charcoal, but can even be present when gently heating on a warmer.
The after-smell is long-lasting and pleasant. It’s mainly the soft, resinously balsamic smell that lingers in the room.
Dragon’s Blood are IMO not pure dragon’s blood incense sticks, though that wouldn’t make much sense anyway. I find the blend remarkably well done to highlight and emphasise the positive characteristics of this resin.
They’re the best, authentic dragon’s blood incense sticks I’ve tried so far, and beyond that, excellent resin incense sticks.
Frankincense
Frankincense start similarly resinous fresh as Dragon’s Blood but become slightly more tart during the burn. It’s a very typical, classic frankincense smell, causing associations to churches.
Frankincense also contain a very lovely, if subtle, sweetness that doesn’t seem to come only from the resin itself.
In good dilution, the smell appears very round and pleasant. When I get the smoke a bit more directly, it smells more bitter than tart, which I attribute to the gum proportion in the frankincense resin.
Frankincense give off a robust frankincense smell; classic and unadulterated.
Socotran Myrrh
Socotran myrrh (Commiphora kua) is not common myrrh (Commiphora myrrha). It’s a rare myrrh species endemic to the island of Socotra, known for its soft, sweet fragrance profile that, in contrast to common myrrh, contains hardly any bitter notes.
I have a small sample of Kua myrrh. So far, I’ve used it exclusively on incense heaters and never burnt it, which I changed in preparation for this review.
The stick opens with a relatively clear frankincense tone that I can also perceive before lighting.
During the first minutes, this recedes into the background but remains perceptible.
It mixes with the resinously fresh and slightly pungent note that my sample of Kua myrrh has as well. It’s a smooth transition in which I can’t clearly say where one ends and the other begins.
A balsamic-soft myrrh smell begins to set in, which keeps being accompanied by a tiny bit of the pungent resinousness. This is roughly on a level with a tart but not directly bitter note.
What I don’t find in the stick is the sweetness of Kua, reminiscent of sweet fruits like very ripe peaches or dried fruits, nor its roasted aroma that can remind slightly of coffee.
With sticks containing a high proportion of regular myrrh, I’d expect strong bitter notes and likely an off-note reminiscent of an ashtray.
With Socotran Myrrh I occasionally catch a hint of the typical gum smell, but this is barely noteworthy as it appears only when the smoke hasn’t diluted sufficiently.
The room note takes on an almost powdery texture that’s closely connected to the woody character that both regular and Kua myrrh posses.
Socotran Myrrh count among the best myrrh resin incense sticks I’ve had so far.
Conclusion
The quality of pureYemen incense sticks is convincing. I’d appreciate more transparency, or concrete information about the ingredients in their current offerings, but there’s nothing to fault in the sticks.
The fragrances may seem simple at first glaze, but it’s noticeable that a decent amount of skill and care went into balancing out blend ratios to really let the namesake ingredient shine.
Dragon’s Blood is my favourite out of the three. Not only because their balance is most successful, but also because they are the first example of good and authentic smelling dragon’s blood incense sticks I’ve come across.
Frankincense only scores worse because they have a lot of competition in the market, and they smell a bit too much like church to me, personally.
For natural myrrh incense sticks, I find Socotran Myrrh remarkably good as well.
I like pureYemen‘s approach of using the stems of date palm leaves instead of bamboo. The material is apparently similarly fibrous as bamboo. Had I not read anything different, I’d have taken it for bamboo. The burning properties also seem to be on par.
When the sticks go out, I noticed no unpleasant smell. With the last stick, I sniffed at the still smouldering stick and have to say that I find the smell more neutral than that of bamboo sticks. If I smell those, I find the odour quite unpleasant.
pureYemen make decent resin incense sticks. It would be nice to have a source here in Germany.