Cycle Brand – Yagna

I have had Yagna in my collection since the beginning of 2022. It’s a scent that I struggle with – both with actually liking it and with describing it.

I bought it (as I often do) from Ephra World Shop. A pack of 15 sticks (around 32g) costs €4.45 – 30ct per stick. At 23cm they are slightly longer than the standard. The inner bag is sealed, but is unfortunately not resealable.

When I first opened it, I had a strange association with the taste of cress seeds. The smell has something green, but in an atypical way – not chlorophyll green, not mossy or foresty.
It’s also floral, creating an image of yellow flowers and spring.
When lit, the green note remains, but they also have a certain amount of niff: something animalic. I was told that Yagna (among other Cycle products) contains cow dung. The term Yagna has something to do with the Indian Havan fire rituals, in which ghee (clarified butter) is used as fuel and all kinds of aromatic offerings are burned. Cow dung is often used like coal, there are also Sambrani Cups that are not made from coal but from cow dung. My friend Silver told me that to her, Yagna smells like Havan.
Ghee is often an ingredient in wet Dhoop incense sticks. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some ghee in Yagna as well, as they produce quite a lot of smoke, although I don’t think they smell like cooking or fat.
There’s something resinous and fresh about them; sometimes I smell a subtle tart note. With good air dilution, they become more floral and they are unmistakably spicy. They are also sweet and a little powdery. I don’t want to say that they seem unbalanced, but they smell like a lot at once, and that’s definitely too much for me inside the house. In addition, the after-smell mainly retains the animalic aspect and, as I said, they produce quite a lot of smoke.
I like them outside and that’s where I’ll use them in summer.

I can’t agree on a specific rating for Yagna.