Natural Incense Company – Angels – Gabriel

Mid-2022, I bought a bunch of packs from the Angels line on kleinanzeigen.de. The regular price is between €4-6 per pack. They are also sold in a slightly different packaging design by Fiore d’Oriente (who own the Natural Incense Company), which are more expensive. A pack contains 20g/10 sticks of 23cm/9″ length. The burning time is stated as 60–80 minutes, but in my experience, they burn even longer.

Gabriel has the typical sweet scent that so many varieties from this manufacturer have in common. Comparing them with Om from the Yoga line, Gabriel seems richer and more complex to me. They have a lush amber scent profile, while Om appears somewhat thinner and more vanilla-like. Both varieties have a woody aspect in their base, but in Om, this is much stronger pronounced, slightly smoky, and feels almost a bit scratchy, whereas Gabriel comes across softer and milky, like sandalwood. Om‘s scent profile is overall sharper, Gabriel is very round, darker, and comes with an interesting, deep note that leans towards earthy. Perhaps there is some vetiver in it, or patchouli? My friend Max certainly finds something herbal in it.
Here is the review of Gabriel by my blogger colleague Steve, who had bought a pack of the Fiore d’Oriente version. I agree with his score.

If I had to choose between Om and Gabriel, I wouldn’t hesitate – Gabriel simply seems a good deal better to me than Om. Its deep, balsamic amber scent is enveloping and alluring. However, they are (alongside Raphael) admittedly still the least exciting of the Angels line.