Bhagwan – Frankincense & Amber

I received this pack as a sample from Eugene, the owner of Bhagwan Incense.
All the boxes contain 15g, but since they come from different sources, the number of sticks varies. Frankincense & Amber contained 13 incense sticks. At a price of €4.95, this makes it €0.38 per stick.

Disclosure: Due to my history and friendly relationship with Eugene, the owner of Bhagwan Incense, I would like to point out that I cannot write reviews of this brand with complete impartiality. I write a lot of the Bhagwan reviews based on samples that were given to me – these are labelled accordingly.
All reviews are unpaid and reflect my honest opinion, but you are welcome to consider them as advertising.

Frankincense & Amber could have easily been included in the review of Fragrant Amber and Pure Amber, but at that time, I hadn’t tried them. When I opened the package, I was a little surprised as I had somehow expected thick sticks like the Royal Frankincense, but they are actually more likely from HMS.

For me, frankincense and amber is not a very intuitive combination of ingredients. Maybe that’s why it took me quite a while to try them. I couldn’t really imagine how it would smell, and I honestly didn’t think it would smell good.

The scent of Frankincense & Amber feels both familiar and very surprising. It’s the well-known, classic amber scent, as it’s present in the two aforementioned amber varieties, but together with frankincense, it results in something very unexpected: The composition reminds me of the equally classic ‘Three Kings‘ bend, consisting of frankincense, myrrh, and benzoin. In the case of Frankincense & Amber, both the intense sweetness and the balsamic, soft aspect are brought in by the amber accord, which is contributed by benzoin and myrrh in the Three Kings blend. There is even a tart note, which reinforces the association with myrrh for me.
I couldn’t claim that I can distinctly smell the frankincense, but having recently experimented with my version of said blend in the form of incense sticks, its presence is nonetheless obvious to me. In a balanced ratio, these individual ingredients blend so well together that they meld into a new, inseparable whole, and this is as well the case with Frankincense & Amber.
The scent has a lush depth, and Eugene’s description, naming propolis and pollen, resonates very well with me; it corresponds to the heavy, balsamic sweetness which merges with the tart aspect of the composition. My nose interprets it as myrrh, but propolis is an equally fitting comparison.

If you know and like the amber sticks from Holy Smokes or Pure, or their frankincense varieties, then the scent of Frankincense & Amber should also be to your liking.