Incense
I'm getting very heavily into burning incense again, something that comes upon me every few years. Patchouli (basically Magnolia mixed with Sandalwood), Sandalwood, and Musk are my go-tos. They go along a sort of sliding scale from bright to dark, and which one I favour depends on my mood. Occasionally I want something different, though, and thus it was that I went on to Amazon to see what was offered.
Well... The current fashion seems to be for 'back-flow' incense cones, which are new to me. They're these fat little cones that look rather like a bullet. There's a hole in the base, extending up into the tip of the cone. When you light it, the smoke actually flows out the bottom of the cone, though the hole.
The real reason to use this variety is the incense burners that are offered. The usual designs try to look like some abstract flowing-mists thing, or else like waterfalls. There are a few that really stand out, although perhaps not in the way that their designer intended. Among them are the Gushing Boobs incense holder (prolly NSFW), or the ever-popular Puking Dragon design.
The cones are pretty. They remind me of my grandmother's incense cones that so fascinated me as a child, made of compressed sawdust, then impregnated with oil, and coloured in a variety of bright hues. Much more attractive than the usual charcoal cones, but I'm not sure what they use to make the smoke fall (there's a caveat on the page that it's normal to leave a heavy, oily residue), plus there's inevitably going to be a sharp undertone when you burn sawdust and dye. The page also offers me a chance to buy a new set for $18.99, or 'buy used' for $16.06. One hesitates to buy used incense.
Edit: And "Dragon Taking a Bath" is kind of cute. Original posted at https://rain-gryphon.dreamwidth.org/165506.html
Well... The current fashion seems to be for 'back-flow' incense cones, which are new to me. They're these fat little cones that look rather like a bullet. There's a hole in the base, extending up into the tip of the cone. When you light it, the smoke actually flows out the bottom of the cone, though the hole.
The real reason to use this variety is the incense burners that are offered. The usual designs try to look like some abstract flowing-mists thing, or else like waterfalls. There are a few that really stand out, although perhaps not in the way that their designer intended. Among them are the Gushing Boobs incense holder (prolly NSFW), or the ever-popular Puking Dragon design.
The cones are pretty. They remind me of my grandmother's incense cones that so fascinated me as a child, made of compressed sawdust, then impregnated with oil, and coloured in a variety of bright hues. Much more attractive than the usual charcoal cones, but I'm not sure what they use to make the smoke fall (there's a caveat on the page that it's normal to leave a heavy, oily residue), plus there's inevitably going to be a sharp undertone when you burn sawdust and dye. The page also offers me a chance to buy a new set for $18.99, or 'buy used' for $16.06. One hesitates to buy used incense.
Edit: And "Dragon Taking a Bath" is kind of cute. Original posted at https://rain-gryphon.dreamwidth.org/165506.html