Nu Essence: Part Two from Ross

December 28, 2008 at 9:18 pm (Incense, Nu Essence)

I reviewed four blends from Nu Essence back in August from what I think of as the planetary series. I tend to think of the next four as the esoteric or magical set ( although that could be said for all the Nu Essence blends.) These are made to be used on charcoals, electric heaters and makko/laha trails. I personally think the electric heater is your best bet. They are made from very high quality herbs, spices, resins and oils. Something I wanted to point out about loose type incense is that unlike a stick or coil (because they are blended together and everything is ignited at once) there is a definite progression to the scent. It is very much like the way that natural perfumes work when applied to ones skin. You get the top notes first and work your way down to the base notes as the others evaporate. So when you are using these blends you will find that what you get at the beginning can be very different then what’s at the end. I find this quite interesting and it can give a lot more depth to the entire experience.
Oh yes, once again I think it is appropriate to point out that these blends are very, very potent. A little goes a long way…I am speaking from personal experience here 🙂

ABRA MELIN
Frankincense, benzoin, Lignum Aloes (Aloeswood), and rose.
This is about the play between the rose and the frankincense with the rest of the blend in supporting roles. The benzion adds a bit of vanilla sweetness and the lLignum Aloes add some woody notes to the very rich rose and frankincense notes. Very strong and sensual, heady might fit in here also!. This one tends to remind me of high quality bakoors.

HADIT
benzoin, orange, bay, bitter almond, and amber
Deep, sharp, at times bitter, with the sweetness of the benzion as a canvas for the orange, bay, amber and almond. The (I think) bay gives it an almost camphor like quality, the whole blend uniting into something that is refreshing and cleansing. Really nice but also unlike anything else I have smelled. Goes though many scent changes as it heats up so that all the parts get to play their rolls.

NUIT
Olive, sandalwood, storax, gum elemi, mastic, camphor, jasmine, and rose.
The jasmine and rose come out to play right at the get go, however they are sort of lifted up by the sandalwood and storax with the camphor playing a very subtle note in the back round. There are many different levels of scents going on here, all at once. I find it a pretty fascinating blend. You think, at first, its all about the rose and jasmine but then all the other ingredients come bounding in so it is constantly changing with no limits. Very much the female goddess principle to me.

RA HOOR
Dragons blood, storax, myrrh, opopanax, olibanum, rue, and tobacco.
A sort of revolving pallet of bitter, sweet and smoky hints with some herbal tones intermixed. Pretty complex and the least sweet of these blends. I find it very grounding and calming plus there is so much going on that it is easy to unhook from your world and just let go and relax into the scent. As it heats up this mix also goes through many changes as the different resins evaporate.

-Ross