Encens Asakusa

4 stars because it’s not what I wanted it to be, but I still think this is well made.

I purchased this because I’ve been looking for something that would remind me of my recent trip to Japan, but also because in general I am looking for a warm, woody, spicy, incense-y fragrance with hints of botanicals and smoke. Something that captures the feeling of being in a forest near a Japanese temple.

While this wasn’t what I imagined it to be, I found this subtle but likable on a blotter. There was some wood and a mysterious airiness to it, along with a delicate sweetness. My skin tends to amp sweetness and I generally hate sweet scents. For this, on my skin I get mostly a sweet, powdery coldness that I suspect is the white musk and olibanum (I assume, rather than the myrrh, it’s more clean and lemon-adjacent). The pink pepper is barely there, and while I am no good at narrowing down many floral notes to a specific flower, I wouldn’t really call this a noticeably floral scent. It is possible the iris and violet are melding together with the powdery sweetness to my nose. We can go ahead and lump the cypress in with that too, because if I am picking it up at all I am not able to separate it out from the white musk and olibanum.

This has been an educational experience for me, because it’s reinforced a suspicion I’ve had lately that resinous incense notes might not be my favorite, especially when they are prominent in a scent. While I am looking for incense, I want it to be more of a warm, amber-y, smoky incense from a burning stick (probably oud, with a touch of sandalwood), rather than something liturgical / churchy (like myrrh or frankincense.)

I think I got swept up in the name and concept with this one, along with some enthusiastic recommendations on Reddit. In retrospect I wish I had taken the “winters prayer” description more literally, as the coldness is what makes this a miss for me personally. But I’m glad I got to try it anyway. On to the next!