A Brief History
of Incense

The History of Incense

Incense isn’t an original story. Humans have burned good-smelling things since humans realized they could smell. About 6,000ish years ago, people burned different plants and dried barks that released a favorable nose. Incense is actually considered one of the first fragrant materials to have been used by humans.

We’ve come a long way.

And we’d be lying if we said we don’t love some of the modern advancements. Like a bottle of spray perfume that sticks to our favorite sweater for days. But there is something deeply satisfying about lighting incense. Something romantic. Slightly religious. Like we’re continuing an Ancient Egyptian tradition that started 6,000ish years ago.

The History Misc. Goods Incense

Our origin story with incense isn’t quite as epic as the global history of smelling good. But it’s worth a laugh at the least.

We had our fragrances. Our solid, spray, and roll-on colognes. So we were familiar with how to create a scent. We just weren’t in the incense medium. Yet.

Until we did a project for Dropbox. A few years ago, we helped the company put together a gift box for their employees. They asked if we did incense. So we started doing incense.

Turns out, we really loved how our fragrances nosed in incense form. So we released it to the public after that project.

We have Dropbox to thank for way more than just easy file sharing.

Incense: 101, What Every Incense Beginner Needs to Know

Why and How to Use Incense

There’s an old advertising saying that “the medium is the message.” In other words, you wouldn’t write a script for say, a Super Bowl commercial, the same way you would write a Tweet. The medium is the message. That’s how we feel about smell. Spray, roll-on, solid, incense. They’re all simply different mediums. And each is used for a different purpose.

Fragrance is to your sweater as incense is to your room. The goal is always the same. Smell good. Incense is just something to help your atmosphere feel better.

Simply light the incense with a match or a lighter. Let it heat up. Then, blow out the flame. The incense should be lit and releasing a steady stream of smoke into the air. Same process for lighting cone incense and stick incense. For the cones, you’ll start at the tip of the pyramid and let it burn down to the base.

If you’re leaving the house, be sure to tamp out the burning part of the incense. But don’t throw it away. Save it for later. You can pick up right where you left off by lighting the end of it, just like you do at the start.

How to Find the Right Incense for You

You know how people go sightseeing? We invented the equivalent of that for smelling things. We call it smellsniffing. And that’s what you’re going to have to do to find the right incense for you.

Sure, your scent preferences come into play. And we’d recommend starting there. If you love a roll-on or fragrance or solid cologne from us, try the incense in that scent. Otherwise, try a scent that appeals to you.

Our Underhill Incense is: earthy, woodsy, leathery, and rosemary-y.

Our Valley of Gold Incense is: fresh, garden-like, balanced, and rosey.

Our Greyhaven Incense (coming out soon!) is: mossy, piney, and saltwater-y.

Then, test different scents in different rooms. At different times of day. It may sound silly, but scent is emotional. Depending on your mood, what you're doing, what room you’re in, scent can hit you in different ways. So play around and find the times of day that lighting incense can improve.

For instance, while brewing coffee. You must experience lighting incense while brewing coffee. It’s magical.

The Best Incense Holder

We put as much attention to detail in our incense holders as we did our scents. Our incense holders are designed to keep the cone or stick completely upright. This does two things.

1) Catches all the ash that falls from the incense so you’re not trying to dust up a mess. And

2) Allows for a longer burn, giving you the ultimate experience.

Plus, they’re extremely well-crafted and look handsome on any desk or shelf.