Encens (Incense)

Straight forward Nag Champa type incense with a bit of sweetness and perhaps a slightly fruity undertone. As a singular note fragrance it's lovely, even though it's intended as a layering note for experimentation. Along with Hippie Spirit and Hex this is one of my favorite Alkemia incense/new age shop vibe fragrances.

As others have said, this is straight nag champa, which was the intention. It smells like a pack of unlit nag chanpa sticks you can buy at the gas station or one of the glass shops. Hexennacht (also by Alkemia) smells just like this, but with dirt and a little bit of green.

Encens (Incense) is part of Alkemia's Scented Verses layering note line, which are one-note oils that are developed to be used in conjunction with other scents. (The brand also states that these can be worn as standalone perfumes.) The website says that Encens is “Best for fixing: Perfumes that are too spring-summery; boring perfumes; overpowering patchoulis or florals,” so I tried it under some perfumes that I felt could use a little zhuzh. I did a similar experiment earlier this week with Alkemia’s Cuir (Leather) layering note (see Cuir’s Fragrantica detail page for the full review). My science projects using Cuir to spice up my collection were only middling successful – but maybe The Science Has Changed with Encens?? Solo, Encens smells like unfettered, head shop-esque nag champa. Being a fairly buttoned-down gal when it comes to controlled substances, my tastes in incense run much churchier, so I don’t particularly enjoy this one on its own. Maybe it’s because they were always burning it at my local Hot Topic when I was a kid, but nag champa always makes me think of a scent that a teenager would wear: superficially edgy, but ultimately just tacky. I was hoping that Encens would be reminiscent of a long-discontinued incense-forward favorite from Alkemia, Witching Hour, but sadly they are nothing alike. Layered under Pacifica Sage Me: I have several smoky fragrances that go through a brief “swine on a spit” stage early on in the drydown, and gladly accept it as part of the frag’s journey. However, Sage Me is just straight up barbeque pit all the way. I was hoping that Encens would soften it up, or at least add a little complexity. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Encens did indeed seem to beef of the juniper element of Sage Me, which was previously undetectable to my nose. It still doesn’t turn Sage Me into a perfume I would want to use if I had access to, well, just about any other fragrance, but it was an improvement. Layered under Molinard Musc EDT: Keyword-searching the Fragrantica reviews for Molinard Musc EDT, the phrase “head shop” appears at least fifteen times. It smells like a grape-flavored Swisher Sweets cigarillo. My now-deceased father chain-smoked Swisher Sweets, so the emotions conjured by Molinard Musc EDT are not unpleasant. However, as much as I love my Dad (miss you, Tom), walking around smelling like a tobacco-addicted Boomer machinist is not the way I like to spend my day. Alkemia suggests layering Encens under “overwhelming patchoulis,” so I decided to give it a go. I noticed that Cuir followed the layering fragrances’ lead in a way that surprised me, and wondered if it was specifically formulated in a way that makes it play nicely with other scents. Same case here: it is impressive how different Encens smells when layered with Musc EDT vs. when layered with Sage Me. Encens doesn’t impinge on Musc’s patchouli, but rather works with it and even boosts it a little, in a pleasant way. Layered over Encens, Musc almost smells like a new and different fragrance. I would still never shell out for a full bottle of the EDT, but this actually has me considering picking up the cheaper Musc Senteurs iteration. Layered over Grès Madame Grès: For me, Madame Grès calls to mind a wealthy blonde woman circa 1989 wearing a hot pink skirt suit, possibly carrying a small dog in a purse. My hair is green, my clothes are black, and while I do have a chihuahua, he’s way too feral to sit politely in a bag – so, as fun as she is, Madame is pretty incongruous on me. Applying Madame Grès over Encens brings out the patchouli aspect of the former in a way that is frankly alarming. My beautiful preppy daughter fell in with the gang at Spahn Ranch, and now she is topless and high on dope. I feel like a frantic father in a 70s exploitation movie – I have to fight to get my baby back. I was hoping that Encens would let Madame Grès let her hair down a teensy bit, but this is really too much. Not digging this combo. This was a fun project, even if Encens doesn’t turn these scents into anything that’s going to become my favorite. It would be interesting if Alkemia made a second incense entry into the Scented Verses layering note line that was a little more somber and grown-up. As it is, this one is fun to play around with but I don’t think that I’ll be reaching for it too often.

Purchased this scent from Alkemia on their ETSY site, along with two other of their scents. Of the three, this is my favorite. On me, it smells just like Nag Champa incense, which I luv. Very nice. Creamy smooth, not harsh. Longevity is good. Beautiful scent.