Name: Peace and Protect
Brand: MoonDancers
Got it: RenFair (Sterling Forest)
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Why: It's a clean crisp scent, that's very light and not overpowering with a subtle warm sweetness to it. It has a nice and relaxing effect so I highly recommend burning this in the evenings before bed because it does help me sleep (though we know that leaving anything burning while sleeping is a HUGE no-no and could result in you being homeless..or dead). It's not a stand out jumps out and grabs you kind of scent, and I guess for that reason I feel that it's kind of average as far as scents go. Some smells have certain evocative powers that just really grab you this isn't one of them but it is a really nice soothing scent.
Fun Smelly Fact: Coffee is used as a scent cleanser, so if you ever burn so much incense that you can't smell the difference put some ground coffee in a small bowl or saucer and take a whiff. It'll clear out all the jumbled, tangled smells bouncing around in your nostrils and let you enjoy the distinctive odors of whatever perfume or incense you're trying out.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
New Review: Fall
Name: Fall
Brand: MoonDancers
Got it: Ren Faire (Sterling Forest, NY)
Rating: *** (3 Stars)
Why: In honor of Autumn (my favorite season) I knew I had to review MoonDancer's "Fall" scent sometime in September, and soooo here it goes! Fall is very smokey and a very heavy scent, which is almost overpowering. I was expecting more from it, but it seems to be STRONG without much else to it. I don't catch any subtle nuances of cinnamon or rustic cider or even perhaps an baked apple or the smell of newly fallen leaves. It's just BAM and then you're left thinking...well Autumn is more than that. I do enjoy it, I just think that you'd need a bigger room to scent it in, and possibly it should be renamed to BAM (of course I'm just kidding).
Brand: MoonDancers
Got it: Ren Faire (Sterling Forest, NY)
Rating: *** (3 Stars)
Why: In honor of Autumn (my favorite season) I knew I had to review MoonDancer's "Fall" scent sometime in September, and soooo here it goes! Fall is very smokey and a very heavy scent, which is almost overpowering. I was expecting more from it, but it seems to be STRONG without much else to it. I don't catch any subtle nuances of cinnamon or rustic cider or even perhaps an baked apple or the smell of newly fallen leaves. It's just BAM and then you're left thinking...well Autumn is more than that. I do enjoy it, I just think that you'd need a bigger room to scent it in, and possibly it should be renamed to BAM (of course I'm just kidding).
Monday, September 12, 2011
New Review: Aura Cleanse
Name: Aura Cleanse
Company: MoonDancer
Got it: Ren Faire (Sterling Forest, NY)
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Why: I imagined this scent being a little softer than it was, it's very smokey and there's not much to it's scent other than that. It's heavy and can be overpowering at times, but maybe in a bigger more open space it would be nicer? I always buy at least four sticks of any scent that I'm going to review, so I will burn this again and should I change my mind I will update the review, but for now I was a little dissapointed...It burned for about an hour so it was pretty standard.
Note: You'll be seeing a lot of MoonDancer's incense here for a while I just came back from the RenFaire and she's got great prices (16 sticks for one american dollar!) so since I'm poor I generally wait to buy some of her stuff every year. This year I spent two dollars haha so I have about 8 new scents to try out from her. This was just the first I've reviewed by her, but I have used her products before and she's great.
One last thing: Just because I rate something doesn't mean you as a buyer won't like it. Any scent can be extremely subjective so you can use my blog as a guide but keep in mind this is my opinion. Don't be afraid to try things I don't like. I'm all about being adventurous so by all means if you think something is different about a scent feel free to comment or disagree, just do it kindly, I would do the same for you. :) (also, I will delete and posts that flame either myself or other posters).
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Review: Burning Leaves
It's my birthday! And so I decided to do another post this week, highlighting one of my favorite scents so far!
Name: Burning Leaves
Brand: MoonDancer
Got it: RenFaire
Rating: ***** (5 stars!)
Why: It's a great scent! Rustic but not overpowering or too smokey, it smells exactly like burning leaves (obviously), but there's an added texture to it that makes the scent almost sugary, as if you were sitting in front of an Autumn bonfire with a hot mug of cider (complete with cinnamon stick) in one hand and a brown sugar candy in the other. It's got a kind of old fashioned, slower pace of life quality to it that makes you want to just stop and relax. I highly recommend it!
Name: Burning Leaves
Brand: MoonDancer
Got it: RenFaire
Rating: ***** (5 stars!)
Why: It's a great scent! Rustic but not overpowering or too smokey, it smells exactly like burning leaves (obviously), but there's an added texture to it that makes the scent almost sugary, as if you were sitting in front of an Autumn bonfire with a hot mug of cider (complete with cinnamon stick) in one hand and a brown sugar candy in the other. It's got a kind of old fashioned, slower pace of life quality to it that makes you want to just stop and relax. I highly recommend it!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
A Word about Incense Types
When I started this project I had a few people (you know who you are) ask me about various types of incense and how they are burned and whatnot. I figured a post explaining the different types would be beneficial.
There are a few types I will go into greater detail about each type at a later date but for now I'll focus on a few of the easily accessible varieties you will probably run across in your travels.
Two BIG categories of incense:
Directly-burning- meaning it's light by a flame and can burn all by itself.
Indirectly-burning-meaning it cannot burn on it's own usually requires a heat source to keep it going.
What you'll normally find is directly burning incense so I'll focus on a few main types of it:
Stick (Joss Stick) incense- this is probably what you've bought, you've seen it in Buddhist Temples, or in vendors at the mall. Long wooden stick made with fragrant oils and powders, has an internal burning core that you light directly (making it a directly burning incense for review) and burns on its own. In some countries it even comes in a coil and is used for mosquito repellent but the basic concept is the stick incense we know and love.
Cone- this looks well, like a cone, rounded coney edges, usually says cone on the package, you get the idea. It's small feels like a pastel or a crayon wrapper to the touch, usually you need a special burner that has a little circle in it for you to burn it, since unlike Joss Sticks, cones burn all the way through so there will be nothing left of them. Cones usually are more concentrated and have a heavier scent (at least in my experience). It is also a directly burning incense so you have to light it on fire and then blow it out to get it going much like the Joss.
Pyramid- same as the cone except pyramid shaped.
Smudge Sticks- okay so if Joss Sticks are the goody two-shoes of the incense world that have a dainty scent, that dissipates nicely throughout your house, smudge sticks are their bad ass fat cousin. Usually you'll find this as a bunch of herbs (Sage is pretty popular) bound together. It's a directly burning incense so you do light it on fire, and when you do, watch out, because they have a very heavy woody scent and produce alot of smoke, so if you don't have good ventilation it's gonna be very overpowering very quick. Usually burned in a dish, or very commonly in a pretty abalone shell burner. To put out, you guessed it, smudge that sucker! Great for insect or even people repellent! Often used in rituals and other spiritual gatherings.
So there you have it! Those are mostly the ones you're going to find in stores. Some time I'll put up a post about the indirectly burning incenses but for now just enjoy! :)
There are a few types I will go into greater detail about each type at a later date but for now I'll focus on a few of the easily accessible varieties you will probably run across in your travels.
Two BIG categories of incense:
Directly-burning- meaning it's light by a flame and can burn all by itself.
Indirectly-burning-meaning it cannot burn on it's own usually requires a heat source to keep it going.
What you'll normally find is directly burning incense so I'll focus on a few main types of it:
Stick (Joss Stick) incense- this is probably what you've bought, you've seen it in Buddhist Temples, or in vendors at the mall. Long wooden stick made with fragrant oils and powders, has an internal burning core that you light directly (making it a directly burning incense for review) and burns on its own. In some countries it even comes in a coil and is used for mosquito repellent but the basic concept is the stick incense we know and love.
Cone- this looks well, like a cone, rounded coney edges, usually says cone on the package, you get the idea. It's small feels like a pastel or a crayon wrapper to the touch, usually you need a special burner that has a little circle in it for you to burn it, since unlike Joss Sticks, cones burn all the way through so there will be nothing left of them. Cones usually are more concentrated and have a heavier scent (at least in my experience). It is also a directly burning incense so you have to light it on fire and then blow it out to get it going much like the Joss.
Pyramid- same as the cone except pyramid shaped.
Smudge Sticks- okay so if Joss Sticks are the goody two-shoes of the incense world that have a dainty scent, that dissipates nicely throughout your house, smudge sticks are their bad ass fat cousin. Usually you'll find this as a bunch of herbs (Sage is pretty popular) bound together. It's a directly burning incense so you do light it on fire, and when you do, watch out, because they have a very heavy woody scent and produce alot of smoke, so if you don't have good ventilation it's gonna be very overpowering very quick. Usually burned in a dish, or very commonly in a pretty abalone shell burner. To put out, you guessed it, smudge that sucker! Great for insect or even people repellent! Often used in rituals and other spiritual gatherings.
So there you have it! Those are mostly the ones you're going to find in stores. Some time I'll put up a post about the indirectly burning incenses but for now just enjoy! :)
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