Last Sunday, I took a late-afternoon walk and noticed a wonderful incense fragrance “accord” in the air, a mix of spring flowers (magnolias, English laurel, Oregon grape) and the scent of wood burning in fireplaces. I decided to wear an incense perfume the next day and selected a sample vial of Heeley Eau Sacrée.

I love the ritual of burning incense and watching curlicues of incense smoke move through my house. Prime spots for placing incense? In front of religious images and statues, especially my Ayutthaya crowned Buddha that I “adopted” in Chiang Mai, Indra from Nepal and many Ganesh statues from India (one given to me on my wedding day). I light a candle or burn incense on days a person or animal I loved was born…or died. Incense feels important, not simply a product to scent a space…

Read the rest of this article »