#sacred source

It recently occurred to me that if I talk about my parents' store on here I could call it 'marketing' and get a discount code for y'all to use. Like those affiliate codes.

The store is called Sacred Source and we sell statues from lots of different religions as well as items for alters/rituals.

I know it's not cheap, but that's because we pay our manufacturers a living wage (The stuff that's exspensive here is really big)

Cool facts about us:

Sacred Source was founded in 1978 and passed on to my family in 2001. It's purpose is to create jobs for traditional artisans in India

We're really environmentally conscious; we use lots of recycled materials and have a composting toilet

My mom (owner of Sacred Source) sent me some of their new incense subscription boxes for review. I live out of state, so I don't know much about the incense we carry right now. I figured I'd burn a stick of each and write a review to help people figure out what kind they'd like.

The "boxes" are about $30, and have a theme every month. February's theme was Love and Roses. They have a lot of incense, and little gifts from my mom or the store. She also writes a letter, and gives you holders in your first set. I'm currently reviewing the February set. My only objection is that calling it a box is misleading, and it was a little hard to open in my lap, so use a table. (Note: this was remedied before I posted this. Stay tuned).

My first reaction was, mom can we afford this?? You're not just giving stuff away right?? (She's done that before). There are 7 full-size incense packets, a mini statue, a pair of earrings, hand crocheted lace hearts ( in the tradition of my great grandma), and some nice holders.

(Mom pay yourself plz. You have arthritis and I know you'll read this)

(In case y'all readers didn't know, you're supposed to sell stuff for more than you paid, or else you can't make money)

Since I have a cat and my partner doesn't like incense, I can't fill my whole apartment with smoke to test them out. So I have to burn them next to a window, and open it after a few minutes to let the smoke out :(

What my mom says about it:

First impressions: just sniffing the box, the rose scent is so strong it's almost pungent. It smells a bit like a base note for me, with a slightly earthy smell, too. It made me think of dried rose petals.

Opening the box, I realized I'd been smelling them from a sealed bag! After opening it, the rose smell seems brighter, with that citrus note fresh roses have. Do you get what I mean?

The smell was still very strong, but the earthy smell from before didn't seem to come through.

The individual sticks are smooth, even, and black. It lit easily, and the flame spread easily too.

Once lit, it's a slow burn with a light smell. I was in a rush and breathed in some smoke, and it was more smoke than purfume. Completely unlike the pungent smell I was expecting!

Taking a step back to sniff come coffee (a "palette cleanser"), I realized it had surrounded itself with a faintly sweet scent. It was closer to how the package smelled (dried roses), but pleasantly subtle instead of overpowering. It made me want to use it more, so my whole place smelled like that all the time. Dare I say, it may be good for those that like scents but dislike the typical incense smell.

The TLDR:

Notes of: earthy rose

Would I use it? Yes

Would I buy it? Yes

Smoke level*: normal to light

Strength*: mild to faint

Rating scale here

Disclaimer: these boxes were given to me for free in exchange for review, and were made by my mom. I also like incense in general. I'll be giving my own uncensored opinions, but they're definitely subjective. Also, my sense of smell is really sensitive and somewhat strange.

Bonus: Ellie is curious