Midweek Update

I’m happy that we can pick up the new bottles Wednesday from customs. I hope it goes well. The customs fees ran up higher than estimated, but that is not a huge surprise. I just want the bottles to all be safe and intact. Will see tomorrow!

Nathan posted a review of Incense Pure on his blog. He found it quite dry, and it sounds to me like the labdanum and cistus were weighted too heavily for him. To me, the sandalwood, vanilla, labdanum, and cistus all contribute sweetness, and the myrrh adds a tiny bit too. But to some people the sweet aspects of the labdanum and cistus may not come forward as much as their dry and resinous aspects. The cistus does have a smoky undertone that comes out more strongly to some people than to others. There is no birch tar or cade or other smoky ingredient like that in IP, but the cistus does have a smoky note to it. I suspect some people might do better with the cistus reduced, but we’ll see. I did have some testers tell me not to increase vanilla more or it’d be too sweet for them. It’s tough to balance these to work for all, especially when there’s a wild card like the cistus that varies a lot from one person to the next. I tried adding a very light touch of tonka but found it muted the incense too much, and testers agreed that it was better without. Many people have emailed me with great feedback on IP so far, but if I start to get feedback saying the cistus seems too strong I could make an adjustment, so do feel free to email me with comments either way.

After a very rainy Easter we’re having a nice dry spell for a few sunny days. I need to finish taxes and get back to BB…