How incense became luxury’s new must-have item

Stylist and creative director Sewell, who divides her time between Sydney and London, founded fragrance brand Vyrao, which is sold through Mecca. She says creating incense gave her customers a more affordable way to experience her scents. For example, Vyrao’s eau de parfums start at $200 for 30 millilitres and candles start at $147, while the corresponding incense sells for $74 for 30 sticks.

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“I love how instantaneous incense is,” she says. “Unlike a candle, you can light an incense and your mood shifts in the space of a few seconds.”

Indeed, the breadth of retailers selling incense has increased since the now-defunct Ishka was the one-stop shop for many teenagers growing up in the 1990s. You’re now just as likely to find incense at a fashion boutique as you are a homewares store.

Kirrily Johnston, creative director of Melbourne-based Husk, introduced incense about five years ago. She says the product makes an easy, affordable gift, and is part of her self-care ritual. “Incense always brings on the meditative calmness that I experience when I do yoga classes,” she says. “It’s something I always travel with, and it’s my absolute ritual on a Friday night.”

So, what separates a good incense from the stuff from our youth? Sewell’s incense is made from a bamboo core and bamboo powder, meaning minimal smoke “so you can really enjoy the purity of the perfume oils”.

When it comes to scent selection, Sewell suggests something invigorating for the morning to help energise, and something comforting or woody for evenings, to calm the energy of the surrounding space.

For maximum benefit, Ashford suggests the following steps when lighting incense: choose a moment you can be really mindful; light it in an open space with ventilation to allow the scent to permeate the air; and use a good holder.

“We have done candles for a long time, and they’re fabulous, but this gives us a different way to explore scent in the home,” he says. “There’s something really peaceful and meditative about watching it burn, and it being a finite experience.”