How do you try incense without buying eight boxes?

Buy a sampler with a few sticks of several scents, light each one more than once in the room you mean it for, and buy a full box only of the scent you keep reaching for. Looshi is artisanal incense, hand-rolled in Karnataka, that smells like a place or a moment you already know.

Start with a sampler, not full boxes

A few sticks of each scent tell you more than a full box of one you've never smelled, because the real test is lighting it at home.

A product page can describe a smell well, but you won't know whether a scent suits you until it's burning in your own room.

The Looshi Discovery Set takes the sampler route: eight scents, choose four, two sticks of each, so you can light every one twice. A second stick matters because one evening can mislead you, and a scent worth a full box should hold up on a second night.

Narrow by the smells you already like

Start from the kind of smell you already like: woods, florals or citrus. A family you know is the surest way to pick four scents from eight.

Go by each scent's description, not its name, because the description is what you'll smell.

If you like	Try	What their pages say
Woods	Rewild, Vivacity	a forest after rain; a dry cedar trail in the morning, with lavender along it
Florals	Allure, Euphoria	rose, but the warm kind; a tropical garden in the morning
Citrus and crisp	Create, Clarify	teakwood with a citrus twist; sandalwood, brightened by jasmine
Warm resin	Calm	a dim, lantern-lit room at the end of the day
Cool, bright resin	Change	frankincense, cooled by sea air

If warm and woody is your lean, there's a closer look at which scents suit a warm or woody taste.

Test one stick at a time, in the room you'll use it

Light one stick at a time in the room you mean it for, because that room is where you'll live with the scent.

Ten Thousand Villages says to burn only one stick at a time in smaller rooms, and to open a window during or after burning.

Kin Objects says to light the tip with a match or lighter as you would a candle wick. Kin Objects also says to let the flame burn for a few seconds, then gently fan or blow it out.

Nippon Kodo's beginner's guide says to place incense in the center or corner of a room, not right next to you. Nippon Kodo calls enjoying the smoke from afar the best way to experience incense, so judge each scent from across the room.

If you own nothing to burn it in yet, one of the incense holders will hold the stick and catch the ash.

Make two sticks go further, then buy the box

Putting a stick out halfway gives you a second test from the same stick, so two sticks of a scent become four tries.

Kin Objects says you can put out a stick that's halfway through burning and keep the rest for your next session. Light the saved half on a different evening, so each scent gets tried on more than one kind of day.

When one scent keeps winning, buy its own box from All Incense; The Complete Set is every scent, one box of each.

The simplest start is four scents and two sticks of each in the Discovery Set.

Frequently asked questions

How do you use incense as a beginner?

Start with one stick, a holder and a match or lighter, and try a few scents before you commit to a full box of any. Light one scent per session, so you know exactly which smell you're judging, and keep a note of the ones you'd light again.

What should you not do when burning incense?

Don't leave burning incense unattended, and keep it out of reach of children and pets, which are both on Kin Objects' list of cautions. Don't burn several sticks at once in a small room either, since Ten Thousand Villages advises one stick at a time in smaller rooms.

Do you burn incense from the top or bottom?

Light the top, the free end, and leave the other end in the holder. Kin Objects says to light the other end of the stick, away from your hand or the holder, with a match or lighter as you would a candle wick. Once the flame is out, the glowing tip is what scents the room.

How do I know if my incense is working?

Look for a small glowing ember and a little smoke at the tip, which Kin Objects says means the stick is lit correctly. After that, you'll know it's working when you can smell it from across the room, where Nippon Kodo's beginner's guide says incense is best enjoyed.

Can you put out a stick and finish it later?

You can, by pressing the lit tip against a heat-resistant surface with some force until the piece with the ember breaks off, the method Kin Objects describes. Kin Objects says you can keep the remainder for your next session, so one stick covers two sittings.