What does tuberose incense smell like?

Tuberose incense smells sweet and heady, a flower the garden blog The Scented Abode describes as irises, roses and lilacs combined into one floral scent. In Looshi Euphoria, tuberose is a sweet, creamy white flower set with green rosemary and warm amber, so the sweetness reads bright rather than heavy. Looshi makes artisanal incense, rolled by hand with real ingredients, with grounding scents from across the world.

What tuberose smells like

Tuberose smells sweet and heady, rich enough that a single bloom reads like several flowers at once.

The Scented Abode, a garden blog, describes brushing past the bloom in the early morning and catching a heady scent its writer can only call sweet, combining irises, roses and lilacs into one floral scent. The writer says it feels like sunshine, almost alcoholic as it hits the back of the throat and nose.

So tuberose isn't a thin, single note. A rose lover already knows part of the smell, and the rest is the heady sweetness that ties the flowers together.

If rose is the flower you're drawn to, the guide to rose incense covers that scent on its own.

What tuberose is

Tuberose is a garden flower that grows from a tuber, and The Scented Abode's writer picked it because the scent was described as highly scented and found in many perfumes.

Within a month of planting, the writer reports, the tubers pushed through the earth and their leaves grew tall. Out of the writer's three pots, only one tuber showed buds and bloomed. Once the flower fades, the writer explains, it's time to dig up the tuber and store it somewhere warm inside the house.

The same blog points to Chanel's Gabrielle Chanel, which the writer says includes grapefruit, orange blossom, jasmine and ylang ylang along with the rich floral scent of tuberose. In that perfume, tuberose sits beside citrus and other flowers rather than standing alone.

Knowing the flower helps, but a stick of incense is a blend, so what tuberose incense smells like depends on what sits beside the flower.

Tuberose in an incense stick

In Euphoria, tuberose is the sweet, creamy heart of the scent, lifted by green rosemary and wrapped in warm amber.

The Euphoria page names three notes and describes each one: rosemary is green and herbal, tuberose is a sweet, creamy white flower, and amber is the warmth already in the air.

Lit, the three smell like a tropical garden in the morning, the air already warm and the flowers still sweet from the night.

A verified customer wrote, "The amber, tuberose and rosemary come together to make a sweet incense with a slightly herbaceous twist," and that twist is the rosemary keeping the tuberose bright.

Will tuberose incense be too sweet?

Euphoria's tuberose is sweet without tipping into too much, because its page calls the scent luminous and full, never cloying. Smoke is a separate question, and a verified customer wrote of it, "Not at all overly smokey."

If you've met a floral incense so sweet it felt sickening, that worry is fair, because a heady flower like tuberose has a lot of sweetness to give.

Where you burn it matters too. Light the stick in an open, well-ventilated room, set it in a corner, and let the scent come to you. Always secure it in a holder, or upright in something heatproof with a plate underneath to catch the ash.

If you'd rather try before buying a full box, the Discovery Set lets you choose four scents from eight, two sticks of each, and Euphoria is one of the eight.

To see how tuberose compares with the other scents, read which Looshi scent is for you.

Frequently asked questions

What does tuberose smell similar to?

Tuberose smells similar to irises, roses and lilacs combined into one floral scent, according to the garden blog The Scented Abode. Its writer calls the scent heady and sweet, a smell that feels like sunshine and lands almost alcoholic at the back of the throat. Anyone who likes rose or lilac already knows part of what tuberose smells like.

Is tuberose incense good if you're new to incense?

Tuberose incense is easy to try when you're new, because the Discovery Set lets you choose four scents from eight, two sticks of each, and Looshi Euphoria, a tuberose stick with rosemary and amber, is one of the eight. One verified customer wrote of Euphoria, "This is a good first purchase for new incense buyers, because it has a brighter appeal than most incense scents have."

What is Euphoria made with?

Looshi Euphoria is built around three notes, rosemary, tuberose and amber, in a stick rolled by hand by women artisans in Bangalore. Like every Looshi stick, it blends tree gums and resins, bark and wood powders, the heartwood of aromatic woods, spices and wild honey with essential oils and natural aromatic oils. It uses no synthetic fragrance and burns on upcycled coconut shell, not coal.

How do you burn a tuberose incense stick?

Burn a tuberose incense stick secured in a holder, or upright in something heatproof with a plate underneath to catch the ash, in an open, well-ventilated room. Set it in a corner and let the scent come to you. For lighting it and how often to burn, see the guide on how to burn an incense stick properly.

Sources

• The Scented Abode