Many years ago, I made a habit of visiting a local metaphysical shop about once a month. I was interested in incense and in smells, and each time I went, I’d get a small amount to try.

One day, I noticed they hadn’t restocked a brand whose blends I’d liked. I didn’t think too much of it, and eventually, got too busy to stop back for a while.

When I came back about a year later, I noticed they were almost entirely out of that brand’s stock. When I asked why, the owner of the shop let me know that it was because that brand’s owner had died, and that no one continued their business.

It was quite the story– the founder had won the lottery, they said, and then traveled the world learning about incense blending, and eventually started the company. Then, a number of years later, died in a motorcycle accident.

The shop’s owner didn’t know much more, at the time, and I left wondering a little more about the story. A few years later, I set up an eBay alert to let me know if any backstock was listed later-on. And recently, it was.

I purchased the collection, and hope that these photos may help others reconstruct the lovely recipes that were lost with the death of NuEssence’s founder.

If you’re working to recreate them, let me know!

Catalog and Ingredients Lists

Here is a copy of the catalog I received along with the tins. We believe the ingredients are listed in order of weight. The rings on the pages were used to weigh them down for photography, as the paper was creased.

Incense Tin Photos

Photos were taken on an overcast day in Minneapolis, outdoors in early June, on 92 bright post-consumer recycled printer paper. The colors on my screen look a bit cool compared to reality, especially Mars, which looks quite pink in person.