This purple hexagonal box holds lavender-scented incense sticks from HEM, made in India. The box is about 25 cm long, and with six flat sides it will not roll off the table. Its colour makes it easy to spot in a drawer, but note that HEM's Opium incense comes in a purple box too.
Lavender for the evening
Tradition links lavender with winding down in the evening. Many people light a stick once the day's jobs are done: after dinner, over a book, or in the bedroom an hour before going to sleep.
You may know the scent from lavender bags tucked into a wardrobe, or from a lavender field in full bloom in July. It is one of the best-known incense scents, which makes it a good first box for anyone new to incense.
Burning it in the bedroom
You need an incense holder to burn the sticks; if you do not have one yet, take a look at ours. Push the stick in and put the holder on a heat-proof surface, away from curtains and bedding. Light the tip, let it flame for a few seconds, then blow the flame out. From then on the stick smoulders, and that is when it gives off its scent.
While it burns, stay in the room and open the window a crack, as smoke builds up quickly in a small room. Put it out before you go to bed by pressing the glowing end into a little sand. By night-time only the scent is left. Empty the ash the next morning, once it has surely cooled.
If you have a cat, a dog or a pet bird, burn it in a room where they are not.