Best Artistic niche incense fragrance?

currently loving brands like bortnikoff, roja, tsvga, and ensar oud.

Ambery

Interlude Man

Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco

Green

№ 05 - Incense Extrême

Olibanum

Spell 125

Anubis

Scorpio Rising

Not a fan of incense, but "Vol. III Act of Faith - Godspeed | Malbrum" smells like an Eastern Orthodox Church incense and I also like II-II Mandala .

I like Interlude Man .

I tried Varuek recently and it's awesome. Spices, incense, wood, oud and animalic. Not for everyone. You did say "artistic". hahaha

Artistic:

Relique d'Amour (2012) -- cold stone walls and incense; churchy

Ma Nishtana -- Buddhist temple incense

More controversial offerings: Sorcinelli incense offerings (he is associated with the Catholic Church, and some people don't support that) and Incarnate (apparently, she has been cancelled and dropped by the major retailers because of some unhinged jokes and tweets). But maybe we should separate the art from the artists??

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My favorite is La Liturgie des Heures . It might not me the most artistic incense, it is like a literal midnight mass. It is very realistic... always hits the spot...

Not Niche, but I always find Mitsouko Eau de Parfum the most artistic perfume in the world, and really unisex these days. Many men wear it.

Still after so many years after their initial launch, nothing still comes close to Comme des Garçons' Series 3: Incense, with Series 3: Incense - Avignon, Series 3: Incense - Kyoto, Series 3: Incense - Ouarzazate, Series 3: Incense - Jaisalmer.

It is striking to me, that so few manage to get even close to this level of artistry. Messe de Minuit Eau de Toilette I suppose could also be mentioned.

Not my favourite category but I have met a few one !

Easy reach :

Basilica serene incense + aromatics (my favorite)

Sweet Do Nothing : some sort of smoky aquatic, really unique and approachable (wonderful on a man)

Challenging :

Bois d'Ascèse litterally smells like an ermit

Mortel Noir spicy and incensy, unapproachable vibe

Abyssis smells what a creature from the abyss might reeks off, algae and ashes

and Grimoire like you’re opening an old dusty book and you’re gonna prepare some old witchcraft

Have fun !

I'm not a fan of incence but these were bearable

Encens Suave Eau de Parfum

7 Eau de Toilette

Incense is my #1 love! I will hold off from spamming you with my entire list, and instead narrow it down to the "artistic niche" I am loving the most lately (and is under the radar). Samharam by Arte Profumi goes one step beyond the sort of thin Catholic liturgical incense vibe that was really popular in the earlier 2000s by adding a more depth and texture to the overall profile. The result is a chewier and more full bodied incense, without totally leaving the church behind - while also not going into the incense/vanilla beast mode near gourmands that are currently hot today. I highly recommend sniffing this if you can. It's lovely

Depends on what kind of incense you're looking for.

Cardinal for example is the most realistic smokey frankincense-myrrh fragrance I tried, though you could argue it's a bit basic or two dimensional.
Armani Privé - Bois d'Encens isn't even a niche fragrance but it's my favorite soft incense, light, airy, a bit smokey, balsamic, and with a woody undertone that contrasts the airiness of the incense.
Casbah is another favorite, it's more spicy and dirty compared to the incense you might find burned in churches, though it's not animalic-dirty, more like the resin being burned isn't too strong, so there's lots of impurities compared to the balsamic smell typical of incense.
Rien Intense Incense is great if you want something that really smells niche, it smells like burning frankincense doused in diesel fuel.
Aside from Series 3: Incense - Kyoto I'm not a fan of the CDG Incense series, they're definitely more approachable and mass appealing compared to most recommendations in this thread, but only because they feature some notes that don't have much to do with incense, like the citrusy opening and the slightly ambery base of Avignon or the very cold cypress of Zagorsk.

I should get around to trying Ma Nishtana...

Norma kamali incense 

I’m seriously surprised that Sorcinelli wasn’t mentioned, absolute gorgeous, no B.S.

I'm not an expert on what is and isn't technically considered an incense within perfume community. Are you looking for something predominantly resinous? Spicy? Smoky? Specifically churchy? So I'll just go ahead and propose everything I love, and if something piques your interest, feel free to give it a try.

Loewe aren't a niche house – just a rarely noticed one; but if you're looking for a fun incense, their 7 collection is a great place to start. I'm yet to try all of the variations myself, but I own both the original EDT and a big bottle of Anónimo and both are beautiful, each in their own way.

Original 7 Eau de Toilette is a warmer, cozier take on resins. Baked apples and spices and a deliciously gooey frankincense below. I may be joking when I call it a gourmand fragrance, but if I could eat those gooey apples, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

7 Anónimo is a colder and more reserved type of scent. It's resinous, it's faintly smoky, with a gentle spiciness – all classic ingredients that form an incense-type fragrance; but to me it just smells like a pine forest air. The crisp autumnal kind. Chef's kiss.

In Loewe's Solo collection there are two fragrances that I own and adore that are heavily resinous.

Solo Atlas has salt and frankincense and mastic. It mostly presents as airy neroli when sprayed on me, but on my partner's warmer body it's a warm gooey delight. An esoteric shop by the seashore.

Solo Vulcan is more herbal-forward, but there's also plenty of delightful resins in it. Prominent, bitter and burnt. It's admittedly a very controversial experience – but it's also my favorite scent of them all. So if you want something artistic, my beloved burnt steppes simulator might be what you're looking for.

While we're on the topic of all things artistic and controversial, take a look at Dans le bleu qui pétille if you haven't before. Spicy, smoky, putrid aquatic. It's atrocious. Smells like an ancient drowned church and smoked fish and mosquito coils. Delightful. My favorite Serge Lutens fragrance so far.

And, last but not least, while it's probably very basic where niche is concerned, have you ever tried anything from Comme des Garçons?

I own Comme des Garçons 2 Man, Wonderwood and Blackpepper, and each of them is spicy, woody and smoky. 2 Man, I think, is the most artistic of the three. It's a lasting and changing composition that feels like a movie as it flows by. Wonderwood and Blackpepper are more straightforwardly focused on their main notes, but no less delicious.

You’re right, I only got to test Sorcinelli recently.

LAVS is basically a cornerstone of the genre.

_Quando_rapita_in_estasi_ and Incenso Notturno are also nice.

One caveat about Italian incense - rather fleeting in terms of longevity.

Must tries, absolute touchstones of the gene:

Series 3: Incense - Avignon , Series 3: Incense - Jaisalmer , Series 3: Incense - Ouarzazate , Series 3: Incense - Kyoto , Series 3: Incense - Zagorsk.

i quite like 10 Corso Como Eau de Parfum , Armani Privé - Bois d'Encens , Passage d'Enfer , Angélique Encens (1933) and G I R L by Pharrell Williams and Incenso for various reasons

If you would like to experience a beautiful Japanese incense, I highly recommend Satori.