Gosh, the fumes coming off the stick should come with a government health warning!
I got this pack (from The Incense Man - £1.69 for 10 sticks in a retro tube) because after reviewing Stamford Pakeezah (which I loved), it was suggested that the maker might be Padmini. Certainly there is a lot of similarity, though this stick is way more intense and sharp, while the Stamford is more melodic and delicious. The sticks are different lengths (Stamford is shorter), and the sticks are a different colour (Stamford is pink, Padmini is orange), and the paste on the Padmini is darker. That said, there is clearly an aim in both to reach for a certain scent, and a certain incense experience, which is very similar. I have seen two other Pakeezah incense sticks, one sold by Bhagwan Incense, and the other sold by Pasand, a UK based Indian grocery shop. Both are own branded, like the Stamford. It seems likely that all are made by Padmini, though perhaps at different formulations.
I like the scent on the stick of this Padmini Pakeezah - it's dark yet floral, with spicy and frosty sparkles. The fumes, though, are a little heady. There is something of a moist weight to the stick, rather like a flora style stick based on Sai Flora. A flora style stick can be dirt cheap, or packaged in a luxury box and be above average in price, yet they all tend to heady and rich with oils and/or something like DEP. When the flame is alive there is some smoke produced, but its more grey than black, so I don't think a heavy amount of DEP has been used. So there must be a load of fragrance oils in here.
The scent on the burn is woody, a tad smoky, and oily. It is quite resinous, but not in a bright way. This is a sludgy, oily, resin. The smoke is quite heavy, it hangs around and comes down rather than dispersing. This is a stick that is best burned at a distance and with plenty of ventilation, both for the fragrance sake, and for basic health reasons. There is a familiarity about the scent - a curious blend of basic heady perfumed incense and an everyday masala. And some aspects of it align with the Stamford, but this stick presents to me as cruder. I'll be curious to do a blind test on both of these, to see which I prefer then, but for now (perhaps because I'm just coming off a terpene overdose) I significantly prefer the Stamford.
I like the scent on the stick of this Padmini Pakeezah - it's dark yet floral, with spicy and frosty sparkles. The fumes, though, are a little heady. There is something of a moist weight to the stick, rather like a flora style stick based on Sai Flora. A flora style stick can be dirt cheap, or packaged in a luxury box and be above average in price, yet they all tend to heady and rich with oils and/or something like DEP. When the flame is alive there is some smoke produced, but its more grey than black, so I don't think a heavy amount of DEP has been used. So there must be a load of fragrance oils in here.
The scent on the burn is woody, a tad smoky, and oily. It is quite resinous, but not in a bright way. This is a sludgy, oily, resin. The smoke is quite heavy, it hangs around and comes down rather than dispersing. This is a stick that is best burned at a distance and with plenty of ventilation, both for the fragrance sake, and for basic health reasons. There is a familiarity about the scent - a curious blend of basic heady perfumed incense and an everyday masala. And some aspects of it align with the Stamford, but this stick presents to me as cruder. I'll be curious to do a blind test on both of these, to see which I prefer then, but for now (perhaps because I'm just coming off a terpene overdose) I significantly prefer the Stamford.
