Spiritual Sky

Spiritual Sky incense was the main brand in the 1970s. It was hand made by the Krishna temple in California, and distributed and sold through local Krishna temples. It was a quality product, but wasn't expensive. According to this site, there were financial problems, and the brand changed hands a few times. It is currently owned in the USA by Willert Home Products, a chemical fragrance company, and they are the 14th owners. There is also a New Zealand based company which uses the name, as well as a West Bengal company. In France the brand is distributed by Laboratoires SIPA.

I have nine small, cheaply printed flat packets of Spiritual Sky incense. I can't remember where I bought them - probably a market stall in Gillingham. The UK distributor is EmporiumUK.biz [closed 2021], The sticks are barely 8 inch, and are on very thin strips of bamboo, with the amount of incense paste sometimes less than three quarters the length of the stick. The sticks are undyed and dirty with charcoal dust. All the incense paste is black and thinly applied. The sticks are hand rolled. Some of the packets are slightly different - they have almost identical design, but are better printed on better quality cardboard. They have the name of Karigar on the back - a West Bengal incense company, who have trade links with EmporiumUK.biz. All the designs are exactly the same, with the only difference between aromas being the name at the bottom of the packs.

I also have a packet of 10 inch sticks distributed by Laboratoires SIPA. The packet is about the same size as I remember from the 70s, though the printing is poor. The incense, however, is better quality than the 8 inch ones - using sandalwood and/or makko powder rather than charcoal, giving a tidy appearance,  leaving less mess on the hands, and providing a better base aroma to the combustible material than charcoal.

I found four more packets in my drawer. Funny enough, I wasn't that pleased, as I thought - aw, now I have to review them as well! There are two Karigar: Lavender and Strawberry, and two Emporium: Ylang Ylang and Sandalwood.

Karigar

Opium. Black charcoal base. Well rolled. Tidy, even, and decently fat. Aroma on the stick is quite floral with slightly citric top notes, hinting slightly of lemon pee (yes, pee, not peel or tea). Chemical notes appear when burned, and the aroma is a blend of camel dung, stale cigarette smoke, and cheap rose perfume - creating an odd Seventies Soho nightclub feel. It's not offensive or unpleasant, but it's not great. Indeed, it's a slightly embarrassing odour that you might not want to be caught with in your home. All in all, I don't find it objectionable, but it's not one to buy again.

Appearance:  4/10  
Scent: 4/10  
After: 4/10  
Plus: 8/20  
Total: 20/50

Opium incense scents

Rose: Pleasant tangerine aroma on the stick. Zesty fresh citric notes. Stick is a little cleaner and tidier than most of the others. Aroma when burning is again that tangerine note, but this time warmer, and a little more flowery, with a good suggestion of rose petals and fresh, sugar dusted Turkish delight - the real stuff.

Appearance:  4/10  
Scent: 5/10  
After: 4/10  
Plus: 9/20  
Total: 22/50

Cannabis: Black charcoal base on plain bamboo stick. A little messy with some paste flaking off. Aroma on the stick inclines toward pine and benzoin. The aroma when burning is warm and reasonably pleasant with soft soap notes and an underlying musk. It's a mild and modest aroma, but quite nice.

Appearance:  3/10  
Scent: 5/10  
After: 4/10  
Plus: 11/20  
Total: 23/50

Lavender: Dirty charcoal on a thin, floppy stick. Smells of pine block. On burning, has a pleasant musky sandalwood aroma. I could even be convinced there are notes of lavender present. It's an OK incense.

Score: 24

Strawberry:Some of the sticks are so thin, they are unable to support the incense. Again the base smell on the stick is pine block. On burning the aroma is synthetic rose, rotting vegetation, and ammonia. It's all quite mild, and not as ugly as it sounds, but I'm not sure where the strawberry aroma is! It's an OK incense - not offensive.

Score: 20

Emporium (closed 2021)

Patchouli: Pine, lilac - flowery on the stick. There is a certain familiarity about these sticks. They look the same, and the aromas on the stick cross over from one to another, so they have scents in common. And the aromas on burning tend to be similar as well. There's a soft warmth to this scent, but it also smells quite chemical and artificial, and is faintly reminiscent of loo cleaner. There's some woody sandalwood as well, so it's acceptable, but on the whole not wonderful.

Appearance:  4/10  
Scent: 4/10  
After: 4/10  
Plus: 7/20  
Total: 19/50

Lily: Soapy and flowery aroma on the stick. Warm, but modest and synthetic aroma when burned. 

Appearance:  4/10  
Scent: 3/10  
After: 3/10  
Plus: 7/20  
Total: 19/50

Nag Champa: Soapy, perfumed aroma on the stick - hovers around Rose rather than Nag Champa. It appears to be quite random what is named on the packet, as the contents don't quite match up. This is the least enjoyable of the Spiritual Sky incense I have tried so far. When burned the aroma is harsh and artificial and like stale Rose perfume. This is close to some HEM incense.

Appearance:  4/10  
Scent: 3/10  
After: 3/10  
Plus: 7/20  
Total: 18/50

Vanilla: A pleasant fresh aroma on the stick - quite floral and balsamic, with attractive perfumed top notes with the piquancy of fresh urine. Some of the incense paste has flaked off some of the sticks, so there are awkward bare patches. On burning the aroma is quite mild, stale, and artificial, and also rose like. I wondered if the wrong sticks had been placed in the packet - but I just opened a Rose packet, and the aroma there is different to this one. Overall not offensive, but there's little positive to say. 

Appearance:  3/10  
Scent: 4/10  
After: 4/10  
Plus: 7/20  
Total: 19/50

Frankincense: I have a plant in the front garden that I bought some years ago in Castle Howard - it has a delightful lemon scent which is very like the scent on the stick. It is slightly herbal, not quite lemon, but very like it, and this stick has a bit of camphor added to it. When lit there isn't much aroma - some vague smoke, a bit of musk, and musty mouldy lemon - the whole being a little hot. There's no sense of a frankincense aroma at all. No offensive, but nothing inviting. It doesn't seem to matter what it says on the packet - the aroma bears little or no relation to the nominated scent. The smoke is quite decent for a small, thin stick, producing attractive swirls as it burns evenly.

Appearance:  4/10  
Scent: 5/10  
After: 4/10  
Plus: 7/20  
Total: 20/50

Jasmine: Strawberry jam, and - yes - jasmine aroma on the stick. And a jasmine aroma when burned, underscored with some sandalwood and a certain amount of burning rubber - with a bit more sweet jam.

Appearance:  4/10  
Scent: 5/10  
After: 4/10  
Plus: 10/20  
Total: 21/50

Ylang Ylang: Great name. Ylang Ylang is a flower that produces a scent rather like jasmine. As usual the base stick is medicinal and pungent and reminiscent of a toilet block. The scent when burning is quite pleasant - it is quite floral, and - as suggested - it does have hints of banana. Like the Jasmine it is also quite sweet and jammy. It's not an unattractive smell. It's not wonderful either, but it's not bad for a cheap incense.

Score: 21

Sandalwood: There's an aroma on the base stick that is quite evocative. It takes me back to a precise time and place, but I don't know why. It's a complex smell, containing pine, rabbit hutches, rat urine, wood, and spring flowers. The aroma when burnt is very mild. The scent is close to sandalwood, and again has that warm, musky note of rabbits and rats. And there's also whiffs of fireworks and soap. This is not great stuff, but it's not offensive.

Score: 20

Laboratoires SIPA

Frankincense: This 10 inch Spiritual Sky is a decent incense, and of a higher quality than the 8 inch ones. The combustible base is sandalwood and/or makko powder, giving a better appearance, leaving no mess, and adding to the pleasant aroma. Sandalwood is present in the aroma when burned, along with notes of vanilla to accompany the frankincense. There is also an awareness of burning herbs, which suggests that the ingredients are natural. This is a decent and reasonably pleasant aroma, which - while not strong - does linger attractively. These 10 inch sticks are to be preferred over the 8 inch ones every time, and should be considered a different brand altogether.

Appearance:  5/10  
Scent: 6/10  
After: 6/10  
Plus: 11/20  
Total: 28/50


Conclusion

The sticks with the Karigar name on the back of the packet are slightly better than the sticks with the Emporium name. I would be more inclined to burn the Karigar than the Emporium, but really there's not a lot in it. On the whole,  the sticks are a little rough and ready, and the overall quality is not the same as the genuine Spiritual Sky from the 1970s, so there is a sense that the name is being exploited, and in a sense the reputation eroded; however, for cheap and readily available incense, they are not that bad - and the ingredients of the Karigar appear to be purer and more natural than a number of the other major brand names such as HEM. The aromas are sometimes pleasant and enjoyable, if not exciting or noteworthy. The scents - particularly with the Emporium, can be a little harsh and synthetic. So, not a brand to seek out, but if there isn't much choice, I may pick Spiritual Sky Karigar over a number of other brands - though would just leave it if they were Emporium.

Date: May 2013   Total score: 21/50

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