Stamford Sandalwood

Bought as part of a double special offer from buyallmeans shop on Amazon, where Stamford incense gift packs were reduced, and if four were bought together there was a further reduction, so I managed to get 24 different small boxes of between six and eight incense sticks for £10, including postage - that's around 170 sticks for £10. Bargain. The Sandalwood incense is present in the Exotic and Floral packs - and a slightly different version appears in the Moods pack as Sandalwood Meditation. A Meditation incense appears in the Aromatherapy pack where it is a blend of sandalwood, vanilla and camomile.

Stamford is the quality brand for the UK distribution company Aargee, who tend to use  the Goloka and Shrinivas Sugandhalaya (Satya) incense companies - though there's no indication which incense company actually made these.. The sticks are hand rolled. The incense paste is black on a dyed red bamboo stick. The packs are intensely perfumed - I have to keep them in the plastic bag they arrived in because the sweet, slightly cloying perfume dominates the room if they are left out. The Sandalwood sticks on taking out of the box are fruity sweet, like kids sweets, but also with aromas of black tea, bergamont and dried roses. The scent when burned doesn't feel natural - it has a synthetic tang to it. Also, it doesn't remind me of sandalwood. It is hot, slightly harsh, with little of the aromas on the stick. It is fairly mild, and while it is a bit harsh, it's not an offensive aroma at all - it's quite neutral.

Overall not an impressive incense, especially from a brand that is aiming to project itself as quality.

Date: May 2013  Score: 25

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Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Sandalwood