Incense In The Wind

Burner Burner - Carhartt jacket incense burner

Saturday, 27 July 2013

Aargee (out of business)


Aargee Novelties was a British company based in Acton, London, and founded in 1978 to import incense and ethnic gifts. As well as importing incense such as Satya and Goloka, they sold masala incense under their own Aargee name, and perfumed-charcoal incense under their own Stamford brand. Around 2020 it appears that the company split, with Nimesh Radia taking the company's own label Stamford brand as Stamford London, while the incense and ethnic gifts section was taken over by Puckator. The Aargee brand, including the masala incense, appears to no longer exist. 

Aargee claimed to be the "UK’s leading specialist importer and wholesale distributor of incense and ethnic giftware", with "450 types of incense, comprising of 15 brands and 119 different fragrances". They didn't directly make incense, but had it made for them in India by other manufacturers, including Goloka, Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya), and Mysore Sugandhi. They introduced the Stamford brand in 1994. In 2011, Aargee developed 12 new fragrances with Shrinivas Sugandhalaya to be sold exclusively through the Stamford brand. The two companies have listed 24 fragrances they make together. Brands they owned: Aargee (now defunct); Stamford (defunct website) - StamfordLondon (new website); Imperial (now defunct); Chakra (now defunct). Many of my reviews are over five years old so may not be reliable both in terms of age, and in terms of my own knowledge and experience. 

I liked Aargee. The masala incense was fairly consistently of a high standard, and some of the fragrances still stand as among the best I have experienced.  The Aargee branded perfumed incense was lower end stuff. The Stamford branded perfumed incense, much of which continues as  Stamford London, was always popular. It tended to be sweet and heady. I liked (and still like) much of it, and in particular liked the cones as something fun and fragrant to burn in the toilet.  

Some of these fragrances have been continued by Stamford London, which trades under the Stamford brand name. Not just the scented incense, but some of the masala as well. It seems that it's the Satya and Goloka made masala that continues.  I will gradually move all the currently available reviews out of this Aargee listing into the Stamford London listing. 

Reviews

* = Score over five years old, so may not be reliable


 
Oct 2023 - Score: 48↑↑








Nov 2023 - Score: 45=↑


Stamford Chakra 
Anahata Heart
Feb 2023 - Score: 45


Aargee Imperial Maharani
Heena Fragrance (M)
Dec 2023 - Score: 41=


Aargee Imperial 
Bharat Mata Bouquet Fragrance
March 2017 - Score: 40↑*


Aargee Krishna Leela Agarbathi (M)
Dec 2023 - Score: 39


Aargee Laxmi Pooja
May 2015 - Score: 38*

  
Aargee Joss Styx Chakra
Sahasrara Crown (M)
Dec 2023 - Score: 38


Aargee Patchouli
Discontinued
March 2015 - Score: 33*


Ganesh Flora by Aargee
Discontinued
August 2015 - Score: 32=*


Satya/Stamford (Original - 2014) Knowledge (M)
Nov 2019   Score: 32


Stamford Chakra
Svadhistana Sacral
Dec 2023 - Score: 32↑

Stamford
Midnight Collection 07 Cones
Discontinued
Date: July 2018 - Score: 28↓*


Aargee Rose (tube series)
Discontinued
July 2018  Score: 28*


Satya/Stamford (Original - 2014)
Meditating Shiva (PM)
Nov 2019 - Score: 27*


Aargee Musk
Discontinued
Dec 2015 - Score: 27*


Aargee Lavender
Discontinued
Dec 2015   Score: 27*


Satya/Stamford (Original - 2014)
Laxmi's Lotus (PM)
 Nov 2019   Score: 25


Satya/Stamford (Mumbai 2014) Intuition 
Feb 2024 - Score: 25


Stamford Chakra Muladhara Root Cones
Aug 2016  Score:  25*


Aargee
Sandalwood (tube series)
Discontinued
Dec 2015 - Score: 22*



Aargee Gold Statue
Discontinued
April 2014 - Score: 21*

   
Aargee Namaste (P) 
Discontinued
Jan 2015 - Score: 21*



Aargee Ayurveda
Variety Pack 
Discontinued
Feb 2017 - Score: 20*


Satya/Stamford (Original - 2014)
Freedom (PM)
Nov 2019 - Score: 20


Stamford Natura Sandalwood
July 2018 - Score: 20*


Aargee Jasmine 
Discontinued
Dec 2015 - Score: 20* 


Stamford Satin
Discontinued
July 2015 - Score: 12*


Reviews: 33
Highest score: 48
Average top five: 45
Lowest score: 12
Average: 28 
Overall score: 37

Conclusion: Aargee were a significant wholesale importer of incense into the UK, and commissioned some excellent masala incense and sweet, heady commercial scented incense.  Though they continue as Stamford London, they now only sell the scented incense, so the excellent masala incense is no longer available under the Aargee name except in places where there is some old stock left.  

***

Own Brand / Private Label


Vintage Incense
(Incense not available from
this brand for over a year)

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Friday, 26 July 2013

Sital Ratnamala


Second review - scroll down for earlier


I'm OK with perfumed incense. I've wavered around on this issue for years. Some of the crudest, cheapest and nastiest incense can be perfume dipped, so it has a bad reputation. Some of the most prominent perfume-dipped manufacturers are little more than chemical companies, which lies in stark contrast with the association of incense as being a natural, hand-made article by artisans using decades old traditions. Masala incense is generally aimed at the premium market, with more attention paid to fixatives, and some of the more traditional masala incense makers will use as much natural ingredients as they can. Usually, I find the most divine and genuinely mood enhancing incense to be masala incense. Perfumed incense, however, I am much more casual with. I burn them frequently, often several at a time. I find I am comfortable with perfumed, and I have more fun with them. If they are bright and bold, they can quickly lift a room, and much of the time that is exactly what I want. I just want something pleasant, bright, and joyful to freshen my house, and lift my mood. This incense does just that. It is bold and bright and highly perfumed. There are floral notes, bright, breezy ones - it's like opening the window and letting in the Spring.

Great fun!


Date:  March 2017   Score:  41 

Average of two reviews: 37 


     
First review

Hex box of approx 15 hand-rolled sticks of charcoal based paste onto undyed sticks of varying sizes - some quite thin and weak. The paste was either too dry, or has been poorly rolled, as there are pieces missing on the stick. Quite a perfumed floral aroma on the stick - fairly heavy, rose like, sweet to neutral, slightly synthetic. Mostly attractive. The sticks were bought from Indiabaazar on Amazon for 51p including postage. The company, Amber Aromatics of Bangalore, started as a perfume business in 1911, then moved into incense sticks in 1977. They have a second incense factory near Mumbai. They use the brand name Sital for their incense, and appear to have an interesting range of aromas.

The incense name, Ratnamala, means jewelled necklace - and that is the image used on the box. The name is commonly used for girls in India. The recommended retail price in India is marked on the box: 17 rupees, which is the equivalent of 19p. There is a profit to be made in importing incense to the UK!

The sticks do burn slowly and evenly producing a moderate amount of soft, pleasant smoke. The scent is sandalwood and rose, with some sherbet, bergamot and lily - it is a warm and indulgent aroma, creating a calm and relaxed mood ideal for bedroom or living room in the evening. This is a very pleasant incense that while not particularly special, does a very good job at an excellent price.


Date: July 2013  Score: 33
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Thursday, 25 July 2013

Moksh Akash Phool



Perfume dipped charcoal paste on pink dyed sticks. Sticks smell floral and citric in a chemical way, like a cleaning product. Hex box of approx 12 sticks bought for 41p (including postage) from Indiabazaar of Amazon. The aroma on burning is mild and pleasant, with a firm base of sandalwood, and sweet floral top notes, rather like jasmine. It's a slightly heady, intoxicating yet relaxing scent. Very attractive for the price. The name, Akash Phool appears to mean something like Heavenly Flower. Phool means flower, while Akash seems to refer to the sky or the ether, or the region where the gods live. The box has a simple and direct design of yellow-tinged white flowers on a blue background. The flowers appear to be champa (or frangipani) The design lacks imagination and style. It looks careless and unimaginative. Despite this, the box contains warnings not to copy the design or colours, and carries a copyright number. The incense is made by Moksh Agarbatti of Bangalore. The company was founded in 1996 and makes Swarna Champa, a brand it appears to be proud of, but which doesn't appear to be available in the UK.

I like the aroma, and I'm very pleased with the price. I'll look out for more products by Moksh.

Date: July 2013  Score: 33
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SAC (Sandesh) FrankIncense Myrrh



99p for a hex box of 20 sticks from Incense-man.co.uk. The box is attractively and richly decorated with a painting of the trees from which frankincense and myrrh both come, along with a photo of the resins. The sticks are well rolled on decent and consistently sized dyed yellow sticks. The paste is charcoal paste, and is then rolled in a beige powder. The aroma is honey and pollen and sherbet. The stick burns slowly and evenly producing a soft and pleasant smoke. The aroma is mild, and doesn't strike me as either frankincense or myrrh, and can be a little hot and harsh at the edges, but is on the whole sweet and attractive with a musk and sandalwood base. There is halmaddi in this incense.

The sticks are made by Sandesh Agarbathi Co (SAC) of Bangalore, a company founded as a cottage industry in 1970, which has developed the capacity to make 2,700 hand-rolled sticks an hour if required. The company produces a wide range of traditional scented incense sticks.

I have been pleasantly impressed by the relaxing aroma of FrankIncense Myrrh, and shall look out for more SAC products.

Date: July 2017   Score: 33
***

Halmaddi

Frankincense

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