Pallava Images

Hex pack of 20 perfumed dipped sticks bought from Indiabazaar for 47p.

Standard cheap incense sticks. Blank hand-rolled charcoal paste onto undyed bamboo sticks, bought by an incense company - in this case one called Pallava Agarbathi Products of Bangalore - who then dip the sticks into a scent. This scent is pleasant enough, and certainly cheap enough.

To be fair, perfumed dipped incense sticks are in a different class to masala incense sticks. At their very best, perfumed dipped can be very pleasant, but they are not going to make your toes curl, change your mood, or give you a thrill. The top quality incense sticks are masala sticks. They are fresher and more exciting, with both a more subtle and a more exciting and throbbing range of aromas which can truly alter and intensify mood.

Perfumed dipped sticks are like aerosol room fresheners - they can smell quite nice, but they also smell synthetic and uninspired (and uninspiring). They'll do for covering up bad smells, but not for creating moods.

Score: 25

***

Top Ten 
Perfume-Dipped Incense

 Top Of The Dhoops