Incense In The Wind

Radiating Incense In The Wind - a painting by Hai Linh Le

Monday 30 April 2018

Pavitra Natural Incense Ancient Musk




Reviewed these five years ago, when I was somewhat obsessed with finding halmaddi in the incense I was burning, but I hadn't yet starting exploring flora / fluxo incense.  Looking at and burning these sticks today, they present to me now as flora sticks - they are bigger, fatter and richer than standard masala incense. And while today the paste on the sticks is hard and dry, it is clear that they were oil rich at one time, which is a feature of flora incense. Though, given that a number of flora sticks are quite cheap and the scent is often heady but also crude, I doubt if many flora sticks are rich with pure attars (essential oils), and are more likely to be rich with fragrance oils.  

At the time I was obsessed with halmaddi, I would detect a scent that I would describe as like warm sheep wool, though also prickly, and that it would sting my eyes. I made this association because sticks that said they had halmaddi would often have this scent, and would give me that reaction, so my assumption was that it was the halmaddi which provoked that reaction, and had that scent. Now I'm not so sure as I also get a eye sting reaction from some fragrance oils; however, I have bought some halmaddi resin, and on burning I had the scent, and the reaction I had been encountering, so it is still possible that it is a personal halmaddi reaction. 

On burning this stick again, I find it moderately attractive. Yes, there is a sharpness about it that is off-putting, and which I am unsure is due to the halmaddi or to the fragrance oil, but there's also a half decent brown scent which is somewhat woody and musky. It burns slowly and steadily. Yeah, it is a bit meh, but it's also quite pleasant. A stick like this could easily find its way into any modern own brand collection and be accepted. It's OK. 

I've looked again unsuccessfully for who makes these. What I now think is that Pavitra is Pavitra Creations, a jewellery company in Bangkok who did at one time sell incense they either commissioned or bought in. They don't appear to have sold incense for some time, so I am marking this and the other Pavitra - Pavitra Natural Incense Mayapur Frakincense - as vintage incense and removing them from my main list.  


Date:  Oct 2023   Score: 30 






Crudely made masala sticks of varying thickness. Quite oily and damp with a heady oily aroma of sandalwood, halmaddi, wood oil, and roses. Not much awareness of musk - this is too bright and high.  Burns slowly with a poorly defined aroma - it smells like some halmaddi has been used, but there's few masala fragrant ingredients for it to amplify. It's an OK smell, but it's a little sharp, ill-defined, and crude. This is the masala equivalent of a cheap and crude perfume-dipped incense where all you get is the base sandalwood sawdust. Here what you get is the base sawdust and some damp ill-defined vague masala. 

I am not a lover of halmaddi - having an incense that makes my eyes sting is not a delight to me. This stick isn't harsh like The Mother's, or the Anvenor I was burning yesterday, where the halmaddi is loaded on, this has its harshness, but is much more gentle, suggesting that what halmaddi there is, hasn't been applied liberally. It's just that there is little else in the fragrance mix to complement it.

Meh! It's OK, and I'm gradually liking it more and more. There is a hint of sweet musk in there, but I'm not blown away. Yeah - it's a decent enough everyday incense. Nothing offensive here.

I can't remember where I got this packet. I suspect it was from a shop, perhaps in Glastonbury, as I have no record in my online dealings. I can't find details on Pavitra on the internet - the web address given on the packet is no longer working. There is a Pavrita Incense Sticks page on Facebook, but that hasn't been updated since 2013, and appears, anyway, to deal in perfumed-dipped incense rather than masala. That appears to be the same company listed on IndiaMart. So, a dead end.... Anyone know?


Date: April 2018   Score: 27


Vintage Incense
(Incense unavailable from
this brand for over a year)



Sunday 29 April 2018

Anvenor Amrayoga Earth Muladhara Chakra




Anvenor is a German company commissioning and distributing masala incense in Europe to customers who enjoy heady traditional masala incense. This is a little heavy for me - it reminds me of The Mother's incense.  It's quite a dense perfumed incense, quite flowery, reminiscent of roses or what my wife calls old ladies knickers - that sort of really old fashioned talcum powder that old ladies use to keep their knickers smelling fresh. Really dense and heavy - quite headachy.

This is nicely packaged in a sturdy cardboard tube. The sticks are quite short - but, to be fair, I doubt if anyone would want them to be longer.  They are priced at £4.99 for 18 in the Yin Yang shop in Glastonbury.

Each to their own, but this is not a fun incense for me. It's not bad - it just doesn't suit me.  I will try again at another time as our physical and emotional responses can differ depending on circumstances - air pressure, temperature, etc. The score is related to my personal enjoyment, not to what I think the quality of the incense is. If there's a top quality incense that I don't like, I give it a low score. Similarly, I can sometimes really enjoy a very crude and simple low cost incense, and will give it a decent score.


Date: April 2018    Score: 15




Fair Trade Om Dragons Blood




This is another incense I picked up in the Yin Yang shop in Glastonbury by a company which at first I appeared not to know. I like to explore as many incense companies as I can, so I bought some. The price was just £1.65 for 15 grams - a bloody bargain! The omincenseworks.com address on the packet redirects to omnagchampa.com which turns out to be Bombay Incense - a British based company who do most of their business in America, and who import Nitiraj incense which I have reviewed in Original and Red formats, and found them decent masala sticks. Nothing outstanding, but decent undemanding everyday stuff that you can burn in the background. 

The delightful Yin Yang shop in Glastonbury

Bombay Incense import the incense, but further research revealed that Om is manufactured by Fair Trade Incense Works in Mumbai, India, who also make the Nitiraj incenses. From this website message in July 2018, it appears that Bombay Incense has either taken over Fair Trade Incense, or it was the same company all along, but using different names for different divisions. Anyway, as of April 2018, all UK distribution of Nitiraj and Om incense will be done by the well meaning but slightly inept Ian Snow. (See my review of Zodiac Scents for the reason I feel Ian Snow are well meaning but inept).

Like the Nitiraj incenses this is a masala incense, and smells quite yummy on the stick - sweet and with some warm woolly notes of halmaddi. It burns quite lightly, and at times it can be hard to detect anything, but it does gently inform the room with vanilla and white chocolate, or church incense, or pear and cooked apple, or just smoke, depending on who is smelling the fragrance. Essentially this is a gentle and gently pleasant incense with a subtle, but essentially gently yummy scent. It's likeable rather than heavenly.  This could certainly be used to prepare a room for visitors, as it is a clean, gentle, and attractive scent, but is not heavy. People may not even notice you have been burning incense, but would subtly pick up appealing and yummy scents in your home.  If there is a complaint its that for me, with my halmaddi aversion, prolonged exposure can give me some of the negative responses I get to halmaddi - headache, dry eyes, tickly throat - without the corresponding delight of a heady or heavenly aroma. For me, this is one to burn and leave the room or house....

Date: April 2018    Score:  28
***

Dragon's blood



Fair Trade Incense Works




Sandalwood cone aroma test




I had these five boxes out on my desk and noticed that two of them I'd not reviewed, while the other three were among my favourite incenses, so I thought it would be fun to do an aroma test and see which I liked the best.  The GR International Sandalo and Chandan should be the same incense cones, but in a different design box, but on burning them I noticed a distinct difference. This could be down to different batches, but that they have different names and box designs, it may be that they are aimed at different markets.  The Satya Sandal was very interesting, because the cones were very different. I suspect both are by Nataraj Setty, the Mumbai based son of Shri Satyam Setty, the founder of Satya Incense, who left the company in the hands of his sons Nataraj (Mumbai) and Balkrishna (Bangalore). The brothers have been fighting each other in the courts over the rights to the company and accusing each other of bad tricks. Apparently Nataraj was selling machine made copies of Satya incense in the original Satya packaging, though recent output is hand made, of good quality, and clearly marked as being by the Mumbai based Satya. I have both of Nataraj's Sandal cones, and compare them side by side.  The SAC Chandan is interesting because it's either that the cones were put in the box by mistake, or SAC are producing fruity sandalwood cones! The best of the bunch is without a doubt Goloka's Chandan. Goloka are one of India's best incense makers, and it is reassuring that the profits go to help women and children in India.

The sharp eyed among you may note that my wooden mouse is not in the picture. I have been busy on other projects for a while, and have only just come back to my incense blog. I totally forgot about the mouse! Eeek! Anyway, in all photos from now on, he will be there.



Goloka Chandan Dhoop Cones 
Score: 45


GR International Sandalo 
Score: 38


Satya
Super Sandal Dhoop Cones

Score: 38


SAC (Sandesh)
Sandalo Incense Cones

Score: 30


 GR International
Chandan Incense Cones

Score: 25


***

Sandalwood

Best Scents

Saturday 28 April 2018

SAC (Sandesh) Sandalo / Chandan Incense Cones




The similarity of packaging between SAC and GR International is remarkable - the boxes are the same, the stands are the same, the wording is word for word the same, just the design is different. It is clear that manufacturers in India watch and copy each other very closely! [Update - I have since discovered that SAC and GR International are the same company]

I like this fragrance. It's not a conventional sandalwood, being rather fruity, so if you're after that woody, warm sensual quality of sandalwood, then this isn't really going to work for you. But if you want something quite tangy, bright and refreshing, almost like tangerine, but underscored by a base sandalwood, then this do it for you. I'm not sure if the intention was to make a fruity sandalwood, or the wrong cones were placed in the box, but the result is quite pleasant. Of course, points lost for not doing what it says on the tin!

Date: April 2018   Score:  30


 


This is a perfumed cone rather than a masala or natural dhoop. There are volatile nips and a suggestion of pine bathroom cleaner. It's a little crude and smoky, and there's little awareness of sandalwood.  I'm not getting the fruit fragrance I got in 2018, which may be down to me, to the environment, or to a certain inconsistency between batches. Or maybe a combination of factors. Whatever, I'm not getting enough from this to be interested in buying it again. Nor in using it in the house. It's not offensive, just that there's not a lot going on that I find attractive. 


Date: Dec 2021   Score: 20 

GR International Chandan Incense Cones




I think this is a different packaging of the GR International Sandalo, which I've also seen as GR International Sandal. The cones look the same, and the scent on the cones is similar. But when burned this comes across as a  poorer quality perfumed dipped cone, with rather more of the base sawdust than the fragrant element we want. It's not bad as such, but when burned side by side with Sandalo  the difference is clear. I'm not sure if this a cheaper product aimed at a different market, or if this is a new direction GR International are going in, or if it's just a production batch difference, and that it is in a different style box is pure coincidence. Whatever it is, I'm not so keen on this Chandan.


Date: April 2018  Score: 25

***

Incense cones

GR International 

Sandalwood