Incense in The Wind: Aasha Aromatics Rose Musk

The third of the Aasha Aromatics scents that I have imported into the UK to try out in my new eBay shop, IncenseInTheWind. Again, this is a perfumed incense - the most popular type of incense in India; what most Indians burn everyday at home or in the temples.

Aasha Aromatics are an independent incense maker in Ahmedabad, the former capital of the ancient Indian state of Gujarat which has a history stretching back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, one of the original three cradles of civilisation. The company was founded forty years ago, and is owned and run by Vikram. They make both masala incense and perfumed incense. I am considering bringing over the masala incense, but shall wait to see the result of sales of the perfumed incense first.

Rose blended with musk is an interesting combination. I tend to think of rose fragrances as light and feminine, and musk incenses as dark and male, so there is a sort of Chinese yin and yang force being explored here. The sticks are gloriously sweet and heady on being taken out of the packet, and that always creates a frisson of excitement in anticipation of the burning. Though evocatively heady with the floral rose tones, it's all kept grounded by that strong dark masculine musk.

This is a distinctive incense which will make its presence felt in a room. The combination of rose and musk is quite beguiling, but does border on the edge of reason - I can see that some may find it a little too assertive or rich. This would have a strong cleansing power on a room, and would re-energise tired places. I find the scent quite compelling both because of its power and its complexity, yet at times it does come quite close to being just a little sickly. Hmmm. Fascinating.

I imported this myself from India, and it's available in my eBay shop: IncenseInTheWind.

Date: Oct 2018 Score: 36

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