(Wonder Incense) New Moon Aromas Black Rose

Second review - scroll down for earlier

A crudely rolled stick. Softish black paste. Scruffy thin coating of melnoorva powder (tree bark used to dry the paste) which a number of people these days are referring to as "masala powder" (it is what it is, but "masala" originally referred to the mix of dried fragrant ingredients that was mixed into the paste - these days, the scent of a masala stick mainly or entirely comes from a perfume mixed into the paste).  The scent on the stick is attractive - clearly perfumed, with an obvious, though gentle volatility. It's a complex fragrance - the damask rose hits straight out of the box, though, as the name says, this is a dark rose, there's wood and earth and sweat here, which gives a fascinating edge to the usual insipid floral headiness of rose. There's milk, sweaty socks, wood, wood, wood - sandalwood, cedarwood, beechwood, rose (of course), and earth, mushrooms, daisies, clover, and coconut. It's lovely stuff. But, of course, we don't buy incense for how good it smells on the stick (well, actually, companies like  Wild Berry sell their sticks to idiots primarily on the perfume on the stick). Most sensible incense buyers buy incense based on the fragrance it emits when burned. Anyway, I am quite used these days to perfumed incense smelling better on the stick than on the burn. Which is a shame. But that seems to be the way it is. 

The scent on the burn, to be fair, is not bad. It's a little gentle for my taste, but has a good balance of top, middle, and base notes which deliver a complex and satisfying fragrance which does cover the main points discovered on the stick. Yeah, not a bad incense. Not great, but warm and tasty, creating a calming and authoritative atmosphere which inspires confidence, reassurance, and warmth. An incense to welcome people to your home. Unobtrusive, pleasant, and calming.   

Date: Oct 2024    Score:  41

First review

Yes, there is a rose scent here in this masala incense. It's an essential oil scent. Quite dark and fruity - almost more blackcurrant than rose. I like it. There's the halmaddi coming through, warm wool and prickles, but it's the fruit that really dominates. This comes over more as a perfumed incense than traditional masala. Interesting. It's probably the most modern masala incense I've encountered.

I know nothing about the company. The website given for New Moon Aromas (newmoonaromas.net) is registered, but not fully active [2024 comment: now active]. A number of UK internet shops, including the wholesale site Wonder Incense, list New Moon incense, and they can be bought for less than £2 a box on Amazon. But they don't appear to be available outside the UK, so New Moon Aromas is presumably a British distributor importing from India. [Update Jan 2022: I note that the website is © Wonder Imports, an Australian company who sell New Moon products. There is a UK distribution company, Wonder Incense, who also sell New Moon products, and have other products in common with the Australian Wonder Imports. It is possible that New Moon Aromas are made on commission for Wonder Imports, and the the UK company is related - I shall ask them.] 

[Update Feb 2022: Navan Shah from Wonder Incense has been in touch to tell me "New Moon Aromas range of Incense is manufactured by us in India".] 

[Update April 2024: Based on comments by Vid (Ratnagandh) on New Moon Aromas Black Rose, and further research, it appears that New Moon products are made for Wonder Incense by Haria and possibly Nandita). The arrangement seems exclusive to Wonder Incense.]

Date: Sept 2019    Score:  39

***

 

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