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.
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)
[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.]
Yeah, the Haria thing is odd. I've reviewed two of their products, and made links to that video.
ReplyDeleteHTC Haria Chandan Dhoop
Haria Jasmine Dhoop
I bought a bundle of the Chandan Dhoop which I sold for a while on my eBay shop. Some of the Haria Chandan Dhoop boxes used Nandita inside wrappers. So there is a connection between Haria and Nandita, both in Mumbai, and both distributed by Wonder.
The wording I got from Navin Shah was: "Wonder Imports (Australia) and Wonder Incense Ltd (UK) are owners New Moon Aromas. New Moon Aromas range of Incense is manufactured by us in India. All the incense are Masala Incense. Our aim is to bring the best quality fragrance to the market."
The wording on New Moon Aromas About is "After supplying incenses for over 10 years, we saw the need for affordable, high quality incense sticks and New Moon Aromas was born". Wonder Incense was founded just over 10 years ago.
It appears to me that New Moon Aromas is a brand created and owned by Wonder Incense, and that it is made for them by Haria, and possibly also Nandita.
I have this from our email exchange:
ReplyDeleteMe: Do you have your own premises in India where the incense is made, or do you commission the incense from independent makers?
Navin: We have our own manufacturing premises in India.
Me: I will put the full list of your fragrances on my blog. Is it OK for me to say that Wonder Imports (Australia) and Wonder Incense Ltd (UK) are owners of New Moon Aromas, or would you prefer that information to remain private?
Navin: Feel free to publish the list. You can mention us as owners.
Now, I can see Wonder Incense saying they are owners of the brand, even if it is made by others, but Navin also says they have their own manufacturing premises in India.
ReplyDeleteIf a product is made exclusively for you in a manufacturing premise in India, I suppose you could say that for the purposes of your brand, they are your manufacturing premises. That is, you are not actually buying someone else's product and rebranding it, you are having it made for you.