Satya/Stamford (2014) Laxmi's Lotus

This is the last of the Satya/Stamford collaboration produced in 2014 that I have. All the scents have been somewhat acceptable, with Knowledge being the one I liked the most, though none have impressed, and it has become increasingly clear as I worked through them that they have been made on a low budget. They are also, to be fair, around five years old, and as the fragrance is delivered mostly by perfume-dipping rather than using masala ingredients, perfume-dipped incense tends to degrade over time as the volatiles evaporate.

This is the weakest of the four I've burned. Occasionally there is a sort of Stamford sweet candy perfume, but than that drifts away and I'm left with something vaguely sandalwood. There may be some sense of lotus about this, but it is really weak and fleeting.

Hmmmm. I'm getting into this. It's not anything special, but it does an OK job once it gets going. Laxmi is a Hindu goddess of  wealth and good fortune who is typically depicted with a lotus in her hand.  The lotus has religious significance in India.


Date: Nov 2019   Score: 25

***

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Aargee / Stamford brand

Satya/Stamford (2014) Freedom

There is a mint and cucumber edge to this rather nondescript incense which is more perfume-dipped than masala. I'm not hugely impressed. This was made in 2014 as part of the series produced in collaboration between Satya and Aargee in 2011 for Aargee's incense brand Stamford.  It appears to have been produced with a low budget in mind as the ingredients are not quality.


Date: Nov 2019   Score: 20

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Satya/Stamford (2014) Meditating Shiva

Another of the Satya/Stamford co-operations. I note that all of the sticks in the series have a larger proportion of charcoal than is standard for Satya. Satya tens to use a significant proportion of wood in the core mix, which gives a pleasing brown colour, and offers a cooler more fragrant burn.  I am assuming that the blend used here is cheaper, and was done as a result of the deal arranged with Aargee, the owners of the Stanford brand.

The scent is fairly perfumed and mainstream. And there is a volatile scent on the sticks which indicates a liquid scent was applied.  While there are clearly perfume-dipped sticks which are  charcoal blanks dipped in a liquid scent, and there are clearly masala sticks which are composed almost entirely of finely ground dried fragrant ingredients (such as Tibetan/Himalayan sticks), there is a blurry area in between in which the fragrant ingredient of sticks is a combination of dried (masala) ingredients and essential oils and/or liquid scents. This stick appears to lean very close to perfumed, with only a small amount of masala.

It's an OK scent, but there's nothing distinctive about it. 

Date: Nov 2019   Score: 27

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Satya/Stamford (2014) Knowledge

Second review - scroll down for earlier

Satya Knowledge is a scent developed by Satya for Aargee/Stamford in 2011. Aargee/Stamford - now under the name Stamford London - still distribute the scent in the UK, where 15g boxes can be picked up for £1.50: Holistic Emporium, Bazzar Pixie, etc. This is the same 2014 pack I reviewed five years ago in 2019. 

The scent on the stick is sweet and huge. It pops out as soon as the box is opened. Fruity, sweet, clean, floral, soapy, somewhat heady, a bit Indian, a bit modern car/room freshener. Very approachable, though not profound. This is more of a simple enjoyment, like a fun cocktail rather than a thoughtful wine. This is more Coldplay than Radiohead. But I like it. 

On the burn this is bright, fresh, uplifting; more balanced than the scent on the stick, so - for me - somewhat more satisfying. There's some quirky cabbage water elements which add interest. Yes, rather likeable. 

Date: Nov 2024    Score: 35

First review

I have four packs of Satya incense made for Aargee in 2014 under an agreement made in 2011. The scents were developed in collaboration, and are exclusive to Aargee, being sold in association with the Stamford brand. It was in 2014 that the brothers split up, so this may be one of the last batches made by the original company.

It is a sweet and heady incense, the sort that Aargee's Stamford brand tends to focus on. Highly perfumed yet with a candy sweetness. There are flowery notes, slightly herbal, like lavender and a hint of Parma Violets.  It's not a subtle or refined scent. It's a little crude and blunt, and can smother the senses if the smoke drifts in your direction, but it does give a cool scented feel to a room, like a dusting of baby talc, so is an incense that is best burned in advance to create a sense of calm. Burn in a room before having a difficult discussion that could become tense.


Date: Nov 2019   Score: 32

***

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Satya (BNG) Frankincense

This is very pleasant. Sweet, slightly vanilla like, and with a mild sense of halmaddi. It is a traditional masala incense, so if you like traditional masala, you'll like this. It's fairly middle of the road, there's nothing special about it, but nothing bad either. Some masala halmaddi enthusiasts may find it a little bland, but nobody should actively dislike it. It has a pleasant oily quality - a warm sensual essential oil scent, sweet, woody, and more toward sandalwood than frankincense, though it has some orange oil and church incense notes as well, which for me are key ingredients in frankincense. It smells better on the stick than it does when burned, though I find this is fairly common to most incenses. On the whole I find this "very nice" rather than "wow!", and while a pleasant example of frankincense,  not for me a defining example, which tends to be the resin itself.

This is made by Balkrishna Setty, the brother who has the original Satya factory in Bangalore, and uses the original Satya production methods and recipes,


Date: July 2019    Score:   39

***

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Frankincense

Satya (BNG - pre 2017) Namaste

Decent quality Satya incense, but not quite heavenly. Good stuff that lingers pleasantly for hours afterwards, and gives off a traditional masala incense scent. Anyone who likes traditional old skool masala will like this, it follows a steady course and does what it's supposed to do, giving off a warm woolly scent that gently informs a room in a neutral to sombre manner. It's not an evocative or attention seeking scent, but rather one that gets on with it in a manner that, as my nan used to say, wouldn't offend anyone.

The date on the logo is 2016, and the logo is the old style that was used before 2017, while the address is (BNG), which was introduced in 2014. This is Balkrishna Setty's incense made in the original factory to the original recipe, and would have been made sometime in 2016/2017, so is around two to three years old as I write this. A lot of the incense powder has collected at the bottom of the inner bag which suggests that it has dried out a little, but there is still plenty left on the stick. The design on the box is the same as Satya Reiki, and it appears likely they were made at the same, but where I was blown away by the Reiki, here I am just quietly satisfied. Sure this is a good incense worth buying, and offers excellent value for money (Satya incenses are never expensive - you can generally get them for a £1 per 15g box, or cheaper if buying in bulk online, if someone is asking for a lot more than that, then walk away, and find a cheaper source), but it's sending me to the heights of pleasure - either that is down to the individual fragrance ingredients, or the fact that this box is likely to be over a year older than the Reiki when I reviewed it. 

Namaste is an Asian greeting where the hands are brought together as though in prayer -  Aargee have also used it as an incense name: Aagree Namaste.  Anyway. Nice job. Happy to buy again.


Date: Nov 2019    Score: 35

***

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)