Pal-Ji Incense Sticks

  

I bought a bunch of these cheap incense sticks a while back, and I'm now clearing out my back log, and found that I have five I have never burned or reviewed. I can find no information on Pal-Ji - there's no address on the boxes, and nothing about them on the internet. Clearly someone imported them into the UK in bulk (and perhaps is still importing them!) and they turn up in job lots on eBay and other places - you can have 100 boxes delivered for £35, or collect them yourself from a distributor in Bolton for 99p.  They are not awful, but they are not very good either. 

Reviews

  

Pal-Ji Frenk Insence
Score: 24

 

Pal-Ji Honey Suckle
Score: 23

Pal- Ji Musk  

A rather plain packet design - not much effort made here. The stick has been dyed a powdery brown. A solvent scent on the stick kinda like toilet cleaner. Not promising. However, the scent on the burn is quite warm and acceptable. It's sombre and woody and sort of heading in the direction of musk. This could be burned in the house, though after today I'm not going to. And I'm glad to have finished the set of scents. Score: 22 

 

Pal-Ji Green Apple 

Score: 20

 

Pal-Ji Sandal Wood 

Pale yellow is the theme here. The box  is pale yellow, with soft red printing in a sort of retro Beano style design. The stick is either dyed pale yellow or left natural, difficult to tell in the light in my room. The scent on the stick is slightly medicinal - a faded Band-Aid which is common in synthetic agarwood and sandalwood perfumes. The scent on the burn is sort of acceptable - it is modestly synthetic sandalwood and manages to assert itself over the base material (various wood and charcoal powders, including jiggit). This is OK. Score: 20 

Pal-Ji Vanilla
Score: 17

Pal-Ji Lavender 

The stick is dyed green. There is a floral note, reasonably pleasant, on the stick which could be rose or lavender - fairly vague, but OK. On burning there is some mineral aroma, quite nice - mild, but fresh enough to notice. It doesn't remain long, and drifts in and out. Not a great stick, but not offensive. This is the bottom end of perfumed incense, and there's not a lot to like about these sticks. They don't actually offend, but hover in an area just above that. I can't quite decide if this is bottom end of Everyday Incense, or just a Toilet Cleaner. Hmmm. Just a Toilet Cleaner, despite there being some fresh floral notes. Actually, more of the base notes are coming through now. Knocked a few points off. Too weak, and too inconsistent.  Score: 17  

  

Pal-Ji Bouqet
Score: 16

 

Pal-Ji Rose
Score: 15

Pal-Ji Jasmine 

 I like the 1950's children's book colours and illustrations on the pack. Most of the Pal-Ji packs have that same retro style. Faint floral aroma on the stick, which could be jasmine. Stick and incense is dyed a light blue. The burn is very modest. Hardly any perfume. Very neutral. There's a light floral warmth, but not much. It's not offensive, but there's little here to actually like.    Score: 12 

Pal-Ji Lilac 

This one is dyed a pine green. The scent on the stick is soft like cotton with notes of school rubber and sea mineral. Lilac? No, nothing floral for me. As with other Pal-Ji there is not a lot of scent when burned, and it is mostly the sawdust base I smell, a little crude, but not offensive. Barely any fragrance, certainly nothing floral or anywhere near lilac. This one is just for shooing away flies and covering up bad smells.  Score: 10 

Scents reviewed: 11 
Highest score: 24 
Lowest score: 10 
Average: 18 (Toilet Cleaners: Not to be burned in the house; just use in the toilet or outside.)

Conclusion: This is generic low quality bargain basement perfumed incense. The packets are cheaply and crudely designed. There has been little effort to make a quality product, and there is no pretence (other than, perhaps, the words "Export Quality") that these sticks are going to be anything other than utilitarian at best. There is in real terms little difference between the scents - some are better defined than others, but all the scents are weak and the smell of the base powders comes through rather noticeably - which is typical of poorer quality perfumed incense, and why poorer quality masala incenses will tend to still smell OK, because the fragrant ingredients are (mostly) dried, and last longer than oils and perfumes. Anyway, these Pal-Ji sticks are, as of Nov 2021, still available on the internet (and perhaps some market stalls), and deals such as 100 boxes for 99p sound a bargain. But what you are getting is not something that - for most people - will be a pleasure to burn. These are to be used  for covering up bad smells, or in the garden in summer to keep the flies away from the picnic, but even then you may wish to invest in better smelling incense.  Or - if you don't have much money, as a modest way of making an offering at a temple. Up to you, but my advice is not to be tempted. Go buy Moksh - cheap as chips, and with great smells. Or go to Popat Stores where awesome masala incense can be bought for less than a £1 a packet. 

***

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