A sample incense from UK based distributors Gokula of the Bangalore based traditional masala incense makers Radha Madhav Agarbatti. The folks running Gokula are followers of Krishna, and so are the folks at Radha Madhav, as indicated by their name - Madhav is another name for Krishna, while Radha is his lover or consort. The image on the packet is of Krishna (Madhav) and Radha together.
We tried this as part of a little scent comparison. It got a consistent response of "pleasant but nothing special". To be fair, the incense is rather old now, and while masala incense can keep and at times mature, some elements will fade, particularly the higher notes, and oils will evaporate, no matter how well stored. I will settle down one day soon and finish off the rest of the samples I have from Gokula - possibly in one mammoth session. Meanwhile when reading the comments and score, bear in mind that the incense is old, and that a fresher incense will almost certainly score higher.
Some comments during the sample were that this was more smoky, more plain and less sexy than the others. That it had less oomph, and was a bit rough. One comment is that it was more like Primark than Ann Summers. I shared the general feeling, and scored the same - I felt it was woody and pleasant, but nothing special. Scores were 25, which puts it in the middle of Everyday incense.
Looking at it today on its own, the scent on the stick is very pleasant - a warm woodiness with floral lifts and peaks of frangipani and halmaddi. It is very engaging. It is somewhat less engaging during the burn. The burn itself is satisfactory, consistent and even, but the higher notes of the fragrance are not coming through so the woody base, an acceptable but not delicious sandalwood, is where the burn scent mainly remains. I feel it is a little better than it appeared during the group scent comparison, where it somehow got lost among some profound incenses, and burned on its own it can reveal itself a little more, but I think age has taken something away from it, so the simpler everyday woody base notes dominate.
Date: Nov 2021 Score: 29
 |
| A little scent comparison |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment: