Blue Pearl Classic Champa

2nd review - scroll down for the 1st

 

Having a quick rummage I came upon Blue Pearl Patchouli, which I had received at the same time as the Classic Champa, but didn't get around to reviewing. And that brought the Classic Champa to mind, so I thought I'd review it again. 

Hmmm. Funny how things change. Back in January I loved this. Today, not so much. The scent on the stick reminds me more of petrol than almonds or Battenberg cake. And the scent on the burn is less playful and joyful, and rather more sombre and smoky. I get the halmaddi as I did back then, and the frangipani, and the sandalwood. But they are not joining together to give me the pleasure I had back then. It was just a moment. Well, we'll always have January. 

Date: Dec 2022    Score: 41  

1st review

Gosh, right from opening the pack I know this is my sort of incense! Sweet and intoxicating. I light it up and I love it immediately. And it reminds me of another incense I've had, but can't at the moment pin it down. I got this from the American website ExoticIncense who do deliver internationally, though a search on the web shows that it is available on Amazon and eBay, and in the UK VitaminGrocer stock the full range of Blue Pearl incense. 

I know very little about this incense, though I shall do some more research. What I have noted so far is that it is "distributed" by Lotus Brands, which is a "majority woman-owned company" distributing products "in harmony with the planet". I like that idea. The Blue Pearl brand itself is associated with the Syda Foundation, which was set up in New York in 1974 by the Indian guru Muktananda.  There is a website for the brand: BluePearl, but that gives little information about who actually owns the brand, or who makes the incense. The incense is made in India, but I don't know by who. And I don't know who is responsible for the recipes. It is quite a commercial scent, and quite familiar, so it could be made by someone like Satya or Goloka. But I don't know. I have, however,  ordered some from VitaminGrocer to explore further. 

We've burned quite a few of the sticks over the past few days - my supply is almost gone. It is definitely my current favourite incense, and there have been times when it has pleased me so much that I have seriously considered putting it at number one spot on my TopOfTheDhoops list. It reminds me of my first experiences with Satya's Nag Champa. However, over time my excitement calmed down, and I have a more rounded feel for it now. It is still, for me, a top incense, but not quite right at the top. 

I like it because it gives so much easy pleasure - there are a variety of scents, and they are sweet, light, very pleasing. There's coconut, vanilla, rose petals, sweet sandalwood, almond, etc. It reminded us of sweet pleasant things like Battenberg cake. There's some halmaddi, but not too much, so the floral frangipani scent lifts and intoxicates rather than overwhelms. A little halmaddi, for me, goes a long way, and when too much is put in the mix I find it harsh and sharp and prickly. This halmaddi remains floral and doesn't get into the warm, prickly wool territory that occurs for me when halmaddi is used a lot. 

The variety, the floating lightness, the gentle sweetness, all give immediate pleasure, though as with many sweet, light, easy accessible pleasures, it doesn't sustain for long, and there is little sense of reward. It's not that the incense is too simple (there's plenty of scents here to work at), but there's an extra satisfaction with an incense that captivates and intrigues rather than simply gives pleasure. So there is a sense of this being a sort of young or immature incense, with all the joy that youth can bring, but without the rewarding depth and interest of experience and maturity. 

But I'm perhaps overthinking it. I initially enjoyed this an an honest direct pleasure. Before I started thinking about it and analysing it, I loved it intensely. But when I started to think about it, and chatted about it with Phocea and Chrissie, I started to feel the incense wasn't as satisfying as others in my top list. And I kind of missed the honest pleasure of just lighting it up and enjoying it without thinking about it. 

Anyway. This is a brilliant incense that I am very enthusiastic about. Not the best incense in the world perhaps, but, phew, it's damned close! 

Date: Jan 2022    Score: 47 

***

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

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Blue Pearl