Koya's Nexa

 

Third review  - scroll down for earlier

Appears to be crudely machine-extruded from wood paste onto machine-cut bamboo splints, and then dipped in a perfume solvent. There is a heady and somewhat volatile fragrance on the stick, and when burned there is a wallop of  somewhat floral room-freshener perfume. It's decent enough, and still smells fresh even though I've had this since 2021. But it's not really my sort of thing. Decently made, and quite heady, but the scent is a little too floral musky for my taste. It's more like an everyday body mist for girls than an incense fragrance. 

Date: Mar 2025    Score: 25

Second review

A heady and pleasant everyday perfumed incense. Decently made - machine-extruded onto 9 inch machine-cut plain bamboo splints. The sticks burn at a steady pace - lasting around 50 minutes, and firmly though not aggressively inform the room with the warm floral tones. The fragrance is clean and perfumed and quite heady in the Indian style, but far from being over-bearing. It is a modern, everyday, day time scent- touches of musk, slightly or modestly sensual. This is like a body spray - something to wear casually during the day, but not for a special occasion in the evening. There's elements of rose and jasmine, touches of coconut and vanilla. It's not an exciting scent, but it is likeable. 

Date: Oct 2023   Score: 28 

First review

Perfumed wood-paste machine-extruded onto plain machine-cut bamboo splint. As is standard in perfumed incense, the paste is quite dry. It is highly perfumed both on the stick and when burned. Quite floral, soapy, sweet. A little sharp with citric notes. It's an acceptable everyday perfumed incense. It doesn't do much for me, and I feel the perfume is a little too heavy - but that may be because it doesn't really speak to me. It lacks adventure and distinction, but makes a perfectly acceptable room freshener for those who favour artificial floral scents.  

 

Date: May 2022   Score: 21 

***

Koya's Agarbathi

Stamford Guardian Angel Incense Sticks

 

I like Aargee imports, including the highly commercial perfumed incense of their Stamford brand.  Aargee are not an incense producer, they are a distributor commissioning own label incense from Indian producers, but they are generally good quality, reasonably priced, and attractive.

This is an everyday perfumed incense in Stamford's "Pink Angel" range - I've sampled a few over the years and find them quite likeable in the stick version, slightly less so in the cone version. I've had the Guardian Angel in the cone, and wasn't impressed; but here on the stick it smells fresh and pleasant. Quite uplifting in a sweet, girly, sherbety way. The scent is supposed to be patchouli, and maybe there is some sense of that, though much softer and lighter - whatever, it's a nice scent.  Yeah, I'm quite happy to burn these as an everyday room freshener, or just as a little pick me up or mood lifter. Nice one. 

This pack was given me by my friend who has cancer. She gave up burning incense when she was diagnosed - she is using marihuana suppositories to manage the pain,  which does give her some 

relief.  

Date: May 2022    Score: 25  

***

Stamford London

Balaji Golden Flora Natural Incense Sticks

 

Balaji make respectable traditional "natural" or "masala" incense which are not expensive. This pack of 15 sticks sells for 25 rupee (about 25p or 32 cents) in India. I think this was one of a bunch I picked up at my local hippy shop in Southampton for £1, though can be bought online in the UK for 75p,  or $2 in the US.  

I've burned a few different Balaji over the years, and though my scores have varied, there seems to be an identifiable pattern to the sticks in that they are quite traditional with a familiar "masala scent" to them - nothing unusual, nothing special, nothing refined, but all are well made with decent quality ingredients. And this fits right in with that. It's an OK masala incense - it's not bad, but it's not exciting either. It'll do the job, and it'll be liked more by those who like masala than those who like perfumed incense. 

The sticks consist of a fragrant charcoal paste which appears to be machine extruded onto a dyed pink bamboo splint, and then coated in a fragrant melnoorva powder (which traditionally is used to stop the damp sticks from gluing together as they dry). The paste is dry and hard. I don't know if this is the result of age, poor storage, or if that is the way it normally is for this incense. My general experience is that when the paste on natural incense is soft or moist the burn will be more pleasant than when it is dry. The scent is mildly volatile - a sort of old, tired volatility, and is mildly floral in an old fashioned ladies knickers style - a touch of rose, as though a little bag of rose petals has been placed in the knickers drawer to keep the knickers smelling fresh. It's OK, but doesn't reach out to me. There's also a faint sense of old sandalwood and halmaddi.   

This may well be a flora style incense as the name implies, though - if so - then it is likely to be an old (or weak) example as there is little of the fragrant and/or essential oil that I associate with the style. Of course, the intention may well be to only use a modest amount of oil, but my overall experience with this, and the previous incense I reviewed from the Southampton hippy store, is that it really does present as old and faded rather than fresh. The scent on the burn is acceptable, but unexciting.  This doesn't really do much for me. It's OK, but rather minor. 

Date: May 2022   Score: 22 

***

Balaji Agarbatti Company

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme

India luxury box incense

Sarathi (Tulasi) Sri Govinda Madhava

 

Second review  (Feb 2026) - scroll down for earlier

These are the same sticks I reviewed back in May 2022. The cold throw scent on the stick was quite vivid with spice and wood. The hot throw scent on the burn was smoky and prickly and plain. I felt that it might be old stock - it is not showing on the company's current (2026) catalogue, and when ORS reviewed it in 2011 they said it had been discontinued. This has turned up on my desk, and I note it is still for sale on Ephra World. I have found that true traditional masala where the fragrant ingredients are mixed within the paste will retain its fragrance for many years, especially if the paste is wood based. Incense where the fragrant ingredients are applied as liquid to the outside of the stick, doesn't last as long because the scents will gradually evaporate. These sticks are strongly fragranced on the outside (though may also have some fragrance ingredients within the paste), so if they have been discontinued since 2011 then I can well understand if the scent has degraded over the years. Why Ephra World still has stocks is curious - perhaps its a stick that doesn't sell much. From my experience in 2022 I wouldn't be keen to buy again, but everyone's tastes are different. I sometimes find myself rowing against the stream. 

Scent on the stick is buttery, but with a whiff of the rancid about it. Hmm. I've looked into the possibilities for this, and the most likely is that butyric acid has formed due to either a breakdown of one of the fragrance oils, or a contamination of the binder material. Beyond the fatty vomit smell, there is some sense of violets. And the further I am away from the stick the less I notice the vomit, and the more I notice the violets and some creamy sandalwood. 

The scent on the burn is mildly spicy and woody with pencil shavings - cedar, juniper, with creamy sandalwood notes, and the violet comes in along with sweet touches of vanilla. Hmmm. I'm liking this. The experience today is very different to that four years ago. Today I'm not at all liking the cold throw scent, while I am (mildly) enjoying the hot throw scent. Yeah, the more I burn this, the more I like it. Which has surprised me. I'm moving this up considerably, and putting the box in my review again pile so I can see how I feel about it again in year or two's time. 

Date: Feb 2026    Score: 30/50

 

First review (May 2022)

A masala incense by Sarathi Perfumery Works using the Sri Govinda Series brand. Sarathi are better known for their highly successful Tulasi brand, which is one of the leading perfumed incense brands in the world. 

The sticks are fragrant masala charcoal paste hand rolled onto pink bamboo splints, and then covered in a fragrant melnoorva powder the main purpose of which originally was to stop the sticks from gluing together when drying. The charcoal paste is dry and crumbly, possibly indicating low levels of fragrant or essential oils. There is a mighty fragrance on the stick, quite spicy and woody, moderately volatile, and very likeable. 

Its not so attractive on the burn. Indeed, it's not attractive at all. Quite smoky and prickly and fairly plain - just like burning a piece of wood. I quite like woody, but this is dry and dull, and doesn't develop or do much. Burn a bit of rolled up newspaper and you'd get a similar sort of one dimensional scent. One aspect I do like is that it doesn't leave much ash. 

For me this is low end masala. I got this from my local hippy shop in Southampton. It's possible it is old stock of perfumed masala, and the fragrance has evaporated as it does with other perfumed incense over time, so leaving just the dried paste ingredients, so what we've got left is a bit of halmaddi, and some dried plants and woods - binders and fixatives. Whatever, not impressed. They are available online in Europe (15 sticks for just under 2 Euros) and USA (8gm for £1).  If you like basic Tibetan dried plant-life incense, then you might like this. Otherwise, likely not - unless you find a fresh one with the perfume still active. 

Date: May 2022   Score: 18/50 

***

More Tulasi reviews

Reviewed on ORS

(Wonder Incense) New Moon Aromas Sensing Spirit

 

This is my daughter's incense, given to her by a friend, so I am using her unicorn incense burner.

It's a dry, crumbly fragrant masala charcoal paste on a plain bamboo splint, finished with a melnoorva powder to prevent the sticks from gluing together as they dry.  Scent is propelled by a fragrance oil, a little vegetal, perfumed, fruity, some patchouli oil. Pleasant, though not exciting. 

The scent on the burn is mainly neutral and mineral, a bit chalky, some apricot and mango, a bit of coal dust. It's a reasonably pleasant scent - inoffensive and acceptable rather than anything noteworthy. 

Date: May 2022   Score: 25 

***

 

New Moon Aromas

Elements Lavender

 

A friend who has cancer, gave up burning incense when she was diagnosed, so she passed on her supply to me. This is one of her collection. A bog standard perfumed incense. It's an ordinary everyday room freshener. Quite inoffensive, but not the sort of thing to aid meditation or to study closely. 

The Elements brand is part of Something Different, a wholesalers who deal in cute unicorn, magic, and Indian inspired gifts as well as an extensive list of their own branded incense.  I've tried one of their incenses in the past (2017): Angel of Love.  

Date: May 2022   Score: 22 

***

Best of Lavender

Elements by Something Different