Corey put a red star on this incense as he said "Everything sent your way are from imports thru Pauls contact within the last year. Believe you will find the quality on some to be much higher as some of them are a request for samples to check quality. (They provided 15 to 20gms). Put a red star on Queen of Roses and Absolut Sandal as the quality is much higher than anything Paul had sent."
Well, it's true that this incense is not the same as Paul's original Happy Hari Queen of Roses. The original stick was 8 inches long with 6 1/4 inches of incense - this AB version is 9 inches long with 7 inches of incense. The paste has approximately the same colour and consistency, though where the original used a brown finishing powder, the AB versions uses a pink blush finishing powder. The scent on the stick of the original is subtle and profound with touches of Virginia tobacco, while the scent on the AB is softer, more subtle, sweeter, with notes of raspberry. So, a number of differences. But do they amount to a higher quality? Or, simply, do I prefer the AB version over Paul's original?
I love the scent on the AB stick - it's approachable, not too volatile. I find the pink blush quite appealing. It's a promising start. When lit, the flame is moderate, and there is no black smoke. When the flame is blown out, the smoke is moderate, thin, difficult to see, though has an attractive blue grey colour. This is a fairly gentle scent - it's not assertive, and without wafting it in my direction, it would take a time to be noticed. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as sometimes I do like a subtle incense that delicately informs a room rather than surrounds me in a heady rush of passion. However, when reviewing with only one stick, a quiet, subtle incense can be a little frustrating. I'd be happier if I had more to work with.
The scent on the burn is attractive. There's appealing scents such as raspberry ice-cream, and some of the fascinating St Julien tobacco scent which I associate with both Paul's original Queen of Roses, but also Koya's Nirvana, one of my favourite incenses. It all unfolds slowly, so appreciation has to worked at a little, and there is some variation along the way - now it's sweet fruit, now it's slightly woody tobacco, now there's notes of tomato. We're over halfway along, and there's not much in the way, for me, of floral notes, especially rose. Not that this is a problem for me, as I'm not a floral, especially rose, fan - though I do like it when what is promised or suggested is what I get, and I am somewhat disturbed when I am directed to the sugar only to find it's salt, and vice versa. I get woods - mostly sandalwood, though some cedar as well, and that is what I also got from Paul's original.
I like this stick. It hasn't lifted, excited, pleased, or interested me as much as Paul's original (and I shall burn a stick of that in a moment for direct comparison), but on it's own it is an attractive, subtle, warm woody scent. I couldn't say that this is made by the same maker - it feels a little too different to me in several ways, not just the length of the sticks, colour of the finishing powder, and the scents, but the overall approach. As the sticks look so different, I don't think this is a copy, I think this is someone's rose incense which bears a passing resemblance to Paul's original rose incense. I can't see them as being from the same maker, unless that maker went for such a different formulation you would consider it a new incense anyway.
I've just lit one of Paul's original, and noted that it flared up hungrily and produced black smoke. When the flame is blown out the stick burns strongly, throwing up a decent column of soft grey smoke. The scent is much bolder and interesting, with an array of fascinating notes which interestingly contrast, so there are cool steel notes, there's warm rose scented tea, there's herbs, marijuana (grass, not resin), damp sandalwood, leather, wool, etc - it varies and shifts. Is this better or worse quality? I don't know. What I do know is that for me the AB version is pleasantly attractive, while the original is interesting and compelling.
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