I love the packaging on the Vedamrut branded boxes from Om Sai Agarbatti Works of Mumbai. I find, though, that I'm not quite getting on with the sticks inside the boxes. And I do find, and I have mentioned this on IncenseInTheWind a few times in relation to other sellers and incense houses, that while good quality packaging and presentation (which this is) is for me a huge positive, and puts me in a good frame of mind, it also creates an anticipation of pleasure which, if disappointed, leads to a stronger emotional negativity than would be the case if the very same incense had not been expected to be good. I think of it this way - if I'm promised £20 for an hour's work, and I get given £25, I'm very pleased, but if I'm promised £30, and I get give £25, I'm very disappointed. In both cases I've done the same work and been given the same amount of money. But in the second case I'm disappointed because I'd been led to expect more.
I can't help but feel disappointed that these sticks do not match my expectation. OK. So, moving on, I've dealt with my disappointment, and I've been burning these sticks in a few different locations and situations over the past few days to start to get more comfortable with them. They work best for us placed in a room as a background incense. From a distance the scent works better. It is better when diffused in the atmosphere than when consulted up close, when it is too concentrated, too intense, and all the elements of the scent profile haven't had time to expand and balance.
Presented as an incense to inform a room, these sticks have an attractive floral, sweet rose scent. The scent is quite mild, but presents as fresh. When burned close, the sticks present as more musky and woodsy. The sticks are 9 inches with 7 inches of hand rolled paste, now hard and crumbly, which has a thin covering of powder. The aroma on the stick is volatile and sharp, though quite sweet and floral. It presents as an attractive perfume with various chemical elements used to enhance and disperse the aroma. The cool menthol notes of the volatility inhibit prolonged exploration of the scent (the nose starts to get cold and numb and uncomfortable), though it is a pleasant scent. Rose is not among my (indeed, our) favourite scents, but the woody elements, combined, illogically, with the cleaning fluid volatility, is somewhat interesting and compelling.
When lit the flame burns high and strong, and there is a lot of glistening black smoke. Black smoke seems to be increasingly common in modern incense, especially perfumed incense - be it pure perfumed or a combination of masala and perfume. For the avoidance of doubt, as people have varying understandings of the term perfume, I use perfume in the sense of perfume as opposed to fragrance oil, though most incenses appear to use fragrance oils as their active perfume ingredient. In my recent (anecdotal rather than scientific) study of incenses, I am finding that a black smoke is present in those incenses which have a volatility on the stick, and appear to be using a significant amount of fragrance oil, while those incenses which mostly rely on dry ingredients and/or a lesser proportion of diluted essential oils, or a lesser dilution, don't have black smoke, or very little of it. When the flame is blown out the stick burns with a steady and fulsome but not overbearing amount of grey smoke. It is a steady and fairly consistent burn, helped by a consistent hand roll of the paste. When wafted there is some awareness of vanilla, some burned plastic, and a general woody warmth. This close there is little to no awareness of the floral notes. There is an awareness of halmaddi, which adds a positive character. In many ways it reminded me of ELIF's Capture, which I found a divisive and variable incense. On the whole, this is an incense which is best experienced at a casual distance to brighten up a room, rather than an incense to study or to use in rituals. It's OK - a decent incense. Not really for us, but I'm OK burning it at a distance as a room freshener.
I can't help but feel disappointed that these sticks do not match my expectation. OK. So, moving on, I've dealt with my disappointment, and I've been burning these sticks in a few different locations and situations over the past few days to start to get more comfortable with them. They work best for us placed in a room as a background incense. From a distance the scent works better. It is better when diffused in the atmosphere than when consulted up close, when it is too concentrated, too intense, and all the elements of the scent profile haven't had time to expand and balance.
Presented as an incense to inform a room, these sticks have an attractive floral, sweet rose scent. The scent is quite mild, but presents as fresh. When burned close, the sticks present as more musky and woodsy. The sticks are 9 inches with 7 inches of hand rolled paste, now hard and crumbly, which has a thin covering of powder. The aroma on the stick is volatile and sharp, though quite sweet and floral. It presents as an attractive perfume with various chemical elements used to enhance and disperse the aroma. The cool menthol notes of the volatility inhibit prolonged exploration of the scent (the nose starts to get cold and numb and uncomfortable), though it is a pleasant scent. Rose is not among my (indeed, our) favourite scents, but the woody elements, combined, illogically, with the cleaning fluid volatility, is somewhat interesting and compelling.
When lit the flame burns high and strong, and there is a lot of glistening black smoke. Black smoke seems to be increasingly common in modern incense, especially perfumed incense - be it pure perfumed or a combination of masala and perfume. For the avoidance of doubt, as people have varying understandings of the term perfume, I use perfume in the sense of perfume as opposed to fragrance oil, though most incenses appear to use fragrance oils as their active perfume ingredient. In my recent (anecdotal rather than scientific) study of incenses, I am finding that a black smoke is present in those incenses which have a volatility on the stick, and appear to be using a significant amount of fragrance oil, while those incenses which mostly rely on dry ingredients and/or a lesser proportion of diluted essential oils, or a lesser dilution, don't have black smoke, or very little of it. When the flame is blown out the stick burns with a steady and fulsome but not overbearing amount of grey smoke. It is a steady and fairly consistent burn, helped by a consistent hand roll of the paste. When wafted there is some awareness of vanilla, some burned plastic, and a general woody warmth. This close there is little to no awareness of the floral notes. There is an awareness of halmaddi, which adds a positive character. In many ways it reminded me of ELIF's Capture, which I found a divisive and variable incense. On the whole, this is an incense which is best experienced at a casual distance to brighten up a room, rather than an incense to study or to use in rituals. It's OK - a decent incense. Not really for us, but I'm OK burning it at a distance as a room freshener.
Date: Oct 2023 Score: 32
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| Om Sai (Om Brand) Agarbatti |
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