Temple of Incense Indian Rose

I've recently been burning Paul Eagle's original Queen of Roses alongside an early variation commissioned by Corey Topel of Absolute Bliss, and the version sold by Ashok of Padma Store which was purchased as a bulk order from Corey and packed by Ashok himself.  People have said that Temple of Incense (TOI) - UK importers and distributors of own label incense, operating in a similar fashion to Happy Hari and Absolute Bliss - use the same sources as Happy Hari and Absolute Bliss (and possibly Gokula), so I thought it was worth digging out some TOI samples sent to me (gosh, about two years ago - see how long my backlog is!) and checking their rose incense. I have two - Rose Absolute, and this Indian Rose. 

The stick is attractive. 8 inches long with around 6 inches of dusky red paste machine-extruded onto a plain machine-cut bamboo splint tipped with red. The scent is quite delicious - candy sweet, like Love Hearts, with vanilla dusted cherry, apple, and floral notes - quite delicious and playful and modern. I like this scent - it doesn't feel natural, but neither is there the sharp volatile notes we are too frequently finding on masala style sticks recently. 

When lit there is a moment's pause before the flame starts to burn hungrily and eventually produce a modest amount of black smoke.  When the flame is blown out, the stick produces a ghostly pale white smoke.  As the main work here appears to be done by the liquid perfume, and perfume scents evaporate over time, and this is sadly a two year old sample, it's not surprising that there isn't much in the way of the scent on the burn. While some masala style incenses can either retain their beauty or even have it enhanced with protective storage, incenses that rely on volatile perfumes will fade over time. That said, this stick does produce an attractive, albeit modest, scent, and I will concentrate on that, and won't deduct any points for obfuscation with core material and lack of clarity. Much of the scent on the stick is present in the burn - there is a distinct emphasis on fruit inclining on the burn toward sweet raspberry and strawberry. It is very nice, and gently fills the room with a cheerful, uplifting, feminine scent. I like this. I expect I would like it more when fresh. 


Date:  Oct 2023   Score: 29 

Best rose incense