Zed Black Premium Sandal Agarbatti

 

I've been curious about Zed Black for a little while, especially as they are named as one of the top brands in India.  Zed Black is the leading brand of  Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH), which was created in 1992, and now has an annual turnover of £65 million.  I picked up this packet for £1.30 when visiting the German online store Ephra World.

The  sticks are 6 inches with 5 inches of paste, which is a little shorter than usual, with a slightly shorter than average  burn of around 30-40 minutes. They are in the masala style, with a soft black paste coated in what appears to be a brown and then white powder - or the black paste has turned brown on the surface.  There is a modest though clean and pleasant scent on the stick with some cool volatility. Hmm. This scent is familiar, and somehow the association is from my past - going way back to my early teens before I discovered incense  - I'm wondering if the association is with the scent Brut, which has the chypre accord. Yes, that seems to be it. This is Brut. A slightly woody, musky, patchouli base - some say oakmoss, with herby floral mid notes like lavender, and a lemony or citric top note. Yes. 

The burn is quite modest - a reasonable column of grey smoke, but little in the way of scent. When wafted there are cool mineral tones - stone, some wood, some marine, a touch of seaweed. It's not particularly sandalwood. It's an OK scent, though too modest and vague for my taste. And rather off target for an incense suggesting it is sandalwood. Ho hum.  

Adding a few points because it does have an attractive, soothing, and comforting after-burn scent. 

Date: Oct 2023   Score: 29 

Sandalwood