I've been sorting out my incense collection, and for the past week or so I've been tidying up my Aargee/Stamford incense and updating my Aargee overview post, which has mostly consisted of marking a whole bunch of incenses as discontinued as Aargee has now closed as a business - the general importing side has been bought by Puckator, while the incense commissioning side continues as a new business called StamfordLondon, though trading under the Stamford brand name. Initially I thought StamfordLondon were just selling the old Stamford scented incense; however, I note that Ephra-World, the excellent German online shop, has a large stock of Stamford branded masala incense, including a number of old favourites. These new Stamford masalas appear to be made mostly by Satya and Gokula, which Aargee used to work with very closely.
Anyway. I found an old packet of Aargee that I had never reviewed. A Manipura Solar Plexis - part of the old Chakra series. I don't know who made the Chakra incenses for Aargee, but they were among the best incenses that Aargee sold. The Chakra line and the Imperial line were genuinely world class incenses. Proper old school masala, and for those who like halmaddi, these Chakra are rich with it - holding and dispersing the masala scents, which can linger in the house for over 24 hours. There's that raw sheep's wool prickle in my nose that I get from halmaddi, but it's acceptable, especially when it helps to deliver such a profound scent as this Manipura.
As with the other Chakras the sticks are 8 inches long with 6 1/2 inches of hand-rolled black paste coated with a brown woody powder to stop the sticks from gluing together as they dry. The scent on the stick is woody pine, cedar, Christmas tree, and men's cologne - which seems typical for this Chakra series. There's suggestions of herbs and some lavender and lemongrass notes. The pack says the sticks have been "created using a special mix of Vetivert and Juniper". Vetivert or vetiver is a fragrant bush grass similar to lemongrass. Indigo herbs say that "Vetivert essential oil is also known as the “Oil of Tranquility”, with sedative properties that help to diminish feelings of restlessness, anxiety, panic and anger."
The burn is absolutely delightful. Lasting for around 55 minutes. The scent is distinctive, cleansing, healing, very present in the room, but never too heady or overwhelming. All the notes from the stick are present in the burn, which for me is always a sign of a proper masala. That, and the lingering nature of masala incense scents in the home. And that masala incense sticks last in storage for a long, long time.
I love this. I'd love to know who made this and the other Aargee Chakra scents. In the meantime I'm placing this in my Purgatory list, and shall revisit in a month to see if it can be moved into my Top Drawer or if it should be placed in Heavenly.
Anyway. I found an old packet of Aargee that I had never reviewed. A Manipura Solar Plexis - part of the old Chakra series. I don't know who made the Chakra incenses for Aargee, but they were among the best incenses that Aargee sold. The Chakra line and the Imperial line were genuinely world class incenses. Proper old school masala, and for those who like halmaddi, these Chakra are rich with it - holding and dispersing the masala scents, which can linger in the house for over 24 hours. There's that raw sheep's wool prickle in my nose that I get from halmaddi, but it's acceptable, especially when it helps to deliver such a profound scent as this Manipura.
As with the other Chakras the sticks are 8 inches long with 6 1/2 inches of hand-rolled black paste coated with a brown woody powder to stop the sticks from gluing together as they dry. The scent on the stick is woody pine, cedar, Christmas tree, and men's cologne - which seems typical for this Chakra series. There's suggestions of herbs and some lavender and lemongrass notes. The pack says the sticks have been "created using a special mix of Vetivert and Juniper". Vetivert or vetiver is a fragrant bush grass similar to lemongrass. Indigo herbs say that "Vetivert essential oil is also known as the “Oil of Tranquility”, with sedative properties that help to diminish feelings of restlessness, anxiety, panic and anger."
The burn is absolutely delightful. Lasting for around 55 minutes. The scent is distinctive, cleansing, healing, very present in the room, but never too heady or overwhelming. All the notes from the stick are present in the burn, which for me is always a sign of a proper masala. That, and the lingering nature of masala incense scents in the home. And that masala incense sticks last in storage for a long, long time.
I love this. I'd love to know who made this and the other Aargee Chakra scents. In the meantime I'm placing this in my Purgatory list, and shall revisit in a month to see if it can be moved into my Top Drawer or if it should be placed in Heavenly.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment: