Goloka Goodearth Agarwood Masala Incense

 

"A divine fragrance for soul" is the blurb. I love that idea. This is a pleasant incense, though I'm perhaps not quite with the notion of it being divine. I used to love Goloka; though, returning to the brand now, I'm not quite as impressed  as I once was. I like the availability. I like that the money and reputation goes to Goloka rather than a middle-man. I like that the profits go to help disadvantaged people. I like the low cost and excellent value for money. And the scents are always at least decent, and can be quite heavenly (or divine). But reviewing this and Goloka Nature's Sandalwood I find I'm not as impressed as I once was. 

It's all standard good quality Goloka - well made, sweet smelling masala incense. But I'm just not finding the interest or excitement that I was expecting. Either this is because this and the Nature's Sandalwood are less than the usual Goloka, or I'm looking for something a little more these days. This strikes me as just a little too sweet and easy and trivial. There's little depth here. It feels too much like an everyday incense - a general, commercial, easy-going room freshener. There's nothing wrong with that at all - that's our go-to incense. We burn way more everyday room freshener incense than anything  else. It's just that I had developed a sacred opinion of Goloka as a great incense house, and one of my favourites, and had somehow felt that these incenses I'd not burned before would be a divine incense for the soul. 

So, what is here?  There's a fruity quality to the scent on the stick - something similar to my experience with Nature's Sandalwood. It's not a woody scent. It's certainly not the agarwood scent promised in the subtitle. But it is an attractive and appealing scent. Sweet, honeyed, fruity, light, joyful. 

The scent on the burn is initially fairly modest though does eventually spread and inform the room, and linger attractively afterwards. It is warmer and woodier than the scent on the stick, though still quite sticky sweet. It has an attractive balsamic quality which does edge in the direction of agarwood, though never quite gets there.  Overall it's an attractive and relaxing and cleansing scent. But it is  fairly limited and simple.  Good enough, though.  

This is readily available at a low cost in many places. It comes in a standard 15g cardboard box.  Popat Stores in the UK sell it for 75p.  IncenseWarehouse in the US sell it for $2.79.   IncenseAustralia sell it for $3.50. Ephra World in Germany sell it for €1.65. And because I have a significant Russian readership:  Wildberries sell it for ₽322 (approx £2.82). 

Date: Jan 2024     Score: 32    

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Goloka

The best agarwood incense

Reviewed on Rauchfahne