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| Second review - scroll down for earlier |
Standard masala style stick. Fruity, floral scent. Very attractive. Some perfume, some polish, some chemical, some chocolate, some woods - creamy sandalwood essentially. And there's a generic "masala incense" fragrance pointing in the direction of Nag Champa, but not quite getting there due to the intensity of the fruit scent. The fruit is vague - a little citric, a little sharp or fresh - black-currants maybe, a little bit strawberry jam, and a whiff of banana. Hmm. Interesting. I like the freshness and boldness of it against the sweet, creamy sandalwood background.
The scent on the burn is gentle, warm, pale sandalwood - some prickles, and a little bit of smoke, possibly due to the perfume oils not making enough impression during the burn. But it does inform the room pleasantly. A decent background room freshener. A pleasant, clean, warm sandalwood scent. Nice enough.
Date: Jan 2025 Score: 33
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| First review |
Ullas is the brand name of Patil Parimala Works, who are a very successful Indian incense house in Bangalore with established exports to several countries, though they don't appear to be available in the UK (or the US). This is the first time I've had an Ullas incense - I bought a standard size 15g masala pack from the excellent German store Ephra World for €1.95. It's available in South Africa for R 25, in Australia for $3.95, in Spain for €1.70; and in Argentina. Their recently completed purpose built facility in Bangalore looks very impressive. I got four different packs from Ephra World - I shall review the other three shortly.
The pack is a standard Satya style masala box with a simple though subtle and elegant gold design on black. There are no illustrations. It's understated and attractive, though doesn't stand out, and is not memorable. Sticks are a standard 8 inches with 6 inches of masala paste hand-rolled onto a pink dyed machine-cut bamboo splint. The paste has been fully coated in a soft brown melnoorva - finely ground tree bark which is used to protect the drying paste, and also to give an attractive appearance. The melnoorva may be fragranced, though it may have picked up fragrance from an oil or perfume.
The fragrance on the stick is musky floral with a raw sheep's wool note that I tend to associate with halmaddi, though why I would be smelling halmaddi on the stick I don't know. I suspect it's something else I'm smelling. There's faint jasmine notes and something creamy and milky like fresh milk. Touches of sandalwood. It's a pleasant scent, and one that I do associate with nag champa.
It has a steady and firm burn - there's no need to waft the smoke, the scent does make itself known. It is a little smoky and is on the edge of being heady. It is drying out my eyes and giving me a slight headache, so this is not one for me to get too close to. The scent is nag champa informed by halmaddi. It is a good incense, though not one that I am getting excited about. Perhaps I am a little jaded with nag champa. Perhaps I'm not feeling positive because of the impact of the halmaddi. To be fair, this is a well made incense - it's just that there's nothing unusual or special about it for me.
Date: Feb 2024 Score: 33
The pack is a standard Satya style masala box with a simple though subtle and elegant gold design on black. There are no illustrations. It's understated and attractive, though doesn't stand out, and is not memorable. Sticks are a standard 8 inches with 6 inches of masala paste hand-rolled onto a pink dyed machine-cut bamboo splint. The paste has been fully coated in a soft brown melnoorva - finely ground tree bark which is used to protect the drying paste, and also to give an attractive appearance. The melnoorva may be fragranced, though it may have picked up fragrance from an oil or perfume.
The fragrance on the stick is musky floral with a raw sheep's wool note that I tend to associate with halmaddi, though why I would be smelling halmaddi on the stick I don't know. I suspect it's something else I'm smelling. There's faint jasmine notes and something creamy and milky like fresh milk. Touches of sandalwood. It's a pleasant scent, and one that I do associate with nag champa.
It has a steady and firm burn - there's no need to waft the smoke, the scent does make itself known. It is a little smoky and is on the edge of being heady. It is drying out my eyes and giving me a slight headache, so this is not one for me to get too close to. The scent is nag champa informed by halmaddi. It is a good incense, though not one that I am getting excited about. Perhaps I am a little jaded with nag champa. Perhaps I'm not feeling positive because of the impact of the halmaddi. To be fair, this is a well made incense - it's just that there's nothing unusual or special about it for me.
Date: Feb 2024 Score: 33
***
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| Nag Champa |
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