Eugene of Bhagwan Incense and Good Incense has sent me a new bundle of samples. For the Bhagwan scents, these are the same sample packs that Eugene sends out either free for a small pack or for 10 Euros for the whole set, plus the boxes that the sticks are sold in when regularly purchased. Eugene doesn't get involved in production, but has travelled to India several times, and sought out attractive incense which he has brought back to Europe. We have communicated for several years, and I have followed his travels to Europe with interest. He has sent me some exciting packs of incense he discovered, which he now sells under the Bhagwan name.
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| The full bundle |
There are loads of incense in the bundle - rather overwhelming and daunting to burn all at once, so mostly at random I selected a dippy dozen to burn and review over the next few days.
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| The dippy dozen |
First up is a pack of White Sage. White Sage, or Salvia apiana, is a plant that is burned by a number of native American tribes as part of purification rites, and is more common as an incense fragrance in America than it is in India or Europe as the plant grows in America and Mexico. It produces a mildly attractive mild sage aroma, quite warming, spicy, gentle, and softly seductive - not significantly aesthetic, but generally pleasant This Bhagwan stick consists of a medium thickness hand-rolled paste, dryish and crumbly, with a thin covering of melnoorva powder, on a plain bamboo splint. There is a gentle perfumed scent on the stick, reasonably pleasant, fairly feminine and floral, mildly volatile. It's OK.
The burn is mainly steady though has fluctuations due to the uneven hand rolling. The smoke is a pleasing silvery grey. The scent is gentle and modest, though does smoothly inform the room with a vague general sense of floral perfume. More perfume than incense. The scent is reasonably fresh and pure. This is an OK incense. As it develops it does become a little prickly and smoky, though remains acceptable and fresh and somewhat invigorating.
The blurb on the packet says: "A fragrant Californian white sage with a woody, earthy, herbal and minty notes. Perfect for healing, purification and protection". Bhagwan White Sage can be bought on Etsy (where it has received an average 5 stars from 57 reviews) for £5.33 and from the Bhagwan Incense website for €3.95. The upside down burner was sent to me by Aida of IncenseBurnerHolder.com, who sell it for $23.99. It is also available on Shein.
Oh, you now have one of these upside-down burners... I read comments that they negatively impact the scent because they increase the burning speed. Have you thought about comparing?
ReplyDeleteWe think alike! That's exactly what I'm going to do. I have been curious about these upside down burners for a while, so when Aida offered me some products from her store in return for a mention, the upside down burner was one I selected.
DeleteThe burner was used just for a few moments for each of the dozen Bhagwan sticks I'm reviewing, and then the sticks were put out, with the intention of relighting them again for each review. I noted as I was doing each one, that the scents were heavy and smoky with few top notes - it was more like smelling burning garden waste than smelling incense, and I thought it would be interesting to do a comparison. So, yes, that is on my list to do when I've finished off the dippy dozen Bhagwan scents I've set aside. The Bhagwan reviews I intend to do, as I did with the White Sage, with a conventional flat holder.
Oh, I also noted that the smoke was less attractive because it tends to creep up the stick, unless there's a convection or breeze taking it away from the stick, when it starts to behave more interestingly. For me, a significant part of incense burning is the smoke. Indeed, if there's to be no smoke, and the stick is mainly liquid fragrance based, then an oil in water burner produces more true to type and clean, pleasantly lingering aromas in the home than a burning stick. Warming essential oils which are protected from scorching by the water gives wonderful scents compared to the aroma from a burning stick which is scorching the oil. We have a range of over 50 different essential oils, and it's fun to blend them.
DeleteThis is rather scary, guys. I am seriously worried. It is about responsibility and credibility. Steve, PLEASE review my incense with a conventional burner. I do not want to be part of any experiments. I've spent months looking for the best incense in India. I do not deserve a low score because my license was burned upside down. Please don't do that to me!
ReplyDeleteEugene, after I've posted the Vanilla Joy review I'm doing, I'm putting your incense aside for the moment. I don't want any grief over what is to me a hobby.
DeleteRead the above comments, and you'll see I didn't review the incense you bought by using the upside burner. Any "low score" you perceive is entirely due to my own enjoyment (or not) of the white sage scent that has been used in the stick via a conventional burner. When I do the experiment I will of course use both a conventional AND an upside down burner. Otherwise there's no comparison and nothing is learned. Duh!
I'm accommodating to people who want to promote their products via this blog, especially someone I've been in correspondence with for some years now, and feel I have a friendly relationship with, but not if they are going to get antsy with me, especially over something I haven't done.