Vijayshree Golden Nag Palo Santo Masala Agarbathi

 

I came upon Vijayshree in 2017 and was really impressed.  I had some cones and sticks over the years since and pretty much always liked them, so earlier this year I bought a bundle of sticks and a bundle of cones. But had a couple of poor experiences with the cones, and paused reviewing. I think the packets are among those which have been temporarily placed in the attic, but I came upon this solo packet in my study, and lit it up. 

Palo Santo is a fragrant wood from the bursera graveloens tree, which is in the same family as the trees which produce frankincense and myrrh. It is a traditional incense in South America, particularly areas populated by the Inca or Andean people in Peru and Ecuador. It generally has a clean woody scent with hints of lemon and licorice. 

These Vivayshree sticks are very light - there's a very fine amount of dry, soft charcoal paste hand-rolled onto a plain machine-cut bamboo splint. The paste has been coated in a fine golden dust of a melnoorva powder. It looks as you'd expect a neat, well made, professional masala stick should look. The scent on the stick is gorgeous. Lemony and minty with soft touches of sweet creamy sandalwood. Yummy! This does come across as authentically palo santo. 

The scent on the burn is equally soft and dreamy - loaded with creamy sandalwood, there's a gentle and comforting sexuality about this. The lemon notes play subtle tunes above the sandalwood. This is a dream. I must get back to reviewing the rest of the Vijayshree sticks, they really are impressive, and can generally be picked up in various shops around Europe for around £1.50 - such as €1.50 from Spiru.

Date: March 2024    Score: 42

***

Vijayshree Fragrance