Tulsi is holy basil, which is related to sweet basil, which is commonly used in the West for cooking. Holy basil is a sacred and medicinal herb in India, regarded as the earthly representation of the goddess Tulasi. I got this pack from Aavyaa last year when it cost me ₹330.00 (approx £3 or $4) - it's currently at ₹495.00.
I like the idea of Phool, and the packaging is attractive and top quality - taking inspiration from the way Japanese incense is packaged. Phool recycle flowers left at temples, which is a really cool thing to do. However, my experience of Phool incense is that there is a strong scent of dirty clothes basket combined with damp, decaying flowers. And though each incense has fragrant oils which relate to the named scent on the pack - in this case tulsi or holy basil - the dominant and often off-putting aroma is of dirt and decay, and is quite off-putting. I have noted, though, that over time - after the sealed pack has been opened - the off-putting aroma declines, and can vanish completely. This results in a much better smelling incense, though even then the scents are not impressive, so I'm left somewhat disappointed. Especially as Ranga Rao (Cycle) make a delightful incense from salvaged temple flowers: Pushkarini. But, to be fair, Ranga Rao are a very experienced and knowledgeable incense house with a lot of money and resources behind them, while Phool is a relatively new company, started in 2017 by two young men researching into economical uses for discarded flowers, neither of whom had any prior experience in making incense.
After leaving a couple of sticks out of the box for a week, they still smell a little intense, though much of that is the volatility of the tulsi oil on the stick. The scent is quite green, balsamic, acidic, woody, earthy, with notes of pine, sage, basil, bubblegum, camphor, fresh paint, rotting veg, cumin, and turmeric. It's an active and reasonably engaging scent, though I wouldn't call it a commercial or aesthetic scent. Robust, green, and hearty.
There's some black smoke when lit. The stick struggles to stay lit, but after three attempts does catch, and then initially burning with a moderate amount of grey smoke. The initial scent is simply of scorched wood and plant-life. Some burned toast. After a while it all settles - the smoke column is more lively, and the scent, though still containing rough burn notes, does have some basil elements, along with other scent notes picked up on the stick.
On the whole it's a moderate incense, which does contain basil elements, though touched by burn notes. Not really my thing.
On the whole it's a moderate incense, which does contain basil elements, though touched by burn notes. Not really my thing.
I loved this incense from Phool. It has the hint of holy basil with earthy, woody, camphory hints. I have also tried Nirmalya’s Tulsi which comes under the same category as phool, they’re a startup company and also does the same thing as phool, recycle flowers and make incenses. Fun fact, Nirmalaya was on Shark Tank India. Nirmalaya’s Tulsi is a bit more on floral side and has the hint of holy basil, but I liked the nirmalya one better.
ReplyDeleteThat reality show, Shark Tank (called Dragon's Den in the UK), has been a hugely popular format. It started in Japan in 2001 as The Tigers of Money, and most versions of it involve an animal name - shark, dragon, and lion are the most popular. .
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