(Wonder Incense) New Moon Aromas Shree Patchouli

 

Patchouli is one of my favourite scents in incense - either as part of a blend or as a single scent. It just works so well in incense, and it is such a robust and earthy scent, that it is difficult to fuck up. Some incense makers do fuck it up, but not as often and not as badly as most other scents. I always tend to feel positive when I get a patchouli incense. 

New Moon Aromas I feel less certain of. I've had some scents from them that I really enjoyed, but mostly I've been somewhat underwhelmed. The brand is owned by the Shah family in  the UK and Australia, who run Wonder Incense from the UK and Wonder Imports from Australia. I was told by Navan Shah that they have their own manufacturing premises in India, but I've not been given an address or evidence of these premises - and various people have said to me - privately - that they know who makes the incense for New Moon. As such I'm no longer listing them as a producer of incense, but as a commissioner. I don't think they rebadge incense. I think they have the incense made for them. Pretty much as ITC (India Tobacco Company) get various small incense houses to make Mangaldeep Incense for them. I think, like Mangaldeep and Zed Black, there is an aim to make money by producing acceptable incense to a target audience. I think the pride of ownership is missing. There is a lack of love for the incense. A lack of knowledge of and joy in the process of making incense, and of wanting either to preserve traditions or to explore new ideas and push new boundaries.  Asking someone to make something for you is not the same as making it yourself. Though, fair enough, commissioning specific scents and styles from a maker is a step above simply purchasing a bundle of sticks, putting them in packets with your name on them, and selling them. 

The box is the standard Satya sized masala box. The sticks are the standard masala length of 6 inches of paste on an 8 inch bamboo stick. The paste has been machine-extruded and there is an external perfume. This is a classic modern perfumed incense. The scent on the stick is perfumed, mildly volatile, somewhat citric with notes of lemon and pine, so it leans toward a toilet cleaner smell. It's sweet, with some floral notes and some low musky, woody notes. It's fairly generic so far, and there's little here to get excited about. 

The scent on the burn, however, is much more agreeable. Warm, woody, sensual, with delicate floral notes. It is an attractive and pleasant musky scent. Not top end patchouli, but quite acceptable.  It is pretty much what I expected. A decent enough everyday perfumed masala incense based on the patchouli scent, though not really capturing its delights.  It's OK. 

Date: Nov 2024   Score: 29 

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New Moon Aromas

Patchouli