Nandita Aura Cleansing

 

Nandita is a well established incense house in Mumbai. They make a range of incense, including dhoop powder and bakhoor. They also make decent masala incense. It can be a bit variable, but mostly it's good stuff, and at times can be excellent. There has been discussion for some years that Nandita both outsources some of its incense, and also makes incense for others. The exact relationship that various Indian incense houses have with each other is not always clear to outsiders. 

This incense, Aura Cleansing, is a machine extruded and perfumed incense. The paste is hard and crumbly, and appears to be wood powder rather than charcoal. The scent on the stick is very perfumed. Quite soapy. Mild volatility. Some floral notes, some citric. It's quite synthetic, but pleasant. I can imagine it would be quite popular. 

The burn scent resembles the cold scent on the stick, though mingled with a smouldering paper scent, which I tend to associate with incense that uses wood powder as the combustible instead of charcoal.   All in all an acceptable room freshener scent, though not something that really grabs my interest. It resembles some incenses by Balarama of Thailand

Date: Dec 2024    Score:  25

***

Nandita of Mumbai

Sagrada Madre Tao Black Enegia Reconfortante (Comforting Energy)

 

The third of three Native American style incenses I picked up from the Spanish website Hostenatura.es. Tao Black is a brand of the Argentinian incense house Sagrada Madre. It appears to be their budget brand. I've not been impressed by the three I've had. This is a smidgen better than the other two, but not by a great deal.  

The main scent is wood, plants, and something herbal. But there's a rather pleasant, warm, slightly oily, slightly musky, slightly earthy, vanilla scent that is holding its own against the smouldering garden bonfire.  It's OK 

Date: Dec 2024   Score:  23 

***

Sagrada Madre

Sagrada Madre Tao Black Riqueza (Wealth)

  

I have a current interest in Native American (North and South) incense - smudge and resin-on-a-stick style incenses. The Spanish website Hostenatura.es has a number of such incenses, and I picked up three under the brand name Tao Black. Tao Black is a brand of the Argentinian incense house Sagrada Madre, which appears to be doing well. I assume the Tao Black brand is a budget range as these are poor quality incenses, and I doubt if they would have been as successful producing only incense like this. After burning the first one, Paz Interior (Inner Peace), I'm not spending much time on them.  

This one has been dipped into "concentrated ratnamala essence". I don't know what "ratnamala" is. There is a Hindi ratnamala, which means "jewelled necklace" - I reviewed an Indian incense with that name years back: Sital Ratnamala. But I doubt if that is what is meant here - unless the idea is to convey the idea of a jewelled necklace via a scent. 

Anyway, as with the Paz Interior, the scent on burning is mainly of smouldering wood and vague plant material. There is a whiff of some vague, slightly minty and herbal, perfume. But the dominant scent is smouldering garden stuff. The stick at the core is not bamboo - it is some form of white wood. 

Date: Dec 2024   Score:  19 

***

Sagrada Madre

Sagrada Madre

  

Sagrada Madre is an Argentina incense house, founded in 2017 by two brothers, and has grown to have an outlet in Uruguay and the USA. They have a healthy range of incense sticks, smudges, kits, etc. The focus is in the "resin on a stick" or smudge style incense, in which the ingredients are selected largely for their spiritual/ritual aspects. So Palo Santo and White Sage are quite prominent. As is salt. 

Reviews

    

Sagrada Madre Tao Black
Enegia Reconfortante (Comforting Energy) 
Dec 2024 - Score: 23

   

Sagrada Madre Tao Black
Paz Interior (Inner Peace) 

Dec 2024 - Score: 19

 

Sagrada Madre Tao Black
Riqueza (Wealth) 
Dec 2024 - Score: 19 

Scents reviewed: 3 

Top score: 23

Bottom score: 19 

Average: 20

Conclusion: I'm not impressed with the Tao Black range. But I'm keeping an open mind on the rest of Sagrada Madre's output.

***

The Best Incense Makers

Incense by Country

Sagrada Madre Tao Black Paz Interior (Inner Peace)

  

Bought from Hostentura.es for € 2.89. This is a "resin on a stick" style incense, made by Sagrada Madre in Argentina. The company was founded in 2017 by two brothers, and has grown to have an outlet in Uruguay and the USA. They have a healthy range of incense sticks, smudges, kits, etc.  The earliest example I can see for the "resin on a stick" style incense is Fred Soll who started his company in New Mexico in the early Seventies. The style appears to have been copied by Native Americans in California and New Mexico, and it has spread to Native American communities in South America - Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, etc. 

The sticks are quite chunky white wood. A lumpy charcoal paste has been applied to the stick. Such paste tends to contain fragrant resin, along with various herbs, and I assume that is the case here, though it is difficult to see clearly as everything is so black.  There is a fresh, herby scent on the stick, accompanied by a soapy perfume. The stick is difficult to light, and when lit the stick has a tendency to go out. There is a moderate amount of smoke, and a modest scent of smouldering wood and dried plants through which gradually emerges mild perfumed notes. The ingredients are given as "Concentrated linden essence, Charcoal, Natural Binder, and Salt". A number of these natural Native American incenses contain salt. I'm not sure what advantage it brings as salt would not burn. My assumption is that it is there for spiritual/ritual reasons as salt is regarded as a cleansing property in many cultures. 

There's not much going on here. I'm not familiar with the scent of linden, but apparently it smells of honey. I could be convinced that there is a honey fragrance here, but I only started to get that after reading it smells of honey, so it could be suggestive. On the whole, there is the smouldering wood and plant material, and some vague, light perfume which is somewhat subdued by the smouldering wood. On the whole not appalled, but seriously not impressed. I'm curious to explore more Sagrada Madre, and my assumption is that this Tao Black brand is a budget, perfume-dipped range. 

Date: Dec 2024   Score:  19 

***

Sagrada Madre

Aum Fragrances Seven Chakra

 

A pack of incense bought from Hostenatura.es. What I intended to get was Aum Seven Herbs, but I clicked on Aum Seven Chakra by mistake. I have an interest at the moment in the "resin on a stick" style incense made by Native Americans in California and South America - and the Aum Seven Herbs fits that style. What I have got instead is a standard Indian masala style incense. Ho hum. 

Aum Fragrances is a new incense house to me. I have found a number of companies in India which use that name, but I don't know if any of them are the same Aum Fragrances who made these sticks. They were imported into Europe by Popat Stores, Lisbon, Portugal - I don't know if they are related to Popat Stores, UK. Though, I doubt it, as the stock is different. 

There is a fairly generic Indian masala incense scent on the stick, and in the burn. The scent on the burn is weaker, and less pleasant than the scent on the stick. The scent on the stick is sandalwood and floral, with a touch of fresh sweat. It's a familiar incense scent, and I can recall this scent from my days as a hippy. It's very attractive, though there's nothing new or exciting here. The scent on the burn starts a little smoky, but then settles into a comfortable fragrance which largely echoes the scent on the stick. It is woody, floral, and sweet, and plays around with the Nag Champa accord. I like it. Decent everyday masala style room fragrance incense. 

Date: Dec 2024    Score: 32

***

Incense in India

Sree Vani Little Hanuma

 

 

Hanuma, in the Little Gods series by Sree Vani Perfumery, is Hanuman, a monkey god of wisdom and strength. The sticks are standard masala style incense - typical size and appearance. The scent on the stick ("cool throw" in perfumed candle terminology - designed for immediate appeal) is cool, joyful, bold, and very fruity, with notes of bubblegum and sandalwood. Attractive in a car freshener, clothes conditioner way. The scent on the burn ("warm throw" in perfumed candle terminology - designed for customer satisfaction, and repeat orders) is woody, warm, sandalwood, a little smoky. Kinda generic. There's a warm, slightly prickly lamb's wool scent, which I tend to associate with the fixative halmaddi, though may be the result of something else. After a while, some of the fruity and the bubblegum notes come through, as well as a touch of floral. Yeah, it's a pleasant room freshener - warm and woody, with a proper feel of Indian masala incense.  Nice. 

Date: Dec 2024   Score:  36

***

Sree Vani Perfumery

Haria

 

Haria, who have traded as Haria Perfumery Works, Haria Trading Co. (HTC), and Haria Fragrance, are a second generation incense house in Mumbai, founded in 1968 by Dhirubhai Haria. Dhirubhai's son, Dipesh, continues the business - and he can be seen in this video making incense, and explaining how halmaddi is used as a scent fixative.  

Reviews

Haria Chandan Dhoop Sticks (D)
Nov 2018 - Score: 30 

   

Haria Jasmine Premium Dhoop Sticks (D)
Jan 2023 - Score: 21

   

   

Haria Lavender Dhoop (D)
Dec 2024 - Score: 18

Scents reviewed: 3

Top score: 30
Bottom score: 18
Average: 23

Conclusion: A fairly average incense house. I've only had the dhoops; they didn't make much of an impression on me. I'm keeping an open mind, but there's nothing as yet which pulls me toward exploring further. 

***

The Best Incense Makers

Haria Lavender Dhoop

  

This is a dry dhoop by Haria Fragrance of Mumbai.  Bought for 50p from PopatStores around two years ago. There is a moderately pleasant scent on the stick - floral, vinegar, leather polish; moderately volatile. The burn produces a fair amount of smoke, though also smells quite dry and smoky. The pack was unopened, but it appears the perfume has largely evaporated. As the dhoop settles into the burn, some of the lavender scent can be detected, but it is smothered in a smouldering wood powder smell. I suspect this dhoop is made from wood powder rather than charcoal. In my 11 year experience of reviewing incense, I have found that charcoal is a much better combustible than wood powder. 

Date: Dec 2024   Score: 18

***

Haria

Dhoop

Best of Lavender

Fragrances & Sens Ethnic Vibes Palo Santo Sandalwood

 

Last of the three Ethnic Vibes incenses I bought on  Hostenatura.es. This was 15gms for €1.64. All three have attractive packaging, and an "ethnic vibe" related to Native American tribal rituals - the burning of Palo Santo and White Sage.  The sticks have been made by an unknown white label incense house in India. 

The scent on the stick is smooth and woody with an awareness of halmaddi - which is odd, as I would assume that halmaddi would be used for the scent that is to be warmed rather than for the cold scent on the stick. Perhaps the scent I associate with halmaddi (a prickly, warm wool scent), is actually an aroma compound of sandalwood. Anyway, I like the scent on the stick. I am more familiar with sandalwood than Palo Santo, so I am recognising sandalwood scents rather than Palo Santo scents. 

The scent on the stick is a little rough with a jagged smoky edge, though as it settles there is some pleasant musky notes.  There isn't a huge difference between this and the Ethnic Vibes Palo Santo, but I prefer the straight Palo Santo. I expect the fragrances in both are derived from aroma compounds rather than using the actual wood or an essential oil made from the woods. And, for me, the blends used in the straight Palo Santo work better, producing a more complex and attractive fragrance. But this is nice enough as a warm room freshener. A little gentle perhaps, but acceptable enough.  

Date: Dec 2024    Score: 28 

***

Fragrances & Sens

Palo Santo

Fragrances & Sens Ethnic Vibes Palo Santo

 

Attractive packaging for the Ethnic Vibes incense brand of the now closed Fragrances & Sens company set up in the south of France by a sole trader business woman. The incense was made by an unknown white label Indian incense house - the packaging is similar to some of Hari Darshan's recent output, particularly under the Tribal Soul and Native Soul brands.

Standard masala style sticks - quite strongly perfumed on the outside to give the customers a positive initial impression. A little too volatile for my taste - quite crisp and cold, though the perfume is pleasant: creamy sandalwood, some florals - violet and iris, some spice, some mint, and a splash of citrus. It's a nice, though fairly generic, Indian incense smell - woods and florals with some spice and citrus. It's too perfumed to feel like Palo Santo - it feels like a blend of aroma compounds or fragrance oils. 

The fragrance on the burn is warm and attractive. More musky than woody. A little spicy, and a little sweet, though not too much of either. There's faint suggestions of patchouli, and a gradually increasing sense of sandalwood. I get the prickles that I associate with halmaddi, though I'm not entirely sure if it is halmaddi that I'm reacting to. On the whole this incense presents as a fairly standard decent modern perfumed masala stick. I like it. It doesn't excite or lift me, but neither does it disappoint or annoy me. It's an OK incense for casual, indifferent burning. It will warm up a room, and it will cover modest off-smells.    

Date: Dec 2024    Score: 30

***

Fragrances & Sens

Palo Santo

Fragrances & Sens Ethnic Vibes

 

Fragrances & Sens was a fragrance company set up in 2015 by a business woman in La Mure in the south of France. She dissolved the business in 2020/2021. Ethnic Vibes was the incense brand, and was made by an unknown white label incense house in India. The style of packaging (slide out tray, inner packet tied with string, and a little gift attached) is similar to some of Hari Darshan's recent output, particularly under the Tribal Soul and Native Soul brands. As the company was stopped in 2020, and officially closed in 2021, the stock being sold now in places like Hostenatura.es, Arabesk.uk, PilgrimsBazaar, Amazon, etc, is likely to be four or five years old.

 

Reviews

   

Fragrances & Sens Ethnic Vibes Palo Santo (PM)
Dec 2024 - Score: 30

Fragrances & Sens Ethnic Vibes
Palo Santo Sandalwood (PM)
Dec 2024 - Score: 28

Ethnic Vibes White Sage Lavender (PM)
Dec 2024 - Score: 27

Scents reviewed: 3 
Top score: 30
Bottom score: 27

Average: 28 

Conclusion: Pleasant room freshener incense in attractive packaging by a white label Indian incense house for a now closed French distributor. Decent enough, but I'm not interested in seeking out any more. 
 

***

Own brand distributors

Fragrances & Sens Ethnic Vibes White Sage Lavender

 

Bought from Hostenatura.es  - 15gms for €1.64.  The packaging is very attractive. There is a slide out tray, which is becoming quite popular, and the inner packet has a little plastic charm. It's a similar set up to some of Hari Darshan's recent output, particularly under the Tribal Soul and Native Soul brands. The incense was made by a white label incense house in India for a French business woman from La Mure in the south of France. Her company was Fragrances & Sens, and the incense brand was Ethnic Vibes. The company ran from 2015 to 2021, so this is likely to be stock from 2020. 

This is a standard size perfumed masala style incense. Volatile and alcoholic perfumed scent on the stick. Dark fruits, some dust, leather, and tobacco. Cherry liquor. I'm not getting much in the way of either white sage or lavender. The scent on the burn is a little smoky and generally vague. The scent in the room initially comes more from the stick than the burn, though gradually the "warm throw" of the heated fragrance starts to make itself more felt. It is a pleasant scent, centring on warm, dark fruit and alcohol - mulled wine is what I think I'm settling on. It's OK. A modest room freshener. 

Date: Dec 2024   Score: 25

***

  

Fragrances & Sens

White Sage

Orkay Namaste India Palo Santo with Chamomile Smudge Incense

 

Bought from Hostenatura.es  - 10 chunky sticks for €1.72.  Similar to Orkay's Palo Santo with Lemon Grass, these sticks appear to follow the example of sticks made by Native Americans in California and distributed by New Age; which themselves are similar to the popular Fred Soll "Resin On A Stick", which has been made since 1972.  I really like the Californian made New Age sticks. These Orkay sticks are OK (better when burned in a cool, open space), though I don't find them as rewarding and attractive as the New Age sticks. There's also the Ispalla sticks from Peru. I paused on reviewing those as they had a problem, and Juan of Ispalla said they would send me some fresh sticks, as they had since fixed the problem. They've not yet arrived. 

I'm not getting an awful lot from this stick. It's fairly neutral - there are smells, but I'm neither repelled nor entranced by them. The predominant olfactory impression I get from burning this Palo Santo with Chamomile is of smoke, burning rubber, scorched herbs, very dark roasted coffee beans (such as for espresso), and burning garden material. I don't find it to be an aesthetic scent.  Burning it in the cool, more open environment of the outhouse produces a more attractive scent, kinda musky and herbal. It may generally appeal to those who wish to smudge for the ritual and/or medicinal properties of the palo santo wood and the chamomile.  

Date: Dec 2024   Score: 24

***

Namaste India Incense

Palo Santo

Orkay Namaste India Palo Santo with Lemon Grass Smudge Incense

  

I am currently exploring South American incense, such as Inca Aromas, and was browsing for some incense by Nirvana Incenso, when I landed on the technologically awkward site, Hostenatura.es (finding incense and ordering it, and then getting it delivered was way more awkward that it should have been due to a poor IT setup), which had the Nirvana incense I wanted (will review soon), plus some related style of incense, such as these Palo Santo smudge sticks by Orkay Namaste India. 

Orkay / Indian Incense are a Bangalore based incense house, founded in 1956, whose masala line, Namaste India, I have particularly enjoyed. Palo Santo is the wood of the Palo Santo tree - Bursera graveolens. It is native to South America, and is in the same family as frankincense and myrrh. Several years after the tree has died, the oils in the wood become especially fragrant and cleansing. It is associated with rituals among cultures in South America, and is one of the key fragrant woods - the three kings of wood are: Sandalwood, Agarwood, and Palo Santo.  Smudge sticks are associated with the smudging rituals of Native Americans from Canada to Brazil. They have become popular among hippies, New Agers, and others who are interested in natural, older ways of living. 

These fat, rough, incense sticks are not conventional smudge sticks (which tend to be bunches of white sage tied together), though I particularly associate them with incenses I have been buying which have been made by Native Americans, particularly in the California area. They are kind of similar to the popular Fred Soll "Resin On A Stick". Which came first - Fred Soll's incense or incense sticks by Native Americans, I haven't yet looked into, though Soll has been making his incense since 1972, and it appears he starting making them without influence from Native Americans.  

This is a delightfully rough and ready incense with bits of lemon grass mixed into the paste - so much that some falls off in the packet. The scent on the stick is quite herby and grassy, with elements of marijuana. There's some school rubber, some school glue (PVA?), and a lot of dirty earth, including poo. It's fascinating!  It's fairly smoky on the burn, and there's few aesthetics in the scent. It smells a bit like herbs burning. It's not like the attractive aroma of herbs in cooking - the herbs warming up and releasing their fragrance - it's when the herbs scorch when roasting in the oven. There are other scents here, but this incense doesn't really attract me, so I'm not motivated to engage with it to describe the scents. 

I like the idea and the appearance of this incense, and had some hopes for it, but in the end it's just a little too crude for me. It's not offensive - it's just that, for me, it's not attractive. It's possible that those who like Himalayan incense might like this because it is herby, dry, and minimally perfumed. 

 After doing this review, I hadn't got on with the incense, and had no interest in following up, which I sometimes do, so I just put the remains of the burning stick in the outhouse, and gave the incense a score of 20. A little while later I went into the outhouse, which is a cooler, fresher place than my study, and I found that the scent in that environment had really bloomed. The combination of the crisp, cooler, cleaner air with the incense really focused certain citric elements of the incense scent, so it appeared sharp, bright, lemony, and delicious. A totally new and different experience. Irene of Rauchfahne sometimes mentions that she feels some incense works better in certain environments, which I had found interesting, though hadn't fully experienced it myself. Now I have.  Moved from 20 (in an enclosed and warm room) to 34 (in a cooler and more open environment). 

Date: Dec 2024   Score: 34

***

Namaste India Incense

Palo Santo

Elements Black Rose Twilight Blush

 

Christmas present. I've burned some of these Elements branded incense previously, and not found them interesting. Kinda standard, generic, unremarkable perfumed incense. And I'm not a big fan of florals, especially rose. So, ho hum, I'm not expecting much here.

Big whack of alcoholic volatility on the stick, and a slap around the head of old ladies' knickers (older women used to put rose sachets in their underwear drawer). The scent on the stick is of burning hair (perhaps a stray hair of the woman who rolled this stick). There is some rose, but also a general unpleasant burning smell. This is low end, bargain basement incense packaged nicely. Ho hum. This will now go into the outhouse to keep the flies away from the cat's food. 

Date: Dec 2024    Score: 12

***

Elements by Something Different

Best rose incense