Oh gosh. One of the things I dislike about retailers who rebrand, is I don't know if what I'm reviewing is just a rebadged stick that I've already reviewed. It irritates me. My initial instinct is that this is a HMS Patchouli which has been and is sold under numerous names and at varying prices - I've reviewed the Primo/Gaura/Gokula Patchouli and the Bhagwan Patchouli, which are the same stick made by Haridas Madhavdas Sugandhi (HMS). This has similarities - the appearance and colour of the paste and powder (green with sparkles); the scent on the stick and the burn; but the bamboo splint is uncoloured, whereas normally it is coloured pink. So, is this a different maker, who creates a patchouli which looks and smells like HMS, or have ToI asked HMS to use uncoloured sticks; and perhaps alter the formulation slightly to make it unique to them? Who knows? Well, Simi and Sam Aydee, owners of ToI, know. And HMS would know. But we don't. Frustrating.
I have became more and more aware over the years of the amount of white labelling that goes on in Indian incense, as well as incense houses using several different brands - such as GR International and SAC; incense houses sharing distribution - such as Balaji and BIC, and a dazzling amount of outsourcing, so it is hard to keep up with who makes what for whom; in addition to the blatant copying that has gone on for decades! It's a whirl! And, I guess, if you're burning Indian incense you just have to shrug and accept it. It's all part of the colourful messy swirl of Indian culture. And I do accept it, usually with a smile. But now and again situations like this crop up, and I just get a little irked. Anyway.
The scent on the stick is pretty much as I have experienced on the other HMS Patchouli sticks - it's sweet - honey sweet like baklava, minty, green, fresh, mildly volatile, herbal, touch of sandalwood, bit of fresh earth. It's an attractive scent.
The scent on the burn is pretty much as I experienced on the other HMS Patchouli sticks. The burn is mild, a tad smoky, less interesting than the scent on the stick. It is however, pleasantly warm, musky, woody, with vanilla. It disperses gently around the room, enveloping it in the warm and pleasant tones. It's a lovely incense. Perhaps a tad sweet and commercial - I'd like it to be a little sexier and earthier and rough, but still a damn fine incense.
I have became more and more aware over the years of the amount of white labelling that goes on in Indian incense, as well as incense houses using several different brands - such as GR International and SAC; incense houses sharing distribution - such as Balaji and BIC, and a dazzling amount of outsourcing, so it is hard to keep up with who makes what for whom; in addition to the blatant copying that has gone on for decades! It's a whirl! And, I guess, if you're burning Indian incense you just have to shrug and accept it. It's all part of the colourful messy swirl of Indian culture. And I do accept it, usually with a smile. But now and again situations like this crop up, and I just get a little irked. Anyway.
The scent on the stick is pretty much as I have experienced on the other HMS Patchouli sticks - it's sweet - honey sweet like baklava, minty, green, fresh, mildly volatile, herbal, touch of sandalwood, bit of fresh earth. It's an attractive scent.
The scent on the burn is pretty much as I experienced on the other HMS Patchouli sticks. The burn is mild, a tad smoky, less interesting than the scent on the stick. It is however, pleasantly warm, musky, woody, with vanilla. It disperses gently around the room, enveloping it in the warm and pleasant tones. It's a lovely incense. Perhaps a tad sweet and commercial - I'd like it to be a little sexier and earthier and rough, but still a damn fine incense.
This is so much like the other HMS sticks that I have no hesitation in labelling it as such - and if it's not HMS, it's a clear copy, which is pretty much the same thing. So, it's up to you who you buy from. If you're in India, you can get it from HMS via Amazon at 50g for ₹149 (£1.49); if you're in Europe you can get it from Bhagwan at 15g for €3.95; in America from Exotic Incense as Prasad Celestial Patchouli at 10 sticks for $2.20; in the UK you have a choice of Pure Incense Absolute Patchouli at 20g for £7.95; you can buy from Gokula as Primo Connoisseur Patchouli 20g for £4.95 or as Gokula Patchouli for the same price; or from ToI at 20 sticks for £12.00. You generally get 1 stick per g. By my calculation, Indians have it cheapest at 3p a stick, the Prasad Celestial is next cheapest at 18p a stick, then Bhagwan at 22p a stick, followed by Gokula at 25p a stick. The most expensive is ToI at 60p a stick. You pays your money, you makes your choice.
Date: Jan 2025 Score: 37
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Hi Steve, as with most of TOI's collection, these are sourced from Vedic Vaani and are sold by them as Sacred Rituals:
ReplyDeletehttps://vedicvaani.com/sacred-rituals-incense-sticks
Don't pay attention to the picture of the sticks on their website as they use generic pictures most of the time. Me and a few others have cross referenced all of Vedic Vaani's sticks with TOI and others and found most of TOI/Happy Hari/Absolute Bliss' collection comes from there. I'd be happy to give you a full rundown/history as it's rather interesting.
I would love to have the full history!
DeleteI've not really looked into Vedic Vaani - I think at some point that I assumed they were another outlet for HMS. But they are definitely separate, with their own production?
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