I feel certain this is HMS Blue Lotus, which is also sold as Primo Blue Lotus, Sacred Elephant Blue Lotus, Pure Incense Blue Lotus, Berk Ambrosia, and others. I've reviewed it as Primo Blue Lotus and recently as Berk Ambrosia. It's a popular choice, though Bhagwan Incense don't have a lotus made by HMS - Eugene says his Lotus is made by someone else.
I like this Purple Rain. It is quite perfumed, with a scent of Parma Violets, vanilla, florals, and musk. Nice. I like this a bit more today than on previous visits under different names. Either because of my mood, the atmosphere in the room, or this particular batch. It is known that HMS batches do vary. Or this is not made by HMS, but by a company who follow closely the HMS style (or vice versa). Perhaps the same company that Eugene of Bhagwan Incense is using for his Lotus. It's a guessing game. Guess wrong and somebody may say something...
I like this Purple Rain. It is quite perfumed, with a scent of Parma Violets, vanilla, florals, and musk. Nice. I like this a bit more today than on previous visits under different names. Either because of my mood, the atmosphere in the room, or this particular batch. It is known that HMS batches do vary. Or this is not made by HMS, but by a company who follow closely the HMS style (or vice versa). Perhaps the same company that Eugene of Bhagwan Incense is using for his Lotus. It's a guessing game. Guess wrong and somebody may say something...
Gokula sell it as Primo Blue Lotus - 20g for £4.95; Aqasha in Germany sell it as Berk Ambrosia - 10 sticks for £3.00; Pure Incense sell it as Absolute Blue Lotus - 20g for £7.95; and ToI sell it as Purple Rain - 20 sticks for £10 (they do say that what they are currently selling is a "New Blend", so not what I have just burned).
We at Bhagwan are not selling HMS Blue Lotus but soon will be selling Lotus Queen masala incense, which I recently sent to SamsaSpoon to update her on our new developments, and It is not made by HMS.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Eugene, I'll put that in the review.
DeleteI haven't reviewed this one yet, but I got a sample from Sascha and gave it a brief try a while ago.
ReplyDeleteIt was immediately recognizable that this incense must be made by HMS and has a strong family resemblance to BERK's Ambrosia and the different Blue Lotus incenses from Pure, Ganesha, Gokula etc., but I don't think they are the same.
I think Ambrosia and Purple Rain are both blue lotus-based scents, but there are some individual characteristics that distinguish them. Like they were variations of a certain recipe.
Yes. Personally I would rather know who made an incense. But if for business reasons the retailer decides to keep that info from us, all we can do is guess and speculate. Like one of those games at the fete - guess how many sweets in the jar! HEM have been making some damn good masala incense recently. I wonder if this and the Bhagwan Incense are made by HEM. That would be interesting!
DeleteI wonder if HEM are actually the ones producing that Masala incense - and we are one level deeper in the guessing game.
ReplyDeleteIDK if you read that review, but HEM's Myrrh Masala strongly reminded me on King of Myrrh (Happy Hari). I think TOI have that former HH incense in their selection now.
Oh! Speaking of HEM Masala, if you have some of those, I'd be interested in samples! I'm not sure if I thought of those when you wrote me that mail lately. ':D
I popped in Hem's Church Incense last night. I love it. I kinda think you will as well.
DeleteYes, I had seen your review - I have had it linked in with my review for a little while now.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't given thought to HEM outsourcing. I'm not entirely sure there is that much difference these days between "perfumed" and "masala". I suspect most masala incense is dipped in a solution of fragrance and agarbathi oils same as the perfumed incense. I've struggled with the division pretty much since starting this blog. Yes, there's some cheap and crude perfume dipped, but there's also some cheap and crude masala - like those sticks from Pushka. And there's some very attractive perfumed as well as very attractive masala.
I suspect that most incense houses, when making a masala style incense, will be aiming for a more demanding audience, and so will tend to make more effort, and to use their better quality ingredients. And also aim the scent toward something more associated with traditional masala. Like you, I do find that the incenses that I enjoy the most AND satisfy me the most, will be masala style. Though I do sometimes wonder - despite being the maverick individualist that I am - if I hold back the enthusiasm and scores of a perfumed incense because, like Dylan at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in May 1966, I might get booed and called a "Judas".
HEM make only their cheap charcoal incense (black ones). All their masala incense is outsourced to other companies in Bangalore.
ReplyDeleteHi anonymous. Do you have a source for this? That would be useful.
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