A two stick sample sent to me by Irene of German incense blog Rauchfahne. The Natural Incense Company was founded in 2011 in a village just outside Mandya, in Old Mysore, Southern India. They produce traditional masala incense for private label companies. These sticks were made for the Italian organic products importer, Fiore D'Oriente in their Yoga range.
I'd been interested in exploring the Natural Incense Company / Fiore D'Oriente since burning Fiore D'Oriente Angels Gabriel in 2015; but I was put off by the price, and there are plenty of other incenses to explore at more acceptable prices. So when I noticed that Irene had sent me these, I was very pleased. I did some research on the Natural Incense Company and watched a couple of videos of their staff making incense, plus read their description of how they make incense in the traditional masala way of mixing fragrant ingredients in a charcoal paste, allowing the paste to sit and mature for two weeks, before rolling out by hand, and covering the paste in a melnoorva wood powder. Sounds in line with my understanding of how proper masala incense is made. However, my experience in burning the sticks has not been positive. I have saved some of the sticks to try again in case it's just the atmosphere today, or perhaps my mood. But I have found the scents on the burn to be fairly dry and prickly, as well as somewhat simple and limited. I have read Irene's reviews, and we seem to share the view that these sticks are dry and prickly ("tart" is her word), though on the whole she's favourable about the brand. But, after my recent experiences, I'm a little hesitant to get into this Prana, especially as the Natural Incense Company use halmaddi, which tends to irritate me. I thought I'd got used to it, but NIC use a lot of halmaddi, rather like The Mother's, so my eyes, nose, lips, and throat got very irritated after a session burning NIC. I've taken a couple of days off. I'm going to be careful, and burn the stick in the outhouse, then go out a few times for short periods just to pick up the fragrance.
The scent on the stick is sandalwood and some darker or redder woods. Some mild florals. Just sitting on my desk it manages to gently inform the room. I also get a mild allergic reaction just from the stick. I don't know if this genuine reaction to the halmaddi (or some other ingredient in the stick - always remember that just because something is natural doesn't mean it's safe - go eat some natural death cap mushrooms and see how you feel!) or it is suggestive because my body knows there is halmaddi in there, and is already reacting as a warning.
Yeah, it kinda works having it burn in the outhouse. I pop out there and get a woody, fruity, floral scent. Some sense of violets. Nice. Not wonderful, but yeah, an OK masala incense type of scent.
Yeah, it kinda works having it burn in the outhouse. I pop out there and get a woody, fruity, floral scent. Some sense of violets. Nice. Not wonderful, but yeah, an OK masala incense type of scent.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment: