The Organica / Natural series has been around since at least 2018 with six Indian focused fragrances (Davanam, Astagandha, Frangipani, Kastoori, Sandalwood, and Sri Tulasi), though appears to have been joined at some point with four additional scents with a Native American focus (Palo Santo, White Sage, Lavender & White Sage, and Sandalwood & White Sage). They are distributed in the US by Om Imports, and in the UK by Puckator. Sold in the UK at around £1.50 per 15gm pack, and in the US at $2.00 per pack. The Organica name appears to have been replaced at some point with Natural, so while retail outlets still refer to them as Organica, it appears that Goloka want them to be known as Natural. I have noted other Indian incense companies moving away from using the term "organic" for incense exported to the West - this may be due to legal pressure to have companies pay for certification in order to label products as organic.
I like sandalwood incense. Well, I like oil based sandalwood incense - less keen on the wood based sandalwood incense which is favoured in Asian countries. I'm cool with man made sandalwood oil, as it is the scent that I'm most interested in, and it is difficult for most people to detect when a synthetic has been used. The price may give it away. As well as the scent being rounded, and perhaps quite heady as the lower cost allows for generosity in use. Indeed, I suspect most Indian sandalwood incense utilises synthetic sandalwood oil. It works. It's low cost. It doesn't harm the planet. Trees should be for hugging not for chopping down for our pleasure.
The scent on the stick has sandalwood, a little soapy (possibly due to an aldehyde in the fragrance mix, placed there to make the sandalwood warmer and richer), as well as a glorious meld of herby, dusty, curiously natural feeling scents. This reminds me of the Astagandha and the Sri Tulasi in terms of herbs and the yinyang balance of synthetics and natural. I'm not suggesting that there is a balance of natural and synthetic fragrance ingredients here, just that is how the accord presents itself to me. It's a compelling and satisfying accord that keeps on giving.
The scent on the burn is centred on sandalwood, though it's a little dry and peppery prickly for my taste - a little too woody, and not enough of the sexy oil. It's an attractive fragrance, just that it doesn't rock my boat the way that some sandalwood can and does. Just a tad too dry and serious for my pleasure (your pleasure may vary).
The scent on the burn is centred on sandalwood, though it's a little dry and peppery prickly for my taste - a little too woody, and not enough of the sexy oil. It's an attractive fragrance, just that it doesn't rock my boat the way that some sandalwood can and does. Just a tad too dry and serious for my pleasure (your pleasure may vary).
Hi Steve! I just wanted to add to your point about synthetic sandalwood oil. Personally, I strongly support the wider use of synthetics. If more people embraced them, the demand—and consequently the price—of natural sandalwood oil could come down significantly. That, in turn, could help protect and increase the sandalwood tree population in India. When the financial incentive for illegal logging disappears, the trees stand a better chance of survival.
ReplyDeleteWhile synthetics are already quite common, the real oil is still in heavy demand—especially in the tobacco and flavor industries—which keeps its price high due to limited supply. It’s also worth mentioning that many companies have now succeeded in replicating the oil at a molecular level, including alpha and beta santalols and other components naturally found in genuine sandalwood oil.
Thanks Alok. I've been beating the drum for synthetics for years. Especially synthetic sandalwood. In the sophisticated fragrance world, synthetics have long been accepted, but in the incense world there is this unrealistic and largely mistaken desire for totally natural scents in everyday sticks. In my experience very few incense makers can truly compose a wonderful scent using just natural scents. Some manage it - and this move towards resin sticks shows that it can be done even with limited knowledge of perfumery, as long as the natural ingredients are pure resins. But on the whole most sticks benefit from synthetics, even when using naturals, as the synthetics can fill in the olfactory gaps.
DeleteAs regards the tobacco industry - I'd like to see all the owners and management staff imprisoned for crimes against humanity. Selling people addictive toxins and poisons, knowing it is going to impair their life and likely bring about their early death, just to make money is indisputably immoral.
DeleteI completely agree. In fact, in the world of fine French perfumery, most of the fragrance composition is synthetic, with natural ingredients used sparingly—mainly to add depth and nuance. I feel there’s often an unrealistic expectation placed on incense makers to use only natural materials, without acknowledging the high cost that comes with it. When creators are pressured into meeting such expectations, it can really limit their creative freedom.
DeleteI totally agree with what you said about tobacco industry, Steve! In my country it is a real issue.
ReplyDelete