I do like the warm soft retro styling on some of the older Vinason's incenses, like this one and the Dhanashri. These older styles also tend to have a more retro approach to the fragrance - soft, heady, enveloping, and highly perfumed, with a bold accent on the floral. These retro big-perfume florals don't tend to be exported to the West much these days, though they were common in the early Seventies. Mysore Sugandhi Three Roses and Gateway of India are classic survivors, along with this VNS Ratrani. I love that some importers, such as The Incense Atelier, Padma Store, and Everest Trader, are investing in bringing over these classic Indian incenses - they make a vibrant change from the usual soft vanilla of Pune or soft sandalwood of Bangalore.
Ratrani is a night fragrance flower (Cestrum nocturnum) in the potato family - commonly referred to as lady of the night, night-blooming jasmine, and - mostly in India - as night queen. It is not a native Indian plant, but was brought in during the British Raj as a fragrant ornamental plant, and quickly became popular.
Ratrani is a night fragrance flower (Cestrum nocturnum) in the potato family - commonly referred to as lady of the night, night-blooming jasmine, and - mostly in India - as night queen. It is not a native Indian plant, but was brought in during the British Raj as a fragrant ornamental plant, and quickly became popular.
The cold throw scent on the stick is sweet, perfumed, floral, some icy brilliant aldehydes , a spray of TCP antiseptic, some ripe plums, and a good dollop of fermentation. It is rich, beautiful, perhaps a tad sharp in places, and quite engaging. I love the scent - my main issue would be that the accord gathers a little too much in the same area - though this tends to be the case for older style Indian incenses. Modern accords, especially since the global success of Satya Nag Champa in the 1980s, have tended to have more balance and contrast because of Nag Champa's engaging contrast of soft creamy sandalwood with sweet yet bright waxy florals in which neither the top nor the base notes dominate, creating a harmonious whole in which base, middle, and top notes are all present at the same time. However, it's refreshing to have an incense that is so intensely focused on one aspect - the floral. My personal preference has always been for more complex and multi-faceted scents rather than single-notes, so this is not a scent that is likely to fly away in my scoring; but, phew, it is brilliantly compelling nonetheless.
The scent on the burn is less sharp, more rounded, and has a touch of wood. It is, despite being quite heady, a gentle non-invasive scent, though it is a tad smoky. Very likable, with purple notes of violets playing around the fringes. A little too linear for my taste, and the smoky aspect I find off-putting, but all in all an incense I'm happy to burn at any time to fragrance the home.
The scent on the burn is less sharp, more rounded, and has a touch of wood. It is, despite being quite heady, a gentle non-invasive scent, though it is a tad smoky. Very likable, with purple notes of violets playing around the fringes. A little too linear for my taste, and the smoky aspect I find off-putting, but all in all an incense I'm happy to burn at any time to fragrance the home.
Vinason's is available in the UK from TheIncenseAtelier; in Europe from Padma Store (which also has useful samplers); in USA from Everest Trader; and from VNS themselves in India - if you live outside India, contact Shreyas Sugandhi at vns@vnsons.com to place your order and arrange payment.
Date: Feb 2026 Score: 32
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