Flora/Fluxo type incenses are bold and full of character. There was a quirky and tongue-in-cheek ad campaign for the noodle snack Pot Noodles which used the strapline "The Slag of All Snacks", and that could be applied to Flora incense, as "The Slag of All Incense" as it is brash, crude, gaudy, colourful, loud, and exciting. Slag is a British slang word which has various uses, generally as an insult or playful banter against both males and females to suggest they are not refined or well behaved, following the standard use of the word as industrial waste. -so it could be used toward a slovenly eater, an overly brightly dressed person, or someone being lazy; though the most notorious use is toward someone who is being overly promiscuous, and is widely regarded as offensive when directed toward a female, so the ad campaign was banned. The defence was weak, because it was clear that it was the sexual aspect that was being focused on - other uses of the term slag do not have the excitement aspect which is important for the suggested pleasure. The naughty, cheap, crude pleasure. And as they were using a man hunting in a prostitute area, it was obvious to everyone what aspect of the word slag they were focusing on. I don't wish to offend anyone, so I'll not be referring to Flora incense as The Slag of All Incense, despite the temptation. I think perhaps "Less temple, more disco", or "This isn't a church, it's a party", or "The Circus Barker of All Incense", might be more acceptable.
The scent on the stick of this Shubh Flora is certainly loud, gaudy, exciting, cheap, colourful, and explosive. It makes itself known in a brash way, which will delight some, and offend others, like a loud circus barker, or colourfully dressed hippy. Its floral and woody and volatile with mangled aldehydes, old shoe leather, church incense, and pond water in summer. Fascinating. I love this sort of thing, though I rarely score Flora incense high because it tends to be too loud in one direction, and there's no room for the contrasts and twists and turns I enjoy and respect so much. Also, most Floras are very predictable to me now. They tend to group together and behave the same way. I mean, I know I'm going to have fun with them, but they are more like over excited teenagers or children than mature, educated adults of taste and experience who have interesting things to say. Floras are great now and again, but I wouldn't want to be with them all the time.
The scent on the burn (typically for a Flora) is softer, warmer, more balanced than the cold throw scent on the stick. The woods come through soft and calming; musky and sweet in the direction of White Musk, though more rounded and natural. There's a gentle sheep's wool accord wrapping around the fragrance. And sweet rose and watery hydrangea florals rounding it all off. The more this burns the more I like it. It's actually rather more refined and tasteful than most Floras. Nice one.
Available from Bangalore Incense at 50g for £0.78. Bangalore Incense ships internationally. [As of May 2026 there is a glitch that multiplies by a thousand the price when it comes to purchase. So a £2 (or $2) incense becomes £2,000. Jaygee has told me that if folks contact him on WhatsApp (+91-8549904990) he'll give them the true (and much lower!) cost. In the meantime he is working to fix the glitch.]
Date: May 2026 Score: 38/50
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