Aromatika Patchouli Incense Cones

 

Quite herby and green smelling - not as sweet as the previous Aromatika cones I've tried. There's a little bit of  Tibetan incense and a little bit of patchouli about this. This is the best Aromatika cone from the Natural Masala Incense Cones collection that I've yet tried. It's not a masala cone, it's perfumed, and a rather light perfume, so it doesn't penetrate a large room, doesn't linger, and can be outdone by the base burning material of the cone. However it has a sultry warmth and I'm quite liking this. 

Date: Jan 2021   Score:  27/50

***

  Aromatika

Pick Your Perfect Patchouli

Aromatika Palo Santo Incense Cones

 

I've had good experience of Aromatika incense - some of their incense is in my top drawer. However, I'm not impressed with these "natural masala" cones. They are not natural masala, they are perfumed. The image on the boxes is that the cones are coloured according to the scent. Well, none of mine are  - mine are all same undyed raw colour. The boxes are all sealed, and the plastic bags inside are all unbroken Aromatika bags, so these are Aromatika cones. There is a possibility that this is a rogue bunch, and what I have got is not what is supposed to be in the boxes, but when we come to the  7 Chakras box the interior contains different coloured cones, as it appears it is supposed to be. So it doesn't appear to be a mistake. Perhaps there is a rogue distributor who has carefully replaced all the Aromatika masala cones with Aromatika perfumed cones (the company makes both, and perfumed are always cheaper). I somehow doubt that - it seems very involved - and what on earth would they then do with all the masala cones? So, I have to assume that the company wanted to produce some masala cones in different colours, but in the end opted for undyed perfume-dipped cones, but didn't want to waste the boxes they already had printed. That seems more likely. 

Palo Santo is a fragrant wood from the bursera graveloens tree, which is in the same family as the trees which produce frankincense and myrrh. I bought some palo santo woods a while back, but haven't yet got round to reviewing them. The cone has a volatile mineral, candy, citric, mint, caramel, and cigarette-ash aroma.  When burning the scent is light and soon dominated by the base material, and is a little smoky. The cone doesn't last too long.  Not impressive. 

Date: Jan 2021   Score:  20

***

  Aromatika

Palo Santo

Aromatika African Musk Incense Cones

Quite a sweet scent on the cone - midway between floral and fruit - with some pine. Fairly volatile, so the scent appears to come from a liquid source than from the dry ingredients. The terms "natural" and "masala" indicate that the scents are derived from natural ingredients gathered together rather than from an artificial scent manufactured in a lab, but it does not preclude liquid scents such as essential oils. 

What's the difference between essential oils and perfumes? An essential oil is made by distilling the fragrant (or "essential") parts of a plant. The resulting liquid contains "volatile" chemical compounds that are readily released into the air, even at room temperature. These chemical compounds are those found naturally in the plant. Perfumes, for thousands of years, have been made from essential oils - either just one, or a blend of several - sometimes on their own, or mixed with other fragrant ingredients, such as powered flower petals. An essential oil, therefore, is a potential ingredient in perfume, usually blended with other fragrant ingredients, and usually mixed with water and/or alcohol. The less diluted, the more expensive the perfume. The scents which are most diluted are colognes;  eau de toilettes are less distilled than colognes; eau de parfums are even less distilled, then essential oils, which in their pure form are not distilled. 

So, if a perfume is made from an essential oil, which may be an ingredient in a natural or masala incense, why are some people who consider themselves incense connoisseurs so hostile and dismissive toward perfumed (or "perfume-dipped" as termed in the West) incense? That's because since the 1850s, when various chemists discovered that various aromatic compounds could be created from   Benzaldehyde, chemists have been involved in making perfume, and some people have a dislike or distrust of processes they don't understand or can't replicate themselves, while others would prefer, aesthetically and morally, that items, such as food and love making and scent, are as natural as possible. Others are happy to eat white bread and Pot Noodles, use lubricant, and burn HEM incense. Each to their own. 

Anyway. Back to the incense. It makes very little impression when being burned. It is a modest, run-of-the-mill incense. There is little impression of the musk initially, though after the top fruity, flowery notes (mildly citric, mildly lavender) have floated, some of the base notes do come through, but also so do some of the rough base notes of the core material - the sawdust, etc. 

On the whole this is lower end everyday stuff. it's not offensive, but it is far from top quality, and has little use beyond general air freshening. 

Date: Jan 2021   Score:  22/50

***

  Aromatika

Musk

Jaycia Passion Opium

 

Second review - scroll down for earlier

Running out of casual incense for the outhouse, I grab this everyday perfumed charcoal incense which is distributed by a UK wholesale company,  Jaycia, based in Birmingham.  It doesn't appear that the company distributes this anymore, but some sites, such as JustAromatherapy, still have stocks, so it's not quite a Vintage incense yet. It's not clear who makes this for Jaycia, but it is very basic bargain basement stuff. There is a crisp burning scent, with little awareness of the perfume that I found modest but pleasant two years ago. That is a particular down side to cheap perfumed charcoal incense, the scent evaporates quite quickly. 

This is basic stuff. The sticks are 10 inches long with 8 inches of hand rolled charcoal paste which has then been dipped in a chemical perfume. There is a claim of the use of "natural essential oils and medicinal herbs" with oils such as sandal, geranium, benzoin, etc, mentioned. Yeah, a few drops of oil in tub of diethyl phthalate (DEP) most likely. Cheap and nasty. Could have been made anywhere in Southeast Asia - quite possibly Vietnam. I'm not impressed. This is now more in the area of toilet cleaner than outhouse incense. I'll see what the cats think, and it it makes the outhouse too unpleasant, I'll just dump them. 

Not recommended. 


Date: Sept 2023   Score:  19 

First review

Perfume-dipped charcoal incense commissioned and distributed by a UK wholesaler, Jaycia.  

Modest but pleasant scent. Warm, almost seductive. It sits in the background, quietly dark and mysterious. It'll do as a gentle inoffensive room freshener, but little more than that. Could be used to subtly inform a room before a potential lover arrives. It's discreet enough not to draw attention to one's desire, but will help create the right atmosphere.

Date: Jan 2021   Score: 26

***

Opium

Passion by Jaycia

Jaycia Passion Spicy Wood

 

Second review - scroll down for earlier

The Jaycia Passion range of perfumed charcoal incense is fairly utilitarian - it has no pretentions to be anything other than a basic set of  air fresheners. And, to be fair, it reaches that basic aim. Not very well, but not that badly either. I like this Spicy Wood. The wood in the name is not clear, as there is just a general generic woody scent - it's not sweet enough for agarwood, nor warm enough for cedarwood, or creamy enough for Indian sandalwood - the nearest equivalent would be Australian sandalwood. It's rootsy, woody, and a little bit spicy. I like woody incense so I am inclined towards this. A pleasant, harmless, synthetic scent that works well. I might keep it in the house rather than put it out for the cats. 

Date:  Oct 2023   Score: 29

First review

Fairly ordinary room freshener charcoal perfumed-dipped incense. I bought a bundle of these cheaply wholesale as an add-on to a more serious wholesale incense purchase. Then wasn't sure what to do with them. They're not bad, but they're nothing special either. Just an everyday room freshener. This one is Spicy Wood, and it's got those characteristics. So it works well enough for what it is.  It's long burning, though fairly light, and is consistent through the burn.  

Manufacturer unknown. Packaged and distributed by Jaycia,  a wholesaler in Birmingham. 

Scent is mildly spicy with some gentle woody notes. It inclines toward sweet in a restrained way, with notes of vanilla and coconut. The longer this burns the more I like it, and it gently informs and warms the room in an attractive way. Would work as a modest everyday welcomer for guests, particularly in winter. Would work well as a general Christmas scent. 

Yeah. Not bad.  

Can be bought on eBay. 


Date: Dec 2019    Score: 28 

Passion by Jaycia

Wild Berry Shorties Fairy Dust

Second review - scroll down for earlier

Cute fairy dust sprinkles and pleasant modern scent on the stick. But the fragrance on the burn is mostly smouldering wood. There's a light perfume floating on top which I like, but it is dominated by the smoulder. 

Date: Aug 2025    Score: 19/50

First review

Regular, or irregular, readers of this blog will know that I don't think much of "America's most popular incense" - Wild Berry. In my experience Wild Berry are all about the marketing rather than the quality of the product. They appear to aim their product at those with little experience of incense. Grabbing the customer's attention by having the perfume-dipped incense sticks open in jars in stores so the customer would be attracted to the scent. But perfume-dipped incense evaporates when left in the open, so the customers were buying an illusion. Perfume-dipped incense can smell great when left open, but the scent doesn't last long that way, and when burned, the high notes have already left the stick due to evaporation so what is left will be some middle notes and the heavier bottom notes which in the case of Wild Berry tend to be coming from the sawdust and charcoal and binding agents which hold the perfume and allow the stick to burn. Not good. 

But over the internet the sellers don't need to leave the sticks exposed in order to attract customers, and so can take better care of the product by keeping the sticks in plastic zip-locked pouches, such as The Scenter, which is where I got these little shorties from a little while back. (Yes, still working through my backlog!)

The scents I have experienced from Wild Berry, have not been my thing. I like modern perfumed incense, as it can offer a greater range and more fun than traditional natural incense. Different moods and different moments call for different types of incense, and sometimes what is needed is something a bit funky, something a bit cheeky, something a bit naughty, something which invokes the right atmosphere.  Stamford's Mythical Black Incense series is great fun, and the foil wrapped incenses have delightful scents. Along the same lines as Wild Berry in terms of the modern perfumes, but better packaged and overall better quality, are Juicy Jay's Thai Incense - if you like Wild Berry, it might be worth giving Juicy Jay's a try. 

Anyway, these Wild Berry Shorties Fairy Dust sticks are cute - they are a little longer than a finger and can sit in the palm of your hand. There's fairy dust glitter sprinkled on the base of the stick. The sticks are machine made from a paste that appears to have been pre-impregnated with the perfume as the perfume has remained on the stick, and has not evaporated. 

The scent is delicate and not unpleasant. It is quite light, and that may be due to the age, but has attractive mid range floral notes. A little smoky at the base, but not intrusive. Few top notes - and that is likely due to age. On the whole I quite like this. A fairly modern and low key scent. 

Date: Dec 2020   Score: 23/50

***

Wild Berry

Gokula Incense Agarwood & Musk

 

I've been a little harsh on this incense over the years. It's a standard masala incense: 6 inches of hand-rolled masala paste on an 8 inch bamboo splint. The paste, around four years old, is rock hard, and when fresh was covered with a thin layer of brown melnoorva with a light dusting of gold sprinkles (a subtle glitter now and again). Scent on the stick is fresh and agreeable, though a little volatile - it's a green scent, slightly damp and earthy, with aspect of Earl Grey tea. The scent on the burn is attractive and warm and woody; and, though a little dryer and peppery than I like, is a decent companion in the house.   

Date: Feb 2024    Score: 32 

Second review

Hah! For the past few days I've been burning some masala incenses which appear to be perfume dipped. To get a contrast I burned a Moksh perfumed incense, and then to get away from all that I thought I'd burn a proper masala and quickly grabbed this Gokula as I know that Gokula are reliably proper masala, only to be somewhat stunned that what I was experiencing appeared to be perfumed dipped, so I started doubting my sense of smell. Glad to check my initial review to note that I felt it was perfume dipped incense.  I have no patience with this at the moment. I don't think I am properly in the mood for a perfume dipped incense, this doesn't smell any better than the Moksh I just had (to be fair, Moksh are a decent perfume dipped company), and while, yes, I can detect the ghosts of agarwood, the main thread here is sharp solvent. Sigh. Not what I wanted at all. I'll be classing this as a perfumed masala. 

Date: Jan 2022   Score: 26 

First review

Neatly made incense stick from one of my favourite suppliers, Gokula Incense, based in Worcestershire. There is a volatile quality to the scent on the stick which indicates that the bulk of fragrance is carried by a perfume or essential oil. What's the difference between a perfume-dipped incense and an essential-oil dipped incense? Well, while perfumes can and sometimes are made from essential oils, what is normally referred to as perfume in the essence trade is a synthetic scent. That is, a scent created mostly out of chemicals than out of natural ingredients. Can you tell the difference when burning? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. Poorly made incense will smell bad. Quality incense will smell good. And you can get poor quality incense made from rough essential oil, and good quality incense made from refined perfume. 

This is a decent enough incense which doesn't smell great on the stick (too much like solvent) but has an OK scent when burned which approximates but doesn't exactly match the scent of agarwood. There isn't much of the musk. It comes over more as a perfume-dipped incense than a natural incense, so that's how I will classify it. 

It's OK, top end of decent, everyday incense. It's warm, slightly seductive, and with that exotic Persian feel that comes from oil soaked agarwood or bakhoor. Not one I'd buy again, but one I'm enjoying burning, and I will enjoy burning the rest of the pack. 

Date: Dec 2020 Score: 29

***

Gokula-incense

Agarwood incense