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Nikhil Yagnik incense sticks
I initially expected Yagnik to be a variation of Cycle Yagna (Will be reviewed in the future). A Yagnik is a person who performs Yagna, a Hindu fire ritual. So I opened this packet expecting a herbal blend with a base of cowdung, ghee and other ingredients comprising ‘Havan Samagri’ such as camphor, sandalwood, coconut,…
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Gangotrri The Great Indian Amber review
This one is expensive A.F.!! The M.R.P. on the box is Rs. 1100 for 20 sticks – so each stick is worth Rs. 55. I got it from Acharya Products for Rs. 760 so I got a little more than 30% discount on the M.R.P. The packaging box is extremely fancy but unnecessarily so. It…
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Shroff Amber Rose Dry masala incense sticks
This is a dry masala from Shroff that I purchased directly from their office/warehouse in 2022. It’s yellow-green in colour and I can also see small fibers on the incense. I believe the coarseness of the grind is an indication of the presence of real, dried ingredients rather than liquid fragrances or oils. The unlit…
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Blue Lotus incense sticks comparison -Rasbiharilal & Sons, Nataraj, Haridas Madhavdas Sugandhi.
1. I bought RBL&S Absolute Blue Lotus incense from their official website for the Indian market. RBL&S is based in Mathura or Vrindavan and they seem to sell the same incenses that are lighted in the temples of Vrindavan – most bear a vague or legend-based name without any fragrance description. Each type of incense is sold…
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Incense in India – A little bit of history
Disclaimer: My thoughts on this subject are based on observation, experience and logical reasoning rather than structured scientific research, so please consider this post as an opinion piece. I welcome questions, discussion and correction of any misrepresented facts. In Hindu culture, Havans (fire rituals) have been performed to purify the air and to rid the…
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Aranyam Chandan incense sticks
Aranyam is a new brand I discovered at the Kala Ghoda festival 2023. I believe they specialise in attars and natural perfumes but they were also selling some self care products and 4 or 5 variants of incense sticks. I haven’t been able to find incense on their website. I suspect they haven’t launched the…
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Nikhil’s Sugandha incense sticks
I had recently visited Acharya products in Mumbai. They are an incense shop selling hundreds of different types of masala incense from all over the country. Although it’s nice to have a physical shop selling incense, they don’t let you open the box and sniff the sticks prior to purchase. Moreover, it’s not a supermarket…
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Nagchampa comparative review
Randomly ordered, not indicative of preference. Satya Nag Champa (BNG): It’s a tad too sweet for my taste but unlike most other Satya incenses, it doesn’t give me headache. It also has some powdery notes. 7/10 Rajpal Nag Champa: When I first burnt this, I was instantly reminded of someone I know who is a…
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Ullas Traditions of India incense sticks
I got Ullas Traditions of India as part of their combo pack of Traditions+Agarveda on their Mydukaan.io online store. At the moment, the combo pack is priced at Rs. 698 (After 50% discount) for a dozen boxes of each fragrance, approximately 12 sticks per box. The unlit stick smells very strongly of a lemon-lime soap…
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Balaji Red incense sticks
I bought Balaji Red from Amazon.in but it isn’t available there anymore. I generally don’t like purchasing from Amazon and order directly from manufacturers whenever possible. But Balaji Red was not even listed on Balaji’s own official website! I also wrote an email to Balaji but received no response. However, Balaji Red is now available…
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Vinasons Ashtagandha sticks
I bought this from the Vitthaldas Narayandas & Sons official website for Rs. 42 for 20 grams. I had been discussing Ashtagandha with my friend Hobbyschnüffler recently. Until then, I had always mixed up Ashtagandha with Ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is a herbal root whereas Ashtagandha is a blend of 8 fragrances – What those 8 fragrances…
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Vinason’s Gold incense sticks
I bought it from Vitthaldas Narayandas & Sons’ online shop for Rs. 50 for 20 grams. The MRP on the box is Rs. 65 but I’m not surprised that it is cheaper on their website. This is one of the things I like about their website – They also sell smaller quantities so that we…
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Ullas Agarveda incense sticks
I bought Ullas Agarveda and Traditions of India as a combo pack from Ullas’ online store for Rs. 698 (after a 50% discount) with 1 dozen boxes of each fragrance, each box containing 12 sticks. There is no doubt that they were going for a herbal-ayurvedic scent with this one but is the ‘agar’ in…
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Mother’s fragrances Roses and Violets incense sticks
Firstly, let’s take a moment to appreciate the pretty packaging. The handmade marbled paper is gorgeous but the contrasting colours are strikingly beautiful and also match the fragrance profile. Unfortunately, they chose to taint this exquisite work of art with Comic Sans MS. The incense is a charcoal based stick that looks like it was…
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Ullas Spiritual Mandala incense sticks
I got this incense directly from the manufacturer in a pack of 1 dozen along with a few other Ullas incenses. The current selling price is Rs. 349 (after a discount of 50%) for a dozen boxes of 10 sticks each. The order was delivered within 2 days to Bangalore (It was also shipped from…
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Shroff Silver incense sticks
This is my first review on this blog so why not start with a namesake – ‘Silver’. I bought Shroff incense when I was in Bangalore. Unfortunately, it is not sold anywhere else in India. They don’t have an online presence or distributors within India. I went directly to their packaging warehouse after talking to…
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My journey with incense and reasons for creating this blog
As I was raised in a Hindu household in India, I have been exposed to incense on a daily basis, most likely since the time I was born. The incense usually burnt at home, however, was often the cheapest and thus, of poorest quality. My first experience with premium incense was when my parents visited…
Incense reviews and more
A whiff of Ambrosia 