Incense In The Wind

Radiating Incense In The Wind - a painting by Hai Linh Le

Saturday 9 March 2013

Metro Three in one


Chariot / Jasmine / Sandal

Three in one is a mixed pack which contains Chariot, Jasmine and Sandal. The pack was bought for 55p from the online store, the Asian Cookshop. The scents are packed in three different coloured inner sleeves, but the sleeves are not marked so discerning which scent is which is done by sniff and guesswork

The sticks are messily hand-rolled using a charcoal paste onto dyed sticks, and then appear to be dipped in perfume. The incense paste is unevenly and inconsistently applied, so some sticks are thicker than others. The incense is made by the Metro Agarbatti Company of Karachi, Pakistan. My first Pakistan incense.

The incense from the green sleeve produces a yellowish/creamy coloured smoke of modest to moderate density. The smoke is soft and pleasant, but a little bit prickly. The sticks burn at a fairly rapid pace.The scent is sandalwood and soft flowery rose perfume with sharp balsamic notes. It is a mild and pleasant aroma, with no off-notes, and a hint of something different. On the stick there are notes of celery, kumquat, lime-jelly and Parma Violets. Quite attractive. The more I burn these the more I like them.

The orange sleeve contains sticks that have some aroma notes of sandalwood, camphor, and furniture polish. When burned it is quite woody and a little harsh, but is not unpleasant. There are burnt herb notes and some synthetic floral perfume. The sum is greater than the parts, as it's not an unpleasant incense, if clearly a little basic and unrefined.

The sticks in the pink sleeve smell of Palma Violets - those sweet and delicious little sweets. When
burned they have an aroma of stale rose perfume and old ladies knickers. Not great.


Score: 29

Review: 9 March 2013


I have been burning these stick again recently and I find the heady, flowery scents to be quite appealing; I like that the warm, sensual scent lingers pleasantly for some whole afterwards, lifting a room. I also like the bright packaging, and that the sticks are from Pakistan, making them a little different from the commonly available Indian incenses. The scent does come from synthetic perfumes, and clearly so, but the scents are much more appealing than many natural scents, such as Nepal incense, and way more attractive than the cheaply perfume dipped incenses marketed by UK based distribution companies such as Ancient Wisdom.

Score: 30

Review: 17 June 2014

***

Incense by Country

Metro Agarbatti Company of Pakistan

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