Anand – Chandan Masala

I got these three sticks from Sascha during one of our sample exchanges (late 2024). He bought them from Ephra World, where a 50g pack costs €5.95.

Just when my hope in Anand had been restored, I lit a stick of this Chandan Masala. 😐

Even the scent of the raw sticks gave me little reason to expect anything good; it reminded me of toilet cleaner and mothballs. With some goodwill, one might describe the smell as spicy.

After lighting it, I was briefly relieved. The toilet cleaner scent was gone; however, there was no sandalwood either. The fragrance I get from Chandan Masala bears a strong resemblance to the perfume I detected in Mysore Sugandhi – Chandan Dhoop, which didn’t impress me at all. It’s a rather weak yet still obtrusive creamy-sweetish smell.
What’s more, Chandan Masala features an extremely odd sour note, which leaves me wondering: ‘Is it really supposed to smell like this?’
It doesn’t take long for this sour scent to become genuinely unpleasant to me, and I put the stick out.

In the after-smell, I unfortunately find the originally associated toilet cleaner again, but now accompanied by the toilet that urgently needs cleaning.
As the smell dissipates, the sour note even starts to remind me of spoiled wheat beer.

Normally, I give incense sticks more than one chance, but after this first impression, I’ve had more than enough.
I’m glad I didn’t let myself be swayed by the charm of the wonderfully old-fashioned looking box to buy it.

I do see the possibility that something was actually wrong with this box of Chandan Masala, so I’d appreciate a comment in case you’re familiar with these sticks.
Does your impression match mine?
Or do you like them and find the scent drastically different from what I’ve described?