Auroshikha – Real: Champa, Jasmine, Lotus and Rose
I got these 4 packs, each with 2 sticks remaining, from Sascha. These are all but one variety of the Real line (Lavender is missing).
You can buy them, for example, at Anandam. A pack of 10 sticks, about 22cm long, costs €1.95.
According to Anandam, the Real line was “originally developed for the Indian market, it impresses with a particularly strong, room-filling fragrance.“
Real Champa
What is and isn’t meant by ‘Champa’, and to what extent the genre of ‘Champa’ incense sticks differs from that of ‘Nag Champa’, is a recurring discussion with no clear resolution.
In any case, the pack’s image shows frangipani blossoms.
The cold throw of the sticks is unpleasant. An intense, floral smell with an indolic edge.
The smell when burning I find floral and sweet in an unspecific way. It reminds me neither of frangipani nor of any other ‘Champa’ incense.
The indolic note is noticeably lighter than in the raw smell, but not gone. Furthermore, a slight sparkling shows through.
I can smell the base of the sticks a little, but the smell of the perfume is potent enough to mostly mask it.
Real Jasmine
The raw sticks have a very intense, soapy jasmine smell, which I find recognisable but not very authentic.
Smelling the stick gives me a scratch in my throat. I hesitate to light it.
With the burning stick, despite its potency, the base comes through quite strongly; I smell the sooty smell of the charcoal, or maybe that comes from the fragrance oils getting too hot.
Then the wave of jasmine scent washes over me and the scratch in my throat returns; I put the stick out.
The smell is a little more recognisable as jasmine than on the unlit sticks, but it’s quite indolic and too potent.
Real Lotus
Real Lotus smells fairly similar to Real Champa; I don’t know if I could tell the two apart. The raw smell is a bit tangier, but also more indolic.
The smell when burning is again more pleasant than the raw smell. And again it’s a kinda generic, sweet and sparking floral scent.
I don’t find Real Lotus actually unpleasant, but it’s nothing I’d buy—or light, outside a review.
Real Rose
The cold throw is recognisable as rose; it smells like a strongly scented rose soap.
Real Rose has an intense, typical rose scent. It’s sweet, but also has a slightly fresh, green aspect.
I find it quite OK for cheap rose incense sticks.
Conclusion:
Real delivers on its promise, in that the line’s varieties have intense, Indian scents. Though I wouldn’t call them ‘real’, in the sense of realistic.
Anyone looking for potent floral scents for large rooms or outdoor use might well be happy with Real. Personally, I’d rather avoid them. The one exception is Real Rose, which I find quite OK.