Tree Of Life: Goloka vs. Balaji
I bought Goloka‘s interpretation of the “Tree of Life” theme in winter (Ephra World Shop, €1.85 – 15g/approx. 10 pieces = ~19ct per stick; burning time 35–45 minutes) and that’s also when I tried it for the first time. I found it quite smoky and very generic, with no real uniqueness to it. But I suspected that the cold winter air wasn’t beneficial to their scent, so decided to get back to them again when it got warmer. (Temperature and relative humidity can have a huge impact on smells.)
In April, I noted that I sometimes smelled a small amount of sandalwood, although the overall scent profile had a very tart, dark character. “Soapy and herbaceous, with a slight freshness that lightens the smell a bit”, my notes say.
I’ve now put them in my burn-outside-box because I found the dark aroma, which I eventually identified as oakmoss, increasingly obtrusive. My final note reads: “Woody, dark; reminds me too much of old-fashioned men’s perfume.” It’s okay to burn outside, there, you only get a whiff of it now and then, so it doesn’t become too intrusive.
I bought them because they seem very popular. Unfortunately, it’s not my taste.
Rating: 2.2
The ones from Balaji, also bought from Ephra, cost €1.65 – 15g/approx. 13 sticks. Price per stick: ~ 13ct. The burning time is given as 35–40 minutes.
They smell entirely different to Goloka‘s.
I have done a complete 360° turn in perceiving their scent profile with the first few tries. (Yes, really. Not 180° – once completely in a circle.)
I more or less hated them the first time. There’s a note that I associate with nutmeg, although I’m not sure that’s actually what it is1. The reason is that nutmeg smells like cat pee to me, and that’s what these sticks do as well. Furthermore, I found the scent soapy and with only the faintest hint of a sandalwood sweetness.
I didn’t want to smell them again. At the same time, I don’t want to label anything as bad after just one try; so many factors can influence the smell, and sometimes you just have a bad day…
The second impression was thoroughly different – but not good either. I no longer smelled nutmeg. At first, I actually found them delicious, but then a very strange niff began to spread: dark and pungent.
Third try. “This is so strange. I’m really starting to like it. The unpleasantness in the composition becomes clearer and now presents itself as a pungent soapiness that only occurs when the smoke is not diluted enough. At next, this smell becomes dry and with very high air dilution, it disappears completely into the background and the smell is overall very pleasant. A subtly sweet, powdery and spicy aroma.”
They were then put in the outside-box as well, because they are obviously best served with lots of fresh air. At this point, I’ve come back to the beginning: The next time I burned them, the pissy nutmeg note was present again. 😐
They will now be passed on to a friend who likes nutmeg and liked the sample I sent him. He said he doesn’t think it’s nutmeg, but he knows what I mean.
Rating: WTF 0-2
- I recently learned that some rose scents can have this effect on me, and I (as well as others) have noticed similar with some sandalwood sticks. ↩︎