The “Chakra” sampler by Soul of India

Not much enthusiasm | 1.6 on average

Purchased from Jeomra’s Räucherwelt for €4.90.

They smell pretty good out of the package. You might think that there is a range of very different scents waiting for you here, but that’s far from reality.
When compared directly, they are definitely distinguishable, but they still give me the impression of uniformity. The more I tried them, the less I could tell them apart. I was inclined to write down variations of “like the others” over and over, it was downright frustrating.

I find the entire line to be perfumey; not necessarily artificial, but they remind me of room fragrance/air freshener. None of them are really unbearable, but I wouldn’t want to have most of the smells in my living space. Almost all of them contain a note that I find unpleasant and intrusive.
The two that I liked best from the line are Sakralchakra and Halschakra, but overall, they fail for me.
I also noticed that they all give me a slight, burning feeling in the back of my throat, even though I’m usually not sensitive to perfumes and such.

Kronenchakra (Crown Chakra) Raw: Perfumy, slightly astringent. Spicy, fresh, slightly sweet. Smoky: Floral, tart, smoky. Similar to Halschakra, because of the underlying, herbaceous freshness. Floral, sweet, a little smoky and again that strange note that they all have, and I find intrusive.	1.4
Stirnchakra (Third Eye Chakra) Chakra Raw: Air Freshener. Smokey: Not really my thing. Lavender? Somehow intrusively floral. With enough fresh air, the smell becomes more pleasant and the herbal notes come through a little more.	1.6
Halschakra (Throat Chakra) Raw: Perfumy heavy/dark, tart-fresh, somewhat pungent. Smoky: Spicy, subtly floral and fresh. A rather heavy smell with woody, slightly balsamic-sweet components.	2.2
Herzchakra (Heart Chakra) Raw: Slightly astringent, woody, perfumey. Smoky: Tart, perfumey, slightly floral. Similar to Stirnchakra, lavender and that overpowering smell that I find increasingly repulsive.	1.4
Nabelchakra (Navel Chakra) Raw: Perfumy, somewhat soapy, floral, fresh, tart, like the others. You can guess lemon as a balsamic-sour note, but overall, they are soapy and floral.	1.0
Sakralchakra (Abdominal Chakra) Raw: Unobtrusive, vaguely spicy-floral, perhaps herbaceous, a bit soapy. Very smoky at first, but that goes away. Fresh, floral and herbaceous. A bit bitter. Subtle balsamic undertone. Is that the clary sage? It partly reminds me of the cologne that my grandma always used to use – maybe because of the neroli. But it also has something of a male scent, that could be oak moss.	2.2
Wurzelchakra (Root Chakra) Raw: Perfumy/cloister, tart, herbaceous, soapy. Neroli again? Muscat? – They smell very similar. Also a bit smoky, herbaceous and soapy. Every now and then, there is a woody note that could be sandalwood.	1.7
On average Basically, they all need a ton of fresh air to be tolerable. It is best to light it in the neighbouring room and ventilate it crosswise.	1.6

I don’t think these incense sticks are actual Masalas, but rather dipped sticks that use wood powder instead of a charcoal base. They all look exactly the same and machine made. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any information about this, nor about any oils or general ingredients used. They are mainly advertised as a fair-trade product.

I discovered by chance that the “Soul Of India” brand was probably rebranded. My guess is that the company “Inner Reflection” and the brand aroma valley are actually behind this product. On the site www.innerreflection.in (often unavailable due to server problems) you can find product images [The site no longer exists, but I took a screenshot.] that are identical to this packaging, except for the different brand name. They also produce fair-trade. I discovered the site when I picked up some previously unknown to me incense sticks (aroma valley – Natural Masala line) in a store and researched the brand.