Spirit of Vinaiki – Traditionelle Linie: Nag Champa, Neroli, Lemongrass
According to Spirit of Vinaiki, their traditional line incenses are hand-rolled, dipped charcoal sticks. Only “high-quality fragrance oils, without the addition of any substances harmful to health” are used. (Translated, this means that they can also contain synthetic oils, just nothing that has yet been proven to be harmful to health.)
“Dipping” is the most modern of all production processes, of course “traditional” sounds better. They are sold in packs of 10 sticks, the inner bag is aroma-sealed. The burning time is approx. 40 minutes. They usually cost €3-4.
Nag Champa
I was given Nag Champa as a gift. Contrary to the manufacturer’s information, they are not charcoal-based. They look like Dry Masala, so it’s either a mixture of aromatic ingredients or – as is likely with dipped incense – some sort of sawdust.
The width of the image corresponds to the length of the packaging.
In terms of smell, they are anything but typical for Nag Champa. They are very floral and sweet, but in an entirely different way than Nag Champa usually is.
Raw, they smell dry, somewhat pungent, strangely medicinal and only slightly floral.
When lit, a very strong aroma of “white flowers” develops. A sharp, bright and fresh floral scent that is very heady. Underneath, there is a tart, deep tone that probably comes from the base. In between those aspects, there’s an empty space; the smell has too little substance for me, nevertheless it becomes overbearing after a very short while.
In fact, they remind me of Soul of India, which I wrote a review of a while ago. I can imagine that lovers of floral scents can be pleased with this composition, but only if you are not expecting Nag Champa because they have clearly missed the topic. Apart from that, I give the rating: 2.0
I was given a sample stick of each of the other two scents; they were wrapped in tissue paper and inserted in a leaflet, on which they left an impressive oil stain. I could smell lemongrass through the sealed envelope they got sent in. They are both indeed charcoal based. The dough application is quite thick, significantly thicker than Mother’s.
Neroli
Neroli is always a gamble for me. I find the pure essential oil absolutely terrible. It has this dry smell, but is still somehow pungent.
These Neroli incense sticks clearly smell like what is written on the label. It has a little bit of that dryness, but it doesn’t dominate. There is a sweet note that I would describe as honey or nectar, which balances the dry aspect very skilfully. They also have a tangy, orangey freshness that rounds everything off. A lovely orange blossom scent.
At the beginning, you can smell the charcoal base quite clearly for a moment, but that disappears in no time and doesn’t bother me. The after-smell is pleasant, but not long-lasting.
Rating: 3.0
➺ I briefly compared Neroli to The Mother’s Orange Blossom and found that they are very different. Mother’s interpretation smells much less like neroli, is rounder and fuller to my nose. For neroli fans, its scent profile might probably appear rather blurry. When I compare them directly, Orange Blossom have a rosy smell that I don’t notice otherwise. On the other hand, I can usually smell a hint of the special neroli scent in them, which pales completely next to the Spirit of Vinaiki sticks.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass smells exactly like the essential oil. Nothing more, nothing less – well, at least almost: you can smell the charcoal, a slightly sooty smell that disappears after a while.
I don’t think it’s bad, but if I just want to smell lemongrass essential oil, then I use the essential oil and save myself the particulate matter that of the smoke.
Rating: 2.5