Ispalla – Palo Santo & Rose ROMANCE / PASSION
These incense sticks were sent to me directly from Ispalla Incense out of Peru, and you can find the backstory in this article.
My review specifically refers to this new version, featuring a new packaging design. I cannot make any statements regarding how they differ from the old version. The new ones are not yet available on the European market, but I’m sure that will change soon.
Palo Santo & Rose ROMANCE is the name of the stick version of this scent. The burning time is approx. 50 minutes.
Ingredients: Bamboo sticks, Palo Santo powder, Palo Santo resin, powdered roses, pure rose essential oil, distilled water.
Palo Santo & Rose is a great combination, as I’ve also found with my own incense sticks. I think the two scents complement each other wonderfully. In fact, they harmonize so well that I find it difficult to separate the two scents. Palo Santo & Rose were the first from the assortment that I tried, and I had to burn a stick of pure Palo Santo to get a feel for where the rose “begins”.
I would say that rose makes Palo Santo somewhat milder, rounder in a way. It dampens the note of the wood, which reminds me of hot rubber, and blends with the sweet component of the Palo Santo profile, allowing the two scents to merge. The scent becomes softer but retains its robust, aromatic and fresh character. It’s one of my favourite varieties made by Ispalla.
Palo Santo & Rose is potent and surely suitable for larger rooms. The more air it has available, the better the scent unfolds. The after-smell is pleasantly fresh and slightly sweet.
PASSION is the name of the incense log version of Palo Santo & Rose. Ispalla calls them “tablets”. It’s a form of incense that is fairly unknown in Germany, but can be found from a handful of brands in America. They are typically thick, cylindrical, or even square-shaped blocks made from coarsely ground wood.
The composition of PASSION is just as successful as that of ROMANCE, with the main difference being higher smoke output and thus scent intensity.
They burn for a good half hour, which is longer than I expected. I place the block upright in a bowl of sand and nock it over towards the end so that it can burn completely.
In my opinion, this form of incense is only to a very limited extent suitable for indoor use. However, I found them very nice for my balcony.
One box contains 8 pieces.