Kamini – Silk Road
I bought this pack of incense, as I often do, from Ephra World Shop. A 15g pack costs €1.65. These sticks are listed as Masala, but in my opinion, they are perfume-dipped incense sticks. They aren’t based on charcoal but on a kind of sawdust. This is not as common as the charcoal base, but it is not rare either.
I want to start by saying that Ephra is usually very reliable when it comes to their product images. The incense sticks in their photo actually seem to be Masala. They look like run-of-the-mill, charcoal-heavy Masala, with a standard wood powder coating.
What I received, however, are extruded-looking sticks, whose dough is hard and absolutely homogeneous.
I disassembled and photographed one to illustrate what I mean. The powder coating is the same colour as the dough mass on the stick. The raw scent is sharply alcoholic, like disinfectant, with a sweet sandalwood aroma and a few other notes; all very synthetic-smelling.
The sticks out of my box of Silk Road.
The scent retains its volatile character when burning, which reminds me of disinfectant and hairspray. The base gives the scent a certain woodiness, but overall, the aroma is perfumey and sharply pungent like alcohol. I also smell something that reminds me of menthol, but I can’t say if it’s just the sharpness of the alcohol smell tricking me. Such an amount of menthol would be felt in the eyes anyway. Because of this note, they initially reminded me of Fleur de Vie – Tree of Life, which seems to be made in the same way. I actually like Tree of Life quite a bit, even though they are obviously cheaply produced, perfumed sticks. Silk Road, on the other hand, I find just plain bad and unbearable. Even outside on my balcony, the solvent-like character is far too dominant.
I found the packaging very appealing, but unfortunately, Silk Road is a huge disappointment. I can’t imagine recommending them to anyone.
Do you know Kamini – Silk Road and think they used to look different? Maybe you even have an old pack that differs from these? If so, please leave me a comment or let me know via the contact form.