Bhagwan – Meena Supreme

I received this box of Meena Supreme as a sample from Eugene, the owner of Bhagwan Incense, in September 2023. A 15g pack currently costs €3.95 in his shop, and the pack I received contained 9 sticks.
The burn time is between 30 and 40 minutes.

As indicated in the shop’s description, Meena Supreme was popularized by the brand Happy Hari. In the USA, packs distributed by the manufacturer Meena Perfumery are relatively broadly available. In the UK, they are sold by Temple Of Incense under the name Portobello.
However, in Germany and possibly the EU in general, Meena Perfumery incense sticks were almost impossible to obtain, except for rare, usually overpriced exceptions. It is nice to see that Bhagwan is making these sought-after incense sticks available to the EU market.

➺ I would like to point out that Meena Supreme (like all other varieties) is labelled as ‘Vegan’ in the Bhagwan Shop. However, the recently released video about the Meena Perfumery factory repeatedly mentions honey as an ingredient. I, therefore, find this labelling highly questionable and would not rely on it for the other varieties either if I were a vegan.

Disclosure: Due to my history and friendly relationship with Eugene, the owner of Bhagwan Incense, I would like to point out that I cannot write reviews of this brand with complete impartiality. I write a lot of the Bhagwan reviews based on samples that were given to me – these are labelled accordingly.
All reviews are unpaid and reflect my honest opinion, but you are welcome to consider them as advertising.

The freshness of these Meena Supreme sticks is noticeable. The aspect of the scent profile that reminds me of shoe-polish or similar is much stronger than in the older sticks.
Although shoe polish might not be the most pleasant scent one can imagine, this note contributes an interesting twist to this otherwise quite soft and sweet fragrance.
Like the well-aged Meena Supreme sold under Happy Hari, I also find these fresh Meena sticks to be unobtrusive. Due to their thickness, they are generally considered Fluxo incense, but in my eyes, they don’t have the overwhelming intensity nor the strong smoke output typical of this category. It’s very pleasant to use them indoors, which I cannot imagine for the other Fluxos I have tried so far.
The composition clearly suggests something floral, but it is too complex to pick out anything specific. The sweetness is creamy, perhaps a bit marshmallow-like, but it never takes centre stage. At the same time, the scent has a powdery aspect that forms a bridge between the floral part of the scent and the slightly tart, vaguely leathery quality that contributes to the shoe-polish association. When this aspect comes to the fore, it appears ashy or perhaps chalky to me.
There’s a woody scent ever-present in the background, which I feel comes at least partly from the fairly thick bamboo splints. When lighting and just before extinguishing, this somewhat unpleasant smell is briefly quite noticeable.
The after-smell is initially largely characterized by the shoe-polish note, with a good pinch of ashy powderiness, but then it steadily transits into the sweet and creamy aspects of the scent profile, and these are remarkably long-lasting.

Comparing the fresh Meena Supreme one-on-one with the older ones from Happy Hari, which Steve gave me (these should now be 7–8 years old), one of the main differences is that the older ones remind me slightly of mild, pleasant pipe tobacco. In this aspect, they also have an underlying fruity note that I do not (or not yet) detect in the fresh ones.
The aged sticks seem to have lost some of their top notes, they are a little milder and perhaps a bit smokier in scent, but they have an interesting depth instead. I can well imagine that fresh Meena Supreme from Bhagwan would age excellently and reach their full potential at the age of 1 to 2 years.

As I stated in my old review, I can understand the fascination and love many people have for this scent, but I don’t share it to the same extent. They are good, interesting-smelling incense sticks, but they are not among my personal favourites.

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