Aromandise – encens ecologique: Forest from the Himalayas, Meditation, Sandalwood, Vetiver Roots, Cedarwood
You can read the main article about the encense ecologique line here, there you will also find information about prices and possible sources of supply (in Germany).
Aromandise‘s extremely friendly and helpful customer service provided me with a list of ingredients for all varieties of this line. Again, many thanks for that!
Forest from the Himalayas
Ingredients: wood powder, plant powder, resin, patchouli essential oil, cedar wood, pine needles, eucalyptus.
A very successful composition. The smell is earthy-musky; the patchouli makes itself felt in a subtle way.
I also find some typical notes of burning herbs, like you would expect from rosemary, for example, but pine needles (or conifer needles in general), also smell like this, although from my experience the needles of pine trees are sweeter and a little musky.
You can also smell the eucalyptus, with a herbaceous-sweet smell and perhaps a little bit of its freshness. There’s also a hint of a fine, resinous freshness that seems familiar to me from Meditation.
Only occasionally does a very nice, sweet note emerge. I think it will be benzoin or something similar. It seems as if there are sporadically clusters of this ingredient in the stick, as this smell appears now and then spontaneously and intensely. I like this effect, it brings an interesting alternation.
Meditation
Ingredients: wood powder, benzoin resin, natural mineral, pine essential oil.
Although Frankincense is not mentioned in the ingredient list, for me, Meditation has a clear note of it, underlined by the sweetness of benzoin. The scent almost reminds me a little of the classic “three kings” blend, which usually consists of frankincense, myrrh and benzoin.
The scent is very pleasant and well-balanced. If I compare it with the variety Indian Frankincense in this line, those appear significantly more resinous and in return, the sweetness in Meditation appears emphasized. Meditation also smells fresher and brighter. An invigorating, very pleasant smell.
Sandalwood
Ingredients: wood powder, resin, Indian sandalwood essential oil.
Unfortunately, these Sandalwood incense sticks smell very disappointing. All I can detect is a mild and soft, slightly sweet smell of wood smoke. I don’t think I could recognize sandalwood in this without context.
To be sure, I burned them in different rooms. The smell of Sandalwood is the most recognizable in my mother’s living room. There, one can detect some of the typical, milky sweetness. In the hallway, however, the smell seems a little spicier. They seem like an even milder version of inexpensive Japanese “Sandalwood” incense sticks.
Vetiver Roots
Ingredients: Plant powder, wood powder, resin, vetiver essential oil and lavandin.
Notable about Vetiver Roots is that the sticks contain some coarser plant material. Vetiver is a grass whose long, fibrous roots are very difficult to grind finely.
The smell is similarly underwhelming as the variety Sandalwood. I notice a touch more spice and something slightly powdery, which could come from the lavandin. Basically, they are comparable to Aromasutra – Vetiver, but unlike these, their smoke does not feel scratchy, and they don’t remind me of campfires. The aftersmell is relatively pleasant, earthy and spicy. But I’m not actually thrilled.
Cedarwood
Ingredients: Plant powder, wood powder, resins, juniper berry and vetiver essential oils.
The problem with “cedar” is, that various different trees are called “cedar” that aren’t actually cedrus, botanically. For example, the Californian incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), the western red cedar (Thuja plicata), or the Virginia cedar (Juniperus virginiana).
To me, these Cedarwood incense sticks don’t smell like cedrus, but rather like something out of the cypress family, in combination with the tart, spicy and slightly fruity aspect of juniper.
It is a woody, aromatic-smoky smell with a tart green tone.
Certainly suitable for lovers of this fragrance genre, but not for me.