Natural Incense Company – Golden Lotus – Patchouli
The Golden Lotus line has been available at Ephra World since the end of 2022 and costs €4.75 per pack. As far as I know, they are currently solely sold by Ephra in Germany. However, I found a Czech shop that also offers them.
As usual for this manufacturer, the packs contain 20g or 10 sticks (€0,48 per stick), each burning for over an hour.
I love NIC, so I was certainly excited when Ephra expanded their range to include this line. I chose Patchouli to try first, as it remains one of my favourite genres.
Patchouli has a very unusual patchouli aroma. To my nose, it is not herbaceous, has no fresh component, and even the earthy aspect seems different from what I usually know of patchouli.
Instead, this patchouli has a distinctly spicy character that reminds me rather of cinnamon. Furthermore, I smell a pungent note, that is also dark and tart, which initially reminded me of oakmoss. This note is the only thing I perceive as green in this composition. However, the strong spiciness and sweetness of the scent obscures this impression quite a bit.
Because of this special combination of aspects, I find Patchouli strongly reminiscent of Vijayshree – Darshan, which also has a very peculiar cinnamon note for me. Now I wonder if Darshan actually smells like patchouli, and I just didn’t recognize it as such.
Coincidentally, with the same order, I also bought Tulasi – Vidwan, which feature this characteristic as well. If you like Vidwan, I have no doubt you will also like this patchouli.
I would love to know what gives this type of patchouli scents its unique character. It must be a special combination of ingredients. I am somehow fascinated by it, but I definitely prefer the herbaceous and earthy smelling ones.