Incense Works Incense Shanthi Nag Champa 100, 1 EA

I have been buying this particular incense for years from a local crystal shop. I ordered it on amazon because it had been sold out at the store and I absolutely love it. When it arrived the box was different and it smelled different. The ash also burnt a different color. While this ended up being an ok nag champa, this is not the real Shanthimalai incense. The 100 grams is what I ordered from Amazon, the 40 grams is the real deal. Save your money, buy local.

Success! I love Nag; my wife doesn't. I purchased this Nag in the hopes that she would like it, and thank the gods, she did! It's definitely different than the blue Nag, but not so different that it doesn't smell like Nag at all. I'm so happy! I'll definitely be buying again! The sticks burn slowly, so they last a while. We lit 2 through the day, and both times, I was surprised to see that they were still burning after some time had passed. Also, the scent lingers a while and fills a large room. Wonderful!Update 10/22/15: My wife likes this incense so much that I've had to order more, because we're already out! Towards the end of the box, it seemed like it was a bit harder to keep the sticks lit. We would have to keep a watch that they were still burning. It is only a minor annoyance to have to re-light. Maybe that's due to the generally most air in Florida. Either way, we're buying again!

Good incense is less smoke and more aroma. Red Nag Champa has a fragrance which brings to mind a perfume popular 50 years ago called "Heaven Scent". Dank moldy basement? Stale attic? Leaking stinking car? Motor oiled garage? Missing dead mouse or rat corpse? If you can't make it look good, you can make it smell pretty. I have a personal opinion that the use of incense has an anti-biotic effect in complex (read junky) old interiors which has no scientific basis but is based on a hunch that smoked food tends resist spoilage. Resultant vapors tend not to spread to the rest of the house or waft down the street. So, this incense has a more private aspect to it. Least offensive incense I have ever used. Ranks just above "Green Mountain" for aroma desirability. Though "Green Mountain" cones do have very little smoke, "Red Nag" has the milder more desirable scent. Does not have an "old tobacco smell". No after-reeking like a rained on house fire. No aromatic hangover at all.

Early last year (2014) I became curious about Indian incense so ordered a variety of different Satya Sai Baba scents, the Goloka, the Song of India "India Temple Incense", and this Red Nag Champa, all in 100 gram boxes. I really liked each one as I tried it, sort of like trying different flavors of gourmet ice cream, but when I got to the Shanthimalai Red it instantly became my favorite! They are all good, but the scent of this Red Nag Champa has a depth and appeal I found unique and always welcome. Having gone through the first 100 gram box quickly, I next ordered the 250 gram box but was a little disappointed. Since the supplier probably sells many more 100 gram boxes than 250 gram boxes, I found the sticks in the larger box old, a bit stale with a tendency to crumble, and even quickly go out when burnt in a closed "coffin" type incense burner (my solution is to keep the lid open). This is the only negative comment. My recommendation is to favor the 100 gram boxes for the better, albeit slightly more expensive (per stick), experience.

I just got a box of the Red Nag Champa, and I REALLY like it! I may have only tried Nag Champa in the blue box and now this, but I have realized one thing typical to both kinds...they both have VERY uniform sizes, plus they both smelled great! Since I already have Flora Nag Champa, (also realized that they had uniform sizes, as well) I'm going to try that (albeit with rather large expectations, now...hope it doesn't disappoint) and I'm going to order "Goloka", as well as "Super Hit", and "Midnight". I can't precisely explain Red Nag Champa's scent, (or even ballpark it) other than to say it seems a bit...spicy? Sorry I can't be any more specific than that, I just don't know any other ways to describe it. Also, I have'nt tried Nag Champa in the blue box for a while, but I remember the scent vaguely...It's like this, only less spicy. Again, I can't be any more specific than that, sorry.

To be honest, this incense is amazing. It's everything about the Satya Sai Baba's blue-box Nag Champa I love, yet accentuated to the max without overpowering my nostrils/lungs. Simply smelling the stick unburned will let you know what's exceedingly different about the Shanthimalai red-box Nag Champa, as it smells as clear/strong as perfume (if Nag Champa made a perfume, generally as sandalwood? I'm guessing...). Please don't read the previous sentence as a negative!!! Considering it's dried clumps of stuff on sticks intended to burn, the fragrant/clear smell came as a surprise, and is precisely the reasoning behind the very long lingering smell that's now embedded into everything I own (gladly too).I'm very glad to have stumbled upon this brand and would recommend it to anyone who loves Satya Sai Baba's "blue-box" Nag Champa as a worthy replacement, or as a tag-along for inner Nag Champa variety ;).

I've always purchased the large 250 gram box of the Shanthimalai Red Nag Champa. I decided to try this size because of one of the reviewers saying that this "was true" Shanthimalai Red Nag Champa and smelled better and stronger than the larger size. NOT TRUE!!!! These are identical to the 250 gram box in every way except the 250 gram box is a lot more economical especially for someone like me that burns it everyday.

The first box that I received a few months ago was of the original type but my most recent purchase came in a different color and pattern box with different fonts on the labeling. Plus is smells terrible compared to the original stuff I purchased. I'm pretty sure it is some sort of fake because it smells nothing like nag champa. Same looking boxes as the lady who reviewed earlier with her pictures. BUYER BEWARE!!!