Agarbathi

I have a bottle and I’m trying to make it last as long as I can. I wear this when I need to be creative (I’m a designer) and it gives me a spiritual uplift. I can literally feel the incense in my eyes when I wear Agarbathi. This is magic in a bottle.

I only managed to get a sample of this and extremely regret not being able to buy a full bottle. This is an exotic fragrance that embodies nights in India, Agarbathi does mean Incense

I adore this fragrance and the way it lasts so long. I am sorry it has been discontinued. If anyone has any suggestions do let me know.

Erotic, classy, charming, mysterious! This is one of the most wonderful and unique perfumes I have ever smelled!

Gorgeous frag ,woody smoky incense blended really well. Another winner from Penhaligon's

I won't waste my time on attempting to explain all the notes in this fragrance and how appealing (or not) it is to me. What I will say is that I was given a sample of this to take home, in the Edinburgh store of Penhaligon's a few weeks ago and I have been liberally using it since. Before smelling it in store, I engaged in conversation with a very lovely, knowledgeable, polite staff member about how I love Penhaligon's and how many fragrances I have bought from them over the years. I mentioned how many of their perfumes are incredible yet suffer from poor sillage / longevity. He agreed. We then talked about their ever-increasing 'discontined' fragrances. I spoke of how many of their best fragrances (IMO) were now sadly unavailable - he agreed. I also mentioned that my all-time favourite was Elixir. He then, rather excitedly gave me a sample of Agarbathi, saying that this was 'the one' which replaced Elixir in the Penhaligon's discontinued fold. I immediately sprayed some on my wrists. Very nice. It certainly didn't have the WOW factor of Elixir although I could see where they were going with it, for sure. After 20 minutes of chatting, I left the shop and walked around the city, constantly smelling my wrists, waiting for the dry-down. Yes, it's a very beautiful scent and it has a wonderful incense kick. However, the longevity was quite poor and projection very weak compared to the beast that was Elixir. As a *replacement*, it doesn't even come close. Not even as a some kind of 2nd-rate flanker would. OK, I admit, I am biased, Elixir was / is one of the best smells ever - for me. I own three bottles of the stuff and now use them sparingly, knowing that sometime soon I won't be able to buy any more. Agarbathi: I welcome thee into the world of Penhaligon's with open arms but you will always be nothing more than a shy, retiring younger sibling of Elixir; forever living in the shadow of your big brother. Amen.

Calm, subtle and deceptively well-blended. On first application, you might even go as far as thinking it is dull, generic or boring. But you'd be wrong. Give it time. I mean at least a couple hours or more, and the incense magic happens. This 'agarbathi' incense takes me way back to the unburnt version of those little incense cones hippies of a certain kind used back in the 70's to cover up 'whatever' they were smoking... but yet with a softness to it that speaks of artistic touch and surgical precision that is beyond impressive. This is not a perfume - it's a scented memory. I have to warn you - this is in every way a personal scent. It's close and subtle - the diametric opposite of a club banger. It's softly woody, spicy and yes, incensy in a way that is purely meditative and calming. Won't garner much attention, except from those who venture close. This, for me is the yin to Opus 1870's yang. Hard to describe - they're very different but each possesses a similar subtle precision and artistry that I really appreciate in a scent. Love it.

I can't tell if I like it or not but it is definitely a unique one. In fact Penhaligon's never disappoint me. In the opening, it is a flood of myrrh and frankincense, which makes it smells like the herbs used in Chinese medicine, especially after being boiled for hours and become very bitter. As I have no idea how palo santal smells like, I can't tell if it is this note that creates this feeling for me. Soon the incense and fir become more obvious. While the incense with the mixture of myrrh and frankincense reminds the solemness of buddha in the temple, the fir adds coldness to it, reminding the distance and indifference shown b deities towards mortals. It has a similar vibe with L'Artisan Parfumeur dzongkha, which is also a reminiscence of temples and buddhas, although they don't share the same notes except incense. However, dzongkha reminds me more of peace and calm whereas this one reminds me of solemness and distance.

Agarbathi (Hindi meaning - Incense stick), is as close to we are going to get to capture a royal Indian masculine vibe in modern Western perfumery (although as the reviewer below notes this can easily pass off for a unisex fragrance). It is a mostly a wood incense affair as expected with the central notes being olibanum and sandalwood. These are surrounded by citrus, bergamot, frankincense, a nice milk accord, jasmine and vetiver. Moderate in sillage, projection and longevity and beautiful blending. This is probably as close to how an Indian Hindu Maharajah smelt like. Some may find this a bit overbearing, but I liked it. Suited for strong personalities. Enjoy!

For the first couple of hours, Agarbathi is heavily dominated by dry, bitter wood. Plus dry, sooty incense, the dry nap of suede, and spice like hot, peppery paper. No moisture, no sweetness. I get nothing floral or lactonic here. Agrabathi is so dry that even the bergamot barely registers as anything other than additional bitterness. The bitterness does fade over time, though, leaving behind dry, hot, papery wood, that’s a tiny bit salty. There’s also a minor resinous green note from the fir, and a smidge of sweetness that creeps in after several hours. This is a firm dislike for me. Like a bite of pure, unsweetened, 100% baking chocolate—so dry it fragments and crumbles under a knife. Like that but woody. It's a skin scent before the balsam fir note comes through enough to liven it up slightly.

I waited for a cool day in London to test this fragrance simply because I want to test the incense cord of the fragrance. Also, I burn incense almost everyday, (either) sandalwood, jasmine, opium, or rose, so I do know my oriental/floriental scents. 11am- cloudy, cool, day. First two sprays - I could barely detect anything. A waft of something woodsy notes. Four sprays - woodsy or shall we say sandalwood scent? Im already doubting if this perfume is any good. I waited for it to settle. An hour after while I was on the bus I was trying to decipher (shall we say) how good the incense notes are....and for my nose it is a weak incense, not even close to deep sandalwood. I was trying to figure out on how I can describe it and I found how this perfume smells like.... Old books! It smells like pages of old books. So is there any incense notes detectable---- honestly - NO- is there any sandalwood -- barely -- is there even jasmine? Barely. But are there books? YES YES YES! after two hours it stays very close to the skin and 8:45PM I can still smell book pages on my skin. I think this fragrance has been sent out in the market for the sake of putting a 'new' fragrance from the house of Penhaligon's. This lacks creativity and inspiration. A complete disappointment for me.

Sweet milky sandalwood. I was surprised that it turned to a milky sweet blend from spicy shout-out olibanum! Milk milk vanilla milk and milk is what i got first with drenched in sandalwood and i think it's palo santo type of woods cause i can sense "Palo Santo" by Carner vibes quite clear! In short, a spicy vanilla milk with some woods in. I have tried it before and i wanted to test it again to be sure about my review. What's weird is that i am lately enjoying Penhaligon's new releases after giving up the brand few years ago because of their weak creations, they are becoming quite impressive & strong now. Edit (18th Aug 2018) The colder it goes the milkier it gets with sweet creamy spice like cinnamon, nutmeg, and creamy sandalwood. I believe i can classify this as a gourmand.

Something medicinal about it, especially if you're any kind of Asian. In a way it smells like a funeral, but the incense in this is GORGEOUS. I'm trying to take myself out of the Indian mindset to review it and I can see how its very peppery to some- and dry/cold. There are better, cold weather scents than this- Agarbathi is for someone bold enough to wear this on a night when the weather is warm. Especially enchanting on the right person.

Smokey wooden incense burning with a distinctive Indian spice to it. Quite lovely. It's pretty strong so only a bit is needed. Even a full spray on one spot would be too much. I think you'd need 1/2 a spray on one spot at most. There's something slightly medicinal about the smell, but more traditional Chinese/East Asian medicine than typical medicine. This would be great in colder/cool weather.

went into the store to purchase Halfetti, then caught the aroma of this bad boy and I was hooked. I've been wrist to nose all day... Reminded me of something that i'd smelt before but couldn't put my finger on it, then it came to mind.....Gianni Versace, which was a compliment magnet from both men and women! I love it!

True. All true. No creativity. It's an incense stick dipped in alcohol what a waste. They're packaging is great. I love endymion. Generally poor performance. Guess I'll spray it In My underwear

I agree. Lacks creativity & versatility. I don't think I'm going to be able where this anywhere. Bam! In your face church. Disappointed .

Agarbathi (Agarbatti) actually means joss or incense sticks and not actually incense.

Confirmed by penhaligon's to be discontinued. grab it while you can

Agarbathi is the hindi word for incense