If you’re reading this, you may have also encountered an advert for Mineral Project as I did in one of the UK’s many interiors magazines; for me, it was World of Interiors. The blue glass and contemporary branding immediately...
If you’re reading this, you may have also encountered an advert for Mineral Project as I did in one of the UK’s many interiors magazines; for me, it was World of Interiors.
The blue glass and contemporary branding immediately stood out on a page full of products, and the name of the fragrance ‘Moon Milk’ was just too unusual not to want to find out more.
Who is Mineral Project?
On visiting the website, the branding and styling were everything I hoped they would be and very fitting of a brand you’d see in World of Interiors.
All the prices were in INR, a currency I didn’t immediately recognise, but a quick Google search confirmed it was Indian Rupees and the Mineral Project website confirmed they were an Indian company and in fact Moon Milk is something very Indian!
Mineral Project: Shipping and Taxes from India
But shopping from India, was this going to be a problem? Shipping things from around the world, particularly post-pandemic has been crazy-expensive. Was I going to buy an expensive candle and then pay twice again to ship it?
Well, the shipping for what I eventually ordered was £22, which ended up being 25% more than my basket. But to be honest, that was way less than I was expecting.
Looking at the Mineral Project candles, and their flagship Moon Milk candle, I saw a price of INR 850 and the option for 3-easy-pay; this worried me as that’s a big number and if it’s 3-easy-pay, it must be a really big number. Turns out not… £9.35!
Naturally, my worry was then “are these just going to be cheap budget scents?” – I assume if you’re reading this trying to do some pre-purchase research, you’re thinking the exact same thing.
All I can say is that I don’t play around with my home fragrance, Fornasetti Profumi, Cire Trudon and Perfumer H are all in my arsenal and where some people save for a holiday, buy a fancy car or jewellery, I buy candles.
Mineral Project had big competition at only 10% of the price of its competitors – could it live up? Too good to be true, surely?
I ordered the Moon Milk candle and then three mini, tin candles of Maroc, New Delhi and Oak Room. The total order came to £38.15 including postage, less than half the price of Cire Trudon. And because the order value was under £135, there was no customs duty to pay (source).
The order arrived very quickly. I think it was a little over a week and it was in great shape. Mineral Project had packed the entire box with various forms of brown paper and was a perfect balance of protective but not wasteful.
Inside the package was also a pack of New Delhi incense sticks. I hadn’t ordered these and they were a gift from Mineral Project. I used my personal email address so this was genuinely just a lovely and kind gesture.
So did Mineral Project live up to its prestigious placement, gorgeous branding and unusual scent profiles? Yes.
Mineral Project Moon Milk Candle
Just, “wow”. Described by Mineral Project as being inspired by the traditional Indian drink – Haldi Doodh with notes of spiced ashwagandha, warm almond milk, and honey oats.
It’s gourmand but unlike a more Western gourmand that can easily turn too cake-y and sweet, the spiced ashwagandha brings it back and gives it great depth. It’s a scent experience that’s both alien and very familiar at the same time.
The throw is good, could be wider but definitely spent infinitely more on candles that have had hugely less throw. I think at this concentration, if they offered a 3-wick, I’d be buying it unquestioned.
The candle also comes with basil seed paper as the protector disc. I’m yet to plant mine but again, the brand has tonnes of these fabulous little touches which you are never in a million years going to find at £8 in the UK or US.
I also ordered some little tins. I haven’t had time to burn these yet but Moroc and New Delhi are my favourites just smelling and will likely take them on holiday or on my next work trip to burn in the hotel.
Mineral Project New Delhi Incense
Gorgeous. If you really like incense, you’ll know buying from India, China or Japan, you’re going to get the gold-standard. Incense is culturally engrained and the quality often not a worry.
Mineral Project’s New Delhi incense has notes of freshly-cut rose, fern, warm clove, and mossy woods. It burns very well and doesn’t have that ‘burnt’ note you can get in some incense. They burn smoothly, clean and each stick lasts a good amount of time. To compare, if you’ve ever tried Zara Home’s incense (some of my faves) they’ve very similar in fragrance, burn and quality.
Anyway, check out Mineral Project, really impressed and will be buying again!
