skekZok the Ritual Master

[boomtownrat]

skekZok the Ritual-Master
An incense of deception: frankincense, opoponax, hyssop, champaca, and opium poppy accord.

Put a little of SkekZok on, just a small dab behind your ears, and he will stick to you all day, through the night, and into the next morning. He will announce his presence to all and sundry with a shout, so it might be best to apply less than you might with your other scents. Frankincense, opoponax, and champaca are the major notes on me, and I get only a brief flicker of an herbal tone, probably from the hyssop. Opium poppy accord is just an accent on me, and gives it a small hint of sweetness. What lasts the longest are those three main notes and even close to 24 hours after application, I can still smell that trio.

There's something about SkekZok that does induce a sense of ritual and darkness. When I wear this, I kind of want to sit in meditation by a dying fire. Incense lovers should be seeking this one out any way they can, because it's really a classic incense blend. Fans of Smoky Moon 2012 might find this to be a less burnt-smelling alternative because of the lovely (and talented!) champaca. As for me, I vastly prefer it to Smoky Moon 2012.

[brilliantcat]

In the decant and wet on me, it's a beautiful sweet incense with hints of opium. As with most opium blends, though, this does become a bit soapy. It's one of the nicest incense blends on me as it doesn't contain myrrh which can amp and go a bit funky on me. I'll definitely keep my imp.

[tinyvulture]

Opium hits my nose first...think Darkness, Languor, Belle Epoque. Dark, powdery, hypnotic. The frankincense and opoponax resins add to the solemn and, yes, ritualistic feel of this blend. After about five minutes, just the tiniest hint of champaca. The cheery floral almost feels out of place.

 

Nice but needs stronger throw.

[zankoku_zen]

Ah, Skekzok, you lose in this because the other Skeksi that I have just tried SkekTek turned out to be an insta-love.

 

So, take this lackluster review with a boulder of salt, since my nose wants to permaglue itself to SkekTek and isn't so happy to be sniffing at something else.

 

Salty frankincense and opium. Yes, salty. No idea where that is coming from. The nose is refusing to cooperate.

 

...

 

And that's its boys and girls, that's all you getting. In fact, further reviews for today will just be impossible.

[MuskWitch]

Well, here's my review.

 

OMFG I LOVE THIS!!

 

Soft, sweet beautiful resins, champaca and the opium in the background.

 

I will need GALLONS of this stuff!

 

Gallons.

 

Edited March 16, 2014 by MuskWitch

[welcometothefamily]

In the Imp: Slightly bitter, green floral.

 

Wet:still slightly bitter, herbal. Reminding me a LOT of The East. Slightly incensey as it dries.

 

Drydown: To me, this smells like high end shampoo. It's alright, but I'm not into smelling like shampoo.

 

Verdict: Not for me.

 

2/5

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A green sappy scent

 

Wet on me - Green but with smokiness and depth coming from the resins

 

Dry on me - A light, slightly creamy incense note

 

Overall - I quite like the dry down, but I'm not certain about the wet stages

[JazzieCazzie]

Decanted from a full bottle I bought unsniffed because I was so in love with the notes.

 

IN THE IMP: Deep and mysterious but I can't tell any notes apart.

 

Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Smoky, deep and rich but almost oppressively so. It does lighten a bit as it starts to dry but for some reason I still cannot single out notes in this one.

 

DRYDOWN: It's smoky and a little salty in the crook of my arm and sweeter and more incensey on my wrist. But there is also a note that doesn't like me at all ... a little stinky salty. I'm not sure if it's the hyssop?

 

OVERALL: I confess that as much as I had been looking forward to this for MONTHS before its release, it really didn't work for me. I like it okay but don't love it and looking over my crazy big collection I can't imagine every reaching for this ... and as I do my Super Bowl night culling and swap list updating, that's going to be my deciding factor ... not WOULD I wear this but WILL I wear this. And I will not wear this.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

[Ethaisa]

I'm a big resin & incense fan, so this is right in my sweet spot. A little raw and green to start, then darkens down as it dries and gets a little smokey but not burnt, and there's a sweet, faintly floral note to balance that out. Hours later, a hint of brine, as though someone grabbed a bucket of sea water to douse the last embers.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Ethaisa

[milo]

Lovely incense, resins. It reminds me of another bpal incense blend, but I can't think of which one atm. Nice, but The Witch Dance and Midnight on the Midway are my faves and it's gotta be REALLY good to top those.

[Roogna]

I only got a sniffie, which had the barest amount I could wipe on my skin, but even if that wasn't the case it's not a very strong scent on me.

heady and dark and blue/ indigo incense, slight earthiness,

[hammy]

In the bottle - Ooh, I don’t like this. Mostly sour smokiness.

 

Wet - Vetiverish and angry incense. These notes were a bad idea.

 

Drydown - Oh, wow. This is much more pleasant now. The scent is getting cleaner and greener as it dries. It’s vaguely aquatic and still very incense-y, but far less obnoxious than it was in the bottle.

 

Verdict - Even though it softens up a bit later on, I still have trouble with incense blends. This one’s got to go.

[stellamaris]

Just freaking beautiful.

As another poster said, I need gallons of this.

This is so comforting to me, it's lovely lush incense.

Love love love love love it.

[Poenari]

I received a tester of this from my lovely decantress, as if she read my mind. The notes are perfect for me and the scent is to die for! Opium, incense, champaca all combine into a dark swirl of magic on my skin. This is in the same family of dark incense scents that I love. It is also in the same family of atmo sprays as Unspeakably Evil Temple and The Demon's School. While not the same, they give off that wonderful dark slightly sweet incense scent that I can't get enough of.

[Little Bird]

The Ritual Master is mostly opoponax and opium. The opoponax is thick, syrupy resin (always has edges that remind me of maple syrup and black pepper) and the opium turns sharp, dry, and soapy on my skin. They actually smell rather interesting together, even though I don't really enjoy the smell of opium and I can only handle opoponax in small doses. I wouldn't wear this, but it is an interesting mix of the heavy-dark-sweet opoponax and heavy-white-soapy opium.

[AraliaShine]

There's an (appropriate) darkness to this incense blend especially when first applied that I'd have to guess is a smoky opium.

For a brief period it felt slightly herbal (hyssop?) with a touch of anise maybe, but definitely purple. Drying down, it lightens

and brightens a bit. I get more frankincense, but subdued from becoming sharp or lemony by a smooth yet salt-rimed champaca.

The resins are heavy, chewy, insidious and scheming. It's perfect and I'm so glad I went for a bottle.

 

Applied lightly and still going strong several hours later...

[Mister Azure]

Sacred moments of higher devotion. 

 

Wet: A room filled with frankincense burst through the atmosphere. Then there is a combining of opoponax gives a sweetness that draws me into an experience that feels beyond my range and scope of mortal perceptions. 

 

Dry: What was once a moment of sacrament has devolved into something more base. Something more known. A feeling of standing inside of a secret back room only a select few are permitted to enter. Incense is thick and dense in this room. A haze of rites are rather prominent. 

 

Final thoughts: In general this smells like a pleasant head-shop where items of smoke and paraphernalia can be obtained. It’s not a bad scent by any means if you are looking for such a thing. 

 

I find this to be good for anyone that is keep to do card readings, tell fortunes, or try & pierce beyond a vail. The throw is medium range on me and others commented that is smells pleasant on me. However, after several hours the smell goes wonky on me. I know it still has some sort of incense smell to it, yet is goes sideways with my body chemistry that I don’t like.

 

For me, this is not a scent that I find I can wear.