skekUng the Garthim-Master

[brilliantcat]

skekUng the Garthim-Master
Brute force and destruction: vetiver, smoke, steel, and dragon's blood resin.

Whoa, I'm first

This smells fantastic in the decant! Smoky, slightly woodsy/grassy from the vetiver, a little sweet from the DBR. The steel comes out on my skin and blends with the other notes to create an evocative blend that smells like it should be part of the RPG series. The vetiver darkens it enough to make it just slightly unnerving. I really like this one. Even though leather isn't one of the notes, I get a hint of a leathery scent. This may be a bottle purchase!

[welcometothefamily]

In the Imp: Smoky, and slightly bitter, green. Can definitely detect the vetiver.

 

Wet: Surprisingly light on the skin. Still smoky and green smelling. Less bitter, more fresh.

 

Drydown: I actually like this more than I thought I would. It's definitely smoky, but I don't think I'm getting DBR at all. I'm smelling something fresh, and almost melon like, and I'm wondering if that isn't the steel.

 

Verdict: I actually quite like this, surprisingly. Probably not enough to buy a bottle, but I'll keep my decant .

 

3.5/5

[zankoku_zen]

Vetiver, steel, and DB resin.

 

This is masculine, smoky, metal. It smells like someone that has just come from fighting a dragon.

 

Big, manly, smoky.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Smoke with a hint of bitter green vetiver

 

Wet on me - The vetiver really comes through, but its unusually soft

 

Dry on me - A surprisingly clean green vetiver

 

Overall - Nicer than I expected on me, but still not my cup of tea

[Sangria2]

I wasn't terribly excited for this one, but I got a half decant of all four so I tried it. I'm really glad I did!

 

In the vial: As others have mentioned, smoke and vetiver. The vetiver comes across as wet grass.

 

Wet: The smoke/vetiver combo exploded off my wrists. I put it on in the car, and it was so strong I almost rolled the windows down.

 

Dry: After about thirty minutes, the smoke and vetiver calm down quite a bit. I started to get hints of sweet dragon's blood sort of hiding behind the other two notes. It reminds me of the way I smell after coming home from an outdoor bbq that I wore some other sweet perfume to. Two hours later, everything has melded and blended to a very exquisite combination of slightly smoky, slightly sweet, and slightly green. It isn't overpowering or overwhelming, and in fact I wish now that it was still a little stronger as this blend stays close to the skin.

 

I do happen to like vetiver, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to someone that hates it, but the vetiver is tempered quite a bit by the other notes. I didn't get anything that I recognize as steel or metal, and thankfully the sweetness of the dragon's blood doesn't turn into cherry syrup either. I'm going to give it a couple more wears, but it's definitely on my "maybe eventually a bottle" list.

[milo]

Yes, vetiver, smoke, but not getting the DBR. This is almost SN vetiver on me, dead ringer for Haitian Vetiver SN. Not for me.

[Nicnivin]

What an incredible scent. This is so masculine, and powerful, and balances perfectly between the smoke, steel, and crisp vetiver. Fortunately the dragon's blood is just barely noticeable and "gentles" the harsher scents a bit, but this really is a strong, manly scent that's just. gorgeous.

 

(I haven't tried it on myself, as vetiver + my body chemistry = compost heap, but on my husband? Glorious.)

[Little Bird]

I love vetiver when it's dark and smoky, but not savory like bbq, or when it's like dying, drying out grass. I thought this would be the grassy variety, based on the other reviews, but it's all smoky mesquite bbq type vetiver on me . The steel adds a metallic, clean cologne note, but it's mostly smoky, charred bbq. It's reminding me of a less complex Mutant Hot-Rodders from Hell High...

[Casablanca]

It's as common to smell a perfume and say, "That smells like my grandmother," as it is to look at abstract art and say, "I see a face." I don't think that will be anyone's genuine reaction here, though.

 

I've been on this elemental/metal kick lately, so I had to try this, despite my aversion to ugly-ass muppets.

Right out of the bottle, skekUng is a dark, oily, metallic burst, like firebomb shrapnel. Fun -- except there's a green-tainted sickly quality to it that smells like someone spoiled the vetiver. I can't tell if the smell comes from an unlisted component, or is just this type of vetiver.

Though I smell lots of oiled metal and smoke, I find no dragon's blood at first. As this dries, though, the red resin comes out, adding a sweetness all the more welcome to me because it seems to counteract the sickly taint. Then the resin fades and I get some leather.

The dried skek is closer to the elemental mix I was after, but I don't think it's hitting the brass ring for me. Still, it could have its uses.

Edited June 23, 2016 by Casablanca

[Mister Azure]

The master of smoke, earth, and hardship for others. 

 

Wet: I get a lot of smoke and something that is like a woodsy lemon which I believe is the vetiver. I’m reminded of a fire in a field just before dusk. Small, controlled, and fierce. 

 

Dry: I mostly get a similar scent from when it was wet. The smoky aspect of this is amping more on me than anything. There is a little bit of dragons blood coming out that is making it go more incense-like in the far background. 

 

Final thoughts: There is something ancient feeling about this. Something covered in a reptilian form of force. 

 

I mostly get smoke mixed with dragons blood. It’s not horrible but it is not a scent I hoped for. Expected a more subtle complexity on me. The throw is short to medium, closer to the short side. I am glad I tried it but I do not believe this to be a scent for me.

 

Update: 2+ hours in I not get a hint of steel through this. I am rather surprised. The scent has also softened on me as well. The smoky scent is what has faded that is allowing the dragons blood and steel to come out a bit more. I am liking this more than I originally started out.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Mister Azure
Scent development

[Tungerine]

Aaagh this smells like an uncomfortable, stressful train journey. The vetiver, smoke, and steel remind me of the smell as the train brakes, and I'd actually like it a lot if it was just those two notes. However, the dragon's blood here smells like whatever cleaning products they use in the train and it makes me feel nauseous. I like all the notes in other contexts, it's just combined like this that they don't work for me, and it's more that it reminds me of bad experiences than anything else. I tried layering it with a few other things but nothing helped and I had to wash it off.