The Initiator

[zankoku_zen]

Frankincense, galangal, styrax, cinnamon bark, and onycha accord.

[starbrow]

A beautiful, quiet prayer of a scent...pierced by the occasional smack of chewing gum in the form of styrax aka liquidambar/sweet gum. Otherwise, the murmur of holy incense from the frankincense and onycha (another note used in traditional temple incense) is very calm and grounding, with a touch of spice and earth from the galangal and cinnamon bark but nothing very spicy.For those afraid of spice, this is not a spice bomb whatsoever. The zestier elements are balanced, even muted, in the shadow of the holy incense. Even the cinnamon is in an earthier form, almost something that could itself be incense.

 

Overall, the Initiator is a simple, almost pure kind of blend. The throw is intimate, as far as a whispered prayer in a quiet cathedral. The moment I smelled this, I was sure I needed a full bottle. But when I started looking up the notes, that's when I realized the styrax really does have a disconcerting smack of gum here! It's not quite bubble gum - it's not that sweet - but maybe once bubble gum has lost its lotus-y flavor and is just flavorless gum? I am hoping eventually it settles down and melds into the other notes.

 

I will continue to wear and age my decant to see if I need to upgrade as the resins coalesce. For me, this blend is very unique in my collection of churchy incenses, and I really hope I need a bottle!

[zankoku_zen]

Resinous, with a touch of incense and sweet gum. This is a very 'pure' incense sort of smell. Not like burning incense, but more like unburnt/ghost incense. Medium throw, low wear length.

[Casablanca]

Cinnamon dentist's office.

 

On my skin, this is nearly a dead ringer for like that cinnamon-flavored tooth-cleaning stuff they sometimes used when I was a kid. You know, that sort of fake and pasty bubble gum smell, but with a little cinnamon? Eep.

 

So, I dunno... Nope.

[Lucchesa]

I wonder if The Initiator is getting stronger with age.  I did slather, having read the reviews, but I was rewarded with quite nice throw and decent wear length.  It's a beautiful churchy resin scent, mostly frankincense, with some sweet gum, which does not smell like bubble gum on me; the cinnamon barely registers on my skin.  Lovely for meditation or anytime you want to harness that whole western spiritual tradition thing. 

[theredkilt]

A beautiful resinous frankincense blend. It has an additional layer of resinous sweetness. It reminds me a lot of Penitence or at least leaning in that realm. After some time, it goes drier but still retains the sweetness.