Vikt

Finally sampling the discontinued Vikt by Slumberhouse, one of a number of storied perfumes from the line that came and went before I was fragrance-obsessed. I’m a big Slumberhouse fan and Vikt seems to have a strong reputation, so my expectations were high before I applied it via a spray-and-dab style, not The notes are oud, styrax, and ravensara (in the laurel family from Madagascar), unsurprisingly a rich and pungent blend—floral and herbaceous with bits of oud and other resins that create a semi-sweet, woody, plant-like blend, which almost has a boozy absinthe-like quality to it, as I get hints of wormwood. I liken it to a “Norne with licorice/anisette,” though that’s a bit of a crude comparison. Still, it has some of the woody and resinous qualities of the more recent Norne will surely deviating its in own way to a floral, sweeter side. Overall, it’s a creation that fits in with the darker / more cold-weather-friendly entries in the Slumberhouse catalogue, certainly distinct enough in its own right while feeling a hint related to Norne. I regard the darker Slumberhouse fragrances (Norne, Jeke, Ore, Sova, Rume, and probably Zahd) as the zenith of performance, superlative in terms of both projection and longevity. Vikt isn’t quite up their level, superb in terms of longevity but not quite as boastful, projection-wise, as the others. Still, it would surely be a worthwhile buy at their former pricing ($160 for 30ml) or even their updated pricing (due to be $220 or so for 30ml, I believe, per a recent livestream by Slumberhouse owner/perfumer Josh Lobb). The main question is whether one would track it down for lots more, and I’m not sure I’m as in love with Vikt was a I was with Zahd, another discontinued scent that was released in an even more limited run of 125 bottles, juust in 2013, unlike Vikt, which had a run of several years between the older marble style bottle and the more recent flask-style bottle. I think Vikt is quite neat, though, something most Slumberhouse fans would appreciate, and it’s more of a “love” than a “like” for me, but not worth going crazy for on the tertiary market (i.e. eBay, p2p FB sales). But if you can come by a bottle at a reasonable price, it’s a treasure, and I’d certainly be interested in acquiring a bottle. 8 out of 10

Vikt is difficult for me to describe using notes alone. While the top is distinctly marked with an intense and robust licorice note, and the base primarily seems to consist of oud and incense, I feel more compelled to describe this one through colors and impressions. For me, Vikt provokes an image of a dark, murky mangrove forest of swirling brown and blacks, accented in part by a haunting green glow which both plays the edges and rests mysteriously in its depths. There's something spooky about Vikt. The interplay between the brown, almost-decaying forest, the black night, and the bizarre, supernatural green sets an unusual tone I have not encountered in any other fragrance. If you're familiar with Amouage's Memoir Man, and believe that to be a dark and mysterious composition, you've seen nothing yet. Memoir Man is light and fluffy in comparison. However, that's not to say that Vikt is cold, detached, or depressing in any way--it's simply peculiar, a little spooky, and altogether unique. And if I were to get down to the bottom of it, I'd say that ultimately, behind it all, lies a benevolent spirit. I love this one, and it continues to grow on me the more I wear it. If you enjoy fragrances which are different and sometimes might seem challenging at first, then Vikt is definitely worth sampling. How does it smell? I'll keep this brief: There is a strong licorice note up top which alternates between black and a brighter green, and is somewhat medicinal. The incense in this is superb--one of my favorites. It rests in the base and while it's not particularly smoky it's very, very deep and dark and has an almost magnetic way of drawing you in. Finally, the oud, which kind of sits between the licorice and incense, has a slight animalic/barnyard smell which amplifies or recedes with different wears. However it's not overpowering at all, and serves more as a nice accent to the composition. Thumbs way up for Vikt, a distinct and altogether pleasing offering from Slumberhouse.

Wearing old Vikt and new Vikt at the same time this evening so that I can compare them. As I have mentioned in my previous review I had issues with the old Vikt but it seems those issues disappeared with age. I now really appreciate my old sample and that made me order a bottle of the new extrait. On application the versions are very similar. The licorice note is strong in both. The first hour or so is dominated by licorice but the scent is smoother in the new extrait and spicier and smokier in the old Vikt. At this stage I prefer the smooth elegance of the new extrait. After that hour the scents take very different turns on my skin. The old Vikt stays spicy, slightly smoky and sweet with wood notes emerging from underneath that licorice. From this point on the scent stays fairly linear with no major changes through the drydown. The new extrait version however does something unexpected. It disappeares. Completely and utterly gone! (Except perhaps for the slightest trace of benzoin...) And it never comes back... So now I have an expensive bottle of extrait strenght (!!!) perfume that lasts all of one glorious hour. I guess I'll just wear it to bed for the time being and hope that it changes with age like the old Vikt did for me. Edit: As of 2018 it has indeed come into itself. Aged a few years it is delightful, if just a bit more effervescent that one would expect, not quite having the same longevity as other Slumberhouses on me. But it doesn't do a disappearing act anymore, so I'm good, glad I hung onto it.

Preface: I love pushing the envelope, thus I am a big Slumberhouse fan. But even I didn't anticipate the positive reactions I would get on my first public wears of this dark fragrance. Three consecutive nights of four sprays (2 wrists, nape, front collar of black shirt...white would stain) in a few Vegas casinos, and lots of questions came my way about what I was wearing and where it could be bought. First, the front-end obvious licorice and bay leaf accords got some attention from other players who were getting wafts while I was tossing dice in the air. Then later, oud/balsam/incense drew people in who were standing closer to me (and who were winning much more money) as the aura became gentler, yet still distinct, mystical and apparently quite alluring. I think it might have been the camphor-incense reacting with my body chemistry that made the extrait so different, so ethereal, yet still approachable, especially to women. Whatever it was, it worked very well, and Vikt has earned a spot in my 30-bottle rotation. But test it before buying a FB. Definitely not an easy wear for most, and not for the mall store fragrance crowd, sunning at the pool, food shopping or taking the kids to daycare. Vikt is for nightclubs with pulsating hypnotic music, candle-lit bedrooms, walks in caves and dense forests, and for other dark, sensual, moody situations you find yourself in. And, of course, casinos.

The agarwood is dominant in Vikt, but it is quite a mild agarwood, not as pungent as some. At first this scent is quite deep and warm with hints of spices and licorice root. Then some note in here goes slightly sour... I'm suspecting the bay leaf. Rume also went sour in a similar, but more scrub-worthy, way and the only note I can see that they share is the bay leaf. Vikt fades quite fast on me, after about an hour there is only a subtle benzoin left. Edit, one year later: After avoiding this sample for most of a year because of the sour note (yet keeping it because it smelled soo good in the vial) I finally tried this again just now! And wow! Something has changed here with age! There is no sour note anymore!! That note that on my skin turned quite urine-like is behaving now, and that makes all the difference! This scent is still warm and comforting, with deep woods, spices, licorice and a background caramel sweetness that I can't really place! <3 Too bad that Vikt is once again a discontinued scent (at least the re-release seems to be mostly sold out, in Slumberhouse terms that is as good as discontinued and not worth holding out hope)... Edit #2: I did it! I bought a bottle from a reseller that still had them in stock! :D If it turns sour on me I know that I just have to let the bottle age a year and then it'll smell wonderful! ;)