Vikt
Slumberhouse (2009)

Dark, resinous and oud-y - that's how I'd describe Vikt. The opening is strong, spicy and sweet - similar to licorice, it kind of reminds me of black Harribo sweets. It may be star anise as well. Within time I detect oud nuances that I mentioned before - but rather resinous oud than smoky oud. There are smoky elements as well. I detect a hint of Sova and a pinch of Norne in Vikt, but not that much.

Very good sillage and good longevity.

Nice fragrance, a bit too spicy for my liking.

A dull, green light emanates from the darkened woods, growing brighter as I move through the trees. All around is a soft hum, as if electricity were pulsating through every branch. Black sap runs down the trunks like molten licorice, pooling in the undergrowth and obscured by a layer of fog. The light intensifies as I approach a clearing. I am alone, smothered in a world of blinding, black greenness.

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

Love at first sniff!!! What an amazing fragrance! The main accord is a wonderful anise/licorice note that is the perfect level of spicy hotness, incredible! This is blended so wonderfully with balsamic and conifer notes that bring a dusky mellowness, while heightening the clear, piercing nature of the anise and the conifer at the same time. Brilliant blending and execution in my opinion. I love Rive Gauche Pour Homme, but the star anise note is very piercing in RGPH. In Vikt, it is perfectly balanced. This has moved way up my personal faves list! There is a slight hay like note in the early development of Vikt that isn't problematic for me, and was only slightly noticeable for a while. I don't smell it now at 7 hours in since application. I just realized that there is something about Vikt that reminds me of Noir Anthracite by TF. Interesting. Vikt became a skin scent on me at about the 5 hour mark, but the longevity was excellent, and I was still enjoying it 14 hours after application. This is my first wearing, so I'm looking forward to more opportunities to enjoy this excellent fragrance. Thumbs way up for Vikt!

Projects like a 10 million candle spotlight. Hot, spicy, hot, burny, hot...

“On candystripe legs the spiderman comes
Softly through the shadow of the blissfully dead
Looking for the victim shivering in bed
Searching out fear in the gathering gloom
Suddenly!
A movement in the corner of the room!
And there is nothing I can do
When I realise with fright that
The spiderman is having me for dinner tonight”

I walk in silence in this land that I do not know, exotic sensations of turmeric and Indian spices greet me on the edge of a border that I did not know, this land is called Kere. I already know that I'll stop here, maybe it will be my death or the fate of this new frontier.
Before crossing that limit, I sit for a moment on the grass and I light up a slow cigar, it was hand-made with leaves of the eternal Norne. I drink two drops of the last whisky I bought in the smoked land of Baque.
I am waiting for this cigar to clarify my ideas, while white flowers (known as white Greev) are diverting the tired smell of my sweat to more comfortable scenarios.
I go, finally.
White sheets are hung out to dry and the hot wind by Eki relaxes the journey of my eyes.
A woman gives me an aromatic food that looks like a pear but it actually is an olive "This is the fruit of the gardens of Rume, the Goddess celebrated on the holy green day of cinnamon…" she smiles and disappears.
A distillery invites me to enter. An old man presents his productions. He has already figured out that I wrote my story in alcool.
It speaks about Sova, a distillate product from the feathers of a bird I do not know. It speaks about Jeke, a kind of liquor made from bitter herbs I do not know.
He asks me where I come from.
"I come from Vikt!" I say.
"Then you're the man of the dream! The man who sleeps! Come on, we've been waiting you, your house is ready."
I do not know what he speaks about, and I do not know what he means, but my eyes are already closed. And in this house of sleep and dream, I'm still living from that day, and in this house I'm staying and I dream to die and I dream to stay and I dream to die and I dream to stay...