Chokmah

[amrita]

The Primordial Point of Creation, Mazloth, Being Out of Nothingness, the Origin of Thought and the source of the 32 Ways of Wisdom.

Wet: red musk, rootbeer (sassafrass?), incense. This is a lot like Sin. I really like it.

A half hour later, I smell mostly red musk and incense; it's very, very similar to Sin at this point.

This is one of my favorite Sephiroth oils! Edited February 23, 2006 by Shollin

[yeahbutnobut]

Chokmah

 

In the imp: I smell sweet myrrh, black musk, and something that might be root beer, but I may be wrong as I’m not 100% familiar with it-but it does remind me of a drink.

Wet on skin: black musk! That’s the most obvious scent here, maybe with some myrrh and a dark amber, and possibly sassafras (root beer)?

Dry: yes, this really does remind me of a soft drink of sorts. Except with black musk and some sweet dark resins. It reminds me a little bit of Haunted, but with a sort of herbal/boozy/medicinal twinge to it. Sweet, slick black musk loves my skin though and is the most prominent scent in here.

After a while: the scent is now pretty much all musk and incense sweetened by amber. Now I also get a hint of deep red musk creeping in, swirling into the black musk, rich, deep, sensual. There’s also a little hint of spice to it, which may be an effect of red musk which is one of the spicier musk notes anyway. It reminds me of Sin as well, which makes me wonder if patchouli is in this as well. The sweetness in here may be vanilla, but I’m more inclined to think that it’s amber.

Verdict: black musk is one of my new favourite notes, and this scent is pretty much all about the incense and musk. There are hints of other complimentary notes that may be myrrh, dark amber, and possibly sassafras. But the dominant note is black musk, dark, rich, sweet, sinuous, smoky. The scent swirls and lures you into it’s depths, and before long, red musk joins black, amber joins the party and a spiciness surfaces and the scent joins the ranks of Sin, Scherezade and possibly Haunted and Cracked Bell as one of those rich, musky/spicy/incense/amber scents, exotic and deep. The scent starts off as being medicinal and vaguely soft drink like, but ends up smelling sensual and sweet. I really like this one and will keep the decant I have-I don’t need a bottle yet but I am very fond of this.

[Magda]

Straight out of the bottle, this smelled like paste. You know those jars of paste in elementary school that smelled so good you almost wanted to eat some? It's that same sort of sweet eucalyptus/sugar/mint combination.

 

After about five minutes the paste scent fades off, which is good because while I like the way it smells, I don't think I want to smell like it. It becomes, like everyone's already said, rootbeer. But not just rootbeer, spicy rootbeer with vanilla, incense, and some spicy green hiding beneath it--maybe eucalyptus.

 

I never would have imagined Chokmah to smell like this, but now that I've smelled it I can't imagine anything that could better capture that wordless "aha!" moment and flash of wisdom that signifies Chokmah to me.

[filigree_shadow]

Dark brown oils are usually good ones for me -- so as soon as I saw Chokmah in the imp I wanted to try it right away.

 

At first I smelled something like a pine/juniper scent, which I didn't like. But after about 30 minutes it smells and awful lot like Snake Oil. It has that same powdery vanilla quality with some yummy spice. On my skin, Chokmah is Snake Oil without the heavy powdery note. It has more bite, too.

 

I didn't expect to get sexy out of a blend called Chokmah, but that's definitely what I got. (And you won't hear me complaining about that at all.) Wouldn't mind having a bottle of this one...

[edenssixthday]

Chokmah - Sniffed in the vial, it smelled slightly fruity and resinous, and reminds me a lot of Hunger. As soon as I applied it to my skin, the note that I'd identified as fruity was still evident, but it was less fruity to the point that I think it's something other than fruit. It's hard to explain -- it's fruity...but not. On my skin, the scent is even more resinous than in the vial, and reminds me a lot of Snake Oil. It takes on a slightly floral and light powdery scent, so I'm pretty certain this blend has a touch of orange blossom in it (because orange blossom usually gets slightly powdery on me). I would also guess that there's amber in this blend, as well as vanilla. It reminds me of what I'd get if I layered Snake Oil and Hunger. I have only tried three Sephiroth blends on my skin so far, although I've sniffed all of them. I look forward to testing the others, but I think I may have found the Sephiroth that will be my favorite. Chokmah is gorgeous, sweet, resinous, and exotic. It's a lovely blend, and will be well-loved by me.

[Diana]

Wet: sweet and spicy, almost like a dark patchouli + sassafras

 

Dry: Kind of a root beerish scent, with basenotes that smell a lot like Lust or Sin or Snake Oil. This smells a lot like my favorite scents—the ones towards which I gravitate most frequently. The warmer notes are nicely contrasted by the sweet sassafras and a small drop of warm, rich vanilla. LOVE. This one is destined for a bottle! I never really had any interest in the Sephiroth scents since I know nothing about them, but now that my nose has been introduced, I am one happy gal.

[LiberAmoris]

Chokmah is like a lighter version of Haunted on me---all musky and sexy with a hint of what smells a touch like mint to me. As it dries down, it becomes more like Snake Oil, only brighter and paler somehow---like a blonde wearing Snake Oil instead of a brunette.

 

It’s really wearable and sensual, while still remaining spiritual. Very nice.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Sasparilla, Root beer.

 

On the wrist, wet: There is most definitely sassafras in this blend. I like sassafras. Hmm... but there is also something sort of incensey, and I don't like incense.

 

On the wrist, dry: Powdery and heavy. Something very sweet and thick, overwhelming the sassafras.

 

Final Analysis: Some sort of resin or incense in this is not agreeing with my nose. Off to the swaps.

[steffanina]

Chokmah-

 

In Bottle: I'm sure there's vetiver in here. And something that has that slightly sharp eye-watering men's cologne note too.

 

Wet: A dullness over vetiver. Hmm. Wait--benzoin. Definitely. Smells like a pediatrician's office, that band-aid smell.

 

Dry: This is a masculine, musky smell, and while I like a lot of those, this one dries down to an old man smell. Too cloying and nose-wrinkling for me.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very light. I think maybe some benzoin? A touch of something herbal as well, and maybe some vetiver or leather.

[Voleuse]

This is fascinating. On first sniff, I smell something like patchouli. On the second sniff, root beer and leather! There's a bit of smoke in this as well. Hmm. This is earthy, sweet, smoky. A little spicy, but otherwise, actually very similar to Snake Oil--to my nose, at least. It's a little heavy, but not necessarily masculine. After a while, it takes a bit of a medicinal note, but not so much as to be off-putting.

 

This is a great scent. I don't envision myself wearing it often, but fans of Snake Oil should definitely check it out.

[parrot_suspect]

I don't get root beer from this, but I can see how some people might. On me it's a sweet, rich, deep, musky scent; slightly spicy, but not spicy in a cinnamon-y or nutmeg-y sense. Just a rich, heady warm scent that's neither masculine nor feminine. It's a comfort scent, like snuggling under a warm blanket while sipping a sweet hot drink. People who like Snake Oil, Dragon's Musk, Sin, Vixen and similar blends would probably like Chokmah. I'm one of those people, and I have decided I need a bottle!

[Eemia]

Cream soda rootbeer and black licorice! At least that's how it smells when it's wet. So sweet and creamy but with that bite to it that all black licorice has. Nice and deep and rich.

 

However that all fades when it dries and becomes exactly like Snake Oil. I honestly could barely differentiate between the two when they are dry side by side. Chokmah is maybe a teeny bit sweeter, but that same spicy incense prevails.

 

I love this one when it's fresh and wet, but when it's dry I only like it.

[QueenFae]

Oh this is lovely, I love BPAL that smells like this!! It's a dark, deep incensey scent. There is a very dark top note, black patchouli or frankincense perhaps? There is a lovely, creamy/foody undertone, much like the one in Snake Oil, but a bit on the spicier side. There must be a bit of vanilla in there somewhere, something is sweetening up the low notes.

 

I would compare this to Snake Oil, Tarot: Judgement, and the TAL blend Fiery Command. This is a nice strong blend with quite a bit of throw. (I should know, I spilled the imp all over the place!) This is definitely beautiful enough to buy a bottle.

[cranberry]

Initially, this is mainly cedar and sandalwood. As it dries, this reminds me of the incense notes in Midnight Mass or Cathedral. Once it’s dry, it’s smelling more like sarsaparilla and incense. There’s a musky note that I actually think is the cedar or sandalwood. This note comes again to the forefront after it’s been on a while. There’s also a bit of sweetness there.

 

After its been on forever, the cedar-sandalwood remains as does the sweetness. The sweetness seems almost fruity to me. This is a medium dark smelling scent, syrupy, resinous, quite delicious in fact. It’s too similar to my nose to Jupiter and maybe even Saturn to warrant a full bottle but it’s been good to try this.

[forspecial_plate]

I couldn't tell you what notes I'm smelling in this, except maybe anise or fennel (but I could be wrong about that). Also this has a bit of that 'cola' smell that we talk about sometimes. Basically I agree with the Snake Oil comparisons, especially Filigree_Shadow, who said it's like Snake Oil without the powdery aspect of that scent (and thanks for the sniffie, 'gree!). I'm also getting a similarity to Schwarzer Mond, although it has been quite a while since I smelled that. So...to those who haven't tried those scents.....think dark, herbal, resinous, but not powdery. It really makes me think of the slithery spices of Snake Oil.

 

Overall, this is definitely something I could wear, and I'm seriously thinking about a bottle of it before they're taken out of the catalogue. I bet this ages really well, too. The only thing stopping me is the fact that I have so many scents like this already....Lycaon, Snake Oil, King Cobra (sort of similar), Doc Buzzard (in some ways)...basically all the dark, herbal scents, which I love anyway. So do I really need this? Perhaps not. But I wants it!

[shadesong]

In bottle: Dark, slightly incensey.

 

On me: Root beer! And resins.

[dawndie]

In bottle: root beer with a chemical twist

 

On skin: dusty resins with medicinal cough syrup

 

Half-hour later: sweetened dusty resins

 

In conclusion: the first time I tried this, it reminded me a lot of an Experimental Blend I got in a swap a couple of years ago, lots of medicinal dusty resins. Later I tried it and got more of the root beer/sassafrass that others did, sweeter and lighter. I like that this is heavy on the resins; it seems to be a powerful, no-nonsense blend.

[alicia_stardust]

The power of conscious intellect within Creation, Chokmah is warm and golden with a touch of amber, a lot of vanilla, musks, and sassafras. It very much reminds me of Snake Oil with a touch of the added depth that Snake Charmer has (in its musks) and lastly, a creamy root beer smell.

 

It wears long and strong.

 

Beautiful!!

[Lethran]

Not very descriptive from a tell the ingredients perspective, alas. this smells like rootbeer with medicinal herbs in it. No really. I am not sure why rootbeer with Chinese medicine in it is meant to represent the Primordial Point of creation. I am not sure why anyone would mistake this for perfume. I think it has vanilla in it, which is pleasing, but Dude!

[beachbabealways]

This is like rootbeer meets snake oil. I like!

[suki]

in the bottle: this is so weird: it's like cream soda and magic markers. i seriously can't describe it any better than that.

 

wet on skin: that root beer thing people talk about is showing itself, plus something sweeter and more resinous poking through.

 

dry down: like cream soda and a light rose!

 

in all: unusual, but i will keep it- it's pretty nice, actually.

[myth]

Ahhaha... and the person who reviewed just above me is the lovely person whose bottle I'm now caressing.

 

Oh Chokmah... how I so unexpectedly love thee. I passed on a decant circle back when the Sephiroths were being discontinued, because I figured there was no point in liking something that was about to be taken away. D'oh! [cue the BPAL version of *Oops, I did it again!*]

 

On me Chokmah is like a three-way with Doc Buzzard, Schwarzer Mond, and Scorpio 07. It's a darkly resinous scent... not bitter or funky dark, instead it's syrupy dark. I can kinda see the rootbeer comparisons, but I'm not sure it would've occurred to me if I hadn't read the other reviews first. The throw is a heady, sweetish resin that you might expect to find only in the most exotic and intoxicating situations.

[agnusdei]

I think the best way to describe Chokmah is Snake Oil + root beer. When wet there's a touch of something herbal and a hint of wintergreen on top of the other notes, but after a few minutes it disappears and becomes a gloriously deep blend of sassafras and all of Snake Oil's best characteristics. It's thick and syrupy, spicy, resinous, exotic, smoky and a little musky, all sweetened up with what could possibly be a drop of creamy smooth vanilla. Another thing it shares with Snake Oil is the fact that it harmonizes with your own chemistry so well that it has the ability to be comforting, exciting, fun or completely sexy, depending on what you need from it. There's a definite root beer vibe mixed in as well, like the really good frothy stuff you have to pour out of a tap into a frozen mug. I haven't really given much thought to a top ten, but if I had one Chokmah would be way up there for sure. It's the best kind of scent love, when not only the scent itself is wonderful but the concept it embodies has personal meaning as well.

[ami226]

On the skin: Definitely getting a root beer feel here, but other than that I am having a hard time describing this one! Root beer, resins, and maybe some sweet vanilla? I can definitely see the similarities between this and Snake Oil. Kind of a root beer Snake Oil?

 

Wow, this just gets better and better! The root beer is still there, but everything is becoming creamy, smooth, and sweet! Maybe with a hint of spices as well?