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      SACRED SCARAB (2022) • ZOOLOGIST🔺, ScentAdvice

      ZOOLOGIST
      SACRED SCARAB

      2022

      PERFUMER
      Sultan Pasha


      SACRED SCARAB (2022) • ZOOLOGIST🔺, ScentAdvice


      Aldehydes
      Civet
      Lemon
      Lotus
      Red Wine
      Plum
      Myrrh
      Incense
      Benzoin
      Oakmoss
      Amber
      Labdanum
      Raisin
      Musk
      Styrax
      Galbanum
      Cedarwood
      Cade

      SACRED SCARAB (2022) • ZOOLOGIST🔺, ScentAdvice

      Zoologist is always fun to explore, but in the case of Sacred Scarab, I was a little bit extra excited to try it. This marks the entry into the world of spray perfumes by Sultan Pasha, who’s attars I’ve unfortunately still not tried at the time of this review. I have it on good authority that Sultan’s work is a must-try. I definitely must get my nose on his own line at some point, but at least Sacred Scarab is a step in the right direction. And it’s an interesting and seemingly ever-changing fragrance, giving me plenty of ammunition for one of the longest first impression takes I’ve written down.

      From the first moment this is rather unique. I get a lot of the civet straight away. It’s a citrussy, pungent opening with a clean (white musky) vibe from the aldehydes. The civet adds a daring element that weaves in and out of the opening hours.
      *Synthetic civet, as Zoologist doesn’t use animal products.

      I was a bit afraid of the red wine; I’m not a drinker and the smell of red wines specifically never appealed to me. Luckily, I get almost more of a lemonade in Sacred Scarab. It has a fizzy, but airy and light fruitiness. Plum and raisins are listed and it reminds me a bit of the unique grape scent in Rubini Fundamental. I’ve read some other reviews saying otherwise, but I personally don’t get much of a real booziness or even dried fruits on first impression.

      I guess I was expecting something a bit heavier and spicier, along the lines of Amouage Overture Man, but for me Sacred Scarab is a brighter wear in the opening and I prefer it that way. In the drydown it grows more towards the dark(er) and spicy though, but more on that soon. That’s not to say that this is an easier or safer wear, because I think the sharp acidity from the civet can be a turn off for a lot of people.

      What really kept surprising me during my first wear, was that clean, bright, ozonic and aldehydic aspect. During a good chunk of the wear, it feels like whatever notes I detect, are wrapped in several layers of fresh white linen. See-through linen though, because at no point is it all that I smell; there are a lot of moments in which the civet is strong, moments where the fruity ‘wine’ is there, or later in the wear a more resinous woody base comes through. But for the most part, the fresh linen is very prominent to my nose.

      At some point it transitions and the element that takes me in a more Egyptian or perhaps Eastern direction in Sacred Scarab reveals itself: incense. It took a while to register for me, but once I smelled it, it was there. It’s almost honeyed when it reached that stage for me, when the resinous sweetness pushes through and the profile slowly changes from clean linen into an amber. Not quite as sweet and honeyed as for example Areej Le Dore Mysore Incenza, but taking steps in that direction, which is a far cry from where the composition started at. I still don’t get the booziness or spices all that much, but there’s a slightly darker warmth with a hint of fruitiness.

      Incense aside and with the preface that I’ve never been to Egypt, I can’t say that Sacred Scarab transports me there; nor does it makes me think of ancient times (in the way for example Papillon Anubis did). Instead, the civet and aldehydes take me to what I’ve heard Sultan being praised for before: classic French perfumery. The urinal-esque civet-floral-aldehyde combination is something I’ve only encountered in a couple of women’s perfumes from the past century.

      It’s an interesting clash of animalic and aldehydic. Fresh and clean, yet warm and radiating a sort of primal energy. Greenish citrus, but sweet and resinous later on. As the lengthy thoughts reveal, a fragrance that kept me on my toes, especially with the civet. Therefore, not quite a comforting scent or a love at first sniff, but all the more an enjoyable and interesting ride that I will revisit soon.


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