Zoologist Sacred Scarab was released in 2022, created by the incredibly interesting Sultan Pasha. This is a seriously feral fragrance - everything we expect to get from Sultan Pasha - and it is amazing. Notes of aldehydes, civet*, lemon, lotus, red wine, plum, incense, myrrh, benzoin, oakmoss, raisin, labdanum, amber, musk*, styrax, cedar, galbanum and cade oil. * notes synthetic notes, They do not use animal products. This is an extrait de parfum.
From the brand -
"The dogged prospector strikes gold. Upon discovering a payload rich with nutrients, the scarab returns home. Face down, guided by the sun, it propels the tightly-packed dung backwards to a burrow lined with dusky spheres. Underground, it tunnels into the ball to deposit a precious egg. In time, the larva hatches and feeds, until it emerges, fully formed, and instinct drives it down the same dusty trail to repeat the cycle.
Like Egyptians entrusting sacred mummies to tombs for the journey to the next life, a scarab burying its treasure marks the dawn of new life. Zoologist Sacred Scarab captures the mystique of Kyphi incense, a blend of blue lotus, raisins, plums, olibanum, myrrh, and juniper. Once bound with wine and burned in ancient rituals, today this divine scent guides your spirit on a path to discovery and rebirth."
Fragrantica - "Sacred Scarab opens with a luxurious aldehydic veil, taking us back to much more elegant days: charmingly spicy with a touch of civet, yet quite comforting with sweet pink and blue florals with a refreshing watery aspect. At once rich and gossamer. Soon (Egyptian) incense emerges and the florals are joined by a dark plum. It is now quite rich and spicy, but still with that fascinating aquarelle element. If we were to follow the Egyptian theme, one could easily imagine here a beautiful garden by a stream in ancient Egypt, with the scent of many spices and rich flowers in the air, as well as an inviting sweetness from dark ripe fruits on the trees (dates and plums). The skin of the queen is clean, yet still musky. Later, the scent smells warm, resinous and comforting, but with a half-slumbering feline alertness. Later still, the perfume slowly fades with a beautiful toffeed myrrh incense."
Fragrantica - "Immediate love for me off the sample. Probably bugged pasha daily about this one. A deliciously darker amber fragrance with some florals mixed in to keep it bright. Develops so nicely on my skin over hours and hours that each time I wear it, I forget exactly what I’m wearing. Definitely has a middle eastern perfume feel to it, it wears lovely in the heat and I’m sure will transition well into fall."
Fragrantica - "Gorgeous creation, it warms up the skin gradually. The first couple of hours on the skin speaks bold, musky and clean, with a bitter hue to it. After a few hours it transforms into this descrete flowery amber, quiet but loud, elegant but not ostentatious. Its chameleonic, with a personality that changes by the minute. Perfect for every day frankly, its versatile but pretentious, the average nose wouldn't understand it though. It truly is beautiful..."
Fragrantica - "This scent almost reminds me of red wine sangria. The combination of the red wine, aldehydes, lemon, plum and raisin and the incense spices give this a surpassingly summery appeal to me. Nose to skin the musks are more pronounced giving this a depth and uniqueness. I also get an earthiness I can’t explain, but it does evoke beetles strangely. No note feels out of place, and it’s well blended. The dry down brings a sweet musk forward with none of the fecal qualities I found in Musk Deer. To me this is a very versatile scent, not tied to any particular season or activity. This and Camel are neck and neck for best of the house for me and I’ll most likely be getting a bottle of both."
Fragrantica - "Bravo to Sultan Pasha for being one of those oil/attar makers and natural material gurus who actually has a respect and grasp of classic perfumery, clearly loves perfume, collects it, and knows it intimately...Instantly, think big, rich, powdery, Mitsuoko chypre, meets aldehydic floral opening, that blue lotus accord (perhaps even the stuff itself, don't see why not it's Pasha afterall) and I detect a trace of jasmine and ylang or even osmanthus, it has a certain dry, summery, chalky freshness, then into downbeat drydown of resins and woods, ever detectable at the 'back' of the composition. It's fantastic, a real love letter to perfume, and a proper treat for perfume enthusiasts who love um' traditional. I thought it was great. Pretty spectacular actually."
Fragrantica - "This is arid, yet has a feel of resins, nectar (I'm surprised there's no honey listed), and background of primal animalic notes with civet, stryax, and musk. This brings up images of ancient Egypt. Sultan Pasha has proven what we already knew. He is a creative genius, as it Victor for tapping him to create this masterpiece."
