Sacred Scarab 2022 Extrait de Parfum

Sacred Scarab (Extrait de Parfum) by Zoologist
Bottle Design:
Jules Dinand, Pierre Dinand
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7.8 / 10 173 Ratings
A popular perfume by Zoologist for women and men, released in 2022. The scent is spicy-floral. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Spicy
Floral
Animal
Resinous
Chypre

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
AldehydesAldehydes CivetCivet LemonLemon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
WineWine Blue lotusBlue lotus PlumPlum
Base Notes Base Notes
WineWine AmberAmber BenzoinBenzoin FrankincenseFrankincense MuskMusk RaisinRaisin CedarwoodCedarwood GalbanumGalbanum LabdanumLabdanum MyrrhMyrrh StyraxStyrax JuniperJuniper OakmossOakmoss

Perfumer & Creative Guidance

Ratings
Scent
7.8173 Ratings
Longevity
8.2137 Ratings
Sillage
7.6139 Ratings
Bottle
8.6126 Ratings
Value for money
6.792 Ratings
Submitted by Vrabec, last update on 06/30/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Sacred Scarab Attar by Zoologist
Sacred Scarab Attar
Civet Cat Chypre (2021) by Meleg Perfumes
Civet Cat Chypre (2021)
Symphonie de Vert Exquise by Elixir Attar
Symphonie de Vert Exquise
IMED by Bahfamsn Fragrance
IMED
Carosello by Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes
Carosello

Reviews

16 in-depth fragrance descriptions
10
Bottle
10
Scent
EauMySoul

25 Reviews
EauMySoul
EauMySoul
Helpful Review 6  
Brilliant yet somewhat misunderstood
Sacred Scarab is a tribute to a symbol of ancient Egypt, the dung beetle. The beetle was associated with the divine manifestation of the early morning sun. Khepri was a scarab-faced god who represented the rising of the morning sun, creation, and the renewal of life. Therefore the sun is central to Sacred Scarab, and you get this burst of golden lemony aldehydes in the opening that is exhilarating and bright. This is maybe the most misunderstood aspect of the perfume because it seems some expect something dark and smokey but the brightness of the sun is central to the sacred scarab.

I don’t like dark smokey perfumes so I was pleasantly surprised (and positively thrilled) when I first smelled Sacred Scarab. Like many others, when I hear “ancient Egypt” I get a certain picture in my mind so after I smelled the glorious brightness of SS, I had to find out why. So I started reading more about the scarab and then I understood where the brightness was coming from. There is also an unmistakable glamour to the perfume, very regal and opulent like something fit for Cleopatra.

But as it dries down, the red wine aspect becomes more apparent and there is a darkness that begins to take over, like the golden ball of light starts setting and the feeling changes, becoming noticeably more somber. It never gets a churchy vibe about it but it becomes more sacred feeling, and the animalic aspects seem to start becoming more prominent. It’s never overly animalic though, at least not to me. But the perfume seems to go through a life stage, starting with a ball of light and finishing with quiet darkness.

I find it to be a remarkable perfume with a serious feel about it and is more suitable for formal situations. There is nothing casual about this perfume at all.

Sacred Scarab really stands out for me as one of the most beautifully balanced yet artistic perfumes that I’ve smelled in quite some time. It made my jaw drop when I smelled it the first time.
0 Comments
5
Pricing
10
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
10
Scent
Mlleghoul

445 Reviews
Mlleghoul
Mlleghoul
7  
Breathtaking mineralogical melodrama
Sacred Scarab is a scent of bitter, lemony aldehydes and earthy, murky, dusky musks, and when I say earthy, I don’t mean damp, loamy garden soil, but rather dusty clay, and subterranean strata of sedimentary rock, digging so far down into the earth you encounter tenebrous geological formations and stygian crystalline structures ostensibly connected to the earth’s deep history–and yet to your unbelieving eyes, wholly alien and otherworldly. It’s a fragrance that evokes at least a minor feeling of, if not the reality of a crumbling collapse of space and time, the prelude to the ecstatic rites of an ancient mystery cult of earth and stone. That initial mineralogical melodrama is breathtaking, and I probably enjoy those 15-20 minutes of the fragrance best, but the next stage and the dry down, a sort of "burnished date/sticky raisin resin incense scattered in the dry wood of a smooth cedar dish" vibe, is lovely as well and worth the wait, if you find the early sniffs are too overwhelming. I can’t decide if this scent is a prayer or a protest, a comfort or a curse, and I deeply love the unknowable mystery of that.
3 Comments
Smirky

450 Reviews
Smirky
Smirky
3  
Feminine Perfume
Received Sacred Scarab as a free sample with a Zoologist purchase. I decided to only do a blotter test because of the notes, description and reviews. I'm glad I didn't spray it on myself. Definitely female perfume; super feminine. Opens with the strong aldehydes. Didn't strike me as overly pissy, although I didn't do a skin test. Once it dried down, Sacred Scarab did not seem overly sweet but heavy on a floral-like scent (despite the note pyramid) and a subtle touch of green. Definitely not for me. I won't rate it and leave that job to the ladies testing it.

(And no, Sacred Scarab is nowhere even close to Kouros.)

0 Comments
10
Sillage
6
Longevity
9
Scent
ScentNebula

52 Reviews
ScentNebula
ScentNebula
2  
Astringent indolic florals
It took me a long time to come round to this fragrance. The first time I wore it, I was scared to try it again for a long time. I found it too pungently indolic - and I love indolic scents, but this was just too much - and there was a strong, dusty note in it that caught at the back of my throat (I think some kinds of aldehydes do this to me). Despite this, I loved the floral note and I had to give it a second chance…almost a year later.

To my surprise, whatever I found challenging isn’t there anymore. I still think it’s a challenging fragrance and I don’t know if I’d have the confidence to wear it in public. It’s very animalic and I can see that offending some noses. However, it no longer offends mine, which is the important thing. The aldehydes don't bother me anymore.

Sacred Scarab is extremely dry, sour, dusty, and white floral - despite no white florals being listed, I get an indolic jasmine kind of note from it. Maybe that’s just how I interpret lotus, which I’ve only smelled once before. I definitely detect the wine (very astringent) as well, and some resins. It does indeed feel sacred, ancient, and mysterious - to be worn only for special occasions, rituals maybe.

A lot of people say it feels vintage. I don’t have much experience with vintage fragrances, but it does remind me a bit of Kouros in its overall structure, though Sacred Scarab is a lot darker and less soapy to my nose.

All in all this fragrance is unique in my collection, I have nothing else like it and I really love it. It’s just hard to find an occasion to wear it.
0 Comments
7
Pricing
6
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
2.5
Scent
Binky

17 Reviews
Binky
Binky
2  
I Was Not Prepared
I found Sacred Scarab to be one of the more difficult fragrances of Zoologist. It lasts a long times, but for me, there was always an animal note which I could not shake off my clothing or skin: fecal and urine.

Other notes came forward during my five hour testing, mostly myrrh and hairspray (aldehydes), lemon, salt and fecal/urine notes. After that, I had to remove the scent as it became a lot.

I will say that the sillage and longevity were great if you are into strong, long lasting scents, but this one will be a tough one for many. It's a great art piece, but is not for the masses.
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

12 short views on the fragrance
ValentinTValentinT 3 years ago
6
Sillage
8
Longevity
4
Scent
A disappointing offering by SP. Completely missing the theme with a soapy-floral-feminine and linear scent. No wine, no incense, no Egypt.
1 Comment
BertolucciKBertolucciK 1 month ago
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Aldehydes and lemon lead the way, wrapped in a veil of animalic civet. Wine-soaked plum, incense, myrrh and florals echo a resinous Chypre.
0 Comments
ErswanErswan 1 year ago
8
Scent
Dusty-sweet heavily perfumed wine and ambery vintage aldehydes undulate back and forth. Richly strange complexity with an aged vibe.
0 Comments
StaciaStacia 2 years ago
Bracing incense with a feeling of antiquity. Lotus, benzoin and labdanum notes are quite clear. Image of tents in the desert.
0 Comments
DearestMothDearestMoth 11 months ago
10
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Old school Hollywood glam meets the ancient world. There's a deep, resinous, incense at the base with plums and lotus on top, almost dusty.
0 Comments
ScentNebulaScentNebula 1 year ago
10
Sillage
6
Longevity
9
Scent
I think this is the only perfume out of 60+ I've tried so far that I've genuinely found *challenging*. More to come...
0 Comments
BoBoChampBoBoChamp 3 years ago
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Initially fresh and soapy citric-floral, a gently animalic, warm and vinous, oriental-spicy Chypre, on a dry and resinous musky-woody base.
1 Comment
BinkyBinky 4 months ago
6
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
2.5
Scent
My chemistry played a mean joke with this one. Sacred Scarab smelled like myrrh, salt, lemon hairspray and fecal matter. big nope.
0 Comments
Coffeecat283Coffeecat283 5 months ago
Spicy aldehydes. Evocative of desert sand and old musty tombs. Very interesting and unique combo, but doesn’t resonate much with my tastes.
0 Comments
MannyScentsMannyScents 5 months ago
10
Bottle
8
Sillage
10
Longevity
10
Scent
The most interesting scent I’ve ever worn. It’s hard to describe it. It’s earthy, woody, and makes me feel like I’m standing in the desert.
3 Comments
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