Meskhenet, the Vulture Maiden

[Heretic]

The ringing of a gong seizes your attention, and you follow the sound to the next stage. It is empty, devoid of any backdrop, and the platform is dark. A haze blankets your vision, like heat radiating off of the desert floor. You hear the sound of hands clapping a steady rhythm, and within moments, the haze begins to coalesce into the forms of a troupe of ghostly women, clad in linen shifts. Their wraithlike hands pluck at the strings of translucent zithers and harps, shake spectral sistrums, and their pallid lips blow upon ethereal flutes. The music that they play is discordant, otherworldly, and seems to be at once a funeral dirge and a paean to life: a triumphant lamentation. As the sound swells, you hear the beating of wings in the distance, and a keen, a siren's ululation, joins the haunting melody. As the song reaches its eerie crescendo, a beautiful winged woman alights on the stage, summoned by the phantom song. Her skin is dusky brown, and the vigor of her youthful body seems in conflict with the depth of grief reflected in her eyes. Her wings spread out behind her in morbid majesty, and she takes flight. Her dance is, itself, a visible act of mourning, and is almost sensual in its sorrow.

Frankincense, hyssop, hibiscus, river reeds, orris root, palm frond, and olibanum.

In the bottle: Frankincense
On my wrist, wet: Frankincense, dry and bitter-sweet. There is a hint of green.
After 20 minutes: The bitter-sweetness has dissipated and what remains is a dry frankincense with an almost herbal note.
After 40 minutes: Meskhenet isn't a morpher and didn't go through a great revealing of notes. It doesn't jump out and demand to be noticed. Rather, it remains a quiet, dry frankincense and a steadily growing reedy green note with which it eventually shares center stage. This is not a heavy resinous scent at all and is one that all resin-lovers should try.

[alicia_stardust]

In the bottle: There's an almost perfumey quality to this, and I definitely pick up franckincense but it's not the wafty, sweet kind I'm used to. This one is more arid and woodsy.

 

Just applied to skin: It smells the same as it did in the bottle, but there is also a touch of something herbal. Again I am struck by the franckincense and its dry quality. It goes slightly bitter on my skin. That note really sits as the strongest part of the blend.

 

After a short while: This blend really doesn't morph very much on me, but at this point I can detect a touch of floral and something that has a water-like quality, though the water-like quality is not tied to a specific note.

 

One thing about this blend that stands out the most in my mind: it has a very air-like quality. I mean, really airy and with a touch of non-soapy, grounded (by resins) ozone. Even though it smells nothing like Sylph, they remind me of each other. There's also something in this blend that reminds me of The Castle, though I can't for the life of me figure out why since they have no common notes that I am aware of.

 

Rating: It's nice, and I know some will love this, but it's not exactly for me. I like the experience and journey of Meskhenet, but I can't see myself reaching to wear this. I may keep an imp, but I'll probably sell the rest of my bottle.

 

One last thing: I love, love, love the art for this!

[PilotKitten]

Yup... churchy frankincense. I'm actually really surprised that this is good on me (ordered for the gorgeous artwork alone). I didn't expect to like it at all, but it's pretty fair on me. Very frankincensy resin and a muddy (not actualy wet dirt, just not watery or dry... somewhere in between) herbal note. I'm not a resinous fan, so I probably won't wear it often, but it's good.

[PurringPulsar]

Meskhenet

 

In the bottle: frankincense…but I think I smell gardenia in here? I don't get why since it's not listed. Oh please, I really hope not…but it does remind me of Night's Pavilion, which I love.

Wet on skin: frankincense! There is a hint of something almost gardenia-ish (burnt petals) but it's mainly a clear, bright frankincense note, smouldering and smoky and peppery.

Dry on skin: this is an intriguing scent. It's mainly frankincense, in fact, it's very similar to Midnight Mass (especially the 05 version). Really powerful resin scent, a mix of frankincense in resin form and it burning as incense. (Olibanum is another form of frankincense, which explains the 'double-whammy' of frank notes here) Golden and dry and warm, like strong sunlight. I wonder if there's a trace of myrrh to it as well, even though that's not a listed note. There's a green dry scent to it, which is definitely the palm fronds. It reminds me of the dry sandy palm note from Caliban, only here the sands that dust these palms are not of the beach, but of the desert. I get a hint of green hyssop, maybe even a bit of reeds too…is that papyrus I smell? I think it may be. A crisp sharp floral flits through, probably hibiscus, but there's something almost gardenia like to it-but not as evil as some gardenia notes can be.

After a while: as the frankincense begins to mellow out, it loses it's piercing, almost spicy resinous scent and becomes smoky-it's like incense that has burnt out and now, just it's smoke lingers. Under the smoke is a fascinating mix of aquatic reeds, reminiscent of Dunwich, dry palm, and a hint of dust or sand. However this scent has an interesting contradiction-it is both wet and dry. The river reeds are cool and green, giving a feel of water without any actual aquatic notes, but the scent has aridity. It also reminds me of those 'Blue Nile' fragrances, but without the floral and aquatic notes they have. Indeed, this seems to be a scent of the Nile and the desert. Wow. And it smells even more strongly of papyrus now, a mix of fresh green reeds and the dry golden dusty paper. When smelling this I get images of papyrus papers, dry petals and golden palm leaves buried in the sand or in a dusty tomb. It shares a kinship with Nefertiti, in that it doesn't smell identical but shares a similar mood and feel…though the orris in here now smells like the iris in Nef. Indeed, the drydown is very similar to Nefertiti with it's wet reedy iris and a dry background, but with added palm and tart hibiscus. It's a gentle scent of sunlight and sand and cool river water, with an light and airy-even feathery-aspect to it. After a few hours the scent is pure papyrus on me-I love that scent, just like sniffing a sheet of Egyptian paper. Whoa.

Verdict: this is a fascinating fragrance. At first I was unsure about it but this scent is really growing on me. It starts off with a strong, almost harsh, frankincense note, intense and piercing, with a base of palm leaves, before smoothing out into an intriguing mix of incense, water plants, palms and hibiscus, papyrus paper and desert sand. It's one of those perfumes that captures a mood, a time and a place…namely, Ancient Egypt. It's a scent of the contrasts between the Nile and it's lush wet greenery and the arid heat of the desert, papyrus paper covered in funereal prayers fluttering in the breeze, the smouldering resins of frankincense wafting from ancient temples, and the commanding and harsh light of the midday sun. Yet there's mournfulness to it, almost hollow and empty, tomb-like, melancholy. Yet it is moving, haunting, also wispy and feathery. Mysterious and very 'visual' as a scent, it really fits the picture and it's emotion, and the description…and evokes the timeless land of the pharaohs where the vulture maiden flew from before landing in the Carnival tent. It's not an everyday scent but it's evocative and ancient feel makes this a remarkable and unique fragrance, and a true scented work of art, it feels like a scent to meditate on and contemplate. Beautiful.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Of course, there's something stirring-not to mention highly evocative-about it, so I'm stocking up.

If you like this, try: Nefertiti, Anubis, Midnight Mass, Ahathoor, Penitence, Caliban, Dunwich (if you can find it!)

Edited February 2, 2007 by yeahbutnobut

[edenssixthday]

Meskhenet, The Vulture Maiden - This opens up with a really strong blast of frankincense and since I normally love frankincense, I'm surprised that I don't like this at all. Once the blend dries down and the frankincense fades a bit, it's still predominantly a frankincense blend, but the hyssop and hibiscus move to the forefront and it starts to smell beautifully floral and sweet. It's got really great throw and staying power, but the scent is really dry, which may be the reeds and palm, and overall, it's just not for me. But it's still nice.

[Em-]

This is a sweet incense on me, with a definite smokey burning sort of note, but in a good way.

 

This is lighter than, say, Midnight Mass, on me, and has a more wearable feel - less immersed in high holiday and more walking next to a river after attending services.

[aine]

Meskhenet is a shy, sweet, brown-skinned beauty. The artwork encapsulates the gentle loveliness of this scent perfectly. It is more delicate than I expected and certainly sweeter and prettier. Softly resinous frankincense and olibanum, the gentle floral of the hibiscus and orris root and a touch of sweet green from the hyssop and palm frond. I don't find it dry or bitter at all.

 

This is the sort of scent that might be carried to you on a breeze.

 

And one that you might walk across miles of desert, and through crowds of people to find the source of such understated beauty......

[Little Bird]

Meskhenet is another fragrance that is hard for me to pin down, perhaps because I'm not really familiar with most of the notes. It makes me think of a muddy riverbank in fall, where there's damp mud and dry grasses crackling in a chilly breeze. There are wafts of a sweet, smoky incense and floral perfume coming in off of that breeze as well.

 

This is one of those scents that I admire in concept, but I wouldn't actually ever wear it and I don't find myself wanting to try it out again. A lightly smoky incense, some perfumey florals, and something that smells like dry grasses to me.

[QueenFae]

First impression: Smoky, incensey, but with a woodsy/slightly spicy undertone. This is certainly a frankincense dominant blend. The frankincense is nicely complimented by an herbally undertone; sort of a green, plant like, yet woodsy combination of notes.

 

On the dry down: Not much of a morpher, the frankincense settles in a little bit, and there's still that hint of the herbal underneath. I wish I could do this description more justice, but this is a pretty straight forward blend.

 

Overall: Really nice for those of you who like resinous/incensey blends. This is not quite my thing, but I can recognize the subtle beauty of this blend.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle:frankinsence, and orris root. sweet, resinous.

 

wet: orris root is at the forefront. i often think orris smells somewhat fruity and sweet. this is no exception to that, it is a fun, sweet scent, rather juicy in nature.

 

as it dries it is still rather orris in nature, but it softens, becomes a bit more floral , guessing the hibiscus is coming out to play. so basically a fun, light hearted, floral w/ frakinsence grounding the whole thing making it deeper, and more incensy then just a floral blend. one of my favorites of this act

[savage_rose]

Very sweet, slightly earthy...like fruit on the vine, but you smell the vine, too. Pretty. It smells a little innocent to me...not very Vulture Maidenish. But nice.

[juniperus]

Bottle: wow..this smells like fresh, damp breeze through the flora that grows next to rivers. seriously.

Wet: the same light wind now carries florals, and the sharp edge of frankincense resin burnt by itself, bubbling on a hot coal

Dry: florals are primary, I can discern the hyssop, and what must be the hibiscus.

Later: same to the end, not overmuch a morpher, just delicate and lovely.

[copyshopclerk]

In the imp: Incense, like the kind they use in churches, and resin.

 

Wet: Slightly sweeter than incense, but very herbal. Strong resin, probably more than my skin chemistry can get away with. Reminds me a bit of Lycaon in that sense.

 

Dry: Takes on almost a grassy note.

 

Love the concept (and the artwork!) but this wasn't a good match for my skin.

[melissadragon]

Imp: Green and floral - applied to side of right wrist

Wet: brown sweet flowers

Dry: brown sugar sweet, soft floral background

1 hour later: Same as dry. I like it, it's different

Verdict: Keeper

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: sweet and resinous. Frankincense and orris.

 

Wet: now a fairly strong floral note is coming out to play. I think it may be hyssop.

 

Dry: Now there is a powdery quality that reminds me alot of Chanel No. 22. This scent is very pretty, but the powdery note isn't working for me.

[euterpe414]

In the bottle this is very reminiscent of the churchy incense blends (Midnight Mass, Penitence, etc.), but on my skin it becomes way more complex. Ther orris and grassy notes give it a sweeter, more green edge. This is still primarily a resin blend, though, but one unique it enough that it will most likely find its way into my bottle collection Fans of Midnight Mass and the like should give this a try.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: church incense, a floral I don’t recognize and something a little woody.

 

On my skin: mostly frankincense and orris too. Not a combination I’m really fond of.

 

After a couple of hours: still lots of orris, but it becomes a little more floral too. It reminds me of Midnight Mass but it’s a little less heavy on the incense.

 

Verdict: I’m not one for frankincense.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

The Vulture Maiden is startlingly wearable--I expected Cathedral-like incense, but this is quite soft; the floral notes round it out beautifully. However, those same florals turn cloying on me after a bit; I can see this being lovely on another girl but not so much on me.

[slave1]

MESKHENET THE VULTURE MAIDEN

 

In Bottle: Earthy resins

 

On Skin: This has an Egyptian feel right away… It is gorgeous. Sweet frankincense comes out in the front, smoky sweet incense. The florals are also sweet but have a slight perfumey twang to them that helps cut through the sweetness. The palm fronds and reeds have a lovely aquatic and planty tone. I love that they help the scent from being pure incense. I’m not mush for incense scents, but this one has enough variety to it that I don’t feel too smoky or resinous. Quite pretty, I may have to have a bottle of this one. Plus I LOVE vultures. Light throw and medium wearlength.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a heady, sweet, floral incense blend.

on: sweet flowers and a hint of frankincense.

1 hour later: mostly frankincense with a hint of flowers.

1.5 hours later: very floral, but with something that reminds me of dark water.

3 hours later: a musty, wet floral.

5.5 hours later: musty and powdery.

overall: this just didn't smell nice on me.

[Miss Lynx]

This is a very delicate scent, and startlingly nice. It wasn't one of the ones that initially grabbed my attention; it was more on the "maybe" list. But I quite like it. I think it could best be described as a somewhat ethereal incense scent -- frankincense is definitely the dominant note (and isn't olibanum another name for frankincense?), but the other notes soften it and give it a bit more depth and a touch of sweetness.

 

The overall effect is very Egyptian -- and smells almost more like a ritual incense than a perfume oil. It's a bit reminiscent of Midnight Mass and The Pit & the Pendulum, and slightly of Al-Azif, but a bit lighter and gentler. There's something delicately herbal in it that leavens the resins a bit.

 

Sadly, it doesn't last very long -- I suppose that's the downside of its softness. I have to reapply it after about 2 hours or so, but it's worth it. Not sure if I'm going to order a whole bottle of this or not, but I'm definitely keeping what's left from the decant circle I did.

 

Grade: B+

 

(ETA: a little over a year later, I tried this scent again after having more or less forgotten about it for quite a while, and I have to say it ages really, really nicely. I had tried it again because I was thinking of doing a bit of a purge of scents I didn't really wear, but now that I've smelled it in its aged incarnation, this one isn't going anywhere! It's gotten richer and deeper, and smells like some sort of Egyptian temple incense combined with warm sunlight and wind, if those had a smell. Lovely.)

Edited May 26, 2008 by Miss Lynx

[blu°]

To me this doesn't smell like Midnight Mass or the Penitence so much, but I get an ever so elegantly feminized version of the reedy wood note in Danse Macabre and a really strong incensey backbone that resembles TAL blends - mostly Fiery Wall of Protection - and a bit the Liber Resh vel Helios blends.

 

Maybe there's a bit of a soft white musk in here that is making this be so feminine despite all these serious and strong resins.

 

Finally it's like a more feminine Danse Macabre, breezy, incensey and powdery. Quite wearable, more so than Danse Macabre

 

It's quite complex, and like with most CD blends, I've got the feeling they require much longer testing periods.

[Doomramen]

I need to take some time to get used to this one. It seems a bit meek and unexceptional. I haven't tried orris before, and I think that's part of it. I'll hold onto it and try it a few more times and see if I start reaching for it.

 

On, the scent reminds me of being at the opera, where lots of older, wealthier women are wearing just a little too much perfume, and the scent mingles into one odd too-much-perfume scent. Meskhenet is like that, but missing any sharper floral or alcohol components.

It is soft as a whisper.

I think it smells good on me and I'm just not used to it.

My guess is that it is lovely, but in a more delicate more restrained sort of way than I tend to be, and that as a result I'm not drawn to it as magnetically as I am most blends I've tried that work nicely on me.

[supremegoddessofall]

I have no idea what I'm smelling in here other than frankincense, but it's not working for me. Boring, dry, and a bit stale.

[Naamah_Darling]

Frankincense and florals . . . sweet and light, with a hint of greenness to it.

 

It goes on heavy on the frankincense, with a resiny, incensey cast to it. The rest is powdery and soft, but there is a persistent fresh note, like crushed woody stems. I assume that this is the palm frond and the reeds/grasses.

 

It's a pretty smell, and it's not as floral as I expected. If it has any floral character to it at all, it's a subdued, spicy floral that is slightly sweet but not sickening. It dries to a powdery, greenish scent.

 

An interesting smell, slightly brooding, slightly sensual, and very pretty.