Serket v5

[Invidiana]

Serket was the ancient Egyptian goddess of healing bites and stings, and is often depicted with a scorpion atop her head. Her scent is a sweet spiced plum that is like a sophisticated sugarplum. One of the elements that adds to the sweetness here is definitely sugarcane because I recognize that same note from Dia and Velvet Nudie; it starts out fresh and sweet with a greenish floral tinge and dries down to a warm brown-sugary sweetness. I'm guessing there is also white honey in here because while I don't distincly get a traditional honey note there is something else supporting the sugarcane. Since honey also has soothing properties, which would fit into the theme of a healing goddess, it's highly likely that's what it is. The plum is more of a fresh plum note than the smoky Hellion or Snake Charmer plums, though it still is very fragrant. It is deepened by soft resins, I'm guessing some ambers and possibly sweet myrrh, and finished off by subtle spice. There must be cinnamon though it stays subdued, maybe a bit of ginger or allspice. There can't be any cardamom because I'd know that instantly. There is something else that might be among the spices though I might be hallucinating; the ancient Egyptians used coriander to fight fever, and while I'm not quite sure it may be in there for the historical value. This is a really lovely scent that is fit for a deity.

[saralaughs]

A very fresh yet spicy scent. I agree with the review above regarding the sugarcane but I don't get brown sugar at all. Brown sugar usually goes molasses on my skin and/or burnt caramel and this is way too clean of a scent for that. Maybe some bamboo? There is a sweet green-ness in the background that is reminiscent of Habu for me. The spice is almost cinnamon like on me, if not exactly that. But it's not hot at all. Maybe some amber. A clean (or cleansing maybe?) scent.

 

Thanks so much to the lovely lady who sent me a tester.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is interesting - I get something resinous (probably myrrh), a hint of amber, some lemongrass or maybe bamboo which gives it a very clean edge, some cinnamon and a whiff of plum.

 

Serket is allover the place for me. It's like a hot desert. Or rather, more like looking at a hot desert from the coolness of an oasis. Yes, it can be cruel out there, but you're okay because for some lucky reason, you've got water, shade and some cool fruit to munch on.

[PurringPulsar]

Serket v5

 

In the imp: hay and dates, maybe a bit of fig too.

Wet on skin: dried fruits and dried straw.

Dry on skin: interesting. This smells like dried fruits, burning myrrh, hay and grains, and an arid sandy note. It’s like Gomorrah with less of the darker fruit notes (no currant) and with hay instead of herbs. There’s also a slightly nutty note that my skin seems to turn into peanuts (what the?) as well as the one myrrh note that I don’t like because it smells burnt and weird on me. But the dominant note in here, at least to my nose, is date. This is full of mushy brown dried dates. It’s really nice and very unusual. These are dates on a base of sand and dried grains, and maybe some healing balsams. I think there’s also fig and maybe some dried apricots?

After a while: the scent becomes drier, more arid and gritty. It’s what I’d imagine being in a sandstorm would be like-it’s really abrasive in scent, there’s a harshness to it, not sure if I’m keen on that. It’s very dusty, it almost makes my nostrils itch. There’s also that acrid myrrh note, identical to the Light Myrrh SN, which is the only myrrh note that doesn’t work on me. That particular bitter scent does seem to evoke a hint of venom though. The sweet fig and date scent is still there though, it’s just turned really sandy now. There is a note to it that I’ve just pinpointed-palm. Possibly date palms, but I smell the dried leaves and husk/bark of the tree itself as well as the fruit.

Verdict: this is a very good evocation of the habitat of a scorpion: sun beaten sands, parched grasses, oasis palm trees, desert spices, heat, aridity, dust, but there’s a hint of sweetness that softens it a tiny bit, a sweet scent from dried fruit notes like figs and dates. Hints of offertory incense and healing resins, balms and dried plants can be detected as well. It’s very atmospheric as a scent but my skin does strange things to the myrrh here and the dusty note is a little too authentic, in that it tickles the throat like real dust! But I’m glad I got to try it and would love to see a Serket scent go live one day.

Is it a keeper? Not this time-I may keep a bit for myself, but not a bottle.

If you like this, try: Gomorrah, Black Lotus, Set prototype, Nyarlahotep

[Little Bird]

This starts off sort of fresh, pulpy-watery, and green on me... maybe the bamboo and lemon that others have mentioned. And then it dries down to something like powdery amber and bright, perfumey resins on my skin. It's odd how it goes from green and watery to dry and slightly spicy on my skin. It smells a little bit like dusty hay after a half hour or so, and then fades quickly after that.

[incensefairy]

Reminds me of: true indigo, solo cello music, ancient Egypt, fruit bats

 

In the bottle: a bright, deep, plummy scent. I definitely get sandalwood, and something more resinous but also along those lines. A slight metallic tinge, which to me resembles BPAL’s typical blood notes. It smells mysterious and bright and bountiful!

 

Wet on skin: Sandalwood, dates, plum, incense, and dark resins. It’s very fruit-forward on my skin, not quite tangy but rather juicy. And yet it’s kind of sandy and dry? Like delicious fruit leather.

 

Dried down: The mysterious fruitiness mostly fades away and leaves behind a crumbly, powdery sandalwood incense. There are still wisps of plum, but it’s mostly a dusty and dry amber by the end of the day.

 

The lasting power is wonderful! My skin usually amps fruit notes, but I found this to be restrained enough that overall, it’s more of an amber/incense perfume than a fruity one. I got my bottle in a swap and it was already beautifully aged. 9/10 from me!

Edited July 30 by incensefairy