Karnak

[The Strawberry Girl]

Product Description:

A religious complex set just east of the river Nile in Thebes (what is called Luxor today). The temple dedicated to Amun-Ra was filled with spices and incense. Sweet cinnamon, subtle cardamom, sharp citrus fruit from boats sailing down the Nile and Egyptian soft amber pillowed on a reed blossoming with red Egyptian Musk. Transport yourself to the banks of the Nile at Thebes and breathe deeply the intoxicating scent of Karnak.

In the bottle: Creamy bright citrus - if I wasn't awake when I opened it up, I was when I smelled it!

Wet: Citrus! Hello! It reminds me of something, can't place my finger on it though...

5 - 10 minutes into drydown: Citrus is still strong, cinnamon & spices are coming through. Now I know what it reminds me of! A tea I once had in Colonial Willamsburg (Virginia) visiting a recreated 'restaurant'. This smells exactly like that! Talk about evoking memories!

Final Result: Citrus & spices are yummy - this is a wonderful summer time specific scent (though if I like something I wear it whenever) or a pick me up for sure if you're slow or fatigued. Very yummy and bright.

Throw: Average - has yet to fade...i have my doubts it will!

Rating: 4/5

[whiskerswhispers]

Karnak

In vial: spicy! It smells like sweetly spiced oranges-almost Christmassy, in fact. Lovely!
On skin: spicy and gorgeous! This is a light, warm, effervescent spice scent, I smell cinnamon and cardamom here and it almost smells like they are in some kind of drink, like tea or mulled wine, especially when combined with the tangy citrus. However the cardamom makes this a little more exotic, this smells less like mulled wine, and more warm and dry and dusty after a while. I get the image of an orange sunset over the sands and ancient ruins of the temple, and the golden ripples of the Nile in the warm evening air. It’s a translucent golden-orange spicy scent, much like the colour of the oil itself. I think the amber adds that golden translucency I get here, and helps to sweeten the scent a little, whilst the Egyptian musk adds a clean breezy skin scent to it all. It’s actually very calming and warming as a scent…I sometimes think I even catch a glimpse of vetiver here. And the scent becomes even drier over time, developing dry grass and reed tones, arid golden notes and a hint of something almost woody. And it sweetens dramatically at the end, I think the amber’s coming out but it also reminds me of apricot, for some reason…it’s fruity. It’s a gorgeous, enchanting scent, complex, changeable, but always spicy, golden, orange and sweet, reminiscent of sunset colours.

[Llorhn]

Someone posted a message not too long ago that drew me to reread the old Karnak reviews above just the other day. After reading the reviews, I ran to my NA collection quite excited! My collection has become quite large now since I became hooked. I've been here almost since the beginning of NA. I was excited because Karnak was described as a lovely "Christmassy" scent by lovely whiskerswhippers. I was thrilled to see that I did indeed have it in my collection, but had forgotten all about it. Skarabs can be just as valuable as bottles, you know. And now I think I need to upgrade to a bottle. Because she was right, this scent is very Christmassy and absolutely Lovely! It is spice and wine and mint and cinnamon, all wonderful things I need to add to my Christmas aura. I am definitely going to aerate my house with this scent. But it also seems to have more of a general application, too, meaning, not just Christmas, but fall, winter and spring. Because the mix of the smells is very complex, but extremely pleasing. Now I almost smell cola root. Not sure if it's in there, but a slight reminder of Osiris, but spicier. I am glad I had the foresight to purchase this a long time ago because I now am thrilled to complete my Christmas repertoire with it.

[agameofthree]

Bottle: Spicy and warm. I'm getting the citrus.
Me: Warm and citrusy, with the cinnamon lending a sweet, spicy note to it. The amber warms it up. This smells like mulled cider to me. Nice!

This is definitely a good holiday scent -- perfect for fall.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:
This smells like the winter holidays – when cardamom and oranges scent the rooms in our house.

First on:
Sharp citrus (oranges?) and wonderful cardamom and cinnamon – ahh. I like this!

Dry:
After about 10 mins, the citrus is getting a lot stronger, and there's a soapyness in the background probably the musk.

20-30 mins after application, it's become more balanced – it's lovely, and very holidayish.

Finally:
I didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I do – I'll keep it as a yule scent, I think!

[Amunet]

Spiced citrus, very juicy and bright with warm spices to add dimension. In time with warmth the amber and musk start to bloom. The citrus becomes creamy and spice given depth. The scent then becomes cool and a touch of the aquatic. Very nice and perfect for any season.

[Hazel-rah]

Ooh, I love this one! Creamy spicy citrus, like an exotic semisweet custard, savored on said banks of the Nile while the temple Amber and Red Musk incenses perfume the air. Rich, golden and delicious!

[hayet]

fizzy, joyful blend, full of citrus and a hint of wood and spice. There's an aquatic feel to this blend as well, giving the overall impression of a fizzy orange drink on the deck of a boat made of fragrant woods, with spices in the background. The amber begins to peek out a little later, once the citrus begins to die down, but that initial burst is like a geyser of sunshine! Now I'm getting a hint of the red musk and amber combination that I feel familiar with, with some leftover fizziness that I associate with frankincense. Wonderful blend!

[Ajila]

In the skarab - It smells distinctly of fizzy cola bottle sweets, but with a hint of powder

Wet on me - Again that cola feel, but with something bitter and something a bit minty

Dry on me - A dry, sandy musk that retains that slight cola sweetness

Overall - Unusual, but I found it very heavy in the heat and I don't see myself wearing it

[tobytipper]

This is one I just couldn't make up my mind to try. Thought I might love it and thought I might be disappointed. Finally decided to try it as a skarab and I want to say, there is only love here. Everyone who had posted picked up on some common notes but each mentioned something really different too and I picked out every one of them. First, the tea!- I totally get that it. I had to go back and look at the description because I didn't remember that was given there and it's not, but I got a very strong sense of it and I love that. The orange is definitely predominate, but in a creamy way, so it has a softness about it, but then just like others noted, it has some fizzy brightness. The spice to me is fairly soft and just right so that it doesn't come over as too Christmasy. It is also very warm, sunny. I think I could enjoy this as a Christmas scent or as a summer scent. Something else here too, is the watery Nile thing that just sends me everytime I pick up on it. NA has a way of invoking a sense of water that is never ozone like or in some other way says 'fake'- just in a way that I can almost feel the movement and scent of water. I think it is incredible that they can pull that off. I'm glad I got a chance to try this one because it's definitely bottle buy.

[SaphyRyan]

As a GC oil I am quite happy I can get more of this stuff because it is so very good. It is fun to smell the oil and not know what it in it but NA has that thing about blending notes they know go well together than when smelling it you have no idea because you smell them all at the same time to make that distinct NA scent. I see why everyone gets the reference to Christmas and even summer, two completely different times of year and yet this works. Like tobytipper said Karnak and I get the watery Nile thing she refers to. It is not the scent of water but the movement of water just outside the Karnak Temple. Because NA makes you feel the oil as well as smell what it means I get the feeling of standing in the Karnak Temple as the sun rises over the land and reflects in the Nile toward the entrance of the temple. I feel at peace and yet I want to conquer my daily tasks. Excellent interpretation of such a unique place.