Zoologist is one of my favorite niche houses to sample because they really do make art. Even if you get something that's not a wearable perfume per se, you will get a memorable olfactory art experience.
Civet
This is quite beautiful in a vintage feeling, old world way. No single note jumps out, it's a perfectly blended symphonic chorus. This reminds me of wandering through a city that was foreign to me and going into a little shop that sold incense and jewelry and fabrics. It was so quiet inside the shop it felt like a church to me. There was an old Nepalese man running the store and he smiled at me. I bought incense. I had not thought about that store in so long but smelling Civet reminded me of the air inside the place. Fragrant, mystical, holy florals and spices.
Macaque
This does not make me think of monkeys at all but it is an extremely unique smell. The opening was a bright sour green apple and green tea sweetened with honey. To be honest, I did not like the opening, it was weird for me. However, that fruity sweetness burns off real quick and the duration of the wear is a dusty musky galbanum that smells amazing. Like laying in tall grass. Very green and dry and relaxing. Reminds me of a chill transparent version of Ralph Lauren Safari
Dodo
This was the biggest miss for me. Not just from the house of Zoologist but for sampling in general. And I sample a lot of fragrances. This smells like a big old smelly bird's nest full of feathers and urine and god knows what kind of weird food scraps. Not a fan. It's just pungent and animalic in an uneasy feeling way. I just wanted to be wearing something else. Still, it's art if you are into art. What does a dodo smell like anyway? Probably nasty.
Sloth
I have a friend who is an actual zoologist and on a few occasions had the pleasure of accompanying them to care for some of the animals. This perfume really and truly reminds me of the sloth at that zoo. Sweet (acai) furry (cumin and beeswax) and clean! (hay and chamomile) The sloth does have those claws but is really a very loving and gentle beast. Likewise, this is a fruity yet soft nurturing perfume. This is quite unique, perhaps reminiscent of a 90s fragrance like Benneton Tribu.
Beaver
I died laughing when I read a reviewer say that upon being asked what gorgeous perfume they were wearing replied, "Oh that's my beaver you're smelling!" Anyway... (still laughing)... Zoologist Beaver is actually a truly fascinating scent. It's surprisingly fresh! It's a very pretty floral that anyone could wear easily. I smell the linden blossom and iris and they have a bright edge to them which reminds me of the abandoned Lancome Attraction! The linden blossom in particularly is very outdoors in late springtime. Nice soft musk drydown, decent longevity. I can see why this one gets such positive reviews.
Bee
I really adore Bee, one of my favorites from the house. A strong honey and beeswax scent. Not as sweet as Tokyo Milk Honey and the Moon, this one has a much dustier undertone. I think the labdanum and tonka is responsible for that dusky, deeper tone. There is a nice almondy floral texture from the heliotrope. Honey perfumes are very hit or miss for me but luckily, Bee was a hit.
Rhinoceros
Super intense, a bit too challenging for me. The whips and chains leather scent. Paired with oud, rum and tobacco... it's just way too much for a little miss like me. But I am confident that somewhere out there exists a person this is absolutely perfect for. A don't-mess-with-me scent. A scrubber for my sensitive self, but for someone else this one is going to be like "f*$# yeah, I'm a badass! get out my way!"
Koala
I disagree with reviewers who say this does not have enough animalic notes in it. I find this to be one of the more animal-esque photorealistic scents from Zoologist. It's on the pissy side of eucalyptus. The honey, mimosa and amber combine into a pissy accord. It smells like the environment of a koala.
Panda
This is a citrus scent first and foremost to me, with the green notes/bamboo playing quietly in the backbone. The citrus is huge, almost overripe fruits in the heat. There is a huge dose of osmanthus as well as orange flower. If it's a green scent then it is the sweetest side of green and a powerhouse. Not my favorite from the house.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Zoo ee mama! This is something else indeed. I think this may be one of the craziest Zoologist scents. I mean, what does a T Rex smell like anyway? Apparently like a forest fire. Or maybe a volcano. Very smoky, perhaps the smokiest perfume I have yet encountered. So bold it is not my cup of tea. It ain't pretty. Smells like my hair after a night spent around a bonfire. Maybe this isn't the dinosaur itself but the tar pits, the meteors, the devastation of the T Rex.
Elephant
A very green fragrance. More of a location, an atmosphere than a perfume. I remember watching a nature show where an elephant was making its way through the jungle of northern India. It took down the vegetation in its path like it was no obstacle whatsoever. So much strength in the majestic elephants. I imagine that jungle smelled like this here. Wet green leaves, soaked in rain, with an extremely woody, almost dry in the throat baseline.
Nightingale
This bird from Zoologist was much more my speed than Hummingbird. I like my florals just like this, old school roses with mossy chypre depth. Smells vintage in the best of ways. Sensual, not too powdery, syrupy sweet rose with bite from the oud. This is very nice. This grew on me. Might need to re sample this.
Bat
This is not a perfume but it is a SMELL. It seemed right for wearing on Halloween, as a novelty, but I can't imagine anyone wearing this in earnest daily. The soil accord was very mentholated to my nose, almost like patchouli or camphor notes. Medicinal. The fruity notes poked through the eucalyptus-like soil accord and that's when things got even weirder. I mean, yes it does feel like you're hanging out in a dark moist cave. But it's certainly not anything I'd call beautiful or approachable. So intriguing and even though I don't find Bat at all wearable, I love the risk taking and story telling it delivers.
Hummingbird
A grandmother scent for the very young. Yes, it is a perfect balance of soapy and fruity accords. Syrupy sweet florals. I personally found this overly sweet. Something a hummingbird would love to drink. The honeysuckle and pear are quite pronounced. Quite musky and fluffy on drydown.
Musk Deer
This has many of my favorite notes and although it's a fairly straightforward soft musk, it still has enough nuance to differentiate it from a cheaper drugstore musk. I vote the ambrette, the labdanum and the sandalwood as the notes I smell most. You will probably be pleased with this as long as you understand ahead of time that it's not going to be a skanky realistic animal type scent. Zoologist has other fragrances that are a lot more "true to life" and literal. This isn't one of them, it's a very wearable "clean but naked skin on a lazy day in bed" sort of perfume.
Camel
On first applying, the civet is very strong but it settles into place quickly and the dried fruit notes become prominent. I get shades of Bal a Versailles with sweetness and spice added. Camel is both warm and fresh at the same time. As it dries down, I catch hints of the floral notes and it's really unique, takes me on an all day scent journey. Another top pick from the entire Zoologist line.
Dragonfly
A musky floral aquatic. Very light and ethereal, like sitting beside a still pond after the rain. I was not expecting this to be so powdery! Like vanilla aldehydes. The iris and lotus are notable florals.
Chameleon
In my opinion, Zoologist has packaged the weakest scent in their house in the best bottle of all. These bottles are gorgeous. The fragrance was a disappointment for me. The notes all sounded lovely... ylang ylang, plumeria, star fruit. But the smell comes out so pedestrian. It reminds me of the 1980s in America... Pez candy and cheap sun lotion.
Hyrax
One of the more realistic animal scents of the line, this is not for the shy. It would take a strong personality to pull off Hyrax with confidence. While the animal notes might be made synthetically, this packs a punch like the real thing from a vintage potion. The sillage and longevity are insane, prepare to smell like this until you shower it off. This could be suffocating is overapplied, it is very very much animal themed. Beneath the animal notes lies a bed of saffron, pepper and sharp patchouli leaves. Is it offensive or is it just this side of edgy? You be the judge.
Moth
Moth went on very smoky and after about twenty minutes, everything settled and balanced out which brought on a very specific place memory for me. The clapboard sided boathouse on the lake where I spent vacation time as a child. The linens on the bed, clean but unused for many months. The oil burning lamp on the table. The curious old dresser with drawers nearly empty other than a deck of playing cards, some beeswax candles, maybe a box of campfire matches.And when I think of the boathouse, there is always a moth somewhere in the picture, usually a live one, resting on the screen, beating its wings demanding to be let in so it can dance with the light of the oil lamp. Zoologist Moth brings to life every detail of the boathouse, a place I have not actually been in years.
Squid
Squid is probably my favorite Zoologist scent. I really love that salty accord. This is like an even darker, deeper version of CK Reveal. Added to the salty brine is the distinct smell of black ink. My father is a writer and artist so I grew up in a house full of back ink... ribbons for the old typewriters and glass bottles for his calligraphy pens. I remember distinctly that slightly licorice solvent smell surrounding those materials and yes, here it is in Squid. Slightly spicy resinous dried wood too, like the oak drawing table my dad's calligraphy pens and brushes lived upon. I think Squid is the only animal represented in the Zoologist line that I would and have eaten. I love eating squid, reminds me of my past life as a mermaid. The ambergris accord on this is out of this world good, well worth the price of a bottle. If most powdery puffs of musk conjure up the colors white and grey, than the musk in this is a black and indigo cloud.
Snowy Owl TBD... the only scent from the house that I have not yet tried. It came out a few months ago and I have yet to purchase a sample. The notes from the company make it sound like a cold dry minty floral. Of course I'm going to try it and when I do, you'll hear all about it.
