Zoologist Perfumes Part Seven: Dragonfly

The newest member of the Zoologist Perfumes menagerie is Dragonfly. This time Zoologist's creative director/owner Victor Wong relies on the talents of Juan M. Perez of the Exotic Island Perfumer. Perez lives and creates on the island of Puerto Rico. I first became aware of his work several years ago in a collaboration he did with Shelley Waddington of EnVoyage Perfumes. He is a talented perfumer whose work I admire so I had reasonable expectations that I would enjoy his rendition of a day in the life of a dragonfly.

Dragonfly starts off with an aqueous note then I get a fizz of aldehydes. Could this be the dragonfly hovering above the water, looking for dinner, flitting and flying to follow its prey? The opening also features notes of  heliotrope, lemon, peony, and rainwater. The heliotrope provides a slightly powdery sweetness but this is as translucent as the dragonfly's gossamer wings, and waxes and wanes like the moon. The feeling of being near water persists.

Dragonfly has these notes:
Top: Aldehydes, Heliotrope, Lemon, Peony, Rainwater
Heart Notes: Cherry Blossom, Clover, Iris, Lotus, Rice
Base Notes: Amber, Moss, Musk, Papyrus, Sandalwood

Next I smell the iris note, very dry  and rooty on my skin. The fragrance drifts: I feel the dragonfly hovering over water but then it's hiding among the reeds which is illustrated by a dryness. The overall feeling is light and weightless. There is a mimosa note which provides a gentle breath of subtle sweetness as if from small  flowers, their scent captured in the breeze. The middle wear of the perfume captures this feeling of dry heat with the combination of papyrus and rice. There is a haziness to the scent which gives the feeling of a languid summer's day.

These notes remind me of a trip I took several years ago to cruise down the Nile in a dahabiya. I discovered the scent of the papyrus that lined the shore and of lotus which has such a gentle and aqueous smell. Zoologist Dragonfly reminds me of these river scents and takes me back to that place.

As always, I love the illustration on the bottle and the delicate purple hue the perfume seems to have. Why is tinted perfume so appealing to me? Does anyone else love it?

I love how Victor Wong and his perfumers are able to illustrate "a day in the life" of the various animals and insects they have perfumed. It reminds me of those National Geographic documentaries where they mount a camera on an eagle or some such animal and we see the world from their viewpoint. I had never really thought about how important water was to a dragonfly's survival, but it's where they hunt and find sustenance, as elaborated on in this excellent interview with Juan M. Perez here. I love the description in Perez's interview with Victor Wong about how the perfume is meant to illustrate the dragonfly's day: first light, mid day heat, and evening fade out. I think Mr. Perez achieved this with the perfumes bright awakening, the lazy, hazy middle, then a soft fade out with nightfall.

You can read all my reviews of the Zoologist Perfumes line starting here. Thank you to Victor Wong for allowing me to experience Dragonfly.

Painting by Melanie Douthit Original Art.