Tyrannosaurus Rex by Zoologist Perfumes

Painting by Mark Hallett.

I always anticipate a new release from Zoologist Perfumes for their creativity and sense of inventiveness. I would imagine if you are a perfumer it is energizing to conceptualize a scent via story board inspiration from  Zoologist's Victor Wong and know that originality is not only acceptable but desired. I have enjoyed the dizziness of inhaling nectar scents from the darting viewpoint of a hummingbird, the flight of a bat as it leaves its cave dwelling and soars through the night sky, and the charge of an elephant in search of food. I had read various reviews of Tyrannosaurus Rex painting it as a real beast of a fragrance so I kept delaying the trial of my sample in the heat of an Australian summer. Now back in the Northern Hemisphere we're experiencing some cool rainy days and  I decided it was time to try out the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Zoologist scents have always taken me on a journey and this one is no exception. The image that popped into my head as this fragrance evolved on my skin was the old Jurrasic Park ride at Universal Studios in Florida. My husband and I took our kids there about fifteen years ago and I remember reading that the ride closed recently so it could be rebuilt bigger and better. I always liked the cave rides, as we called them, at amusement parks. You're hot and tired from tromping through an amusement park filled with hoards of people, you've been standing in line for an hour, then finally you get to sink into your bathtub of a boat. You start to float, cool water mists your face and as you enter the darkness you wait for another world to unfold before your eyes. If you missed this particular experience here's a video below. It all looks rather tame and hokey now, but I loved it.

 Join me on this journey to experience the new Zoologist scent Tyrannasourus Rex!

My frame of mind as I apply the perfume Tyrannosaurus Rex: I'm ready for anything. Initially I smell something other-worldly, as if I've landed on a planet with a strange and different atmosphere to which I am not accustomed. The perfumer Antonio Gardoni used notes of bergamot, black pepper, fir, laurel leaf, neroli, and nutmeg in the opening, all of which sound rather ordinary. I was expecting  one of those creative lists with ingredients of cyanide, dragon's blood, or meteorite shards. Somehow he creates a moment of magic from these mundane ingredients, a pause where I thought, "I haven't smelled anything exactly like this before." Then within a minute the moment is very quickly quenched by the smoke of distant fires. The smoke intensifies and the smell is soon punctuated with the scent of burning tar. Is this a reference to the burning tar pits that supposedly swallowed dinosaurs whole? The Le Brea Tar pits in California came into being 65 million years after the disappearance of the dinosaurs, a fact I seemed to have slept through in science class, but lets not quibble. This is my dinosaur park ride and it is exciting and everything I hoped for.

La Brea Tar Pits as depicted by Charles R. Knight.

The sharp aroma of molten tar intensifies and the smell of out-of-control fires burning and smoking becomes even more pungent. This is the smell of scorched earth. Whether this is a result of flaming volcanoes pouring streams of red hot lava or an asteroid has just crashed and annihilated all life on Earth I do not know, but these fires are fierce. Cade oil is present in Tyrannosaurus Rex and is responsible for much of this smoke and tar. This cloud of thick smoke and bubbling tar is everything I've read in the reviews for the perfume. While the fires smolder, this erases any other smells for me. I get no champaca or jasmine, no geranium or rose, this is epic. Although I love to burn fires in my house's fireplace in winter, the smell always gives me an allergic reaction. That is what seems to be occurring now. The smoke is so freaking realistic that I begin to wonder, do I need to get my bottle of Afrin?

www.TheTimes.com.uk

Leather and patchouli add to the sensation of a large animal crashing about, the thick hide impervious to the flames and the large feet tearing out bits of earth as he pounds the ground, on a chase for his next kill. There is civet in the brew but I do not get a strong feral aspect to the scent; I believe the smoke overcomes that aspect on my skin.

This level of excitement can only carry on for so long. As our imaginary boat goes around the next curve in the river ride the smoke from fires still smolders but begins to fade in ferocity. Curls of ancient incense begin to rise from the smoking ground and it feels like a resurrection of the blistered landscape. Resinous frankincense along with cedar wood bring calm, and now finally  I begin to smell the florals which were MIA before. The florals are background noise and muddled to present an emergent landscape of rebirth and regeneration. I do not distinguish between the individual notes of geranium, champaca, jasmine, osmanthus, rose and ylang ylang. I have read that a rose oxide note was used to simulate the smell of blood as the T-Rex wrecks havoc, but the blood smell is not as pronounced for me as it was in Imaginary Author's Bulls Blood, for example.

We are nearing the end of this ride and things begin to change more quickly. The smoke is faint and fading. Florals are indistinct but present. The resins and incense have transformed this perfume into more of a smooth oriental-style scent and base notes of vanilla and sandalwood accentuate this effect. In truth I don't smell vanilla, I just feel it adds a creamy sweetness to the heavier smokey and wood notes. Once Tyrannosaurus Rex arrives to this point, the scent trail goes on for hours and hours. It has been quite the ride. I feel like we have traveled from the wildness of this:



to the softer side of the dinosaur:

Barney and young Selina Gomez

Maybe that's an exaggeration, Tyrannosaurus Rex still has some bite, but it has morphed into a very easily wearable resinous oriental perfume.

Let's talk about the perfumer that Victor chose for this project, Antonio Gardoni. I would love to know the process by which Victor picks perfumers for specific projects but pairing Gardoni with a rather ferocious scent like Tyrannosaurus Rex seems smart. Gardoni is an architect by trade and more recently channeled his love of plants and nature into an interest in fragrance creation. He first created perfumes for his brand, Bogue, in 2012. Bogue perfumes are known for having a presence and in some cases being a challenging ride. I have only smelled and reviewed one of the Bogue creations, MEM, and here is what I said: "There is a moment at the beginning when the civet and castoreum, supposedly base notes yet here they are in the first five minutes, take me on a wild ride that I'm not sure I'll safely survive." You can find the complete review here.

With Tyrannosaurus Rex, Gardoni and Victor Wong have given us a dazzling glimpse into a prehistoric world that somehow reinvents itself into a very wearable perfume. I have to admit that in the Zoologist world my preference is to be a warbling Nightingale or a flitting Hummingbird but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the journey provided by Tyrannosaurus Rex.

You can read my other reviews about Zoologist Perfumes starting here with Bat.

Perfume sample was purchased by me from Luckyscent.

Perfumes to Wear for Halloween

This weekend before Halloween is the traditional time to throw parties for those long past the age to go door to door for candy. Here is a look, all in fun, of what perfumes to wear for Halloween!

Vert de Fleur by Tom Ford

A green so dark it is almost black. Sinewy, bitter, and poisonous. Twisting, smothering green, pungent and sharp. An earthy and fierce opening, which fades to something tamer as time progresses. Notes: galbanum, iris, hyacinth, neroli, bergamot, basil, jasmine, vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss.

Vlad Dracul by Sixteen92

You are entering a forest. It is dark, dank, and misty. You smell the fir needles that have fallen to the path, padding it with a softness that muffles your footsteps, and maybe the footsteps of those watching from the shadows. The needles and leaves are rotting and decaying, moist from the rain on dark paths that never see sunlight in the depths of the forest. Suddenly you sense something, actually you smell it. It smells like disturbed earth, something ancient. A smell that attracts you at the same time it repels. It's too late. He's come for you. You fall in the depths of the verdant earth, that wet leaves, and the scent of the long dead. Notes: Carpathian fir needles, red cedar, black amber, black patchouli, scorched earth, blood musk.

Bat by Zoologist Perfumes

You are in a limestone cave, the wall oozing dampness and wet to your touch as you glide your hand along the surface to find your way in the dark. There is the smell of vegetation that clings to the walls, surviving on the filtered shards of sunlight that penetrate the depths of the cave in the lightest part of the day. Suddenly there is an animal smell mixed with leather. You can see nothing but you sense the movement of a hundred thousand tiny flapping wings as the bats rush past you for the nightly ritual of the hunt. Notes: soil tincture, fruit, fig, green notes, musk, leather, vetiver, sandalwood.

Oud Immortel by Byredo

They move among us and pass as human. But if you are still and mindful, you can know them by their scent. It is dry like the papyrus tomes in which their history is written. Just as the trees which make oud are infected with mold which over the course of time forms a seductive resin, so do these creatures turn a disease, life in perpetuity, into a temptation. They leave a trail of smoke, moss, and earthy patchouli. To tempt they carry the redolence of sweet tobacco fields and the lightness of lemon, but do not be taken in. Their wish is to turn you into one of them. Notes: limoncello, incense, cardomom, patchouli, papyrus, tobacco leaves, moss.

 Cuir et Champignon by DSH Perfumes

Deep in the forest hide the woodland sprites. They have magic ways. They can call to the animals and make them do their bidding, as they are part animal themselves. Have you ever walked through the forest and felt that there was something there, watching you silently? Perhaps it is the woodland sprite. They can disappear into tree trunks and blend into the background of the forest, it's their secret camouflage. The only way you may know they are around is the small white mushrooms they feast on in the dead of night, they need them to survive. Train your nose to smell the subtle earthiness of the little white mushrooms that grow in the dark loamy earth. They will smell of the woods of the forest, of the animals that rustle amongst them, of smoke, and of forest herbs like clary sage and wild chamomile. Notes: castoreum, civet, cedarwood, vetiver, leather, cepes, peru balsam, wild chamomile, bergamot, clary sage, galbanum.

Bull's Blood by Imaginary Authors

The first thing you smell as he comes for you, appearing from nowhere as a wraith is the cold, astringent, and metallic scent of blood. Then your mind whirls with images of dirt, an animalic miasma of fur and skin, and the incongruous note of a beautiful red rose. As you seem to fall and melt toward the earth you realize that the ringing smell of blood is your blood. Notes: Patchouli, rose, costus root, black musk, bull's blood

Encens en Lavande by Serge Lutens

The cold stone which has stood for one hundred years should feel safe and stable, but instead the mists lend an air of danger. Strangely there is the scent of incense from the ancient crypts of the church and a faint lingering note of lavender. Notes: Incense, lavender, iris, amber, wood notes.

Zoologist Perfumes Part Nine: Camel

The Courtyard of the Copic Patriarch's House in Cairo by John Frederick Lewis

Zoologist Perfumes will be releasing their twelfth scent, Camel, on December 8, 2017. The perfumer for Camel is Christian Carbonnel who works for his family's fragrance company in Spain. A chance meeting between Zoologist's Victor Wong and Mr. Cabonnel at the 2016 Art and Olfaction Awards ceremony led to a collaboration and the creation of a new Zoologist perfume, Camel, as well as a rework on a perfume previously released, Panda. I have said in past reviews that I am often surprised, in a good way, by the direction Zoologist's various perfumers have taken in interpreting their perfume creations. This time I was hoping the perfume would center around the romantic idea of the camel as "the ship of the desert" and I was not disappointed.

When I first sprayed Camel I thought I was smelling vetiver, because the opening note is earthy, rooty, and dry,dry, dry. Vetiver is listed as a base note so I believe it is frankincense that is used to provide this arid opening which brings to mind the camel's trek across the barren desert of sand.  The scent of frankincense can also veer fruity and spicy and here I believe this enhances the other opening notes of dried fruit and palm date. These dried fruit notes do indeed smell dry rather than plump and succulent, and this gives the perfume the scent of the fruit but none of the sweetness. A gentle trill of rose flits in the background as the scent begins to warm and develop. Then the heart notes are already starting to appear, rising like a perfumed cloud of smoke trailing from a censer. At this point the perfume's journey represents the camel's stop at an oasis or encampment for the trading of the wares he carries on his back.

Camel's listed heart notes are amber, cedar, cinnamon, incense, jasmine, myrrh, and orange blossom. I first notice the cedar and it serves to embellish the dryness of the perfume with its distinctive aromatic air. Then the notes become more of a melange, mixing the spices with the floral notes of jasmine and orange blossom. There is the scent of smoke from a distant fire through the note of incense. The inclusion of amber gives Camel the structure of an oriental perfume: the amber for warmth, spice for a touch of the exotic, and rich floral notes to add a touch of sensuality. There is a slight touch of sweetness as the perfume blooms.

A Frank Encampment In the Desert of Mount Sanai by John Frederick Lewis

The base notes of civet, musk, and oud perhaps sound heavy but here they are delicately managed. The addition of sandalwood, tonka, and vanilla cloak the more animalic notes in a soft wrap of comfort, mimicking the tired camel at the end of the day gratefully shedding his heavy load and nestling into a bed of sand as the hazy desert dusk sky fades to inky blackness.

These paintings in the orientalist style by John Frederick Lewis struck me as a good visual for the perfume. Lewis traveled extensively and lived for many years in what was then the Ottoman Empire. He was known for his exacting and admiring portrayals of Islamic architecture and life, and it was noted that he never painted salacious scenes of harem women as did many other orientalist painters. In a similar style, Camel has exotic notes but they are precise and contained. This is no flamboyant show of spices and overripe sweet fruit but rather the refined suggestion of these goods. This perfume tips toward exotic elegance rather than extravagant excess. Just as in the paintings, an exotic world unfolds but it is displayed in the most impeccable and polished style.

Camel wears rather gently on my skin and I most appreciate the period where the florals and spice mix together. I literally can't stop smelling my hand where I've sprayed.

To read more about Zoologist Perfumes you can start with my first review at Part One.

Thanks to Zoologist Perfumes for the sample of Camel.

Zoologist Perfumes Part Eight: Elephant

Elephant is the latest release from Zoologist Perfumes, brainchild of Canadian owner and creative director Victor Wong and the work of perfumer Chris Bartlett, who is also the creator of Zoologist Beaver. I should know by now not to try to predict in which direction the Zoologist perfumes will interpret their "animal" but I was sort of expecting elephant skin, aka their rough and distinctive hide translated into a leather based fragrance. I was wrong as it turns out, but I was interested to read that the final version of Elephant is very different than the perfumer's initial interpretation. Victor is always very generous in crediting his perfumers with their work and he always posts an interesting interview which give additional insight into the creative process. Click here is his latest interview with Chris Bartlett.

In the interview Chris states that initially his vision was of an elephant from the Indian subcontinent illustrated by notes of sandalwood, spice, and chai tea. At the point of the third prototype of Elephant he decided to take the scent a different direction, becoming more about the elephant's habitat and food foraging habits. This made the perfume greener and fresher. In the interview on the Zoologist website Mr. Bartlett states, "In my view, if you can pick out the individual notes in a perfume too easily, it's not finished yet." I will describe notes below but the perfumer succeeded in making this a unique scent, not defined by any one note.

So how does Elephant smell? At first spray there is a blast of very photorealistic green. Perfumer Chris Bartlett was going for the illusion of a hungry elephant stripping trees of vegetation, taking every last leaf and blossom then tossing the bared branches before heading for the next tree. There is a rawness to the green aroma in Elephant as if large leaves were snapped from the bark, leaving green wet sap oozing out of the torn foliage. This is a bright green smell, not the moody dark green of forest or fougere type scents. The intensity of the green aroma, used as a reference to the elephant's olfactory perception, made this image of my dog pop into my head.

Look at that nose, sniffing the wind. She has a bit of a long nose and when I take her for her daily walks it goes aquiver with the delightful scent of nearby squirrel, possum, and raccoon. Dogs clock in with double the genes that control our sense of smell, 800 to our not quite 400 olfactory receptors. A dog's nose is long, so how many more receptors would an elephant have with its very long proboscis? The answer is almost 2000, more than double that of the dog and five times that of humans. This is the sense of green I get from the first spray; the intensity that the elephant must feel when it finds a field of ready food. A green on steroids. I have no idea if this is what Victor and Chris were going for but that's my take on it. Only a few of the notes used to achieve this effect are listed, and they are tree leaves, Darjeeling tea, and magnolia. Mr. Bartlett also mentions violet leaf in his interview with Victor.

After about thirty minutes the green loses its intensity and a freshness enters, again to display the elephant's surroundings. Chris wanted to give the sense of fresh air.  Coming on the heels of this freshness the scent becomes creamier and almost milky. Some of the heart notes are cocoa (can't pick it out!), coconut milk (milk yes, coconut no), incense (light and fragrant!), jasmine (can't discern), and wood notes. With the scent's green fading to soft woods, the perfumer references the idea of the satiated elephant lumbering through the woods, now stripped of greenery. This velvety green is embroidered with a beautiful but faint trail of incense and it is imbued with a soft appealing creaminess, the same sort of creaminess that certain fig scents can display (minus the fig scent itself).

The entry of sandalwood sets the stage as the scent languidly drifts to a more woody dominance. Other base notes are amber, musk, and patchouli. I find the amber adds a very delightful warmth to the wood notes and slowly simmers with a touch of spiciness. This is my favorite stage of Elephant. It has become softer and a little more serious,  and on my skin at least is a more personal scent, apparent to me but probably not those a few feet away. It gives a sense of meditative beauty, which is a fitting tribute to these magnificent creatures. Once again Zoologist Perfumes has produced  a thought provoking study on the scent of an animal, in this case Elephant, and also created a very wearable and beautiful perfume.

See more reviews of Zoologist Perfumes starting here with Part One.

Top Photo Google image. Second photo my own. Third photo from www.ZoologistPerfumes.com. Sample provided by Zoologist perfumes.

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.

Zoologist Perfumes Part Six: Civet

Back in January I reviewed the entire Zoologist Perfumes line. I was curious about the concept, and the cute Edwardian style drawings adorning each bottle are one of the most creative and cohesive product branding efforts I've seen in a long time. Of course the big question was, how would the perfumes smell? I went in with the expectation that somehow the animals themselves would be evoked in the scents, and how would that work? But what I found was the perfumers sought to represent the environment that the animals lived in.  Do you remember terrariums, those sealed glass containers that held mini worlds inside their glass domes, creating their own environment? These perfumes strike me as similar. They are a snapshot of a particular animal's world, sometimes in minute detail such as the surrounding plant life, what they might eat, and what smells they would encounter in their day to day life.

So why when I saw the name Civet did I think Shelley Waddington, doing her second perfume for the Zoologist line and owner/creator of EnVoyage Perfumes, would go for the obvious, a strong civet- based perfume? Of course I was wrong. So follow Ms. Waddington as she leads us into the jungle.

Let me backtrack for a minute. Living in Indonesia and Singapore, Bali was a frequent vacation spot. I got to know the island pretty well, eventually leaving the sandy shores and ocean waves to venture further inland to experience the culture and lifestyle of the Balinese people.  It doesn't take long to get away from the tourist hubbub and find the real Bali. Terraced rice fields of an impossibly vibrant green; gracefully dressed villagers celebrating a wedding, death, or special holy day; women balancing a basket of fruit on their head, walking towards the temple to leave an offering. And once you get into the hills or near one of the island's volcanoes, this sign is a frequent sight.

Kopi Luwak, Let me cut to the chase: civet cats eat coffee beans, they pass through their digestive tract where the beans are fermented but not digested, and they eventually exit the body looking something like a Payday candy bar. The feces is collected and turned into world's most expensive coffee. Strange but true. All very good and ecologically sound on the surface. The problem is that when local farmers throughout Indonesia found there was a market for civet poop they started caging the civet cats which they call luwak and feeding them exclusively coffee berries. As there is no sure fire way to know if your kopi luwak coffee has been naturally gathered or farmed it is best avoided so as to put an end to this practice.

Zoologist Perfumes Civet references happy little creatures roaming free as nature intended, crawling along the dank and moist jungle floor through the flowers and foliage, foraging off coffee berries and other plant life. Ms. Waddington and Victor Wong, founder of Zoologist Perfumes,  have captured this concept in Civet.

The perfume's opening is an opulent kaleidoscope swash of scent. Notes represented are bergamot, lemon, and orange, along with black pepper, tarragon and various spices. Reading this you would expect a strong citrus opening but in fact the spices are the star.  The citrus gives a bright warmth but is not otherwise distinctive.  I have no idea what Ms Waddington's inclusion of the spices was meant to represent, but as civets are found in Indonesia, a country which was the epicenter of the Dutch spice trade, I would like to think it's a nod to the history of the place and the crops still farmed there today.  In the higher elevations of Bali one can be wrapped in this scent of lush verdancy. I am sure it is the same in any rainforest or jungle setting. That is the initial feel I get from this perfume.

In Hummingbird, Ms. Waddington used a basketful of scent notes to create a floral nectar perfume. Here in Civet there are also many florals: carnation, frangipani, heliotrope, hyacinth, linden blossom, tuberose and ylang ylang. These join together to give the impression of a tropical setting of riotous florals, humid green plants, and a forest bed of decaying plant life enriching the soil below. This is an accurate portrayal of the actual surrounds civets would roam. I can pick out the creamy richness of the tuberose and also ylang ylang, which to my nose is has a luxuriant tropical floral smell and veers slightly powdery on my skin. The carnation is also discernible in it's more spicy form. These florals join with the spices and an emerging coffee note to make a rich brew. There is a French feel to the perfume at this point, but it is untamed and a bit wild.

There is, of course,  a civet note and this gives the perfume a vintage feel. (Synthetic civet is used). The animal musk in Civet eventually becomes more pronounced as the floral notes begin to diminish, but now the civet is encased in warm cozy labdanum and notes of vanilla. It is not sweet or gourmand, rather spicy and warming. The flowers are subdued but still quietly exist in the background. Balsamic resins and woods round out a soft fade out for this perfume after several hours of wear. It is extremely long lasting on my skin. This perfume has gone through so many transformations: a bright spicy opening, humid florals with mossy green foliage, and finally a warm spicy and resinous finish.

I am familiar with Hummingbird as well as several of  Ms. Waddington's creations for her own line. If I am presumptuous enough to judge a perfumer by her work then I would say Ms Waddington lives large and is not afraid to place bold colorful stripes on the canvas of life, or in her perfumes. Her scented fingerprints are bold and assured. The perfume Civet is no different. This riotous mixture of so many diverse notes could have been a hot mess, but instead it references a time when civet and other animal notes were common in French perfumes but updates the genre with tropical notes to give a new and unique spin. Civet is another winning addition to the Zoologist line and I can't wait to see what Mr. Wong dreams up next.

To see my other Zoologist reviews you can start here.

Top photo from www..ZoologistPerfumes.com. Perfume sample of Civet provided to me by Zoologist Perfumes.

Zoologist Perfumes Part Five: Panda, Beaver & Rhinoceros

Panda, Beaver and Rhinoceros were the original perfumes introduced in 2014 by  Zoologist Perfumes, brainchild of  Canadian Victor Wong. Since then five more perfumes have been added to the lineup, all of which I have reviewed except the newest, Civet. I look forward to reviewing it when I return to the States in a month where my sample awaits! I saved these three until the end, partially because I think of them as the originators of the brand, and partially because reading the list of notes, I knew they would probably be the most challenging for me to wear and write about, as pale green scents get eaten by my skin and leather and I don't always get along. While I do know what notes work best on my skin and I wasn't incorrect in my assumption, I found I very much appreciated the craft and creativity of these three perfumes and that there is an appreciative audience out there for them.

Panda

Panda  is, as you might imagine, about bamboo, green tea, and other Chinese elements. Paul Kiler is the perfumer for both Panda and Rhinoceros but some may recognize his name as the founder and creator at PK Perfumes. With Panda, Mr. Kiler took the route of showcasing the panda's surroundings with the perfume notes. Here is part of the description from the website: "Panda is a fresh green fragrance that combines the delightful scents of bamboo and zisu leaves to send you on an unforgettable aromatic adventure. Your journey begins at a quaint Sichuan pepper farm surrounded by mountain streams and then leads you through a forest of osmanthus flowers as you finally make your way into a cozy garden filled with juicy mandarin trees and blooming lilies."

Notes for Panda are:
Top Notes: Buddha's Hand Citron, Bamboo, Sichuan Pepper, Green Tea, Mandarin, Zisu Leaves
Heart Notes: Osmanthus, Orange Blossom, Lilies, Mimosa, Incense
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Pemou Root, Cedar, Fresh Musk, Bourbon, Haitian Vetiver, Damp Moss

The opening of Panda has a mellow bamboo note but the Sichuan Pepper (pandas are found in the Sichuan Province of China) makes a strong and spicy statement. These two notes clash a bit; one smooth and gentle, the other more caustic. This serves to give what could be a bland opening more interest. My nose says this is not a combination of scents it has encountered before. I also smell the zisu leaves (in Japan they would be called shiso leaves) and this has a piquant, green and herbal note. The opening of the top notes lasts some time before the panda begins moving down the garden path, so to speak. I smell the green tea and slight aquatic notes in the second stage before the floral notes appear, a slightly leathery osmanthus and lily. The lily is quiet and understated and not at all sweet. Panda gives me the sensation of breathing fresh air from the bamboo forest, along with gentle notes that lend an Asian vibe to the overall feel of the scent.

Beaver

I usually laugh when I see a perfume note like "fresh outdoor air" but miraculously that is exactly what I smell when I first spray Beaver. This is somewhat of a surprise because I remember when Beaver was originally introduced in 2014 hearing it described in ways that I thought it might be a challenging wear for me. Chris Bartlett is the perfumer and in 2016 he and Victor slightly reworked the perfume, taking away some strong animalic and smoke notes is my understanding, and making the scent less aggressive and more user friendly. I never tried the original, but this Beaver is a very easy-wearing fresh scent.

Notes for Beaver are:
Top Notes: Fresh Outdoor Air, Linden Blossom, Wood Shavings, Wild Vegetation
Heart Notes: Damp Air, DryWood, Light Musk, Water
Base Notes: Heavy Musk, Dark Woods, Vanilla, Amber, Castoreum, Leather

Like Bat, Beaver intially presents the watery habitat of the cute buck-toothesd creatures. I've only come across beavers once--on a canoe trip in Maine--but I remember the fresh air smells, cold river water, wood and forest vegetation. Beaver gives a very realistic snapshot of this scene. The immediate spray of perfume does indeed smell of fresh air, followed shortly by the linden blossom. The linden is not sweet but just adds a slight floral note to the air. After an hour or so of development I get the effect of damp air and cold water. It's interesting because it does bring to mind the beavers home, built of wood and branches in cold rivers and streams. This phase lasts quite some time on my skin. Eventually the fresh notes are joined by notes representing the beaver itself. Let me preface by saying I've noticed in reviews lately that where other reviewers get strong animalic notes in any particular perfume, I invariably find those notes to be much more subdued on my skin, so take this description with that fact in mind. I get very quiet musk and wood scents. A mere touch of dry vanilla appears, just at moments, not present all the time. The castoreum and leather note, meant to bring to mind the beaver's fur covered body and leather paddle tail are very quiet on my skin, a mere whisper.  For me Beaver wears more as a fresh airy watery scent.

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros has a strong opening on my skin. I get blasts of rum and wood, followed by hints of the lavender and pine needles. Soon the tobacco note comes into play. The tobacco mixes with the rum note to give a darkly rich and fragrant smell reminiscent of humidors.  Wood notes play in the background, but mostly I'm smelling the tobacco.  Eventually a dry leather note enters the mix. This is not the supple leather of a fine Italian handbag. It is the thick, hard armour-like leather of the rhinoceros. This fragrance smells big and bold, and dusty and leathery, and I can see the charging rhino, kicking up dust in it's headlong charge.

Notes for Rhinoceros are:
Top Notes: Rum, Bergamot, Lavender, Elemi, Sage, Armoise, Conifer Needles
Heart Notes: Pinewood, Tobacco, Immortelle, Geranium, Agar Wood, Chinese Cedar Wood
Base Notes: Vetiver, Sandalwood, Amber, Smoke, Leather, Musk

The Zoologist website calls Rhinoceros a "leather stampede" and this seems spot on to me. The copy goes on the say, "Like a wild drunken beast, it cavorts until it comes to settle into a slow, rhythmic yet relentless beat--the rugged, raw aroma of leather. Rhinoceros is a complex, intimidating, and masculine scent that makes a bold unapologetic statement. Go forth and explore your world. Don't ask permission." Although I don't shy away from trying masculine scents, this one, I admit, is just too macho for me. Within about an hour the scent tames way down, and I'm left with mostly leather, musk, tobacco and a touch of rum. Leather lovers, this could be your new scent!

See more reviews on the Zoologist Perfumes line in Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.

Top photo www.borongaja.com. Next two photos Google images. Perfume samples my own.

Zoologist Perfumes Part Four: Macaque

Zoologist Perfumes Macaque is one of the brand's newer offerings and was released in late 2016. The perfumer is Londoner Sarah McCartney who is best known for her own line of perfumes, 4160 Tuesdays. I was aware that the 4160 Tuesdays line had amassed a large catalog of scents in a relatively short time, but I wasn't aware that she frequently takes on jobs for other clients. Ms. McCartney had heard good things about the Zoologist line and contacted Victor Wong, brand creator, with an offer to create a perfume, and Wong was delighted to accept her offer. Just as Bat's perfumer Ellen Covey has a background at university of studying bats, Ms. McCartney studied primatology at university, so she came into the project with a good knowledge of her subject animal, the macaque. She has also visited an orangutan sanctuary in Borneo and this fact alone makes me think she is an enlightened and fantastic human.  Having lived in Borneo twenty five years ago when the rainforests were still abundant, and now today experiencing the smoke that drifts to us here in Singapore as corporations and farmers burn the Borneo forests to provide more arable land for palm oil plantations, the sad result is orangutans have lost most of their natural habitat. This is a subject I could rant on about but this is a perfume review so I'm going to Stop. Right. Now. Taking a deep breath.

Living in and around Southeast Asia for the past twenty years I've had many encounters with the macaque which is endemic in Southeast Asia. There is a rainforest area in the middle of the small island of Singapore where we often hike and the Long Tailed Macaque make their home there. As Ms. McCartney states in the interesting interview here  from the Zoologist blog website, macaques are one species of monkey that has ingeniously learned that man is a food source. In Asian temples worshipers leave food offerings and the monkeys have found this to be a reliable a stream of ready made meals. When she was creating Macaque, Ms. McCartney was envisioning Japanese temples and the perfume has this tagline: The Forest and the Temple.  My favorite macaque gathering place is Monkey Forest Temple in Ubud, Bali. Bali is a short hop away for us and we went there long before the Eat, Love, Pray notoriety and before the hoards of tourists descended. The monkeys at Monkey Forest Temple are a passel of Artful Dodgers, grabbing sunglasses, backpacks, cameras, or whatever they can steal with their little hands.

Macques at the Monkey Forest Temple, Ubud, Bali.

When Ms. McCartney decided to make a perfume based on the macaque she developed the scent with the backstory in mind of the macaques gathered around a temple, emphasizing green (Asian) forest notes, incense, soft floral and tea notes, and mossy temples.

Notes for Macaque are:
Top Notes: Cedar, Green Apple, Red Mandarin
Heart Notes: Galbanum, Frankincense, Jasmine Tea, Ylang Ylang, Rosewood
Base Notes: Cedarmoss, Green Tea, White Oud, Musk

When I first spray Macaque the green astringency immediately reminds me of trips to Bali or Cambodia and being in the jungle surrounded by twenty shades of green. The dry tartness of the mandarin is futher enhanced by the galbanum, which starts off making a strong green statement, before eventually mellowing into a very natural green aroma. Macaque smells rooty, dank and humid and I can imagine I am walking through the forest, sweat beginning to mist my body, tuned in to the sounds and smell of nature. In addition to the mandarin in the opening I smell cedar, although the apple note escapes me. As the green note softens the frankincense and jasmine tea take the tartness down a notch and add meditative resin and floral notes. In the later stages of wear mossy and musky notes predominate on my skin and the scent gently fades away. I think the perfume succeeds in presenting a scent picture of the macaque's habitat, and offers an easy escape to the green jungle for those currently residing in a concrete jungle.

I found that wearing Macaque revived several travel-related scent memories for me. Macaque monkeys are revered in the Monkey Temple in Ubud. If you ever make your way to Bali, get away from the beaches and the tourists and go to Ubud, the cultural heart of the country. I wish I could make it be as uncrowded and tourist free as it was fifteen years ago, but then it wouldn't have all the amazing restaurants! The Balinese work very hard to pass on and maintain their cultural heritage among their young people and one way I like to support that effort is by attending their traditional dances based on Hindu legends. The Ramayana ballet is performed at various temples and often the cast outnumbers the audience. My favorite part is the kecak fire and trance dance. In the act shown below, the hero Rama has aligned himself with the monkeys to rescue his princess. The chorus of around 100 men represent the monkeys and their voices serve as music in a hypnotic chant while Rama tells the story. Have a look, it's mesmerizing. Skip ahead to the one minute mark if you're impatient.



I enjoyed wearing Macaque. I hope the perfumers forgive me for transplanting its story from Japan to Bali. If I drifted away from the perfume description too much, blame Ms. McCartney and Mr. Wong, as the scent was evocative of past good memories for me!

For more about the Zoologist Perfume line see Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Five.

Top photo of macaque at McRitchie Reservoir, Singapore, from www.ecologyasia.com. Photo of monkeys in Bali from www.viator.com. Bottle photo from the Zoologist Perfumes website. Perfume sample my own.. 

Zoologist Perfumes Part Three: Nightingale

The artwork on the labels of Victor Wong's Zoologist Perfumes is so engaging and witty in its depiction of the animals representing each perfume, and it has played a big part in giving the brand a distinctive presence. They are all beguiling but this drawing for Nightingale is my absolute favorite, and I think by studying it you can get a window into the perfume, as I will explain in my review.

Nightingale, one of Zoologist Perfumes newer offerings introduced in 2016, was created by Japanese perfumer Toomo Inaba. There are two interesting facts about Mr. Inaba's collaboration with Zoologist Perfumes: one,  Nightingale was his first commercial perfume and two, he had already created this scent before being approached by Victor to contribute to Zoologist's scent library. It required only a few tweaks to be accepted as the brand's newest scent.  It is immediately apparent that Nightingale's approach is different from the two perfumes I've reviewed previously, Bat and Hummingbird. Both of these scents were impressionistic scent stories following the journey of the animal they represented. Nightingale doesn't directly reference the bird and it's journey; it's origins are more esoteric.

When Mr. Inaba originally created the perfume he was inspired by a poem from around 1000 B.C., written by the younger sister of the reigning Empress of Japan, who had decided to enter a nunnery. The poem read: "Soon you will be wearing a black robe and enter nunhood. You will not know each rosary bead has my tears on it." She then gifted her sister with a rosary made of agarwood in a box adorned with a plum blossom. Mr. Inaba used these notes as a reference point to make a perfume featuring plum blossom. The blooming of these blossoms are a herald of spring in Japan, along with the song of the nightingale. You can read more about Toomo Inaba here in an interview on the Zoologist website.

Notes for Nightingale are:
Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Saffron
Heart Notes: Japanese Plum Blossom, Red Rose, Violet
Base Notes: Oud, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Moss, Frankincense, White Musk, Labdanum, Ambergris

The opening of the perfume has a Japanese aesthetic, quiet yet distinctive and slightly exotic. It is as if I've opened a little wooden box and a beautiful scent comes forth. I can sense the light of the bergamot and lemon but they are indistinct; however, they serve to set the stage for the classic fruity chypre formula: a bright opening, a fruity heart, and a dark mossy base. The saffron note lends a whisper of intrigue and spice. The plum blossoms begins to take center stage but the fruitiness of the note is kept in check by the darker base notes. I enjoy chypres and this one stays rather linear on me once it reaches this stage, which suits me just fine as I very much enjoy the fragrance. Just as the nightingale above is outfitted in her structured kimono and decorative obi, this perfume with its slightly retro vibe reminds me of an era of elegance for ladies and gentlemen.

Perfumer Toomo Inaba has taken Nightingale in its own direction. Whereas Hummingbird brims with life and Bat swoops exhuberantly, Nightingale is quieter, more somber and mysterious. Ultimately it strikes me as still. Peaceful. Calming. And have I mentioned that this is the only Zoologist perfume that the juice is not the standard pale yellow but instead is a beautiful salmon pink? Not that this should matter, but it charms me. That echanting label, rose-colored juice, pink floral chypre scent! I am smitten!

Read more about Zoologist Perfumes in Part One, Part Two. Part Four and Part Five.

Photos are from the Zoologist website. Samples are my own.

Zoologist Perfumes Part Two: Hummingbird

I chose Hummingbird as the second perfume to review in my look at the Zoologist Perfume line. I knew that Zoologist's creative director and founder, Victor Wong, selected Shelley Waddington to create Hummingbird. I have admired Ms. Wadddington's work at her own company, EnVoyage Perfumes, and previously reviewed one of her scents here.

The initial opening of Hummingbird is simply delightful. For a moment we travel with the tiny hummingbird, zipping from flower to flower in frenzied flight to sip the succulent nectar from the heart of the colorful blossoms. The air is filled with sweet floral smells as well as fruit and honey ambrosial scents. It is not difficult to imagine how this lush garden of fragrance drives the tiny hummingbird into delirium in its desire to sample everything .



These are the listed notes in Hummingbird:
Top Notes:  Apple, Cherry, Citrus, Lilac, Muguet, Pear, Plum, Rose, Violet Leaf
Heart Notes:  Honey, Honeysuckle, Mimosa, Peony, Tulip, Ylang
Base Notes:  Amber, Courmin, Cream, Moss, Musk, Sandalwood, White Wood

The opening is very floral and I particularly can pick out the lilac. This is probably one of the prettiest lilac scents I've ever smelled. Maybe the strong lilac presence is unique to my skin as I checked a few reviews and didn't find mention of this. There is a slight citrus sweetness, think lemonade, not a basket of lemons. Flitting in and out are fruity notes and I particularly pick up the apple and pear. For a few minutes I smell these notes intensely but then other flowers start to flit in and out: mimosa, honeysuckle, peony. It is the sensation of zipping through a garden and briefly sampling the delights of each bloom then quickly moving on to the next. Honey notes give the florals a lush sweetness that feels golden. Hummingbird feels like spring in a bottle.

The florals stay bright and alluring for a surprisingly long time. They fade very slowly into the base notes which on my skin presents as a very light amber musk with a slight wood note. Even after a sleep I can still smell traces of crushed lilacs on my skin. Just as I was amazed at how the perfumer managed to capture the flight of the bat in Zoologist Bat, I am equally impressed with Ms. Waddington's ability to capture the flight of the hummingbird in a bottle of perfume. Well done!

The Zoologist blog has an excellent interview with the perfumer, Shelley Waddington, here.

Shelley Waddington is also the perfumer for the brand's newest release, Civet, but unfortunately when I ordered my samples it had not been released so I will not be reviewing it until a later date.

Read more about Zoologist Perfumes in Part One, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five.

Top photo www.azmzphotos.wix.com. Youtube video JCVDude. Bottom photo from Zoologist website. Samples are my own.

Zoologist Perfumes Part One: Bat

One of the things I wanted to do when I started my blog was examine some perfume houses entire line of fragrances, or at least as many as I had access to. Buying tiny samples can quickly become surprisingly expensive and I always appreciate reading differing reviews which can help me decide if a particular fragrance sample might be worth my time and expense. I wanted to be another voice out there giving my opinions for whatever they're worth, but last year I only managed to do one house, Berdoues Cologne Grand Cru.  I decided to start 2017 reviewing the perfumes from a house that has fascinated me since I first became aware of it, and that has garnered quite a few accolades in other fragrance blogger's best of 2016 round ups, Zoologist Perfumes.

Zoologist Perfumes is the creation of Victor Wong. In 2013 he came up with the concept of founding a line of perfumes based on animals and using a variety of perfumers to create the scents. The brand has become known for its offbeat and unusual creations and received accolades and awards for the early 2016 introduction of Bat, which won this year's Art and Olfaction Award in the independent category. The brand is also recognized for the quirky Victorianesque artwork on the bottle labels. The illustrations are reminiscent of a time when intrepid explorers rode steamers to far off and exotic destinations, tramping through unexplored wilderness to bring back information of the natural world to the masses.

My first sniff of Zoologist Perfumes Bat almost makes me laugh, it is so wildly creative and realistic. For a city girl I have had an unusual number of bat encounters and this perfume brought back vividly one such contact with the nocturnal creatures. In the early 1990's my family lived in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. One three-day weekend my husband and I took off with our three five-year-olds on a tiny plane to visit the nearby Mulu National Park, home to Deer Cave which was then the largest cave in the world. (The discovery in 2009 of Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam now claims that honor). The day of the cave exploration we hiked in the jungle for some way until we reached a river where we then boarded longboats, gliding down the narrow waterway bounded by impenetrable jungle. Upon alighting we continued our hike along a three kilometer plankway until reaching the huge yawning opening to Deer Cave. In those days there weren't many tourists so no more than ten of us gathered outside the cave awaiting the daily spectacle of the departing bats at dusk. Sure enough around 5:30 the bats began to emerge, first a few in thin spiraling streams, then eventually a multitude numbering over two million that physically blotted out the light of the sky and turned it inky black.

Millions of wrinkle lipped free tailed bats leave Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park at dusk. Getty Images.

We explored their cave habitat which fortunately has raised walkways so one doesn't have to step on the years of accumulated guano. It was a marvelous and mysterious place and applying Bat to my wrist brought back the memory of entering that space; the damp earth and vegetation, limestone walls, dripping water, and strong animal scent. The perfumer responsible for pulling off this recreation is Ellen Covey who has her own line of perfumes, Olympic Orchids Perfume. Dr. Covey's background is fascinating. She grew up as a bit of a nomad, living with her family in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and France and learning the languages of each. She returned to the States and began to pursue a medical degree but was enjoying her job in a lab so ended up going a more academic route. While pursuing her doctorate at Duke in chemical senses she became exposed to the auditory systems of bats, and she studied bats in their natural habitat. This mixture of scientist/perfumer really works to make Bat an impressionistic rendering of the winged creature in its habitat and following it on its night flight adventures.

Bat's notes are listed as:
Top Notes: Banana, soft fruits, damp earth
Heart Notes: Figs, tropical fruits, mineral notes, myrrh, resins, vegetal roots
Base Notes: Furry musks, leather, vetiver, sandalwood, tonka

The perfume's journey starts in the damp cool cavern where the bat hides and rests in the daylight hours.  Bat's opening captures the cave habitat. Vegetal pungunt scents, water dripping from limestone cavern walls, and earth rich, loamy and moist. Fortunately we don't have to smell the guana which is piled on the cavern floors, although if my 20-year-old memory serves me, I don't remember it being a particularly horrible or overpowering smell. Mineral formations that would be found in a cave can also be noticed in the scent. I am really fascinated how Dr. Covey has managed to capture this variety of smells in one perfume.

Antique bat print from Google image.

At dusk the bat takes flight into the moonlit skies, swooping and feasting on ripe fruits of the forest. I smell the fig faintly, a subtle warmth and sweet creaminess. I also sense bananas and other ripe fruit smells. The fruit is balanced by the earth and humus so it never becomes a fruit bomb, just vaguely tropical.  As the fruit notes emerge the scent softens and makes me feel like I'm on a hike in nature with fresh and unusual scents actively engaging the senses. The longer the perfume is on my skin the softer it becomes and I eventually lose the strong cave sensation. A soft earthy musk emerges and a mere tinge of leather, which helps to illustrate the bat's silky fur and leathery wings as it dives and cavorts through the night before returning to the cave to beat dawn's light.

There is no doubt that Dr. Covey has created a superb "journey of the bat" with this perfume but is it wearable? That depends. Probably not for the novice who has never ventured beyond department store perfumes, and I don't mean that in the condescending way it may sound. Some are quite content with their perfumes and don't feel the need to explore further. But for those of us who have caught the scent bug, niche perfumes at their finest represent that sweet spot where boundaries are pushed and unfettered creativity can explore facets of scent that may not be commercially viable to mass markets. Zoologist Bat is certainly representative of that realm of creativity but it is also a very wearable scent. The initial opening may surprise you for a moment but it is not unpleasant, merely unexpected. Picture yourself standing at the mouth of a cavern, hesitating for a moment before you push onward to explore the mystery inside. What will you find? Once you submit  you find there is nothing to fear, just a different world than you are accustomed to and beautiful in its own unique way. Thus Zoologist Bat weaves its own unique path, taking you on a journey of unexpected delight.

There is an interesting article in the Zoologist blog on Ellen Covey here.

Read more about Zoologist Perfumes in Part Two, Part Three. Part Four and Part Five.

Top photo Google image. Fragrance samples are my own.