Monday 27 March 2017

Nightingale Review


A somewhat more conventional scent from Zoologist, Nightingale is nonetheless a pretty chypre built around an old-fashioned pairing of rose and violet. As in Chanel’s Misia, the rose gets a raspberry jamminess thanks in part to the ionones and although some papery associations aren’t too well covered in the earlier stages of the perfume’s evaporation curve, the overall development is pleasing and ultimately reveals a base that to me smells mostly of labdanum, musks and a big dose of oakmoss replacer.

Nose: Tomoo Inaba
House: Zoologist
Release date: 2016
Notes (per Fragrantica): bergamot, lemon, saffron, plum blossom, red rose, violet, oud, patchouli, sandalwood, oakmoss, olibanum, white musk, labdanum, ambergris.

Sunday 19 March 2017

Macaque Review


Just as ‘one swallow does not a summer make’, so the release of two galbanum+incense fragrances in 2016 does not signal a new trend. If it did though, I wouldn’t be complaining.
Where Tom Ford’s Vert d’Encens plays on the balsamic elements of galbanum more to an oriental effect, Zoologist’s Macaque goes fruity-floral with apple and some banana-ey ylang. Tucked in amongst the foliage is a green tea base (Givco?) that does well not to overwhelm the blend and, on skin in particular, I find the fond to develop a nice mossiness beside the wood and musks.
Another pleasant surprise from this house.

Ps. When are the marine animals coming?

House: Zoologist
Nose: Sarah McCartney
Release date: 2016
Notes (per Fragrantica): cedar, green apple, blood mandarin, olibanum, galbanum, honey, palisander rosewood, ylang, jasmine tea, cedarmoss, green tea, white oud, musk.

Sunday 12 March 2017

Beaver Review


By the time a UK distributor was found for Zoologist perfumes earlier this year, Beaver (one of the house’s first releases back in 2014) had already been reformulated. Director Victor Wong has, to his credit, made frank admission of the change; spoken openly about poor sales of the original; and, so long as concentrate of the latter remained, offered customers the option to purchase either it or the new iteration.
Beaver 2.0 is a surprisingly green, citrus-floral affair, its fresh linden (a.k.a. lime) blossom theme painted with aldehydic and ozonic flourishes. Underneath is a very elegent and complex-smelling blend of musks, light cedar-type woods and just a hint of something dark. I understand the original went for a much bolder leather/castoreum base and can imagine a stronger clean/animalic contrast working well in this composition.

Nose: Chris Bartlett
House: Zoologist
Release date: 2014 (original)
Notes (per Fragrantica): linden blossom, fresh air, light citrus, castoreum, iris, vanilla, smoke, undergrowth, animal musks, ash, cedar, amber.