Beaver (2016) (2016)
by Zoologist Perfumes

A lot f blue freshness that clashes with dark dirtiness in a way no one would expect. Leans towards masculinity. Good performances.

I'm touched by what a beautiful world this is. This is fresh and green, ozonic, and watery notes conspiring with linden blossom to be light and refreshing, but then, so they don't fly too high, there is musk, dark wood, amber, leather, and castoreum dragging it back to the earthiest or earth. I usually don't care for water and ozone or even something as green as is, but this is held so close and given a breath of intimacy by the darker, heavier animalic notes. This is the reformulation of Beaver, and usually reformulations don't do so well, this one is taking my breath away.

The opening is a crisp and fairly bright floral-green impression, but the main ingredient soon takes centre stage - a pleasant castoreum, with the latter's synthetic component kept in check by notes of iris and whiffs of violet.

Later on a restrainedly early ambery notes underpins and equally unobtrusive vanilla, with a somewhat generic woodsy note lurking in the background.

The sillage is moderate, the projection very good and the longevity an excellent eleven hours in my skin.

Nice in autumn, this is a castoreum-centric scent worth trying for lovers of this note. At times a bit too synthetic and a tad generic, it is otherwise a respectable creation. 3.25/5

Bright and crisp, damp air and wood: this may be Zoologist's most exact embodiment of the spirit animal behind their fragrance. The musk is gently in the background, very light: the smell of vegetation is everywhere. It's transformative as if your consciousness in a pond or river. Upon first application, it's reserved but strong: sharp mineral notes of lilac and waterlily. On the drydown, leather comes out along with amber. It only makes it a bit darker, but the overall impression is one of lightness: no small feat for a scent with leather as many fragrances want to hit you over the head with their leathery vibes. Not altogether unlike its sibling fragrance Dragonfly, but with woody-resins. Of the two, I prefer this. I think, maybe it's recency bias. But this is so freakin good.

Zoologist has another wonderful scent here. This is a definite contender for a go-to springtime scent: there are so many fun nooks and crannies to their scents, depths and complexity that other houses could take a chapter from. Projection is light to moderate, longevity is 4-5 hours. Really good and a strong recommendation to purchase a full bottle...as I have!

9/10

Quite obviously from the get-go I got the 2016 reformulated version, which does not seem to align as well with my tastes. It is a floral airy watery concoction. It is noticeably soapy, coming from a cleansed version of laundry musk. Easy to wear, but lacking in character. A few hours in I am able to smell the castoreum, but it is faint. Still a bit player in this fragrance. I would have thought, if you said a beaver smell, it would be castoreum, musk, wood, leather, water, in that order. Instead what we get is flowers, water, soap, and castoreum. It doesn't smell bad, and could maybe stomach it from a designer brand, but I had higher expectations from Zoologist. Performance is good for a floral. The white musk lingers. Thumbs down, not interesting or creative enough for me to excuse the misnomer.