Night Flyer

Being relatively new to niche fragrances, and loving the darker and more challenging types of scents, I was really excited to give this one a try. That being said, when I first sprayed this on I felt that I had met my match and found myself confronted by a wave of soil and urine (which I assume could be a civet note, even though it’s not listed in the note breakdown). Thankfully, the pissy opening subsided after a few minutes and I was left with a hyper realistic soil accord with ripe fruits creeping in. Night Flyer began to win me over when the soil and fruits began to harmonise and the Vetiver and resins became apparent. The dry down of NF is absolutely stunning if you enjoy dark and resinous fragrances like Black Afgano. What I hoped to find with this fragrance was something dark and comparable in feel to BA (my favourite fragrance) for the warmer weather, and it absolutely did not disappoint in that regard. The price and quality of this juice is phenomenal, and four sprays lasted me about 24hrs, with 12 or so hours of solid projection. Beast mode for sure. To my nose it definitely leans masculine, however, I think a more feminine person with a gothic sense of style could pull this off without too much trouble. It definitely isn’t mass appealing or an easy wear, but this is fragrance as art which achieves the goal of capturing the experience and feel of bats inhabiting a tropical cave. A must try for dark fragrance lovers, I’ll be picking up a full bottle after my sample runs out.

Ordered a sample as part of testing kit with 5 Olympic Orchids perfumes. I have never smelled original Bat, but have heard so much about it, that I could not miss the opportunity to test its successor. Despite being a big fan of petrichord notes and earthy patchouli style fragrances, I was scared a bit by the "ripen banana" element of Bat. Somehow, banana smell evokes pictures of flavoured condoms in my (apparently twisted) mind. Thankfully, Nightflyer has by no means resemblence to odour of male contraceptive devices. It's gorgeous, not at all challenging, difficult or in any way polarizing scent. The fruitiness at the start is more tropical fruit-like (I pick a good deal of coconut actually), no banana per se. The earthy element takes over shortly and becomes more pronounced with time. It would be very confusing to describe it as "dirty", because this is very clean, pure black soil smell - such as if you open a bag of fresh garden soil for your balcony flowers. Does not come across as dirty at all. If you like smell of fresh earth, this will be a very familiar and comforting experience. From up close, you can smell green lushness of the rain forest foliage - in these elements it actually reminds me another Zoologist creation - Elephant. In the drydown stage, what stays are nice clean musks and faint fruitiness. Overall it is super original, evocative and highly interesting perfume. I'm looking forward to wearing it outside and watch people's reactions.

The accomplishment of my year, 2021. When I first found Zoologist, they had considerably less fragrances and this was one. I had a sample kit with about 15 scents and my fiancé fell in love with the original Bat. When the sample was gone, I went to go buy it and found that Zoologist had discontinued it and it was sold out everywhere. For several years, he would continue to bring up Bat. We tried the new formulation and agreed it just seemed hollow and wrong somehow -it was NOT the original. I don't know which fragrantica user mentioned Nightflyer, but as soon as I saw it was Ellen Covey's formulation I snapped it up and hid it away until his birthday. Upon opening it, he had no expectations whatsoever and then he sprayed it and said OMG THIS IS IT! IT'S BAT! He has a terrible memory so I wasn't even sure that he'd recall how it had been all those years ago. This has been his white whale and I am so thrilled Ellen was able to release this formula under Olympic Orchids, and more so that I was able to find it. As to the fragrance itself, the fruit, the dampness of the earth, and the minerals truly shine here. One spray will fill an entire room and it lasts 12+ hours.

I didn't think, by the description, this would be a perfume I'd like. I typically find fruity scents to be cloyingly sweet and occasionally they stray into the sunscreen department, especially with banana and tropical fruits. They can get malibu rum/banana boat quickly. This is far more sophisticated than I expected. The banana, fig, and tropical fruits are there but the prominence of the mineral and earth notes work beautifully to stop them becoming an obnoxious, in-your-face, bath and body works fruit salad. Instead it is grounded, deep, and, yeah, cave-like. It's so refreshing during the hot summer, getting a whiff of a cool, dark, damp cave. The resin and olibanum sit quietly in the background and make the perfume even deeper and more complex. This is currently my signature scent. I'm still trying other things, but I find myself, time and again, longing to smell this one instead of whatever I have on at the time. Edit: Petrichor. Petrichor comes to mind. This reminds me of the smell of just after rain, but with the fruits mixed in.

Evocative and strange and intriguing, I am quite sure I have nothing like this in my large collection. Looking at the notes, I was sure this would not be a love, and, well, I’m simply stunned at how much I’m enjoying this little oddball. Wet, cold earth with stale air, evocative of a cave due to the mineral note. There’s also lots of overripe fruits on the verge of spoiling, but also at their most aromatic stage....enchanting. These are the kind of fruits that are plump and squishy, their scent mingling with the heavy atmosphere. It’s both dark and bright. I smell musk and a delicious resin note in the base. I thought I would grow tired of Night Flyer as the scent stayed with me all day. The first half I’m confident it’s projecting, though I have been around very few people so I’m not sure. But most importantly, I found myself intrigued with the scent....in a way I can’t remember happening with any other perfume I own. If the original Zoologist Bat smells close, I’m sure I would love it. I think this is a Ellen Covey masterpiece.

Sitting at the entrance of a cave during the first rainfall at the end of summer. Beautiful mineral-y damp soil, and there's a hint of musty "cave stone" odor in here too. The main note here is best described as a gentle cave water stream. When I smelled it for the first time I didn't get any fruits, though I did the second time. There's an incredibly foggy yet slightly sweet banana/fig (I secretly think this fragrance would be better without the fruity notes but it's still excellent nonetheless). This perfume isn't meant to be worn to show-off, but to be smelled for art's sake or for yourself, to set the mood. From smelling Zoologist's reformulated Bat, I can see why people love this older version a lot more. It's so much more authentic and natural smelling. I often find myself stealing sniffs from my sample just so I can be transported there again for a few moments. It evokes a vague nostalgia I can't pin-point exactly but love so much. Authentic. Natural. Beautiful. Art!

Hands down, the best petrichor note in town. Just a hyper realistic wet soil opening that puts you smack in the middle of a cave in a cloud forest after a heavy rain. (Excursus: I’m Guatemalan and I am often in places just like this, up in the northern highlands around Cobán, Alta Verapaz: the land of the majestic quetzal. Years ago, I spent so much time up there, organizing and doing research around land disputes, that I once caught a lung infection caused by a fungus found in bat shit. Because, yes, there’re lots of bats there.) You can clearly smell the humid earth and the musty rocks. But it’s not dank in the least; in fact, it’s invigorating, thanks to a zesty vetiver. The olibanum steals the show with a fresh fruity top note that is sparklingly green and salubrious. You’re outside now, rays of moonlight piercing the canopy above. You’ve left the cave behind and you’re roaming the big, wet vegetation looking for bananas and figs. You find them. You’re happy.

I really like this fragrance. Some people are saying it’s not something one can wear every day, but I think it could be a daily wear, at least for my skin and during the right season. I’m trying it on a rainy autumn day and it’s pretty perfect. I feel like it could work in the summer as well. It’s a nice damp smell. Not too dank, like a cave, but the dampness is definitely there, which might be nice on a hot summer day, especially with the fruit aspect. This smells a bit more natural than Bat. I prefer Night Flyer. It’s fruity and quality smelling enough that I can see it being worn to regular occasions like work or drinks or dinner, and unique enough that it could also be a great special occasion scent. Maybe it’s just really approachable on my skin but I don’t find it too weird and my husband really likes it too. Edit: it’s summer now and I’m really obsessed with this right now! I think it shines the most in the heat.

on me/my clothes, the overripe fruit comes out a lot, especially after a few hours. I really dont get the wet earth/petrichor/damp musty scent from this-- fruitiness is main player throughout, to my nose. Im not typically a sweet or fruit scent person, but the way this pairs with the earthy musk notes is so beautiful to me. I have a similar affinity towards this scent as i do to whatever my raggedy cheetah poncho smelled like when i decided to sleep in it during the winter and never wash it. I would sweat in it, go out in it, take a shower and cuddle up to it in bed, sometimes just rub my face in it, my dog would sleep in it... any clothes i spray this on, my dog also seems to want to make his nest. I don't know how else to explain it... its not gross to me at all, its warm, inviting, the feeling of being feral. i just imagine losing all language when i think about this scent. feral, in a homey way. final answer.

My girlfriend just got me this fragrance for anniversary. She introduced me to the original zoologist bat 1 year ago. I fell in love with it instantly. However, I quickly fell into a state of despair when I learned that the fragrance was discontinued. Thankfully, my girlfriend is quite resourceful and found out the original perfumer who designed this scent had brought it back in her personal collection Olympic orchids. My girlfriend still has a sample of the original bat and we did a side-by-side comparison and I have to say it smells the exact same. I am absolutely elated to have this fragrance in my collection. And it has become my favorite fragrance out of the mini I own. Truly a unique, captivating, Pacific Northwest, fragrance. It reminds me of the days in my childhood exploring the damp forest. I highly recommend to anyone wanting to try something truly unique and beautiful.

Abstract olfactory art and a wonder. Smells nothing like the colony of bats living in the lagoon near me but brings night-flying fruit-eaters to invisible life. I get a wave of fecund earthy scents, as if moving through a busy ecosystem in a wet season. Abundance, blossoming, fruiting, breeding, rotting... the full cycle of life. This is a complex perfume and, as it's abstract purfumery, dissecting notes feels like a waste of the experience. But in general it's damp fertility, ripe and rotting fruit - that stage of decay when insects hover, sipping exudation and laying eggs - incense and resins, the scent of wet rocks and animalic habitation. It's a fabulous, fascinating perfume I wear purely for the pleasure of abstract complexity and artistic acheivement. I love Ellen Covey's vision. Distillation: scent of abundance tropical cycle of life in wearable art

Had this full bottle for a few days now and been trying it on different occasions. First of all, the packing is really nice, and I appreciate the handwritten note from the perfumer. This is beast mode, pleasing, intriguing, and complex. The accords and notes listing on Fragrantica are on point, and with 2 sprays the note breakdown can still be detected many hours later. Very high-quality juice. For comparison purposes, it's similar to Amouage Figment but with the main difference in Figment I smell honey and that is replaced with fruity accord in NF. The imagery I get is a cozy nature's walk on slightly damp soil and finding a dim cave with a whiff of sweet fruity air. Wearing this in the early cozy morning, and also before sleep was purely magical. I kept sniffing my arm even as I was falling asleep. I got to look more into this brand.

Fresh garden soil, hot stones, banana peels, wood and some ozonic smells (water from a river?). After 10 min or so it becomes slightly more fruity but in no way I would qualifies this perfume as a fruity one. To me this more about dirt/mineral/unripe banana than anything else. They took these concepts to some higher level though. This is what I get on my skin. I'm smelling like if I'm in the (rather tropical) forest doing some gardening. I'm full of dirt. Truly niche and unique. You wear this for yourself and not to feel cool or attractive to others. Imagine you go to the store and smells like something mineral mixed with soil and tropical fruit peels. I like the idea but this is not for everyone. You won't smell anything like this. I haven't smelled that one released by Zoologist btw but as far as I know this is one is quite similar.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This scent is raved about for good reasons. It smells like a stone cave deep in the damp, tropical rainforest. This particular one has a large opening so plenty of fresh air gets in and out. You happen to step inside as it just finished raining, so all the rocks are damp with fresh rain and the earth is slightly churned up. There is a strong minerality here, followed by soil, leaves starting to decay and water just beginning to stand. The drydown has a slight 'tropical fruit' smell, a little sweet, but far from the star of the show. I don't get overripe banana as some others are, but maybe very ripe passionfruit or guava? It truly does smell like the type of perfume a bat would wear. Amazingly innovative, and so glad Dr. Covey brought the original formula back after parting from Zoologist.

One of my absolute favorite fragrances I have ever worn in my life. This was my absolute favorite bedtime fragrance or a fragrance that I would take walks in. Most importantly it was a fragrance for me. I wore it for me I loved it on me it was an amazing experience and I went through the whole bottle. This smells like a deep dark cave but it's a cave that is safe for tourist travel in. So they've added concrete to the cave and they've added steel bars so people won't slip in the cave and as you walk down the concrete path and look over the railing and see how deep the cave goes you're walking and you could feel the dirt underneath your tennis shoes. This is a magical experience.

I'm not fan of sweet perfumes, but I have to agree that for one time, I understand why an award has been given to a fragrance (the original Bat'15). Earthy, then fruity, then woody at the same time. The banana is noticeable, but nothing overwhelming. Unique in the current fragrance landscape, but that fragheads with a good memory will guess where it got inspired from: yes.... the now discontinued Coeur de Vetiver Sacre by L'Artisan, released 5 yrs before Bat. CdVS is more vetiver centric, but the fruity accord is a carbon copy. Anyways, a beautiful fragrance at a beautiful pricing, that lovers of dry'n'sweet fragrances will (should) fall for. Highly recommended!

This is so stunning and evocative. It’s an earthy fuzzy scent with a mineral quality to it and the most surprisingly hint of an aquatic fruit note wafting over it all. It really does conjure images of a fruit bat’s habitat, the wet earth and fruits. There is, however, something really uplifting and adventurous about it. I thought this would be a winter scent, but to me it's so summery! Over time, the earthiness recedes, and this turns into a soft furry musk and resins scent with tropical fruits dancing through. The banana is what I pick out the most. It’s quite lovely, and I can’t see how someone would take offense when it comes to the dry down. So lovely.

I actually thought this would be a *more* challenging scent somehow?? I'm not picking up any banana on my skin, oddly enough? Just a vague, floral-fruity smell. But I get a LOT of the dirt smell, and mineral. It smells exactly like when I used to collect fossils and rocks from the creek by my house or the playground. And I'd get home and pull the fistfuls of rocks out of my pockets, and they'd be warm and dirt-smelling with a bit of laundry detergent smell and sweat. I can't get enough of this, and my partner loves it too oddly enough! Basically, it smells exactly like how I imagine the dirt in Nightmare Before Christmas smells!

This smells exactly like how it's supposed to smell: Like a damp and humid cave with bats and rotting fruit. Although at the same time, it kind of smells like a woman just took a shower in an old motel room and is now standing in front of the AC on full blast while the water is dripping down her feet and seeping into the shag carpet that hasn't been replaced in thirty years. Despite those strange descriptions, I actually find this to be pretty dang wearable on a hot day. Every time I take a whiff of my arm where I sprayed it, I get transported away from the heat and into that damp cave to cool off for a few seconds.

This is interesting. This is my first time trying something unique in the realm of scents, on my first smell, it is most definitely smells damp and earthy. I do not get any fruit tones on the first smell and on the dry down, I will see how it transforms throughout the day. It definitely makes me time travel to a national park as a chiropterologist, where I can see myself venturing into an open mouth cave, and there is water is occasionally dripping off the limestone. For me this smells quit calming and honestly hard to imagine myself wearing it. However, if you've ever been in a bat cave, this scent is exact.

Fruity earth. I read the original Zoologist Bat was a more expensive formula and the current Night Flyer is flatter. Having only smelled current Night Flyer, and after reading reviews about it being a perfume for vampires, etc., I was surprised to find it highly wearable. (Maybe that says more about me). It starts off fruity, and then this intense damp, minerals note comes to fore. There is a strong frankincense note and earthy, ambery tones as well. It feels primordial but comforting. Like nothing else I've smelled. I am finding this one addictive.

i'm happy to call this my first photorealistic fragrance experience. one whiff and you get all the intensity of stepping into a dripping cave, its own little biosphere of animals and organisms alike. wet vegetation, some rotting, some sprouting. humid, stale air; stagnant puddles of water. this is one where it comes across as so dirty (as in literal dirt), that it's almost... clean? clean in the same way that petrichor or sea water smells. something about water interacting with a natural biome. deaf - taka closer now - earth trax

I absolutely love this perfume, mostly because if reminds me of the smell of our summer houser when we first opened every year at the beginning of the summer, after being closed for almost 10 months. It was at the side of the forest and all the flowers were around it. To me is a beautiful memory, but when you spray it on clothes it kinda smell like you did not dry your clothes enough and put it in the closet anyway. To me it goes much better on skin.

The description of this perfume as a banana inside of a damp cave is perfect. I was shocked how they could translate something that specific into a bottle. It’s definitely a polarizing fragrance. Despite many here saying they don’t feel it’s wearable, it’s actually one of my favorites for everyday wear. At risk of sounding cliche, it’s the perfect weird-girl fragrance. Subtly sweet, unique, and slightly off putting. I’m so glad this perfume exists.

@hartsy3 We all are allowed to have our own opinions, i love bat aka nightflyer (ellen covey is an absolute magician with earthy and herbal scents). I will also be realistic and agree with you that this is not a scent someone would wear on an everyday occurrence. This is part of a group so niche that it falls i to once maybe twice a year, such as halloween or if your a horror afficianado like my wife, wear it to certain get togethers.

Sweet tropical fruits and damp rich soil. It smells like organic decay, leaf litter, and the stagnant air of a warm cave. Not vampire bat, entirely fruit bat. On skin the perfume slowly morphs into something like a new age spiritual store scent. It is strong but not overwhelming and that soil aspect keeps it smooth. The final stage is lightly sweet and powdery warmth. Addictive and divisive. Might be my favorite fragrance of all time.

Smells like wet, salty soil From time to time your nose catches a scent of something like an overripe, smashed, already black decaying banana that has been laying on a hot sidewalk for a couple of days. At first it seems disgusting, but after a couple of seconds you start craving to smell it again, but it's already gone, it's recharging. You wait to catch it again and when you do - oh how good it smells

Wow. This opened with a ripe banana on my skin! Unexpected but very nice. Then the other tropical notes came through, and then the earthiness with the resins. This scent is everything I hoped for, it's odd, it's spot-on for its name, it has fruit that is ripe but not overly sweet, and the earth notes blend so well with the resins to give the complete picture of the night flyer. Amazing <3

Having sampled the newest formulation of Bat from Zoologist, for me, this is the better scent. The smell is very well balanced and the earthy notes tone down and blend into something beautiful. I found Bat to be a bit too musk/civet heavy, but not here. It might not be for everyone, but if you’re interested in a fragrance with a good soil note, look no further. So happy to have it!

ripe and dank. right away overripe sweet and wet, settles into leather and soil. beautiful at the beach or outside in a cozy sweater - IMO, a little sickly in a crowded sweaty club. layers beautifully with other leathery scents to reinforce the deep, rich qualities of this fragrance. i’m not a gourmand lover - in this instance, the fruit elements read earthy rather than foodie

@ehsankasiri Why affordability 4/10? Objectively, Ellen's fragrances are some of the best value perfumes I've found. It's a mere $65.00 for 30ml of this very potent high quality fragrance. That can't be less than 10/10 in terms of value. While I'm here, you don't need me to comment on how wonderful this is. Strange, complex, evocative; a masterpiece that redefines perfume.

Surprisingly uplifting dirty moldy fruit! For something so dark and weird this just oozes with vigor! First few seconds are pure wet soil, after we get through that we get a fresh banana and in a few minutes the banana ages few weeks. What we are left with is a fermented moldy banana with a side of homemade wine and cider spilled on soil. Beautiful!

this is a smell of flipping over a large rock and uncovering a patch of thoroughly wet soil and a bunch of centipedes feasting on a banana. that or just snacking on a banana after digging a 6tf deep hole in the peat in the middle of a night :) if it's a bat cave, it has to be one with a lot of vegetation and dark, wet soil. i absolutely LOVE IT.

Came in a pack of 12 Petrichor perfume testers. This is the most potent "wet dirt" perfume that smells exactly like rain in an Australian backyard - 5/5 for realism. I don't think it would be very wearable so 2/5 for wearability. A very similar but less potent version is The Stranger South 'Cemetary Tour'.

Take the dried fruits from zoologist camel, take out the animalics and smokiness from camel, and add a slight earthy soil smell and that’s my best way to describe night flyer. It’s gorgeous. Transporting ripe banana and dates with a slightly aquatic background (like a damp cave, not an ocean)

This version is lightly less potent on mineral and banana note ...and the result is even better, more balanced, you lose the alien side of the 1st version for a more lovely one. I'm able to wear it anytime and anywhere now. For me it's the best one with Chevalier Vert and Dev02 by Ellen.

The smell of replanting flowers into fresh and wet soil mixed with ripe fruits. Most definitely not safe for a blind buy, it's beautiful though. If you're a Nosferatu that just left his coffin buried in wet soil and are readying yourself for a hunt get yourself a bottle.

UPDATE: I wore this today and then moved a 200lb couch in the Texas heat (yes it's still 90° in October) and it is SOOO skanky but in a good way. It's definitely not for everyone but this has a very good stink if your typical body smells mesh well with it, lol

waittt i did NOT expect to like this so much, it’s so interesting... the overripe fruitiness of a 2000s celebrity perfume mixed with a weird abstract dingy mineral note that becomes more prominent through the wear. very surreal, very nadia lee cohen-esque.

Beyond amazing. Truly took me out-of-body the first time I smelled it. Has this amazing, natural, earthy "wet cave" smell that is strong and long-lasting. Unlike anything else I've smelled in a fragrance but so familiar and comforting. Absolutely love it.

I just got my sample of this in the mail and I have fallen in love with it! I don't see why anyone couldn't wear this any old time! I will post another review once I wear it around a lot; I will definitely be getting a bottle eventually♥

What could be more perfectly morbid to wear during the year (and another year, and another...) of COVID than this bat perfume? We should all be wearing this as a plague memento mori. They don't get more artistic or more goth than this.

Damp with no mustiness; just the right amount of fermenting fruit; the drydown smells like the top of a baby's head. I wear this all the time. I had no idea it was considered so unwearable!

Earth, vetiver and banana peels. This is very dry and dusty. Artistically impressive but not something I’d enjoy wearing.

I love dirt and this stuff hits the spot. Wet rocks, soil, and sweet, well aerated compost. Very comforting :)

Damp soil; sample first (it's easy and affordable to sample this brand!!)

Just great , yummy, green figs jam, earthy. Love ...with each breath.

A very beautiful scent!! Would definitely buy another bottle

OPENING Sweet, pleasing, and indistinct. Some *kind* of fruit, with a mineral-earth smell. I like it (In no way rotten fruit, or rotten banana specifically.) I found the reformulated Bat (from a different perfumier) pleasing but safe and a bit dull, and Woodcut from Olympic Orchids too was a bit one-note. I'm not afraid of funk and was curious about the original Bat. So far, it's in no way dull nor offputting. 15 MINS The wet mineral and petrichor smell is intensifying. Earthy without the "soil" note of the new Bat or A Room with A View, etc. Not salty. I get "cave" -- or without the prompt of the name, perhaps "wet log" minus any woodiness. There's a resinous, fruity sweetness mixed in, but not something that smells exactly like any particular fruit. It's a wet smell; otherwise it might remind me very slightly of potpourri. 30-60 MINS I'm ready to call it. This is a very Friendly Bat. A Tropical Bat. Very warm and snuggly, with a bit of dry leather, fruit, cave. It is not a Vampire Bat or Gothic Bat or Foul Bat or Bat Cage or Bat Man. It's absolutely wearable, and would be one of the more pleasing and relatable Zoologist fragrances, if it were still in the Zoologist line. The reformulated Bat being sold now is very much a Fruit Bat, a mix of tropical fruits and a strong soil accord; I referred to it as "dirty fruity" but this one is much more cave-like, and the fruit is more an accent than a main idea. There is a mild, pleasing sharpness to the scent, that's not the slightest bit spicy or rotten; the snuggliness has some depth and counterpoint, but if you're used to niche perfume -- and particular lines like Zoologist or CB I Hate Perfume, which play around with "natural world" scents — you won't find this one too outré. I'd find it an easy pick for the office or opera, family event or plane. I wouldn't choose it for an exciting date night because it's enveloping and cuddly. Overall, I thought this might be a challenging scent, but instead it's just good.

Fruity and damp with an earthy undertone in the base. The smell is a little musty, almost like something has been left closed in a cupboard for many years. There is almost a metallic/mineral smell in this that reminds me of sifting through rocks as a kid, fingernails covered in dirt and mud. I like this, but not sure I love it. The fruitiness in this is different than anything I have smelled, I almost get a cantaloupe and dirty floral smell from it. It is a nice scent, kind of like the sun peeking through a cracked door where you can feel the dust and warmth stirring around the room. Definitely artistic and is blended very well, but not sure I would be reaching for this one. A little odd, this one.