Bat Edition 2020

This fragrance is daring. audacious. and S-T-I-N-K-Y. Bat’s charisma must first captivate you for you to link this scent with him, at that point you will associate it with him. It will either make you run for the hills, or you become addicted to this scent because you are addicted to his presence, at that point this scent will hypnotize you and threaten to never let you go. I must confess, I'm a victim of its hypnosis. Truly the definition of avant-garde, so jarringly unorthodox, and somehow it is not repulsive. it's undeniably pungent, but i don't dislike it, it simply reeks in a way that is almost... fascinating. There’s something primal, unsettling, and distinctly inhuman. Gritty. Otherworldly. Supernatural. Bat is overwhelmingly animalic, with its initial waft smelling nearly fecal in the sense of a rabbit hutch or a bat enclosure at the zoo. Curiously, this scent brings be back to a time when I had pet rabbits. It is infinitely better at conveying that feeling rather than the vile creation that is Zoologist's actual Rabbit. (but I do absolutely smell the guava and passionfruit.) The impression is wholly vampiric, but not in a romantic, Edward Cullen way. Edward Cullen could never come close to the power which Bat contains. Instead, it is much more like Dracula (Castlevania), or Nosferatu (movie from 1922). It is a fantasy scent grounded in reality. A true vampire, something distinctly non-human and off-putting. It is a being that has lingered too long in the darkness, its humanity all but eroded. it is visceral, unsettling, like a musty bat cave. In my opinion it has the possibility to complement a vampire cosplay, but that could also be a double-edged sword. In that case, I won't tell you to reconsider outright, but just be aware that if you're with a group of people who don't know you, they might think you skipped hygiene, especially if they don’t understand what you're aiming for. Especially since this does have a slight guano scent to it. It has the possibility to betray them as something far less mystical, just another mortal in dire need of a bath. For that reason, I did not wear this one to work. I think I would be far too embarrassed to do so myself. Regardless of the harshness I give this one in my review, this feels like an art piece more than a wearable fragrance. Not a blind buy by any means. As this one dries down, it does soften and become bearable for sure, but it does not become inherently wearable like others from this fragrance company. Bat is an unconventional, high-stakes choice. EDIT: Made a family member want to get out of the room. That's when you know this is not a blind buy!!

What an interesting and challenging perfume. The whole time I was wearing it I was riding the line trying to decide whether I would hate it or love it, but it certainly isn't boring! In the end, I think I ended up loving it despite myself, but I feel like it might be an acquired taste. It does certainly remind me of how the fruit bat enclosure at a zoo I visited smelled! Its almost as though the drydown of the fragrance follows the bat from foraging out in the forest to roosting at home in the cave. On first spray its a tropical celebration of ripe fruit and flowers and green leaves wet with rainwater. As the floral notes start to fade you get MUSK and lots of it! At first I was worried this would make it too masculine of a fragrance for me, but the musk competes with the aromatic sweetness of overripe fruit in a heady sweet mix like a bat with fruit juice running down its face. There is a urine like note, but it stays politely in the background on my skin, like going over to a friend's house that has cats but cleans frequently. This gives the impression of the bat passing into the shared space of the cave with thousands of other bats. This is a fragrance that I wouldn't mind wearing to the gym, it only smells better when you're a little sweaty. As it continues to dry down the overripe fruit and musk start to fade, but the musk is more persistent. It turns from the sweaty, very slightly fecal, dirty musk to a softer and gentler animalic fragrance. It reminds me of burying my face in a clean cat's fur, but the cat is a bat in this case. I imagine the furries must love this one. At the end of the drydown I guess I must smell like a crazy bat lady! That "animal fur" musk base note lingers a long time, and was difficult to even wash off in the shower, although it isn't unpleasant. I don't get nearly as much of the cave/dirt/mineral notes in this one as I had expected, and I'm interested to experiment with layering it with a couple sprays of Olm to emphasize that aspect more. I'm interested to compare to Night Flyer as well, I have a sample of that on the way too.

First impression (on skin): Earthy, animalistic musk, damp grass/moss, wild, sweet, ripe, nostalgic I started my exploration of the Zoologist Collection with Bat (2020) and it was a very pleasant beginning! The first spray on skin immediately smells animal and musky - it’s almost reminiscent of going to a zoo and picking up the scent of musk from inside of the enclosures. I would say it definitely gives the impression of being in a damp, mossy bat cave at night, but there’s also that veil of sweetness layering over it that gives it a nice dynamic. It’s not a fresh, clean scent, I would more describe it as the sweetness of a ripened fruit that’s been left out for a while. It's a bit more unique and less like ordinary perfumes - which is what I lean more toward. On my skin, I definitely picked up the sweeter top notes more than when I initially sprayed it onto my jumper. I’m guessing the fabric soaked it up, leaving the base animal and wood notes to stand out more - something I’ll look out for next time. I also think it lasted longer on my clothing than it did on skin (I used 2 sprays for each). Kind of a shame, as other reviews say it lasts long overall, I unfortunately felt like it weakened on my skin faster than other perfumes and didn’t leave much of a scent trail. On my jumper, I was still smelling it the next morning, though it had faded and lost the musk, leaving a sweetness behind. I think goths and vampire-lovers could enjoy Bat. It could give the impression of a feral, vampiric creature living in caves and roaming at night, if you’re going for that sort of thing, but it would be more leaning towards realism than a fantastical/magical aspect. Overall, I think it’s a very beautiful, unique scent that evokes bat imagery and story-telling masterfully. OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5 RECOMMENDATION: Sample first Location tested: Jumper, neck and forearm Would I purchase a full bottle?: Yes

Okay when i decided to sample this i was super super excited to try this. Despite the negative reviews i was really looking forward to interpreting this as an individual and i was mainly looking for something that could be considered a challenge and something that is difficult to get behind while also retaining good smelling qualities. After spending time with this fragrance I can positively say Bat by Zoologist is just a bit boring. Much like black afgano i was looking forward to the challenging nature however i found black afgano and Bat to be quite standard. Bat to me smells like a nice kind of dark dampish cave (mainly contributed by the Hay and Soil) and thats genuinely about it. Theres nothing challenging or crazy about this cave like smell its actually very pleasant. I also decided to sample this out of pure curiosity because of the use of tropical fruits. However, in reality the fruits only very very slightly poke through and i heard reviews saying it was ripe or sweet or rotten however i get none of this, it kinda just adds an element of depth to the plain soil. I very much enjoy this fragrance i think its quite mass appealing and i dont understand the overly negative reviews as i dont think there is even much to hate on with this fragrance. I do want to buy a full bottle to add to my growing collection however im having a hard time picturing myself picking this out of my other favorite frags. ended up purchasing this like i said i dont think its that crazy or out there but its defo worth the money and will make a nice addition my review-- 8.6/10 gf rating- 4.7/10

It's amazing how well this perfume reflects the name and concept behind it! Makes me think of fruit bats snacking on ripe fruit in warm humid summer nights. The opening is fruit and a mineralic hint of damp soil, which is gorgeous if you like the smell of earth like I do. I don't usually enjoy fruity fragrances because the sweet gourmand kind are not really my thing to wear. In this one, the fruit note doesn't appear overly sweet, but nicely balanced with the soil and what I think some people have described as a hint of overripeness or even rot or compost. It smells like fruits in a tropical or subtropical forest, blending in with the other smells in the environment. And yes, there's always some decomposition going on in nature, but it's part of the appeal and not obtrusive, at least not to me. Then there's the subtle white floral coming in, which weaves nicely into the other notes. It ends up smelling warm (maybe that's the hay, like drying hay), humid, earthy with a slight mineral freshness, a little bit flowery and sensual, a little bit animalic and dirty - but dirty more as in earth, as in nature, not as in straight up excrements. I really love the fresh aspects of the fruit and mineral notes - they add a sense of still ripening fruit and cleanness a few hours after rain that make the scent great for daytime as well as nighttime. With the whole rich tropical forest vibe to it, "Bat" feels especially fitting for spring and summer. Haven't come across another fragrance that hits the "gothic summer fragrance" spot this well!