Beaver

Beaver is a grotty little old animal, hating me from within the safe confines of his ashen home. And I love it. Not only do I want it, when I get it I will BE the beaver! Reclusive in my fortress of solitude. The soft buttery orris embraces me like no other, Beaver’s Iris and Cedarwood whispers comfort into my world-weary heart. I layered it with Cacharel’s Amor Amor, and the combo just sums me up. The once-beautiful teen girl from the 90s, all grown up, chain smoking, bad breath, coffee and gin pulsing through my veins where innocent and optimistic blood once pumped. It’s initially metallic; it’s citrus-infused animalic leathers providing a sharp twang of savoury WTF. It soon dries to something very close to the skin that’s barely detectable beyond straight nose-to-pulse-point, and therefore is wholly inoffensive as a functional everyday scent. It is so soft, I will wear it out and no one will know. But I will know. Beaver is my silent protest. Piss me off and I’ll inhale deeply and squirt a psychic jet of beaver butt juice in your general direction.

Floral leather. Not what I was expecting on first blast. What is this clean/ leafy/ aquatic opening??? That quickly dissipates though and you're left with the main body of the fragrance, which is a hygienic but somewhat intense animalic leather on a bed of pretty but somewhat soapy florals. The leather has a rubbery edge to it but that's basically it. This is a very well groomed beaver, coming to visit with a lovely spring bouquet. They apparently removed the smoke and ash notes in the reformulation, which makes me sad because I do love those, but I trust this house so I'm sure this is better (I still would love to try the pre-reformation Beaver, though). The image is of a cool northern summer on a lake, with sprightly flowers perfuming the air. You're close enough to the beaver's den to make out it's musky smell but it's not overwhelming. Another winner from this amazing house.

A distant relative of yours has passed, and it has somehow fallen upon your mother to sort out the old man's hunting lodge. To your young mind, this is vaguely intriguing. When she brings you a long (she couldn't find a baby sitter for the day), you sit on the aged hardwood floors, lulled to contemplative silence by the glass eyes of the trophies mounted on the walls. Your mother is nearby somewhere, you can't quite see her, but you smell the bright, sharp tang of the citrus yellow antiseptic she is using to clean up with. Her floral perfume that has suffused you for the long, car ride you'd fallen asleep on coming up here clings to your soft sweater. The dry, whispery, skank of the fur of long dead, taxidermied animals creeps at the edges of your senses. There is ash in the long dead fireplace.

I purchased the entire sample collection of Zoologist, and I think Beaver might be my favorite. It's definitely the most wearable, and I'm thinking about buying a bottle. This is a musky floral scent that in contrast to its name is very fresh. It has a ungendered sexiness that works really well with my skin. Like all perfumes in this line, you really have to sample it before you buy—these are strange, evocative scents that will not appeal to everyone. I recommend getting the complete sample collection. You will hate some if not many of them (for me: Bee, Panda, Seahorse, Cow, Rhinoceros, Musk Deer, and Dragonfly were all gross,) but in the process of sniffing, you'll learn A LOT about notes and what you like in perfume. My other favorites in this line were Squid, Camel, and Snowy Owl.

Wet Smokey Floral Musk🌲🌊 I actually enjoy how quirky this fragrance is🤔🫶 I love how at first there's this strong smokey iris opening, while citrus and linden trickling behind it🍋 It reads more masculine- however I would layer this with Zoologists Camel for more sweetness👌🐫For about 15min it has a powdery ambience however right after the fragrance melts witb the skin, magic happens🪄✨️The castoreum, oakmoss and vanilla made the amber just expand beautifully😍 Great longevity and it's definitely for someone looking for a niche artistic animalic musk✨️ Zodiac Trio ⬆️Capricorn☀️Saggitarius 🌜Capricorn