Beaver Edition 2016

As much as I enjoy unique, challenging, animalic fragrances, the original Beaver was just unappealing to me. The sort of fuzzy animal aroma it had felt like it clashed with the spring-like floral/woody top in a shouting match without much harmony. One of the more baffling aspects of the original blend was an intensely strong and acrid ash note. It was lost on me both compositionally and conceptually, had these poor beavers' dam burned down? Was this an attempt to provide some sort of support for the castoreum so it didn't just become musky in the drydown? Was it an attempt to give these somewhat fresh notes a sort of ominous and foreboding overtone? Why so much?! Personally it straddled the line between unique and unpleasant quite unsteadily and I did not find myself reaching for the sample with any excitement. --------------------------------------------------------- In short, they fixed it. This is quite the improvement. The new beaver sort of grabs hold of the previous incarnation's spring-like leanings and runs with them. Where once the top notes left me grimacing with nostrils full of animal ass and soot, this sings with the linden blossom amped up and grounded with leather and a very clear (clean!) musk overtop. It smells classy and smooth... sort of deceptively modern. In the dry down a slight hint of the castoreum is indeed detectable, but it mostly becomes a linden-musk fragrance with leathery facets and a cute little vanillic sweetness that sneaks up in the end. Strangely enough I am reminded a bit of a sort of scratchier, spring-time variant of something along the lines of Tom Ford's White Suede. Smoothening the fragrance has boosted both it's wearability and it's unisex appeal, the previous felt masculine to me in a salty, strange way. This seems perfectly down the middle, in the same way that Panda did, and fans of that one will certainly find something to like in this new beaver. That being said, I do think it would be a fair assessment to say they perhaps took this a little bit too far in the safe direction. Fans of the original will probably be extremely disappointed that their weird musky wet animal-and-ash fragrance has been reduced to a crowd-pleasing green-floral-musky-leather. But personally, I could see myself wearing this much more. Detractors of the former should certainly seek this out as it is truly quite dramatically different. Methinks this will perform well on warm, humid days, and I have plenty of those coming up here in Florida. 8/10

Lord have mercy. This stuff is dapper. True to its name, description, presentation. Everything. What you see on the bottle is what you get from the liquid. Bought a sample of this and now i need a travel spray for occasions. I wouldn't wear this as a daily scent because its way too formal, its way too fly, its way too sharp. I would wear this to a wedding, an interview, executive trip/function or some upper class event. This scent is NOT leathery, its more watery aquatic with musk. So the overall feel is a damp freshness. I loved the opening of it which is extremely ozonic and damp, water like. The dry own is very very faint though and is of the same aquatic fresh theme as the opening. I love the smell of this more than I did squid but its not something I'd wear everyday for the reason i gave along with shorter longevity. Beaver has a moderate longevity and a small silage on the dry own. This scent disappears from the very spot i sprayed it in less than 5hrs. It is a fleeting scent. Very fresh, very masculine this is a scent i would use while wearing my best suits which is why I'll get a travel spray of it. Its not bottle worthy because its strength is too poor in my opinion to justify 165usd for a full bottle. Also worth noting i live in the tropics where the temperature is summer like all the time with temperatures being 29-32degrees centigrade throughout the day so scents have to be very potent to have longevity, that is the only area beaver failed me so it gets a 4/5. If this had a longer longevity, id buy a full bottle but i guess thats eau de parfum for you.

I'm really impressed with this brand. This is real niche perfumery. They have managed to produce a well thought out line. Each one of the perfumes is a masterpiece in my opinion, real attention to details. I still have Dragonfly, Macaque & Panda (new) to test, but I loved all of them. Maybe I will not buy all FBs, but I could certanly appreciate each fragrance. Amazing longevity & quality. Superb blending capabilities. Plus they value quality over quantity when talking of number of fragrances they put out on the market. Beaver... On my skin definitely an aquatic fragrance (not my favorite frag family), but at the same time woody and very musky. On top of that I get after 30 minutes a powdery note that I atribute to amber and vanilla. Castoreum is there, but in the right amount, not prominent. I did not expect to love this fragrance as much as I do. This is super wearable and absolutely unisex. I find it sexy. It's like swimming naked in a lake high in the mountains. It clean skin, chopped wood, water, fresh air and musk. Worth trying out. Beaver & Elephant took my completely of guard. They share the water element in common, but deliver so many layers and impressions on top of that. I could wear this anytime any place during daytime & even night, especially in warm weather.

Alright, I'll be honest, I was excited to try this solely because of the name, and the crude, sophomoric joke I'd be able to use with it. "Excuse me, Ma'am. What fragrance are you wearing?" "Oh that's my Beaver." And then I just smile and walk away. Yes, yes, I know I have the maturity level of a 16-year-old boy. This is not news. And besides, there are few situations where owning the aforementioned euphemism benefits me so directly and concretely. You can't blame me for wanting to take advantage of it. In all seriousness, though, this is actually a fantastic fragrance. Gorgeous, calming, and really transports you to the woods, a quiet stream. It reminds me of She Wood from DSQUARED. But a little more aquatic, maybe a little bit greener. She Wood is often called a unisex scent, but this will likely strike many as being more masculine, so if a guy likes She Wood, but doesn't want to wear a "woman's fragrance," this is a really great choice. Like She Wood, though, the projection of this is nonexistent. Good for an office or close quarters, but it's a skin scent on me. Because of that, I unfortunately won't be getting a full bottle. Lasted about 6-ish hours, though. I mean, I looked weird as hell constantly shoving my nose into my arm, but it lasted quite a while.

I have to admit that I wasn't a huge fan of the original formula of Beaver. It was a great creation, it just didn't appeal to me personally. The original formula was strong, intense and felt a bit agressive. It was like smelling a sweaty beaver in heat, biting your leg out of sexual frustration. This new formula is a whole nother story. This beaver lives in Narnia. It is sweet, kind and approachable, and wants to serve you tea in front of the fireplace in the heart of its home. The scent feels at first fresh and green, like a breeze through the forest. I can smell wood and linden blossoms. There is a moist, fresh, watery note - and of course the animalic smell of leather and castoreum - the cozy smell of warm beaver fur. This is a rich and atmospheric scent, with both freshness and depth. It smells like a combination of wild, untamed nature and something warm, cozy and safe. I love this new formula of Beaver so much that I have ordered it as a birthday present for myself this year. Sillage is medium and longevity is great. I get about 10-12 hours out of it.