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.

Dam (get it?), this is amazing! Beaver 2016 wasn't even on my radar; I read the reviews, and seeing the words "aqueous," "fresh," and "laundry" repeatedly, I was like... meh. Am I ever glad I tried this! I noticed that Beaver 2016 has been compared to Alaia Paris, which happens to be my signature perfume, and while they do share the same core notes - violet(-esque), musk, and leather - they offer completely different experiences. Where Alaia Paris is a bit cold, sphinx-like, and elegant with more pink peppery leather, Beaver 2016 is more warm and cozy with more musk. I also noticed that it's been compared to TF White Suede - a fragrance I've debated getting for years, but always found it a tad too astringent. In fact, Beaver 2016 is a bit like if Alaia Paris and TF White Suede met and had a baby next to a river stream - it's the perfect combination of refreshing, elegant, cozy, and sexy. This is a great everyday scent for leather/musk lovers and a big compliment getter!

Beaver is my favourite Zoologists perfume. My other favourites are Rhinoceros (old formulation), Dodo (old formulation) and Hyrax, Sloth, Chameleon... ok, practically all of them except Hummimgbird (which is one if the very few I don't own). If you love linden blossoms like I do, you found your love. Plus it's woody, smokey, leathery and yet ultrafresh. I don't know why but it makes me think about a trip to Berlin (and no, it's not for the Unten den Linden avenue) and drinking bear in the park in the spring sun. Animalic? Yeah it is a quite a bit, but in a very pleasant way. Of course, just like everything that is subject to personal tastes, you may totally disagree with me and that's fair game. One thing though that I really cannot concede is the evaluation about the performance: longevity and projection are really strong. Believe me, you wouldn't want this furry little bastard to be more powerful!

Wow, I love this one. It is watery, ozonic, linden blossom concoction, and it mixes so well. So fresh, clean and unique. I could wear it to any occasion, exept maybe a date, but otherwise, it is highly versatile. When I first smelled this, I thought, 'This is a memory in a bottle'. Strangely it reminded me of my childhood and just getting out of a lake into a car that has been in the sun, making it boiling inside. What I mean is that the water and some heated up car salon mix reminds me of this, very strange, yet highly appealing to my nose. I cannot easily put it into words, just wow. This is full bottle worthy. Of course, you should sample it before buying anything, but with Zoologist selling the whole set in 2ml, it would be a crime to miss this. Definitely do check this out, it's amazing.

Beaver 2016 is one of the most pleasant and least complex perfumes from Zoologist, and this is a good one for anyone who wants to try Zoologist's perfumes for the first time, as it has the Zoologist DNA while being very approachable (I perceive in all Zoologist scents a certain "DNA" in the background that makes them unmistakable; I can't describe it but it's there). This is a woody aquatic, very fresh, very leathery. The leather is there, but it also feels "fresh". The notes are fresh and clean, and are perfectly blended with the more earthy, leathery and animalic notes. This is truly unisex, has great projection for the first 1-2 h, and on my skin it lasts above 7 h. This is very wearable and a good approach to Zoologist.

Move on over, Sloth--we have a love at first sniff and a top contender for my Natural Selection Set! Like @spensierata mentioned, I am struck by the resemblance that it has to Alaia, albeit a bit more musky / animalic--therefore making it even more up my alley than Alaia already was. I feel like I need to wear this several more times before I can really give it a proper review, but I can only wear it once (since I tend to overspray) before I send off the remainder of the sample to my perfume buddy, as agreed upon. I am excited to try it again later though, as I mentioned before, it is currently top contender of the now 4 Zoologist scents that I've tried. Current Ranking: Beaver > Sloth > Panda > Elephant

I love the latest version of beaver as well as macaque and nightingale. Ive never smelt anything quite like it. Quite experimental but thankfully it really works. The accords listed make it sounds really heavy and oppressive. It is far from that! Who knew castoreum would work so well with linden blossom. Musk and castoreum are heavy notes but they are lightly used here. The two are beautifully enhanced and opened up with the ozonic and linden blossom notes. I love the linden blossom in this. A wonderful dry almost fruity effect. This would be particularly lovely to wear on a spring day. Cool, dry and fresh. This is very wearable for either sex. Moderate sillage and longevity. Love it!

This is one of the animals from The Wind in the Willows... it’s tenderer than reality. It talks! Real beavers can’t. It has thoughts more than it has instincts. Castoreum is there from beginning, as a background, and stays as a background at all times. The frontstage lights are played around airy-aldehydes and a very suede-soft leather note. I don’t feel it as a super complex fragrance, I admire it as a soft power construction. From a pure olfactory classification it deserves deference as not every so often tapped territory: “ozonic-leather anybody”? Hello? Is anybody there? ;)

It looks like some people here are referring to the newer reformulation... that one does have a clean floral aspect and is definitely wearable. The original one is stunning, but not exactly wearable for most... floral and watery as well but with a noticeable stale urine vibe and some of the odd funk that comes off of dried fruit skins (though this is not fruity at all). Even so it is bright and uplifting. I keep going back to this original formulation for recreation if not for wearing because it is one of the most interesting fragrances I have ever sniffed.

I have not tried the pre-reformulation, so no opinion on the changes from me. 2016 Beaver has ozone, aquatics, light florals, musk, and leather. Beautiful, inviting, serene, and airy. Imagine a pond in a Studio Ghibli movie, or as LilSockMonkey put it, "something that would be piped in the air at Soarin Over California." Weak projection but it lasts a while. One of the most unique and captivating fragrances I own. I would recommend sampling it to all but the most grr-beastmode-chauvinist types. This isn't a traditionalist's perfume but it is a great one.

Beaver is possibly my favorite Zoologist fragrance. When it comes to Zoologist, I love a few, like a few, and don't particularly care for several. Beaver is a yummy fresh leather. I recently purchased a new leather bag, and every time I walk past it, I get a delicious whiff of leather. I finally had to spritz myself in some Beaver to keep the magic alive without resorting to schlepping my new bag around the house. Delightful! And yes, it does feel weird writing a review about the wonders of Beaver.

Beaver is a balanced and wearable aquatic-leather scent. This is a scent of early dewy morning, while you are on a motorcycle trip. You smell freshness and some delicate meadow flowers, maybe pink clover? You put on your leather jacket, start the engine. Here comes the Zoologist hallmark note - a bit of burning tires on asphalt. But the note is not dominant, then it is just a fresh sunny morning somewhere in Canada. We are Beavers :) This is an unofficial scent of Canadian road trips in summer!

Beaver 🦫 might just be zoologist best, its a toss up between beaver 🦫 and 🦏. Starts off really fresh but then i would say the oud kicks in but there no oud in the notes. 🤔 really well put together fragrance, was really impressed with this one but yet again horrendous performance. If this had decent performance it would be full bottle worthy. 6 hours and its gone with zero sillage. What a disappointment.

Recieved the original sample of this in the 2024 all samples pack. Absolutely blew my mind how perfectly I could imagine a small pond in the woods with every whiff. Suprisingly aquatic forward, but the wood notes are never too far behind. Hope to grab a bottle of this before it leaves Zoologist!

Beautiful and really reminds me of Mechant Loup. It is in fact the way Mechant Loup should have been, with better sillage and longevity. Excellent, beautiful fragrance.

A tender leather. Inspiration: a cozy lodge built out of fresh wood and surrounded by water, green reeds, with a furry castoreum replica drydown.