Elephant

Impressive. This gives me the true jungle vibe. A green and floral fragrance, with earthy and watery facets. Cacao note lingering underneath. Detectable, but subtle. It's a green, clean, floral and woody fragrance. The green notes reminds me of crushed vegetation and grass. I don't quite get the darjeeling tea, but i get what it's supposed to be in here. Florals are subtle and clean, and not feminine. Earthy patchouli and cacao pod gives a nice earthy grounded tone, and with the magnolia giving of a beautiful watery floral note. There is some mint in here, i'm sure of it. Barely any, but enough to register. A light coconut gives the scent a feeling of density and thickness. And woody notes, like broken trees in your path. And a light, lingering musk floating in the background. I truly get a "walking along a trampled down path in the thick, dense jungle" feel/vibe. It's quite transportative. The late dry-down isn't quite as good. Kind of minty cacao. It's still good. Just not as great as the opening and mid. Where: Casual to semi formal. This is so "clean green and floral", that it's no problem to wear to a dinner party or for certain special ocations. At the same time, it has a relaxing and slowing down effect on my mood, so i can easily see this working spectacularly in everyday activities and at the office. When: Spring and summer, possibly fall, if it's not too cold. It's not that the fragrance needs heat, but that the scent is so "jungle and warm humidity" in a thematic way. I would almost feel it would be weird to smell this in fall or winter. Who: Anyone, man or woman, any age (probably most appreciated by 25+). It's a true unisex in my book. Personal score: 9.25/10. Wow, yes, i really loved this. A bit harsh the first 5 seconds, so i would recommend not breathing it in too soon after applying (like i did the first time). But after maximum 10 seconds, it's nothing but a great wear. Versatile and transportative. I am for 100% getting a bottle as soon as i can.

I love, love this fragrance. What a wonderful surprise. It's unisex on the masculine side per this website, and as someone who enjoys fragrances leaning decidedly feminine, I LOVE this day or night. It's so unique, gorgeous, wild/mysterious and approachable at the same time. The opening for me is very green - windblown dry grassland comes to mind - and it wasn't until I read the note of the darjeeling tea that I had that "aha" moment. It is JUST creamy (? maybe the coconut) enough that the sharpness does not turn to a more masculine scent to my nose/on my skin, even though as others have said it is not a sweet fragrance. I have to be careful with fragrances as many trigger migraines for me, and I almost didn't even try this given how intense Zoologist frags can be but I'm SO glad I did. Just WOW! Gorgeous. The mid notes and drydown are where this shines; typical Zoologist strength: two sprays and its like I've rolled for hours naked in a rainy savannah. Not bad - just strong :) Another note - zoologist fragrances are designed to really bring to life and evoke the animals the perfumer took inspiration from, and in many (i.e. tyrannosaurus rex, rhino, SQUID, etc) this is very much the case. In this one I had to take a minute. Then, I really thought about the Elephant - the intelligent, elegant, incredibly social mammal with self-awareness, gliding along and within its environment despite its immmense size, the heat of the sun on its back and the rainy season bringing closeness. To me a fragrance that smacks of namesake without a more nuanced approach, would not honour Elephant. So to me this lovely, warm homage to the etheral Elephant does very well.

Oh my. When I first sprayed this I thought of my brother and it made me quite emotional cuz my brother moved out not too long ago and I miss him a lot. I didn’t rlly know how to feel about this cuz I was so overwhelmed by how much I like this and yet how it reminds me of my brother. My brother doesn’t smell like this but it reminds me of him cuz it has this easy comforting warmth and sweetness yet a kind of complex musky, dirty(best way possible) smell. My brother smells rlly good. He smokes so he always smells abit like cigarettes but also like his perfume and himself. He isn’t stinky but he smells so human in a way of he maybe doesn’t wear his freshest clothes and smells abit like smoke. I tried figuring out what exactly this perfume is to me and why I love it so much. It feels so comforting-Home like yet wild and unfamiliar and free. On my skin it starts like a dark brightness. Like something green that went thru darkness. But when it settles and sinks into my skin u get this unbelievably beautiful tea quality with the cacao, so powdery and so skin like. It has this darkness and heaviness to it but yet so creamy powdery and beautiful. I imagine like a very mysterious and free soul drinking their tea while smoking. Like a person in the jungle using dusting powder mixed with cacao to cover or dab on their sweat. Just so touching to me! I can’t grasp that much still what exactly this does to my brain but this feels so much like home yet so far away from where home is. I don’t know if this is a good description but this is all I can think of. Love this a lot! Wouldn’t say it’s for everyone tho and not a safe blind buy.

With the 2017 version of Elephant being discontinued shortly, I had to secure a bottle of it before it goes extinct. It has to be said that I did not love Elephant at first. When I first smelled it on paper, it was pleasant enough. On skin, I felt it didn’t last long and found it to be quite linear. But after giving this beast some time to really find its footing on my skin and through my nose, it has become one of my most grounding, relaxing scents. I’ve since moved to a more humid climate, and the scent has come alive in the warmth of the sun. It opens with a blast of crunchy, green leaves and Indian tea. It truly feels like drinking a glass of tea in a jungle where elephants are somewhere nearby enjoying their lunch of shrubbery and tree bark. After a while a beautiful coconut and a dark chocolate arrive to elevate the experience. The coconut is not creamy, but more so the husk of the coconut itself. Creamy sandalwood and bitter cacao dance together to add a subtle sweetness to the earthiness of everything else happening. Incense creeps its way in to add a layer of spice and mystery. If you didn’t love this at first, I urge you to give it another shot on a day you feel at peace with yourself grounded in the sunshine. I’ve tried every Zoologist and this is the one that keeps surprising me every time I wear it. I’ve also received more compliments than I ever thought I would wearing it. It creates a powerful, confident aura for the right wearer. I’m so excited to see where the Sanctuary Edition takes this wild giant.

I've been hesitant to try this one for so long, since so many people say this leans very masculine. Even from the sample vial it smells masculine and I thought this would quickly make its way into the "no" pile, but I'm pleasantly surprised to say this is another winner from Zoologist! On my skin this translates as a mixture of mint (which I assume is the tea note), dry earth and cacao - specifically cacao powder. Dry and bitter, NOT chocolate or praline. As the mint/tea fades the coconut starts to creep in and I can't help but draw a comparison to Snowy Owl - they feel like two sides of the same coin to me! Snowy Owl, as the name suggests, is a very cold and wintery take on coconut with prominent white florals, whereas Elephant is most definitely its summer counterpart. On my first wear test I couldn't detect the white florals at all but I can pick them up ever so slightly the more I wear it, but mostly I get mint/tea, dry earth, cacao and coconut. In terms of accords I'd describe it as green, woody/earthy and a touch gourmand. To compare it to yet another Zoologist frag, in terms of strength/silage this reminds me of Cow, it's a bit stronger but expect around that level of presence. I'd say this is a squarely unisex perfume, personally. This is absolutely PERFECT for those who want a coconut-y summer fragrance but without the usual trappings of frangipani, ylang ylang, tuberose, citrus, and so on.