Elephant Sanctuary Edition

This fragrance doesn't stampede. It whispers with quiet strength. Elephant Sanctuary Edition had humongous, elephant-sized footprints to follow, as the original version of Elephant was already a gargantuan accomplishment of scent. And Sanctuary has succeeded. Wildly. It earns its flowers, its floral tea notes, and a rave review. The original formulation of Elephant is beloved, but some could have perceived it as intimidating. With impressive (but, to some nostrils, oppressive) notes of tea, coconut, chocolatey cacao, and thick green leaves trampled in soil, the OG Elephant likely wasn't touted and trumpeted by everyone. I adored it. Others might have found it too heavy. Elephant Sanctuary Edition, meanwhile, is night-and-day different from its predecessor. It exists on the other side of the savanna. This is an elegant, delicate, and creamy concoction that manages to smell simultaneously fresh and ancient. It’s a paradox. Like the “white shroud of mist” promised in the description, there is something endlessly soothing and nostalgic about this fragrance. At first sniff, I immediately understood what creator Victor Wong and perfumer Natasha Cote-Mouzannar were envisioning with this composition. Notes of airy and light florals, Earl Grey tea, mate, suede, sandalwood, orris, and even an “elephant skin accord”: they’re all there, and they all herd together beautifully. Suitable for men, women, and all seasons alike, it smells like what the warm and gentle embrace of an elephant trunk might feel like - if only scent could be touch. It reminds me of something from childhood: the scent of what my curious mind thought the jungle might smell like, scribbled in shades of light brown and green crayon. The scent of imagination - something I thought I’d lost - but now lovingly tempered with adult sophistication. This is, simply put, a masterpiece. Easily one of the top ten Zoologist fragrances, it simultaneously accomplishes the deft task of making the original Elephant not feel small by comparison. Rather, it helps us to remember the OG Elephant as an energetic and rambunctious calf: a youthful, free, unfettered version of the gentle giant that it was to become. As much as I adore this brave new horizon, once the existing bottles of the original Elephant have sold out and are no longer available, I’ll still mourn the loss of Chris Bartlett’s original creation (and rest in peace to a visionary perfumer). Elephants, too, are known to mourn their dead. They revisit and touch the resting places of their herd, and they cover the remains with leaves and dirt. I’ll revisit my bottle (and backup bottle) of Mr. Bartlett's original Elephant, while being thankful that Mr. Wong and Ms. Cote-Mouzannar have left us with something so lovely in its remembrance.

I didn’t love the original Elephant at first. I thought it was too earthy and found it difficult to wear, but after a few more tries I found myself feeling incredibly grounded and at peace wearing it. It’s become a treasured fragrance in my collection. But I was really excited to try this new version as it seemed completely different (and it is) to the original in a really exciting way - and it truly is gorgeous. It is definitely easier to wear than the original, and it has a timeless essence to it. It opens with the scent of earl grey and “elephant skin” despite that being a base note. It almost smells like a new pair of expensive shoes. It is so smooth with just a touch of cool spice from the cardamom. Very unisex. But once the heart notes appear, this fragrance turns slightly feminine to me. Of the florals I get the tuberose the most, and it’s just gorgeous. Once they fade away to the dry down, it becomes a powdery, lightly floral suede. It’s oozes class and sophistication. It doesn’t last a terribly long time on my skin, but while it’s there it’s beautiful. I’d say the scent leans ever so slightly feminine to me due to how pretty the florals are in the heart, but the right man or person could absolutely pull this off. I’d say that this is a perfect compliment to the old Elephant. They co-exist as they truly are nothing alike. I’d also say this is one of the most “wearable” perfumes from the house. It’s the closest thing to a blind buy outside of Harvest Mouse that Zoologist offers. While the other two reformulations are similar enough to their originals and led me to be slightly disappointed, this one takes the concept and flips it on its head into something new and wonderful. With that said, I really don’t want further reformulations. At this point we’ve gotten at least 10, and while I understood some of them due to IFRA standards (Rhinoceros, Bat), not being the vision Victor initially wanted (Macaque), or just being plain bad (Dodo), most of the reformulations since Beaver seem confusing and are throwing fans of the house for a loop. We just want to enjoy our animals and don’t want them to go extinct.

I was really surprised by Elephant Sanctuary Edition, in the best way possible. I was a bit hesitant to order this one as I am typically not a fan of tea notes in fragrances. The fragrance opens with some soft spicy elements that quickly give way to the flowery heart notes. Some fantastic blending work here, as none of these florals jump out and hit you harder than the others. I feel like the osmanthus is doing a great job at tying the florals together. Leather is another tricky note for me, but here the suede and sandalwood are not harsh or abrasive, but soft and comforting. I do get a faintly fruity aspect to this as well, despite no fruit notes being listed. If you are looking for a fragrance that is bold or wants to hit you over the head, this is not it. If you want one that that is elegant and unique, look no further. Expertly blended. Perfectly unisex. Very wearable. Bravo!

I personally like what they did with these editions. Some are more fruity, this one has a little leather in the opening. I don’t know, the new editions are less edgy but still very interesting and wearable. They inspire nature and vacation, I was pleasantly surprised by all. Testing is recommended.

Played it safe with my first sample from Zoologist- this is lovely. Down to earth, spa-like tea and wood, gentle florals, and kind-of clean. The main adjective I would give this is soothing. Makes me want to take a long shower, put this on, and do a facemask while listening to ambient music.

strongly dislike the original but this is a wonderful floral tea first tried this in winter and it was a slightly green tuberose. now in spring this is warm spicy tuberose and much more complex. this is a favorite of mine.

I think this is more softer and warmer version hopefully? (I never had this from this brand, I just guess it will be like that, dm me if I'm wrong.)

More sanctuary than elephant. It opens spicy green with some aromatic bitterness. Tea-mate accord is very well done and blends wonderfully with the spices. Then this opening starts to blend with the floral notes in the middle (with the white flowers taking the lead more and more with the evolution). It is very meditative, really reminds me of a south-est asian sanctuary in a forest, with flowers blossoming around and the spices in the air. Tea is served. Everything is calm, warm, relaxed. In this setting (on the drydown) a lone elephant appears far in the jungle, it is very calm too, totally uninterested in what we are doing in the sanctuary. We can perceive that it is there, we are seeing it from time to time, maybe an hint of leather comes from its skin but it is very mild, very far. Creamy sandalwood joins the sweet flowers and we continue our meditation on this very tranquil sanctuary. And the elephant? Who knows, maybe it is already gone, not caring about what we are doing. From here the evolution of the fragrance goes a little more earthy (thanks to the cypriol) and that's it, we can continue to meditate in this very beautiful and serene place. What can I say, it is a good meditative perfume, very easy to wear, totally unisex and suitable for every occasion in which you want to relax, but for me it lacks the "zoologist kick", not that it should be necesserily more animalic (or maybe yes? Even if I think that there will be someone calling this too animalic for the cypriolic suede) but I would like to have something more interesting, I can think of too many other fragrances that have similiar vibes and similiar construction to justify a bottle at zoologist price tag. So even it is a good product it is a pass for me. Sillage is quite intimate, longevity is good.

Opens very light with slight sweet florals, and a hint of spice. It is very smooth, almost creamy. No harshness or edginess to it. It then becomes a clean/woody scent on me. The florals become clean/powdery and the woody base comes through. Like the OG elephant, I don't really smell the tea note, but the scent as a whole gives of the same calm and relaxing vibes as sitting with a cup of tea.

I like this a lot more than the original Elephant, this one is more about the animal thaan its environment and the "Elephant skin accord" (which I could detect a leather smell immediately, and then checked the notes) works really well against the clean and natural clean feeling florals and slightly spiced tea. I think if you enjoy ones like Deer Musk you'll like this too.

a completely different scent than the original elephant. this smells like a fresh blue cologne. like someone right after a shower. smells good but boring especially compared to the original. the notes list "elephant skin accord" which i had hoped would be in the dry down as seude or leather but its just more fresh blue scent. not sure where the elephant skin comes in.

Vastly different and much more agreeable then the original (which is trash - no, literally, it smells like trash can with decaying greens). This one is floral-forward and, quite frankly, beautiful, although it lost its uniqueness and imo could be released under any other brand.

I really enjoy this as a perfume, but not as a concept for an elephant. It smells realistically floral and slightly earthy, but nothing here screams “elephant habitat”. Despite that, it’s a beautiful tuberose perfume with earthy undertones!

I liked this, but not as much as the original Elephant. It is similar but more flowers and less forest. I will be sad if the original is discontinued.

Holy this smells so good. I’m so surprised. It’s the perfect spa scent. I agree with everything said below

Calming. Slightly floral tea with soft leather. Safe for Zoologist. Very wearable. I like it.

Does it smell good? Sure. Does it have anything to do with the 'elephant' concept? Not in the slightest. Have we all smelled at least 8 other perfumes identical to this one? Highly likely. I'm afraid we're witnessing the end of what was possibly the most cohesive brand identity in perfumery with our own noses. Zoologist took off the way it did, specifically thanks to its unlike-anything-else-on-the-market scents, and now, one by one, they're all being swapped for generic flankers. While the original Elephant was challenging, it was also photorealistic and pure artistry. It hurts seeing how optimization and marketability got to this brand as well.

On my skin, Elephant Sanctuary is an aromatic green and floral scent. I get notes of jasmine and basil at the top, leaves and water lily at the heart and sugar at the base. This is quite similar to Elephant only with a stronger sweet floral aspect. Scent: 7 Longevity: 6hrs Projection: 6 Versatility: 8 Originality: 8 Wearability: 8 Overall: 6 Rec Sprays: 6

First impression: fougere-adjacent, mid-90s designer men’s fragrance with a lot of white floral notes. Nothing animalic at all, and I don’t pick up on any tea—just bergamot. If my 80-yr-old dad just had a shower, put on aftershave, and rolled around in a bunch of jasmine, he would smell like this. Still strong after 4 hrs, but it’s mostly powder now. :-/

I LOVE the top and middle notes, but the base is funky on my skin for some reason. maybe it's the suede? never experienced a perfume that started out wonderful but gets much worse as it settles. sad! I really wanted to like this!