Panda

#82 of My Fragrance Journey - Zoologist Panda: Something Green, Slightly Unresolved This one surprised me. I expected soft bamboo, calm forest energy. Something gentle. Instead, the opening is sharp, wet, almost electric. Bamboo, green tea, and shiso hit first - very green, slightly bitter, like crushed leaves on wet stone. There’s cucumber too, giving it that cool garden snap. For a moment, it feels tense. Alive. Then it loosens. The sharp green softens, and a cleaner, almost mineral freshness moves in. Little flashes of citrus light. Suddenly it breathes. About twenty minutes later, the florals bloom - osmanthus first for me, warm and slightly apricot-like, then lily and mimosa. This is where Panda really shines. The scent lifts, becomes radiant and airy, green but softly glowing. The drydown turns calmer. Musk and sandalwood bring creamy warmth. It’s comfortable, smooth... though I wish the base had more depth. Cedar, moss, vetiver - they’re either there, but very quiet, or not there at all. Still, the journey is beautiful: sharp green - luminous florals - soft woods. And I kept coming back to my wrist, trying to catch the moment it changed. Vibe: wet bamboo, cool stone, soft osmanthus light Performance: good longevity, airy but noticeable Best for: spring days and fresh air Honest thought: the base could be deeper, but the heart of this fragrance is genuinely lovely. More scent stories and visuals on Instagram - @lavendercloudsjd

PAUL KILER of PK Perfumes was the nose behind this original (and I think far superior) iteration of ZOOLOGIST Panda The other way, besides sniffing them, to tell these apart are the concentrations: 2014=EDP; while the 2017 "lesser Panda" is Extrait de Parfum. Chris Carbonnel did, in fact, create Panda Extrait '17. And my epithet "Lesser" is more taxonomical and less judgemental. It is a solid perfume but Panda EDP was not only one of my Top Five ZOOLOGIST fragrances but also one of my most loved bamboo centric floriorientals...period! Animals evolve perfumes can too but reformulations that are nothing like the original make for cloudy confusing waters ie: Miss Dior Cherie is now Miss Dior and the grand 'ole gal now lqb labelled "Originale". Since I bought the last original travel spray on the market last winter (18-19) only Panda extrait remains. I appreciate the 2017 extrait but love and adore 2014 Panda EDP. It's larger than life fluffiness framed just perfectly with notes from the gentle giants' environment and reflect a playful yet fierce disposition was what gave this perfume it's individuality and create fragrant magic and olfactory charm around one for hours. smell swell & be well, GP xox

So this is my fourth Zoologist Fragrance having tried Koala, Moth, and Camel before this one. Once again, this is a luckyscent sample so I am using it dabbed. Wow. This is how to get me into wearing a floral. The opening is lemony cedar and sandalwood. The fragrance is just sweet wood for the first minute or so. Slowly and slowly the greens and the bamboo start to arise to meet the orange and lemon alongside the wood. Along the edges you get the waxy powdery sharpness of the Lily and mimosa, but it stays very faint. Once the smoky incense joins in at around the 15-30minute mark, this already becomes by favorite Zoologist fragrance yet. It keeps kind of that same scent until the scent more or less falls into musk at the 10 hour mark. This is the very next full bottle I intend to buy. What an amazing year round woody scent. I honestly can’t think of anything to improve and this is one of zoologists lowest rated scents on Fragrantica. I do not understand why this has such a low score here. Amazing parfum. 4.75/5

This is an absolutely gorgeous fragrance!! I especially love how it evolves slowly, allowing you to thoroughly experience and enjoy the journey of this fragrance. This scent is like a daydream of visiting a far off exotic land, filled with beautiful & interesting smells. On me, the opening is a very green and watery accord. I get a mingling of the bamboo and green tea notes. Then a beautiful floral accord begins to bloom, and then engulfs the scent. While I'm sure I am smelling a mixture of the floral notes, it strongly smells of orange blossoms. It reminds me that the promise of Spring is ever present. This middle lasts for a good 45 minutes on me, before the wood notes start to develop. Gorgeous sandlewood and ceder start to peek through the florals, creating a warm incensey feel. It is just beautiful. This is my favorite scent of Victor's amazing collection.

Have you ever been in a bamboo forest? I have, and it smelled like the opening of Panda. Delicious, big green is immediate, then damp loam, then some tiny white flowers. Sour-sweet wafting upward. An hour or so later the wood and moss and other foresty things appear. The sourness has softened by then (and I miss it a little!). The overall impression is of a wild garden in softly blowing mist. A coastal atmosphere and definitely not a tea party kind of garden. I'm thinking of when I was five years old and spent hours crawling in rabbit trails on hands and knees through branches and brambles behind my grandmother's house. In Panda, the emphasis throughout, for me, is the dirt, the leaves and the bamboo, so not a flower-heavy garden. Panda seems to bring out the love-it-or-hate-it, judging by comments so far. Well, I love it, it's completely beautiful.

Hate the opening with a passion. Adore the dry down. This is art as many have stated before me. That bitter green opening is harsh and to my nose a little mouldy (the part that I hate). That said, it really does transport you deep into a bamboo forest. The sensation is palpable in the sense that it's so green you can almost feel moisture in the air. It settles down beautifully after about 15 minutes into a green musk, very reminiscent to the musk used in Moscow Mule by Juliette Has a Gun to my nose, albeit a tad sweeter from the orange blossom and mimosa. It also has better longevity than Moscow Mule and a slightly better silage trail. Best kept for hot summer days when you feel the need to languish out of the sun in a cool, wet bamboo forest.

**Review is for the vintage version** Panda is a pleasant sweet, green, floral fragrance. The Zoologist quality of blending and complexity is there. I find that it is a very safe wear, possibly the safest of the line, suitable for the spring and summer months. There is a sweetness, especially in the opening from an apple or pineapple note, I'm not sure why it is not listed on the notes list here. The green notes and bamboo shine from the beginning and last throughout. Longevity is okay, projection is nice, soft and continuous throughout. The price is too much for what it is though, it should not be priced similar to others in the Zoologist range. I'm definitely interested in trying out the Extrait 2017 version though.

Love this. It is what you would expect Bamboo and fresh dried down citrus on me People at work loved the way it smelled on me and already started mooching sprays I work outdoors half the time and the other times mostly driving back and forth. I would spray this in my truck,as well. Lovely not overpowering Panda needs To be a candle I like fragrance to create a portable aura. Whenever I go,it just makes it more pleasing to be there Another winner for me from Zoologist Fragrance

Start off by saying, WOW! What a unique fragrance, it is like a work of art in a bottle in liquid form. On that note i can see how some people might be off put by this fragrance. It is a very green, earthy fragrance. I straight away also get a hint of vanilla, which i think if it was more prominent would make it even better. I have not tried the old formulation so i can not compare the two. But i believe this is a great fragrance, long lasting, pleasing scent. 8/10 for me

The first time I put on Panda I thought it was very fresh and light, kind of perfect for everyday use, I was surprised by how it developed or changed during the day, at first I could smell all the musk and citrus notes but by the end of it got a lot softer and mellow with hints of soft sandalwood and pepper which I love, I couldn’t stop smelling it. It also lasted long on my skin which was good :)

I love it, it's green, a bit fruity, very fresh, almost aquatic. It's a bit sweet, you really catch the "bamboo" and tea leaf, as well as almost a muted frankincense. I think the longer it sits the more woody it gets, really lovely sandalwood, and something sharper like pine or cedar. I think it's extremely well composed, and as unique and interesting as rest of the Zoologist collection. 8.5/10

Musky, damp, green and animalic. This is a brash scent that reeks of a panda, literally. The pre-reformulation Panda is challenging, but nonetheless a very beautiful scent. Try both Pandas if you get a chance: they compliment each other. The 2017 re-formulation is much more likeable and wearable, but the old version, this one, is the rough wild side of the scent of a Panda.

Panda is delightful. It opens with a big blast of juicy mandarine and floral. (osmanthus, I guess?) It does wake up my senses like they say but more importantly makes me smile whenever I feel a little down. In a few hours it slowly fades into a sandalwood/vetiver scent, which I also like. I don't have many perfumes, but this one makes me happy!

I bought a full bottle of Panda recently. I've worn it twice and had three different compliments so far! It's also got decent projection and longevity. On me it's very fruity, and the tea/bamboo/vetiver complement the apple and citrus beautifully. I still prefer Bee from the zoologist collection, but this seems to have more "mass appeal".

This perfume is a work of art. If you didnt tell me what brand it was or the name or notes, I would say Im lost in a muddy bamboo forest in a place Ive never been to, smelling things Ive never encountered in my four decades of life. On a practical side, I am not sure where I would wear this fragrance in my real life.

A radiant green perfume built from exotic citruses, first spring flowers and spicy woods. The complex green facet has been carefully constructed from bamboo, oolong tea, mimosa and vetiver.

واحد من اجمل العطور الصيفيه الحارس الشخصي في فصل الصيف لن يخذلك ابدا عطر قوي وثابت منعش في لمسه من كريد سيلفر ولكن باندا يتفوق عليه فعلا عطر يستحق الأقتناء 😍😍😍😍

PANDA WHAT A FRAGRANCE ON THE A HOT DAY THIS WILL GIVE U THAT FRESH COOL VIBE,SPRAYS CAN VERY BECAUSE IT IS STRONG. BUT SO GREEN AND VIBRANT LOVE IT.

if you could get a lot of diffrent green plants and wash them in dish soap so everything is very clean and fresh it would smell like panda

This is gorgeous green apple scent with beast performance on skin! Little Fresh fruity vibes all the time 😍 10/10

Gorgeous green spring scent . Another classic from this amazing house. Love it .

Panda was a surprising hit for me. It opens with a dewy green burst of freshness. The green note is adjacent to the type of generalised "green" note that's in YOSLY. There's a coolness to it, almost like the cooling menthol aspect of real mint, but without the actual mint. Light lemon citrus is also noticed, adding freshness the way lemon adds freshness to aquatic scents. This fragrance actually feels like a 50/50 green/aquatic scent in the opening. After about half an hour, a mossy musk begins to sneak in underneath the green, with a light yellow floral aspect. Soft wood notes enter the base as well. I know some of the Zoologist lines seem like purely olfactory experiences and art fragrances that require a certain type of bold personality to dare wear them, but Panda doesn't feel "gimmicky" at all. It's a watery green fragrance with soft wood and musk that stands on it's own as a unique-but-not-too-out-there Spring or Summer scent. When testing, make sure to wait for the full dry down on the skin before deciding on a full bottle purchase.

I have a new, reformulated version, so can judge only that. In a bottle and on a tester “Panda” is a light, sparkling, green fragrance. Perfect for summer sunny day. On me, with my particular skin chemistry, it becomes something different. Opens green, deep, humid, but initial attack very quickly changes into a wonderful, realistic smelling tropical fruit. Not rotting, but succumbing to humidity. I distinctly smell mango and hints of passionfruit. As aroma continues developing, green lightness of “Panda” completely disappears. It becomes sweet, slightly woody. This is a panda sitting in its sunny enclosure. Another nice work by Zoologist. Complex, fun and utterly pleasant. Definitive like, just not my cup of tea.

This is such an interesting perfume. There are so many realistic nuances in this, including a subtle mammalian musk that becomes less subtle as the fragrance settles. Every time I smell it I get different notes: bamboo, osmanthus, and mossy woods. I visualize bright green, slender leaves; soft fur; and lazy sunshine casting light on supple flower petals and loamy earth. A happy panda endlessly chewing on fresh bamboo shoots. I love the imagery and the execution, but if I'm to be honest, the animal musk (which is always amplified by my skin) feels a little too real sometimes. Still, I like it a lot as olfactory art, but I'm not sure I can wear it like typical perfume.

One thing I really find interesting with Zoologist is, how they go about their fragrances and how they seem to fit perfectly, with their description. When you think of a Panda, you think of Bamboo trees, greenery, etc., this is exactly what you get with this to me. A perfect fit for the cool, spring weather. On the other hand, My wife said it reminded her of an Estee Lauder fragrance, I asked if it was pleasures ( seen in the reminds me of ) and she said Thats it!... not that it smelled exactly like it, but definitely reminded her of it. So, take that as you may. It's a nice one to check out but, not a love for me. It's enjoyable.

Panda is beautiful, and so unique! The sweetest whole citrus fruits--Mandarin, and Buddha's Hand Citron. Combine that with an aromatic rainforest aroma, the Sichuan pepper registers almost like eucalyptus vapors. Delicate flowers, mosses,bamboo, green woods abide, but the ripe citrus sweetness is continuous, which makes the greenness of it more enjoyable. There is a note that shows up only sometimes that reminds me of the literal smell of panda--a fur smell that never gets overwhelming. Very natural-smelling. I love it. Not sure when I will feel compelled to smell like this panda dream, but I will do it again.

Zoologist's Panda is a lovely scent, but for me it's very feminine, not unisex. The first time I tried it on the my wrist, it was nice - orange blossom and bamboo, drying down to a lighter version, with a hint of green tea. But when I wore it to work (just a single spray onto my chest), it turned into an orange blossom Bomb. Orange blossom was the only thing I could smell for two hours, almost giving me a headache, before I could get to the men's room at work to scrub it off as best I could (still in my clothing though). Pretty scent - just not for me.

Panda is one of the less talked about Zoologist fragrances. I can see why, it is green and nice, but that is just about it. This one does not feel to special too me. I get bamboo with some other green notes and dampness (as if it just rained in a bamboo forest). This one does not project well and I can barely smell it after three hours. Good thing Zoologist released Macaque, as for me, it is a superior green scent which lasts a lot longer, projects better and just smells better. This one is worth sampling, but I would not recommend a whole bottle.

This has no right to be so good! Looking at the notes this seems so simple and pleasant, but boring. However, on skin, this thing is downright amazing. Starts out a little "uriney" in the top, but then moves into a beautifully sweet, but somehow moldy/damp mix of alluring greenness. It is perfectly balanced throughout the entire life of the scent. This thing also lasts forever on skin (12+ hours easily). This is done extremely well and makes me want to try everything from this house. If this is what a panda smells like, I want to be a panda.

recently got a sample of this which I believe is the newer version (not the 2017) however, the notes I'm getting line up with the notes listed for the older batch. opens up with clean apple/tea notes and immediately dries down to a very earthy almost soil-like note with a hint of patchouli. Once it's really settled in, sandalwood and vanilla take center stage with a bit of musk in the background. overall, very nice frag and would recommend getting a sample. Nothing I've tried from zoologist is blind buy safe aside from maybe penguin.

I'm getting something quite different than the other reviews I've read. To me Panda is a "foody" perfume, because at it's initial (and loudest) phase it smells like rice with bamboo sprouts. When the bamboo fades, after a couple of hours, it becomes more "perfumey", but at that stage it's so completely different that I don't know what I'm smelling anymore. I find it nice, but i also find the bamboo too strong for me.

To me this is mainly a lily and orange blossom dominated floral perfume. The greenness that is discussed so much in reviews blows off rather quickly for me. The bamboo isn't very literal. Overall, I find it pleasant in a kind of melancholy way. (Later.) The drydown is quite nice, and actually more evocative of bamboo. Like the slightly floral smell of a heated bamboo steamer.

top: masculine, cologne, fresh, clean, musky, generic, minty middle: same as before, more subtle, leather base: powdery, wet, fresh, synthetic This is actually not a bad fragrance, smells a bit over done and similar to some other fragrances out there. Honestly a more wearable fragrance then some other zoologists. overall an 8/10

So...nobody but me gets a waft of juicy pineapple from this?Really, for the first half an hour Panda has me crawling along the jungle floor dragging a dirty pineapple behind me.I also get a nice animalistic oud a.k.a. panda ass.This one is green but not at all clean. I kinda love it!

the opening is extremely green and soily, smells like rain and mud, but on the dry down it's so nice and clean, perfect amount of freshness and musk. Nice fragrance for outdoor activities (hiking, camping) but not wearable outside of that context tbh. Lasts forever.

It's utterly fresh, clean and a calming green scent. Perfect for hot weather. Pleasingly combines bitter green, aromatic citrus notes and powdery floral notes. It put me for sure into the most serene and peaceful mood.

I didn't expect to like this as 'green' fragrances are not usually my cuppa. This is a soft smooth slighly grassy, slightly powdery balanced smell. defo up for further investigation

A likable summertime fragrance. Those like myself, without a lot of note discrimination, are likely to view it as aquatic. A non-aquatic aquatic, if you will. Quite pleasant stuff.

Complex and interesting fragrance. Smells beautiful and photorealistic in the air. Reminds me of being on a well-put together golf course and walking by the ponds.

I always test my Zoologist samples before I shower; this fragrance is exactly why. To my nose, this opens with a stinky, outdoor animal cage smell, with a fuzzy creature sitting in its own urine. Thankfully that strong urine smell (and it is STRONG) only lasts a few minutes before it dries into a slightly agrestic scent. A mix of green, yellowed, and dried leaves. It is very clearly bamboo to my nose. If you aren't familiar with what that smells like, it's sort of like dry tree bark from an aspen or birch tree, and grass but the long kind that cuts your hand and overtakes fields, not a suburban fresh cut grass smell. Still a good amount of urine undertone at this point, but it sits closer to my skin so I don't think someone else would notice. After a few more minutes I start to get white tea, and white floral notes, with a bit of citrus. It sits as a powdery slightly musky scent but with mostly white floral notes projecting. When I smell my arm it's kind of delightful until I pull away and on my exhale that uranic opening still haunts me. I hated it at first but it's growing on me as I sit. The urine and animal smell I hated at the beginning eventually adds an intoxicating addictive quality to the scent, a throughline of all the Zoologist fragrances I've tested on my skin. I can't imagine upgrading my sample but I'm grateful for the journey. I imagine this working well for spring and summer.

The notes of Panda really intrigued me but unfortunately this one was not for me. The green middle note is really strong and actually burned my nose for several hours. To me it smells extremely fresh and leafy, a very complex profile that I mostly enjoyed smelling throughout my wear, until it became too much and I had to wash it off. Close to the skin at about the 4 hour mark, it dries down into a delicious earthy musk, and I wish that scent was the entire journey rather than just the end. The middle notes are extremely long lasting on textiles, and I kept finding myself smelling “perfume ghosts” as I walked around my apartment. It really filled up my room all day. Even 14+ hours later, I can still smell the strong green notes on my couch cushions and bed covers. Overall, the scent reminds me of a wealthy, distinguished older gent. Not overly masculine, but not feminine. Ultimately not for me. And unfortunately, I never got the apple or mandarin notes.

This seems to be a crowd divider, but reading the reviews here I'm surprised at how many people seem to despise it, because I don't really think it's bad. Though I might be biased because I was gifted a bottle that I don't want to sell. This is the smell of a rainforest, a realistic one with dirt and mud mixed with the greenery and fruit. The citrus is very tangy and unique. The one drawback is the damn civet that Zoologist puts in so many scents. It does knock this down a couple notches. It is a druidic scent to me, a natural scent that's down to earth in more ways than one. I guess you have to make your own opinion on this one.

When I first sprayed it, bitter bamboo immediately slapped me in the face. It had a deep, earthy, masculine scent. Honestly, it wasn't unpleasant... but I wasn't crazy about it, either. To me it was similar to a smoky, tobacco-like bamboo with all of the other notes belittled by it. I wanted to like this one, because how cute is it theming a bamboo fragrarance with a panda? It disappeared on my skin almost instantly. I had to respray it several times throughout the day. Just to try, I sprayed it on my skin before I went to sleep and woke up. There was no hint of on me a few moments after I slept.

The opening is a green, almost barbershop smell. I was expecting more green, but it’s masculine in a way that is unpalatable to me. I can wear colognes and other fragrances, but this, to me smells like the panda was late to an event, sweating out of nervousness (there’s a wet fur note that I really didn’t care for) and put on an insane amount of bathroom cologne before walking out and acting like nothing happened. I didn’t get any of the bamboo or apple, which was what I seemed most excited for. Could work for someone else but not my cup of tea. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

I am a lover of all things fresh and green, but this might be overkill even for me. The opening is bitingly green and astringent. Definitely evocative of a bamboo forest, but it's just so powerfully bitter. As it dries down, it becomes soapier with the mimosa and tea becoming more apparent. Musks and moss remain in the end. I think it loses some of that "panda" vibe at this point, though it is certainly more approachable towards the back end of its lifespan. Lasts long, projects well.

The juiciness of this is extremely bold, it's almost cartoonishly lush. I can pick up hints of spice, notably the incense, but it's not enough to balance out the overwhelming greenness. Unfortunately, I detect no tea or moss incense to ground this. Crazy projection from this - I kept smelling it while eating my lunch and it almost ruined my appetite. Yes, this nails the brief and I want all my friends to smell it for novelty sake, but it's not for me.

i dislike the opening but is gets better the longer it is on skin. harsh green opening and becomes fresh green air. smooth minerals and creamy green woods. seems to last, may be difficult to sense directly, but noticeable in the air every once in a while. i don't see myself wearing this, and would prefer to notice this on someone else.

The original version of Panda is to my nose a pungent, lightly sour, green scent sitting on a somewhat soapy background. If sprayed only once it makes for a pleasant enough damp, green skin scent, but anything more than that will give it a rotting vegetal feel, which is frankly disgusting to my nose. 4.5/10.

kinda smells like cat pee? def green but smells super artificial to me- i'm not a huge fan of the bitter notes in this one because it doesn't really blend well. if it was fresher, lighter, and had some fruitiness to it to balance out the bitterness it would be great but i'll see how it grows on me

Like...not love. For some reason, the citrus notes stand out more for me. There is an earthy quality but not much. Would like more of the bamboo. But this is a gentleman. Clean, crisp, woody base. At least for me. Not a favorite of mine from Zoologist but I would wear it.