Zoologist

Zoologist Civet Extrait de Parfum

$399⁰⁰ AUD

Size

60ml 1ml Sample

Pickup available at Melbourne

Usually ready in 1 hour

As the sun sinks over the dense tropical forest, civets emerge warily from the thickets. Under a carpet of narcotic flower blossoms, a smattering of coffee berries peppers the ground. The moist air is heavy with mossy aromas that penetrate every crevice, but the musky scent of the civets dominates; their marked territory daring one to enter at one’s own risk. Zoologist Civet pays homage to the age-old ingredient, civet, as well as chypre perfumes of bygone days – perfumes that refused to be intimidated by raw, alluring, animalistic musks. Civet is a moody and complex brew entwined in mystery. It opens with a spicy floral accord, threaded through with dark coffee tones. Slowly it prowls forward, unravelling base notes of leather, moss and vanilla that combines with distinctive civet musk to create a bewildering, sophisticated scent with the promise of a sultry night-time rendezvous.

The civet note in full florals — carnation, heliotrope, and hyacinth with careful restraint.

Notes

Civet Resin Tuberose Spices Ylang-Ylang Coffee Incense Carnation Oakmoss Frangipani Russian Leather Musk Orange Labdanum Woody Notes Black Pepper Tarragon Heliotrope Canadian balsam Lime (Linden) Blossom

Wear profile

Longevity

Intensity

Best for Evening

Season Autumn · Winter

Details

Family	Mossy Woods
Country	Canada
Perfumer	Shelley Waddington
Year	2016
Concentration	Extrait de Parfum

Description

Fragrance Family:
Mossy Woods

Notes:
Bergamot, Black Pepper, Lemon, Orange, Spices, Tarragon, Carnation, Frangipani, Heliotrope, Hyacinth, Linden-blossom, Tuberose, Ylang-Ylang, Balsams, Civet, Coffee, Incense, Labdanum, Musks, Oakmoss, Resins, Russian Leather, Vanilla, Vetiver, Woods

Concentration:
Extrait de Parfum (25%)

Occasion:
Sophisticated, spicy, warm. Civet is a wintery delight that reveals many impressions in layers.

Made in Canada

Editor's Notes

The civet note stands for potency in perfumery, but diluted down (<1%) and added to compositions, it lends incredible radiance and complexity. Such is the caution of perfumer Shelley Waddington, the nose behind this fragrance. With Civet, Waddington unites two impressions: one the one hand, it exalts the vintage feel associated with the civet note, turning a classical assemblage of floral notes into an unctuous and concentrated paste with evident chypric elements. The glory (begins) in the base, as balsamic, mossy, resinous, and leathery notes work up through to the top of the fragrance. Decadent floral notes constitute the heart, which is more akin to a sensation than any discernible ingredient, however frangipani, ylang-ylang, and tuberose iterate a sultry and exotic theme. Decoration is found at the top, where vibrant and lucid bergamot, black pepper, orange, and tarragon notes are to be found – producing something of a French compositional feel, deeply redolent of the spicy and sparkly top notes of vintage chypres.

Amongst this traditional play of top-middle-base, an extravagant coffee note surges through the body of this fragrance, and is essential to Civet’s unique feel. Indeed, this spicy, warm, and caramelised note is unmissable, punctuating the perfume with an addictive quality. There is some truth in the claim that Civet is a coffee fragrance, and whilst it is essential, it could never be reduced to this impression alone. As Waddington suggests, Civet is a ‘Realistic Classic’ that begins with both the note and the eponymous cat in which it was inspired – a “little sly, luxuriously furry … a creature who prowls and growls” in its context and venerated at once. Coffee, on the other hand, invites closeness with its charismatic warmth. This complex blend is sophisticated and decidedly dashing.

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the fuss did not arrive

civet the material has a reputation. historically sourced from an extremely unhappy animal and famous in perfume circles for a fecal-animalic quality that either radiates warmth and depth or smells like something died under the floorboards. i came to this sample ready for the fuss but the fuss did not arrive. on my skin it's powdery, a little spicy, and lands soft and warm, like spiced skin after a bath. the dreaded civet just smells nice. i kept waiting for the barnyard moment and instead i got a warm reassuring thing that would not have been out of place on a well-dressed grandmother in 1974.
structurally this is the mitsouko lineage working as intended. oakmoss and labdanum giving the warm powdery-earthy base, carnation doing the spice, coffee and vanilla adding depth without tipping into sweetness, synthetic civetone providing a skin-like radiance at the centre instead of a shock.
and yet. here's my problem. nice is not a pull. it smells good, i admire the craft, i can see what it's doing and i think it's doing it well, and when i sniff my wrist i have no particular desire to keep sniffing my wrist.
i think the issue is that my animalic love is specifically the warm-skin-body register, not the chypre register. civet is giving me the chypre version of warm-skin, and the oakmoss-earth thing is doing a polite job of holding the animalic back from really pulsing. it's civilised.
so: nice, well made, working correctly, not for me. the zoologist synthetic civetone is confirmed non-scary on my skin, which is useful data. it's just that "non-scary" and "compelling" are different things.

Complex and interesting. Nothing scary here.

I think this is my No. 2 scent from Zoologist. People get scared by "Influencers" calling it pissy and animalic. It's not. This is a complex, well blended perfume that transitions a lot in the dry down. The opening has an unmistakable cola accord, which throws you off the scent of what's to come (pun intended). After an hour on my skin the cola gives way to woods and musks. There's definitely civet in there but it's not dominant. The wood smells like dry oak barrel, which is one of my favourite notes. The final skin scent phase is warm musk and incense. Longevity and projection are good. This is a very wearable perfume that will take you on a journey.

Interesting blind buy

I've been interested in this brand Zoologist for quite a while, and Noah has a really great selection of them, especially I can qualify for free shipping.

Scent-wise, I was expecting a strong weird funky unwearable scent, since it's called Civet (also after reading online Hyrax and T-rex scents), but in contrast, Civet is very perfumey and actually wearable to me. Although some might find the cough syrupy opening and the dusty old wooden desk/suitcase/attic smell challenging, I find it completely fascinating and drawn to this "old things" smell.

I would love to explore this brand more, so I recommend that you try Noah's samples and the set.