Bee

The meadow looks peaceful only until you peer into the beehive. ZOOLOGIST Bee doesn't smell like a drop of honey in tea, but rather like a cramped space full of wax, pollen, royal jelly, and thousands of wings that never stop working.

Orange and ginger syrup give the opening a sweet, slightly spicy spark. Then, a royal jelly accord emerges, thick, creamy, and more animalic than a simple sugary sweetness.

Broom, heliotrope, mimosa, and orange blossom create a yellow floral cloud. The flowers here are not a bouquet in a vase; they are more akin to pollen clinging to a bee's body, ending up deep within the honeycomb.

Cristiano Canali builds the composition as a surreal journey from a spring meadow to the claustrophobic interior of a beehive. In 2020, Bee was a finalist for the Art & Olfaction Awards in the independent category.

Benzoin, labdanum, sandalwood, tonka, and vanilla later thicken the scent into a warm, resinous mass. The musks are synthetic, while the perfume contains beeswax, which Zoologist states is collected without harming bees.

If you want a light floral perfume with a trace of honey, Bee will be much denser than you expect. This is royal jelly, pollen, and wax enclosed in warm honeycomb — a sweet reward after exhausting work.