Civet
Note
Composed by Shelley Waddington
When the sun disappears above the tropical forest, civets emerge and scent-mark the area you don't enter without risk. ZOOLOGIST Civet returns to old chypre perfumes that did not apologize for musk, leather, and animality.
Bergamot, lemon, and orange flash through black pepper, tarragon, and spices. Then a large floral heart of carnation, frangipani, heliotrope, hyacinth, linden, tuberose, and ylang-ylang opens.
Coffee, incense, and civet pass under the flowers like a dark shadow. Moist moss and resins create a tropical mugginess, while the animalic effect becomes more pronounced.
Shelley Waddington envisioned the composition as a tribute to historical perfume materials and the sensual chypres of the past. Civet was a finalist for the Art & Olfaction Awards in the independent category in 2017.
Russian leather, labdanum, vetiver, wood, vanilla, and oakmoss build a rich finish. Zoologist does not use animal products; civet, musks, and Russian leather are synthetically reconstructed.
Civet is not a clean perfume with a discreet animalic shadow. It is tuberose above coffee, damp moss, and synthetic civet — territory marked clearly enough that you still want to enter.
Words from the perfume community?
