Zoologist Harvest Mouse courtesy of the brand

Pillowed and hushed on the silent plain,
Wrapped in her mantle of golden grain,

Wearied of pleasuring weeks away,
Summer is lying asleep to-day,—

Where winds come sweet from the wild-rose briers
And the smoke of the far-off prairies fires;

Yellow her hair as the golden rod,
And brown her cheeks as the prairie sod;

Purple her eyes as the mists that dram
At the edge of some laggard sun-drowned stream;

But over their depths the lashes sweep,
For Summer is lying to-day asleep.

The north wind kisses her rosy mouth,
His rival frowns in the far-off south,

And comes caressing her sunburnt cheek,
And Summer awakes for one short week,—

Awakes and gathers her wealth of grain,
Then sleeps and dreams for a year again.” –Harvest” by Emily Pauline Johnson

Copley Fielding, Landscape, watercolor, Bequest of Andrew Kerr, public domain

Never one to go for the obvious, Zoologist’s Victor Wong has an impeccable knack for selecting just the right perfumer to interpret the members of his scented menagerie. His perfumes defy cliches, twisting the wearer’s expectations of how a perfume labelled Cockatoo, Hyrax, or Squid should smell. These fragrances summon not only the animal and its environs but often give an oblique, sometimes poetic, reading of the subject. Consider Zoologist’s Tyrannosaurus Rex (Antonio Gardoni) with its uncanny reek of destructive power and blood hurtling towards an inevitable fiery conclusion; Hummingbird (Shelley Waddington), whose floral notes flutter almost drunkenly between opulent honeysuckle and shimmery mimosa; or Squid (Celine Barel), with its moody, indigo coldness and Japanese temple incense and calligraphy notes.

Luca Maffei, courtesy of Zoologist

For Zoologist Harvest Mouse, whose earth-warmed, bready odors recall a tumbling  Fielding countryside, Luca Maffei was an inspired choice. Maffei – one of our most elegant composers – might be a surprising selection for the humble field mouse. But smelling Harvest Mouse, I smiled: Maffei takes what might have been another pleasant, autumnal fragrance and adds a sheen of refinement. He offsets Harvest Mouse’s wheaty proletarianism with a graceful chypre structure and burnishes the composition with rich resins and creamy woods. Avoiding pumpkin spice or campfire clichés, Maffei and Wong create pure, autumnal deliciousness that is as comfortable as a pair of broken-in jeans but with the timeless sophistication of a classic Burberry cashmere.

The Harvesters, Pieter Breughel the Elder

My first impression of Zoologist Harvest Mouse is that it bears similarities to Chanel Coromandel – woolly, ambery woods dotted with rose. But within a few seconds, a hoppy beer note intrudes and jumps into a hay bale. I have got to say that I have never encountered beer in perfume before, but here it is absolutely addictive; yeasty and malty, more fruity English country ale than sudsy Bud. As I get drawn in by the beer, the coumarin-rich hay note expands and suddenly, I’m in an olfactory rendering of Breughel’s Harvesters: whiffs of cut wheat, woods, and the promise of some merrymaking tomorrow when the sheaves are bundled.

In the top, light citrus and soft herbal notes offset the sweetness of the bakery notes to come, with davana and bergamot adding some complementary bitterness and afternoon glimmer. Balsamic notes bring density and warmth, while sandalwood joins vanilla, orange blossom, and benzoin in creating the fragrance’s creaminess. I am a big fan of hay in perfumery, and Harvest Mouse doesn’t disappoint but neither does Maffei overwhelm the fragrance with coumarin; it is decidedly present but perfectly blended. What really captures me, though, is the rose note in the heart and the way it berries and silk sophistication sidles up happily to the trestle table for a beer and hunk of bread. It is unexpected, endearing, and quietly lovely.

Zoologist Harvest Mouse

An hour later, that beer note keeps calling me back, and when I raise my wrist to recheck Harvest Mouse, I get that creamy, woodsy, hay-and-rose center, smelling like one of those crumbly baked confections that feature in Bon Appetit spread of country picnics. If someone could make some viennoiserie out of this fragrance, it would knock cronuts out of existence. Another dab of bitterness, this time from oakmoss, recalls its chypre antecedents and helps provide Harvest Mouse with its intrinsic sophistication.

A few wags have noted that Zoologist Harvest Mouse lacks the bigness of some of Zoologists’ other perfumes. To that I say, it’s a mouse, people. A huge campfire or pumpkin spice scent for the tiny field creature would be as wholly out of place in Zoologist’s ethos. For me, Harvest Mouse is perfect for the brief: notes of faded golds and yellows that mark the sun and summon hay wains. Winter can be wearing, the world unforgiving at times. But chewy-soft and warm, with that subtle wink of humour (delivered by the jaunty beer note) that is a defining characteristic of the brand, wearing Harvest Mouse feels like a gentle hug from the kind of kind-hearted, cheeky friend you can always pick up with where you left off. I’m already thinking about a bottle.

Notes: Bergamot, cloves, roman chamomile, orange blossom, davana, hay absolute, benzoin, opoponax, rose absolute, beer extract CO₂, fir balsam, oakmoss, cedarwood, sandalwood, peru balsam, vanilla.

Disclaimer: Sample of Zoologist Harvest Mouse kindly provided by Scent Bar, New York. My opinions, as always, are my own.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Zoologist Deluxe Discovery Set

Thanks to the supreme generosity of Zoologist, we have a deluxe boxed ($190) sample collection of 30 Zoologist fragrances for one registered reader in North America – here’s your chance to try just about everything in the line! To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Zoologist Harvest Mouse based on Lauryn’s review and where you live. What is your favorite Zoologist Perfume? Draw closes 4/6/2023.

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