Zoologist Perfumes Tiger courtesy of the brand
“The tiger’s roar filled the cave with thunder. Mother Wolf shook herself clear of the cubs and sprang forward, her eyes, like two green moons in the darkness, facing the blazing eyes of Shere Khan.” – Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book
A cold rustling of leaves, the loud snap and crack of small branches underfoot some yards away. In a sudden noisy cloud, black birds squawk and flap their wings in hurried leaving. He’s coming. Into a clearing he strides, low and quiet. He stops to survey with cold-hot golden eyes and slowly, without sound, he turns his stare your way.
Henri Rousseau Tiger Peeking Out of The Grasses, 1891 wiki©
It’s that moment just before the attack that characterizes Zoologist Perfumes Tiger, the newest fragrance from the ever-creative Victor Wong and perfumer Cristiano Canali. This is a scent of suggestion: telegraphed danger, the prowl, the hungry yellow eyes staring from behind Rousseau-like foliage just before the kill. In its early moments, Tiger conveys a subtle sense of unease, created by positing dry, dusty spice and vividly bitter citrus against two of the most innocent of scents, carrot and young jasmine.
Cristiano Canali courtesy of Zoologist
Unlike Canali’s previous scent in 2020 for Zoologist Perfumes, the floral, pollenous Bee, Tiger departs from the brand’s more usual “scent-to-animal association,” as Zoologist Perfumes founder and creative director, Victor Wong, puts it. Wong explains that he and Canali chose a more abstract route to convey the jungle cat and its environs: “Cristiano wanted the scent to smell dangerous. “Smelling dangerous” was also very abstract, but at least it ruled out smelling “cute” or “gourmand.” For me, the biggest challenge for a vetiver perfume is making it smell unique and not cliche. We really took our time developing this scent, and there were a few moments that I felt we were stuck. After many attempts, I suggested adding one note at a time, first with kumquat, a bright smell that was unique among the citrus family members … Then I suggested jasmine, which Cristiano was a bit hesitant to add, because it’s a floral and not very dangerous smelling, I guess. So, to counter the floral I suggested adding some bitterness and a medicinal quality with saffron. The kumquat-jasmine-saffron combination was strangely addictive, and we were both very satisfied with the top notes. So, we turned the focus to the base notes, the part which I thought contributed the darkness and danger aspect of the scent … At the end, with ebony woods and papyrus … together with vetiver roots, a dark grassy jungle was created … In fact, it’s not even an animalic scent. But I think it’s the right decision, keeping the scent more distant and mysterious.”
Tiger in A Tropical Storm -Henri Rousseau 1891 via common use
If you like your vetiver frags dark and spicy but bright around the edges, grab this tiger by the tail. While vetiver dominates the composition, the bright kumquat-saffron-jasmine of the opening sticks around to add vibrancy and immediacy, and it keeps this grassy, dense root from getting too weighty. Trying it for the first time, I was struck by how quickly and without fanfare Tiger’s dark spices and arid citrus escape their bottle and head straight for the garden. I imagine the jasmine surprised, the carrot seed unaware. In these early moments, I thought not of tigers but of the first meeting between Clarice and Hannibal Lecter; the quiet tension between the cold, amused regard of his unblinking pale eyes and her small, resolutely squared shoulders – Tiger captures a similar tautness in its interplay of the dry, deadpan aroma of saffron, the sunlight blare of kumquat, and rising dense, vegetal odors. And the longer it wears, the opaquer Zoologist Perfumes Tiger becomes.
Zoologist Perfumes Tiger and Box courtesy of the brand©
A few minutes in, the top and middle notes delineate – cardamom is clearly present now alongside dried-clay saffron. As I wave my wrist back and forth, I can just pick up suede, which adds a sort of sandy texture to the fragrance, and then, a moment later, the bitter, papery green of papyrus. A growing interplay of bright, acerbic and dusty, darker notes offers intriguing and dislocating juxtapositions of aromas of the human world – the papyrus makes me think of crumbling texts; the suede and spice of souks – and something more primeval, as rooty, vegetal vetiver begins to dominate the fragrance, drawing us deeper into the jungle and away from civilization.
In its dry-down, Canali’s composition smells like a lightless thicket of indefinable, savage greenery, loam, woods, dried leaves and bitter fruit. Some hours later, in the damp evening heat, the acerbic kumquat-saffron accord continues to bore through the darker notes. In its later stages, Tiger acquires a refined rawness that suggests wild things carefully reined in. The supporting notes smooth out, leaving the vetiver, like its namesake beast, standing apart. Breathe in and listen for the rustle.
Here there be tygers.
Notes: Kumquat, cardamom, saffron, sambac jasmine, incense, carrot seeds, suede, vetiver, ebony wood, papyrus, ambrette seeds.
Disclaimer: Sample of Zoologist Perfumes Tiger kindly sent to me by Luckyscent. My opinions as always, are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
10 ml travel spray of Zoologist Perfumes Tiger courtesy of the brand
Thanks to the generosity of Zoologist, we have a 10 ml travel spray of Tiger Extrait for one registered reader in the U.S. or Canada ONLY. To be eligible, please leave a comment describing what strikes you about Zoologist Perfumes Tiger based on Lauryn’s review and if you have a favourite Zoologist perfume. What animal would you like to see added to the lineup? Draw closes 6/28/2023.
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