Zoologist
A Toronto house founded in 2013 that turns animals into storytelling scents by independent perfumers.
Canada
About Zoologist
Zoologist is a perfume house founded in Toronto, Canada, by Victor Wong in 2013. Each fragrance takes a single animal as its subject and uses scent to suggest that creature's habitat, behaviour or appearance.
History
Wong was working as a 3D modeller in the video game industry when hotel toiletries at the Château Frontenac in Quebec City drew him into niche perfumery. He went on to recruit perfumers through the Basenotes forum, and the brand made its debut in 2014 with three scents: Beaver, Rhinoceros and Panda. For its first few years he kept his day job while building the company, which still blends, bottles and packs its perfumes in-house.
Philosophy & Signature Style
Zoologist works with a different independent perfumer on almost every release, choosing storytellers who can create a vivid picture through scent. The bottles carry portraits of animals dressed in Victorian finery, and each description reads like a scene from the animal's world. Animal-derived musks are never used; animalic effects come from synthetic materials. Many of the perfumes are highly concentrated, and in 2017 several early releases were relabelled from Eau de Parfum to Extrait de Parfum to reflect their true strength.
Iconic Fragrances
Beaver, one of the debut trio, is a leathery woody composition by Chris Bartlett and was named a perfume of the year by ÇaFleureBon in 2014. Hummingbird, by Shelley Waddington, is an airy floral of honeysuckle and peony. Squid, by Céline Barel, pairs a black ink accord with salty, marine facets and was recognised by The Fragrance Foundation.
