Indie Canadian line Zoologist has launched Squid, a new unisex aromatic fragrance.
The vast ocean swells and contracts, caught in the relentless tug of the moon. Beneath the surface, a school of squid emerges. Strange, elastic forms propel from the deep in a frantic search for sustenance. They are not alone. Their predators lunge, only to be foiled by blinding jets of murky ink. The hunt ends abruptly as a monolith materializes, greedily engulfing all in its path. The massive sperm whale dives, leaving a temporary peace bobbing in its wake. Decades on, relics of the battle resurface. Lumps of ambergris, expelled by the whale and polished by the salty currents, wash ashore. Waste? Flotsam? To the perfumer this elusive substance is nothing less than treasure.
Zoologist Squid sings a song of the sea, a melancholy tale told through tangy brine, crisp incense, and sweet, cloudy ink, all united by the moody aroma of ambergris. Like the endless depths that inspired it, this elegant scent ripples with mystery.
Squid was developed by perfumer Céline Barel. The notes include pink pepper, solar salicylate, incense, black ink accord, salty accord, opoponax, ambergris, benzoin and musk.
Zoologist Squid can be found now at Twisted Lily, $145 for 60 ml Extrait de Parfum.
(via Zoologist Perfumes at Facebook, additional information via twistedlily)
I was very curious about whether they’d used real ambergris in this, given that they don’t usually use any real animal products, but DID in Hyrax. I found the answer on a Basenotes forum discussion: no. I’m still wondering how Luckyscent is/was able to sell at least one of the Areej le Dore scents with real ambergris, given the ban on whale products in the U.S. I don’t think Canada bans them but don’t know for sure. I remember shopping in Victoria BC for Inuit art and being told that some small sculptures made from whalebone could not be purchased by or sent to anyone in the USA.
I don’t know enough about marine mammal law…ambergris can be (and is, at least sometimes) obtained without killing the whale, so I would not have thought it would be covered. But I know nothing
I looked it up, and it’s definitely banned in USA and Australia, but not in the EU. I can’t find clear info on Canada.
Interesting, thanks.
For whatever it’s worth, here’s some info about whale bone sculpture, and other Inuit works from marine mammals. I am interested, since I collect Inuit art. http://www.freespiritgallery.ca/exportinuitart.htm
The notes sound a bit like something Commes des Garcons would have done in their early days. I know I’ll get a sample eventually, I want to smell everything Zoologist comes up with – even when I don’t like a scent, it’s still interesting
I so agree with this. I find them all so interesting and I’m obsessed with the bottles.
Really curious about the ink note!
I’m testing this right now because I’m obsessed with the bottle and wanted to love it enough for an excuse to get it. It’s reminding me overwhelmingly of Womanity by Thierry Mugler so far, with incense instead of fig and pepper instead of citrus. But the salty, inky, umami accord is very similar. Don’t think I love it enough to buy it, sadly, but I’ll see how the drydown takes me.