Elephant

Zoologist is such a creative and distinctive house. Even when a fragrance doesn’t work for me, I admire how completely it can transport us into an animal’s habitat. Also, I’m accustomed to green fragrances, but Elephant was more than green. It felt wet, lactonic, thick, and intensely humid—the coconut milk, foliage, and woods creating an almost tangible jungle atmosphere. In the base, I even found something that reminded me of Orchid Mantis: damp, mossy and dense. However, testing this while my stomach was still delicate—even after taking Zofran—was probably not my best decision. I also made a mistake: I thought I was smelling the Elephant Sanctuary Edition, so I was expecting its tea, rose, cardamom, and sandalwood notes. Instead, I tested the original Elephant. (2017) Wrong fragrance, wrong moment. 🐘

About 30 minutes after I sprayed this I took a shit. Talk about the smell of an elephant 😂 But on a real note, the first two times I sprayed this (on skin then on paper) I hated it. It smelled costumey, like a zoo. I couldn’t understand why you’d want to smell like this. But this is a fragrance you need to let develop over the course of a day. After wearing it for a full day (on the back of my neck) I see the appeal. The opening: I’m used to green fragrances that are light and more of an interpretation of freshness. This was so earthy and photorealistic that I had no idea what I was smelling. The notes say “green leaves” and they mean this literally. It actually smells like you’ve been rolling around in a garden. It smells dirty—like dirt and yard scraps. The opening notes undulate, briefly giving you flashes of something creamy and light (I guess this is the coconut). This lasts for about 3-4 hours. The heart: the was such a shock for me. Out of nowhere I smelled milk chocolate. Huge burst of it. I asked my office mate if she’d opened a pack of chocolates or was drinking hot cocoa or something. But no, it was me. It’s a very tasty, warm smell. This lasts for around 20-30 minutes and then develops into a cocoa butter smell. All the while, you still get the dirty green atmosphere. It’s like a naturally good body odor at this point. But a little cleaner. It’s spa like. The dry down: to be honest with you, I did not notice the dry down much. Could be because I sprayed it in a discreet location. Or it could be that sandalwood is such a ubiquitous scent, I couldn’t really pick it out I rate this a 3/5. Not for everyone but for the right person, I can understand the appeal. I like zoologist a lot and my current fave scents by them are Seahorse, Bat, Squid, and Snowy Owl (so keep that in mind)

This perfume starts earthy, from what I imagine are the tea notes. It also stays earthy the entire time. At first I thought the opening was a bit strange, but it grew on me. I am not great with detecting individual notes, but this absolutely evokes imagery of elephants in the forest. Lush but not humid, tropical but not overwhelming. I spray my perfume inside my pyjamas before bed, and the base notes were still there in the morning.

A blast of green/vegetation right off the top, followed by cocoa and spice. As if you are deep in the Jungle, with vegetation heavy and thick. I don't really smell the tea note, although that could be the spice I smell. In the dry down, the green notes mellow out a bit, and the coconut and florals come out to accompany the cocoa. There's a nice creamy/milkiness to it. Very calm and relaxing scent. To me it leans more Spring/Fall/Winter day. I wouldn't reach for this mid Summer, but perfect for a lazy/low key day off in other seasons. My favorite Zoologist. I hope it doesn't get discontinued now that the flanker (Sanctuary Ed.) has dropped.

Aromatic, herbal, balsamic old granpa smell. But i absolutely LOVE this. Is nostalgic and elegant of a timeless era. I see a refined man , dressed with taste and no specific brands. With allure and charm. But it's an "adult" scent dna. It reminds me of moth balls inside big wood vintage closets, the ones with creaky doors and carved emblems on them, filled with leather jackets and long wool coats and shirts and ties. Elephant makes my mind immediately calm and my lungs breathe in fully and rhythmically. It's an amazing grounding scent. I literally just exhaled differently a few times after smelling it. What sourcery! Dense and airy while being deep and green. I cannot, at all, detect coconut milk nor cacao. will update on drydown. ** drydown is balsamic, salty, calming and divine. Love this DNA.

Oh my. When I first sprayed this I thought of my brother and it made me quite emotional cuz my brother moved out not too long ago and I miss him a lot. I didn’t rlly know how to feel about this cuz I was so overwhelmed by how much I like this and yet how it reminds me of my brother. My brother doesn’t smell like this but it reminds me of him cuz it has this easy comforting warmth and sweetness yet a kind of complex musky, dirty(best way possible) smell. My brother smells rlly good. He smokes so he always smells abit like cigarettes but also like his perfume and himself. He isn’t stinky but he smells so human in a way of he maybe doesn’t wear his freshest clothes and smells abit like smoke. I tried figuring out what exactly this perfume is to me and why I love it so much. It feels so comforting-Home like yet wild and unfamiliar and free. On my skin it starts like a dark brightness. Like something green that went thru darkness. But when it settles and sinks into my skin u get this unbelievably beautiful tea quality with the cacao, so powdery and so skin like. It has this darkness and heaviness to it but yet so creamy powdery and beautiful. I imagine like a very mysterious and free soul drinking their tea while smoking. Like a person in the jungle using dusting powder mixed with cacao to cover or dab on their sweat. Just so touching to me! I can’t grasp that much still what exactly this does to my brain but this feels so much like home yet so far away from where home is. I don’t know if this is a good description but this is all I can think of. Love this a lot! Wouldn’t say it’s for everyone tho and not a safe blind buy.

At first I really loved this! Smells exactly as anticipated, a very green wet, coconut milk smell, a hike through South Asia. But then... I started getting nauseous, it somehow just started smelling like stink, like the hike made you sweat through 5 layers of clothes. This was on track to being wearable.

Very very green, but not in an unpleasent way. I can totally imagine being inside a jungle. I appreciate this a lot. Just a good good depiction of a jungle made pretty wearable. Reminds me a little of "soft lawn" by imaginary authors. But based on memory, Elephant is more smooth and smells a lot nicer and more wearable. It really teleports me to thailand. VERY situational but so good at what it does. 10/10 wet jungle in Thailand or Indonesia Love+

Odd that most people smell green leaves and dirt. Not sure if it's just my batch but I always smell just straight up cocoa powder. It's very nice and I love it. But I hardly smell anything else on me. Maybe a slight floral or woodiness in the background. Good stuff.

First impression was, “Someone passed me a plucked leaf. Then, woah, Nasi Ulam? Hahaha.” On my skin, Elephant is a bright, green and floral scent. I get notes of basil, water lilies at the top, rice and hay at the heart, patchouli and sandalwood in the base. It’s growing on me as i keep sniffing it. Scent: 7 Longevity: 5hrs Projection: 4 Versatility: 5 Originality: 10 Wearability: 8 Overall: 6 Rec Sprays: 6-8

starts off so Smokey and astringent, smells like fresh vegetation but I can’t put my finger on what kind. Morphs into a magnolia heavy fresh tea, it’s pretty incredible how much this softens. I get a sparkly and sweet musk really uplifting it in the background. Coconut shines through in the later dry down, making the fragrance thicker and rounder. On skin for me, it becomes too thick due to the coconut, causing it to be sickening.

it reminds me of dirty shoes after running in mud and tall grass, later I also smell some creamy coconut 🌱🥥🐘 really green fragrance

starts off really bad, smells like dead leaves and dirt. dry down smells better, like a campfire/insence with some marshmellows/cream

At first I was impressed, because I had never smelled anything like it before. It’s dominated by an incredibly wet greenness combined with lactonic coconut and dusty cocoa. It’s undoubtedly unique, but there was something in the scent that rubbed me the wrong way, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what. Eventually, it hit me — it smells like an organic waste bin that’s been sitting around one day too long.

It took years for my love for Elephant to completely develop, but now I need a full bottle! I've always liked green florals, but Elephant is more of a tea fragrance and tea isn't one of my favorite notes, but recently the notes finally clicked together. The sharp greenness harmonizes nicely with the tannic, dark tea. This isn't a soft delicate, fresh tea, nor is it a spicy warm chai-style; it is almost earthy, very bitter, and sort of dirty like soil. The floral notes are high-pitched, but they need to be to keep everything lifted and pretty. The first couple of years of trying this were confusing because I found the tea, green notes, and jasmine so dominating that I couldn't smell the coconut-y sandalwood, but now I can and everything is in perfect balance. I'm also getting tired of the gourmand craze and now I need florals and even vintage green fragrances. Basically, Zoologist is one of my top 3 favorite houses and Elephant is on my bottle list, well at least a travel size.

This perfume is interesting . The first like 20 minutes smells bad. after a while it smells good is like a totally different perfume. I will get a travel size will be enough.

hearing that this fragrance might be discontinued i went ahead and got my nose on it. i strongly prefer this to the sanctuary edition. this one smells like a jungle. green leaves, tropical fruit, a tinge of soil, and a hint of aromatic spices. truly a treasure. sad itll be gone soon.

With the 2017 version of Elephant being discontinued shortly, I had to secure a bottle of it before it goes extinct. It has to be said that I did not love Elephant at first. When I first smelled it on paper, it was pleasant enough. On skin, I felt it didn’t last long and found it to be quite linear. But after giving this beast some time to really find its footing on my skin and through my nose, it has become one of my most grounding, relaxing scents. I’ve since moved to a more humid climate, and the scent has come alive in the warmth of the sun. It opens with a blast of crunchy, green leaves and Indian tea. It truly feels like drinking a glass of tea in a jungle where elephants are somewhere nearby enjoying their lunch of shrubbery and tree bark. After a while a beautiful coconut and a dark chocolate arrive to elevate the experience. The coconut is not creamy, but more so the husk of the coconut itself. Creamy sandalwood and bitter cacao dance together to add a subtle sweetness to the earthiness of everything else happening. Incense creeps its way in to add a layer of spice and mystery. If you didn’t love this at first, I urge you to give it another shot on a day you feel at peace with yourself grounded in the sunshine. I’ve tried every Zoologist and this is the one that keeps surprising me every time I wear it. I’ve also received more compliments than I ever thought I would wearing it. It creates a powerful, confident aura for the right wearer. I’m so excited to see where the Sanctuary Edition takes this wild giant.

Probably one of the most wearable Zoologist fragrances while still being a work of art! Opens with sweet, creamy tea and dries down to nice green/woody notes. Good longevity without being overpowering. Still surprised how polarizing some of the comments are.

Such a nice, green scent that dries down to deep, earthy wood. A bit more masculine if you ask me, but wearing this makes me feel powerful, like a force of nature. In the little paragraph they wrote about the elephant on the website, they painted a picture of flattened greenery as the herd cleared a path through the wood, and to me that’s exactly what it smells like. Kind of makes me solemn and nostalgic smelling it, it reminds me of something from my childhood that I can’t quite place, maybe malanga or plantain? Regardless, it’s very good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Zoologist Elephant opens with an immediate, immersive blast of earthy tea wrapped in soft magnolia. The first spray feels grounding and expansive at the same time—calm, yet quietly vibrant. As it develops, the tea note intertwines with another floral nuance that reads almost like the listed floral note (jasmine), though it’s never overtly indolic or heady. Instead, the floral aspect remains sheer and delicate, lending a gentle lift to the composition rather than dominating it. There’s a subtle cardamom warmth threading through the heart, giving the scent a chai-like character—exotic, spicy, and comforting without ever becoming sweet. The overall effect is green and floral, but in a textured, almost meditative way. When I smell this, I keep visualizing yellow and green vertical lines: tall grasses, filtered sunlight, slow movement. It feels alive and organic. Elephant is refined yet evocative, balancing earthiness with translucence, spice with serenity. It’s quietly complex, deeply atmospheric, and unexpectedly addictive. At this point, it might just be my favorite of the Zoologist lineup so far. A pity that it's about to be discontinued. Though I find Zoologist full bottles rather pricey and difficult to purchase in my neck of the woods, I ordered a travel spray of Elephant to make sure I possess a bit of the magic that is this perfume.

This is so surprisingly good. I get the exact picture they're presenting. It's so earthy and smells like thick green vegetation. It has a clean vibe without being soapy. Clean in a natural after-the-rain kind of scent. It intrigues me. I can see someone wearing this on a rainy date night in summer or in the middle of winter. And so far, that hasn't shifted into anything strange or cloying to my nose, as Zoologist often does for me. This is a brand you absolutely have to skin test. Really drives home the 'never blind buy' mantra I'm constantly saying, but this one... yeah. I think this is my favorite of them. Up there with Cow, Harvest Mouse, and Rabbit. I'm still not paying full price for only 60ML. I'll find a sale before I do that.

Green earthiness and cocoa. A little bit of a sour twang to it. I wish it was a bit more animalic, but it’s very unique, beautiful, and transportive. Beautiful

I have a full bottle of this, used maximum 3 or 4 times. My wife can’t stand it on me. Which is quite disappointing. That being said, I must part ways with it. Please message me if you’re interested in taking it off of my hands. I no longer own the box, sadly. Bottle only. Purchased directly from Zoologist @200$ Selling for 150&

For a surprising reason this fragrance reminds me of Dior Dune esprit de parfum with its creamy base and very green top. Very nice and matches the idea of the elephants eating lots of leaves 😆

This is a gorgeous green fragrance, but I am not into green fragrances. It's beautiful tea leaves, green fresh notes, it's slightly powdery, and very unique. I feel the creamy coconut too.

Enjoying this so far (about 30 mins in). It's in a tea, flowers, and funk zone that's just a bit challenging for me, skewing slightly feminine, but that cacao note as it comes in more strongly is quite nice. This is sumptuous, green, wet, and bold. Not sure it's for me -- and I lean towards a no -- but it's a shame it's being discontinued. At least one female friend of mine who loves niche and dark fragrances would love this.

Year-round banger! On hot days it really brings out that creamy sandalwood-cacao pod warmth, with the fresh greenery in the background, making it feel like you're slowly wandering on dry soils. Whereas on colder days the tea and the green leaves with hints of flower petals seem to persist more, creating a very cozy almost mouth-watering aroma. Nice for rainy days, too. All in all, for me, it evokes clear images of either jungle sceneries, or dry savannah like landscapes. Happy I got a bottle before it will be discontinued!

This is very interesting. It’s a love it or hate it for most. I don’t necessarily love it as I do with other zoologist fragrances but I think I really want this. It’s definitely unique and strange and not for the masses as moth, bat and Olm is. All that I find unique, niche and own. With elephant the tea is prominent in this but not a herbal or green tea. It’s very dry but comforting. Woody. You would think peanuts would be th main note for elephant no matter of stereotypical that would be an how many say elephants don’t really eat peanuts but not sure how these listed notes really evoke or associate with elephants…this scent however definitely smells like the color grey would. Go figure.

Wonderful on paper but unpleasant on my skin. On paper it smells green, creamy coconut with just the right amount of sweetness that warms it up but does not go to gourmand at all. The green bits to it are also so very subtle that it just elevates that coconuttines. There is no smokiness that I can detect. On skin unfortunately it turns powder like cream and loses all that sophistication and uniqueness that I smelt on paper. Pity..