Launched in 2016, Civet is the second collaboration between Zoologist Perfumes founder and Creative Director Victor Wong and perfumer Shelley Waddington.

Civet opens with a nose-tingling citrus fizziness from sour bergamot, bright, vibrant lemon and sweet, succulent orange. Soon, black pepper and spices come forward, warming the citrus fruits, which in turn keep the spiciness fresh and vibrant. Tarragon adds a lovely anisic quality to the opening that bridges it to the floral heart of carnation, frangipani, heliotrope, hyacinth, tuberose and linden blossom.

The heart is big ‘G’ gorgeous! It’s like a magical bouquet from some secret, imaginary garden. I smell carnation’s clove aspect, green scented hyacinth, the heady and tropical-sweetness of frangipani and ylang-ylang and creamy and indolic tuberose, the brightness of Linden blossom and the vanilla facet of heliotrope – all at the same time and some at different times, creating a heart that is gently spiced and sweetly floral.

But it’s the tuberose that lingers through to the base, where it meets the civet. The civet here isn’t skanky or stinky - this is no wild cat. Leather, resins and woods make it sultry and sophisticated, and like its namesake animal, lithe and nocturnal. The surprise is a note of coffee weaves through the base. Civets feed off coffee beans, so there’s some justification for its presence here, not that it needs it.

Civet feels vintage yet modern and just smells good.

Notes: bergamot, black pepper, lemon, orange, spices, tarragon, carnation, frangipani, heliotrope, hyacinth, Linden-blossom, tuberose, ylang-ylang, balsams, civet, coffee, incense, labdanum, musks, oakmoss, resins, Russian leather, vanilla, vetiver, woods.