Zoologist
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
An immediate rush of icy, juniper-tinged freshness slams against your skin with the bracing clarity of sea spray meeting frozen air. The "air accord" dominates, creating that rare sensation of pure atmospheric chill, whilst juniper berry adds a whisper of herbal gin-like sophistication rather than allowing the fragrance to flatten into generic aquatic territory.
As the opening's shock subsides, pink pepper emerges with genuine bite—a sharp, almost salty spiciness that transforms the composition into something decidedly spiced without warmth. Cistus absolute wraps around this peppery core with a dusty, leathery-resinous quality, whilst saffron threads golden threads of earthy complexity through the middle, preventing the heart from becoming a one-note peppery affair.
The aquatic brightness gradually recedes, surrendering to suede's soft, slightly animalic texture and Irish moss's mineral, slightly feculent earthiness. A subtle, creamy musk anchors the fragrance to skin, allowing it to fade into a barely-there leather-and-moss whisper rather than evaporating entirely—more ghost than presence, but unmistakably there.
Penguin arrives as a calculated contradiction—an icy, crystalline freshness that refuses to play the transparent aquatic game. Rather than dissolving into thin air like so many "fresh" fragrances, it anchors itself with a distinctly briny, mineral quality courtesy of the air accord, as though you've stepped into a walk-in freezer overlooking the Antarctic. The juniper berry provides an almost herbal, slightly resinous edge that prevents the opening from becoming a sterile frozen-air simulator; it's herbaceous rather than purely ozonic.
The heart reveals Nomura's true ambition. Pink pepper and saffron create an unexpectedly spiced backbone—not warm or gourmand, but rather a sharp, peppery heat that contrasts provocatively against the cold aquatic base. Cistus absolute adds a leathery, slightly resinous quality that transforms the composition from mere olfactory novelty into something genuinely textured. This is where Penguin stakes its personality: cool yet peppery, fresh yet decidedly grown-up.
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3.5/5 (191)