Zoologist
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot and lavender attempt civilisation, but coniferous woods and that peppery mugwort immediately undermine them, whilst rum adds a rough sweetness that feels almost accidental—as though someone spilled spirits near a timber yard. Within minutes, elemi resin's piney bite dominates, creating an opening that's green-leaning and vaguely aggressive.
The composition settles into something considerably more complex as oud and tobacco emerge from beneath the woody skeleton, creating a leathery, almost smoky character that feels far more mature than the opening suggested. Immortelle contributes a subtle, almost dried-out sweetness, whilst the spice accords (geranium, possibly some hidden pepper) add warmth without softness. By the second hour, this reads as genuinely worn and lived-in.
Leather and smoke become the frame everything else hangs upon—vetiver providing that characteristic cigarette-paper dryness—whilst sandalwood and amber add minimal sweetness, keeping the fragrance grounded in reality rather than fantasy. The musk is barely noticeable, lending only a whisper of skin-scent softness to what remains fundamentally a leathery, smoky, woody composition that feels sustainable for hours despite apparent longevity concerns.
Rhinoceros is a fragrance that smells like it's been left in a leather saddle bag alongside a smouldering campfire, then stored in a cedar-lined cabinet for years. Paul Kiler has constructed something deliberately feral here—not pretty, not soft-focus. The opening assault of coniferous woods and elemi resin immediately stakes this as a scent interested in textures rather than sweetness, whilst mugwort adds an almost medicinal earthiness that keeps things grounded and slightly austere.
What makes Rhinoceros genuinely compelling is how the heart transforms without losing its brooding character. The oud doesn't announce itself with the typical animalic fanfare; instead, it threads through immortelle—which here reads less as sweet and more as almost leathery, papery—and tobacco to create something that feels genuinely worn rather than applied. Chinese cedar and geranium add structure, but it's the smoke accord that defines the fragrance's mood. This isn't incense smoke; it's closer to tobacco leaf burning, with vetiver providing a desiccated earthiness beneath.
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4.1/5 (206)