Meet Miss Hummingbird, Zoologist's newest edp

Hummingbird Eau de Parfum is the latest offering from one of my most favorite houses, Zoologist Perfumes. 

It's a departure from the heavy footfalls of Rhinoceros and the rutting skank of Beaver. It's closer in tone to the light, transcendent Panda - but not in the same genre of scent. 

Hummingbird is a flirtatious, fun, flickering thing. A "fruity floral," I'm hesitant to say, as I know that name makes some people wander off, but please don't!

Our fun-filled Hummingbird is a delight to wear and nothing like those department store confections. So please, let me describe her.

As first we meet, she is darting about, making preparations. We catch pungent whiffs of juicy pear, a sumptuous rose, sweet and innocent violet, some chilled citrus juice, and a hint of a lilac breeze. Miss Hummingbird likes things sweet but realizes we may not want to go overboard, so she shows delightful restraint. The perfect hostess. 

When next she flys by, shimmering in the sun, she presents us with a brilliant, glimmering bouquet. Again, always considerate, nothing dominates heavily. Everything is effervescent, sparkling, and incandescent like the lady herself. We smell, at times, lilac & peony & ylang ylang & honeysuckle & mimosa. Sometimes we smell them all, like a brilliant flash of colors - daresay like Miss Hummingbird herself?

Miss Hummingbird, tired from flitting about, settles down gently into a creamy musk-laden woods. One is almost surprised to see her resting this softly, but always the genteel lady, her repose is as gorgeous as the rest of her.

Hummingbird Eau de Parfum was created by perfumer Shelley Waddington , of  En Voyage Perfumes, for the brief created by Victor Wong, designer of Zoologist Perfumes. 

Family: fruity-floral; Projection: good/strong; Length-of-wear: 6 hours+; This is a gorgeous floral blend with a sparkling fruity top and creamy woods bottom. Full bottle worthy and perhaps my second favorite in the line. At $125 the pricepoint is reasonable for niche perfume, and the bottles and labels are divine. 

Zoologist Perfumes

Disclosure: Sample provided by Victor Wong

L’Emblem Rouge eau de parfum and L'eau de Emblem Rouge floral water (perfume reviews)

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I have gone on record saying I do not care to smell like a rose.

And then, in the same post, I immediately proved myself wrong. Multiple times.

Why is it, then, that I'm always concerned when I'm handed a rose-based fragrance? Why do I often ignore the rose scents I own?

Perhaps I need to talk to a psychologist about these things.

Needless to say, I danced nervously around my samples of Shelley Waddington's newest scents for her line, En Voyage Perfumes.

Why?

I'm an idiot and a slow-learner, I suppose. Also, I was a little confused by the fact that one of the samples I was sent was "a hydrosol". I had no clue what that meant and what I one was supposed to do with a hydrosol. I clutched under the pressure. Regardless, it was eventually time to (wo)Man Up.

Diving in...

Spice of Life rose

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L'Emblem Rouge edp

This perfume is the first in En Voyage's new Rubicon Collection of 100% natural scents. Reading that, if you expect this to be a limpid and wan creature you are going to be disappointed.

L'Emblem Rouge starts right out of the gate with a kick. The opening slightly-dark swirl of fruits and spices is really lovely. Like an Autumn squall, the early burst is relatively shortlived, though. The fire is soothed by the gorgeous floral blend in the center, most of which is ylang-ylang and rose on my skin (likely, these are the only notes I'm savvy enough to pick out). The drydown is a lovely, honeyed sandalwood and vanilla. I wish this scent would last all day, strong, but it doesn't. It's just not that kind of perfume. However, you can smell the drydown hours later - very close and soft. It's really quite a treat.

If you enjoy a spicy facet to your Fall perfumes, this is one to consider trying.

The official notes list:
Top Notes:  Cassie, Mace, Cinnamon, Bitter Orange, Juicy Grapefruit, Green Pepper, Iranian galbanum, Violet, and Cistus 
Heart Notes:   Iranian Rose Otto, Ylang-Ylang, Heliotrope,  French Jasmine sambac, Violet, and Honey
Base Notes:  Guaiacwood, Sandalwood, Copaiba, Vetiver, Cedarwood Virginia, Tolu Balsam, Benzoin Siam,   Tonka, Vanilla and Ambergris. 

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L'eau de Emblem Rouge 

First things first: I had to suss out what a hydrosol is. Basically, L'eau de Emblem Rouge is a perfumed water created by Master Distiller Dabney Rose. It was created by distilling the perfume with additional rose petals. It can be used to freshen your perfume (!), which comes in handy. It can also be used to enhance moisturizers with a spritz on the skin before applying your cream. Spritz it as a lovely, light-scented cool-off spray and you won't be sorry. Or, spray it on your linens, lingerie, or hair for a soft, fresh boost.  


I was a little reticent to apply this to my face, mostly because my skin is irritated right now, and a little because I don't like a strong smell on my face - especially rose. I found that out ages ago when testing a rose-based skincare line. I did use it before body moisturizer and loved it - it also accented the rose-based scent I put on afterwards. Score!

I then tried this as a linen spray - directly on my bed and pillow. I'm in love with it. I was totally surprised, too, to find that my room smelled deliciously of lightly-spiced rose hours later. Impressive. But, it wasn't too strong on my pillow! Meaning, I could smell it and it was delightful, but it wasn't over-powering or distracting. Double-score! How did Dabney Rose and Shelley Waddington do it?

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Speaking of Shelley, today is her birthday! Happiest of days to you, my dear. I wish you many blessings and I can't wait to try more of your line. You've hooked me!

xoxo,
jen