Description
Massive and stubborn, the Rhinoceros takes stock of his territory under the unrelenting sun. His weathered hide protects him from the merciless heat and eroding drum of sand in the wind, as he protects his domain.
Rhinoceros Eau de Parfum establishes itself with a dry, slightly boozy rum note, like heat shimmering on the still savannah. The air crackles with lavender and sage. A warm breeze carries the scent of leather and rich tobacco. In the distance a rugged, dignified behemoth contemplates the vast expanse while amber, vetiver, smoke and sandalwood drift on the horizon.
This substantial and captivating scent blends the traditionally masculine and high quality notes of leather*, vetiver, cedar, bergamot and sandalwood with the more mellow rum, tobacco, lavender and agarwood. The result is a musky, well-balanced, enigmatic and alluring accord.
The nose behind this fragrance is Paul Kiler.
Size: 60 mL / 2 fl. oz.; Unisex
Top Notes: Rum, Bergamot, Lavender, Elemi, Sage, Armoise, Conifer Needles
Middle Notes: Pinewood, Tobacco, Immortelle, Geranium, Agarwood, Chinese Cedar Wood
Base Notes: Vetiver, Sandalwood, Amber, Smoke, Leather, Musks
Rhinoceros was launched in 2014.
JuliaMorgan – :
Slightly herbal floral leather, smooth with loud projection in the opening. The leather dies down a bit in the drydown. The drydown reminds me of a toned down version of Saat safa by Al rehab.
ZEON – :
Wow… rhinoceros opens up very aromatic and medicinal. The leather and Oud are there then there is this almost minty aromatic accord which i believe is coming mainly from the armoise (mugwort) supported by lavender and sage. I don’t really get the rum although there is definitely something sweet going on and maybe a bit spicy in the background. On the dry down I get a really silky, balsamic and kind of citrusy mix of sandalwood, vetiver and elemi as well as a brown sugar/celery sort of smell which I believe is from the immortelle
All together this is a very well composed and gentlemanly fragrance, although it definitely has a wild rugged side. This also reminds me a bit of memoir man from Amouage in the opening, but definitely darker and more complex. Don’t blind buy this one, although it’s definitely worth a sample. I think I’m gonna have to buy a full bottle for myself.
Barhan – :
Rosewater on a soft leather.
Splashy rosewater (mineral water) on a soft leather just simple as that. Lavender, elemi, with tobacco, and immortelle. The elemi, lavender mix is just mesmerizing. I can detect big amber, oud, and sage.
Wow, this one is very captivating and i believe it’s the best one so far. Don’t judge it from the first spray, just let it settle to enjoy the scene. Excellent.
wgu081InsuffBooni – :
Opening : wow! medicine, almost clinical smell, chemical but clean and beautiful at the same time.
Middle : fab! strong animalic
Room is full of Rhino and I am getting excited.
Dry down : hm… Grandad’s garage.
Scent : 8/10
Longevity : 10/10
Sillage : 7/10
Serya – :
Pine, Floral, Oud Sandalwood, Vetiver
I love the way saffron is blended in there.
Blast of sweet freshness. Smooth not harsh like Panda.
Its going to nudge you once in a while as you detect more notes.
Easily a day or evening perfume.
Plan to wear this for long time.
Note: This has pushed other more renowned perfumes out of my list
(thanks to reformulation, Fahrenheit is now a crime to buy)
—12 HOURS past—
clean neat constant …. Sandalwood, oudy, pine, vetiver
Floral very less so, thankfully.
Saffron is still strong. Its subtle, its there.
Top class sweetness.
It has mellowed down now to being a close encounter perfume.
Gives thoughts that are .. Soft smooth creamy
Sibobetebib – :
In spite of having an exclusively “unique” aroma, Rhinoceros made me awaken a dejavù when using it. Of course it was a fragrance that came by blind, but I do not regret your acquisition, even if scary every hour of its intimidating evolution.
1. In the opening, the force that the fragrance will be able to reveal throughout its course of evolution is notorious, since, as I had already imagined, Rhinoceros is a rhinoceros in natura, with the scent of the animal’s skin, sunburned, with the saliva odor of the wild animal amalgamated with the herbs of the bush that he chews, and also of the odor of the earth to which he treads with vehemence and can impel from there an unusual aroma.
2. In the heart, the animal runs in disappointment and treads a vegetation that has small flowers, the adorer that rises is alive and not common, because they have been trodden and smell of ground with animal feet, it is confused here; I can feel a gentle breeze with the scent of Rum here, but it can not restate the strong pressure of the animal’s kick that lasts for long hours, filling the environment, the place, the forest, the savannah, the world, the space […]
3. At the bottom I thought he could calm down a little more, but Rhinoceros does not lose the segment which proposes from the beginning, a robust fragrance, heavy and full of corpulent personality. At this stage, the combination between Leather and Oud is so accurate and precise that Rhinoceros immediately refers me to the murky Aoud Cuir d’Arabie de Montale, they become identical, very identical twins. Definitely a scent for anyone who has matured their conception of the concept of a complex, daring and dirty fragrance (I can even feel the keratin sunny from the animal’s horn under the sun). I do not recommend the blind, ever!
ValBrat – :
This is what Indiana Jones used to wear, perfect!
Xeroxvgric – :
Smells of sweat and fear.
Musty leather and earthy notes, indeed like the inside of a rhinoceros enclosure on a hot, dry day. As my colleague put it; “smells like boo boo, and it do too”. She has a point.
romario_ak – :
Wow, lots of leather here. Like, that’s the only thing I can smell. It smells like leather that was just tanned–kind of a chemical smell, not the deeper, softer leather of an old jacket or something. Can’t say I’m a fan.
skandinav-99 – :
Standout artistic leather scent. It’s opening is amazing and had me hooked right away. A vibration to the accord. A radiance from the combination, that has a scent after-image. Makes for a unique sensation. A kind of oscillation like smelling air waves in a mirage. A difficult vibe to describe, but I see other people have felt this too. It’s really cool! It lasts throughout the opening, and has me hooked! Plus there’s a freshness about Rhinocerous that is unusual in leather scents. I think it’s from the conifer needles. It makes the drydown light but potent. Translucent, like varnish over a painting. This could be worn year round, it’s so atmospheric. Going into my regular rotation!
MelatoninForSleep – :
This is more a personal story about this other than an actual review. To begin with I have been interested in this zoologist line for a few years but where I live in the U.K., they aren’t the easiest to locate in a store to smell. Last week I was on a trip to NewYork where I planned on getting married. During this trip I had my heart set on finally getting my nose on the zoologist line but especially Rhinoceros!! After some digging I discovered a nice small niche store in lower Manhattan that stocked the whole line so I was desperate to get there. When I did arrive I immediately grabbed a tester bottle of Rhinoceros, sniffed the nossle and fell in love. That beautiful rugged animalic leather note blew me away from the word go, without spraying it on my skin I just knew I had to get it. Out of curiosity I sniffed most of the line and really enjoyed several but none I wanted more than this. In the end I actually wore it as my wedding perfume at the city clerks office the next day and my wife found it very sexy. Be warned however this stuff is strong when first sprayed and sometimes actually burned my nostrils a bit. If used carefully this could make a great night out cold weather scent for many. It’s definetly not mainstream and will prove challenging for those used to typical fresher scents. In the dry down it definitely smooths out but that leather will stay with you for hours.
bjgdan – :
All I can get from here is the already mentioned electronic soldering and a massive amount of… Vicks Vaporub. If you don’t know it, next time your nose is clogged use it. Not only you will feel better but you’ll also get my point 😀
One thing is sure: It is unique. But I wouldn’t even spend 30 pounds on this, imagine 150…
EDIT: Performance is almost TOO good. I sprayed it on my chest under the shirt as I usually do with all my fragrances, I never managed to get rid of it until I washed the shirt.
Somehow wearing it I started to find it interesting and more complex than just Vicks Vaporub and I understood that the “electronic soldering” feel actually comes from the oud and started to find that pleasant. However, the overall feel of the fragrance is still too syrupy/medicinal, which makes it quite hard to wear. If you don’t mind risking to smell weird, you might like this one, but definitely sample it first and wear it a couple of times before you buy because it’s quite expensive and you really need to love it to decide to spend so much for it.
lyizaazat – :
Blows away my olfactory from the opening to the dry-down. You will have to scrub your skin to get it off.
Freshly manufactured (and perhaps at least semi-polished) black leather goods. That’s what I get, and it’s pretty nuts. One of my sisters said it smelled like a handbag store, and the other said it reminded her of a shoe store lol. This is probably only second to Tom Ford Oud Wood Intense as an “ultra black leather” scent in my limited experience. Super interesting, definitely a wild choice to wear. Some people I showed it to said it reminded them of permanent marker, paint thinner, acetone, etc.
Rhinoceros is aptly named. I think the dry-down is magical, and that leather smell is gleefully unapologetic! I would recommend sampling this one before you buy it XD
vol1950 – :
I absolutely LOVE Zoologist. I own Panda, Bat, Camel, Elephant, & Hummingbird. That being said, this is absolutely disgusting. Lol
I tried wearing it 4 times & each time I scrubbed it off my hand to no avail. It was still there!! So I guess that speaks for the longevity if you’re into this sort of thing. Haha
ReAnima – :
Smells like an old man on a comfortable leather couch in a warm, cozy wooden cabin and the old man is wrapped in an extra warm blanket. I love this!
Ricricyeurodo – :
I don’t know what the heck everyone else is smelling. All I get is oud and raw leather overload. Like a couple of people said, burnt rubber mixed with electronics soldering. Which is in no way pleasing to my nose in any way. It’s extremely strong, don’t have to get my nose even close for it to start burning my nose hairs. I don’t even want to wait for a dry down cause it makes me want to gag. I get zero rum, elemi, amber or anything else to make it better. It may be the sample I got cause all the others from the line smell good. Got it straight from Zoologist website too.
Alvoal – :
James Franco’s character from Freaks and Geeks would wear this fragrance. It reminds me of watching The Clash live at a dive bar. 8 out of 10.
Velmok – :
I have to admit that I dismissed this perfume house because of its unorthodox name. I only decided to give it a try because of the many positive reviews I saw both in Youtube and this forum. I just say that I am so glad that I gave it a try! First of all, I just want to mention upfront that this Rhino is extrait. Very potent indeed! It is so potent that the initial blast of this extrait overloaded my sense of smell. I don’t know how to describe the sensation, but it was so overwhelming that I couldn’t make sense of what it was. Few seconds after the initial shock, I started to notice clearly the strong boozy rum note. Soon after, leather, tobacco, spice, and smoke would surface. I also noticed cloves, somehow (although not listed as one of the notes). The dry down, at least for me, was mainly sweet sandalwood. I wished that the boozy rum would stay longer, but I guessed it would be very difficult task to do. Is this perfume animalic (as the name suggested)? I think the dry down showed musky character that could be considered animalic. As far as versatility is concerned, this extrait is a little challenging. I think it is more appropriate for evening and during colder months. I am yet testing it during summer time. I have not tried other Zoologist’s offerings, but Rhinoceros is leaning toward masculine. Finally, I love this fragrance. It has everything that I was hoping to have; both scent and performance are the strongest in my collection so far. It may not be for everyone, but it worths trying.
YUDDOS – :
Pine, Floral, Oud Sandalwood, Vetiver
I love the way saffron is blended in there.
Blast of sweet freshness. Smooth not harsh like Panda.
Its going to nudge you once in a while as you detect more notes.
Easily a day or evening perfume.
Plan to wear this for long time.
Note: This has pushed other more renowned perfumes out of my list
(thanks to reformulation, Fahrenheit is now a crime to buy)
—12 HOURS past—
clean neat constant …. Sandalwood, oudy, pine, vetiver
Floral very less so, thankfully.
Saffron is still strong. Its subtle, its there.
Top class sweetness.
It has mellowed down now to being a close encounter perfume.
Gives thoughts that are .. Soft smooth creamy
sykni – :
This is a gorgeous scent, to my nose it’s main players are leather, agar wood, cypress, pine needles and rum. I’m not picking up any tobacco to be honest. This is no way medicinal or sharp in its dry down. All the notes blend in seamlessly to create a truely unique fragrance, in my collection anyway.
Definitely bottle worthy for me.
BAGS190 – :
Boozy leather. This is my favorite kind of fragrance, filled with my favorite kind of notes: leather, sere herbs, and dry woods. Don’t let the booze, tobacco, and amber fool you, Rhinoceros is actually a fairly severe fragrance; this smells more of the sharp, aromatic herbs of the savannah than a gentlemen’s club. There’s also a cool earthiness to it, probably from the vetiver. This is night-time in the savannah, cold and dry. There’s also a bit of a burnt rubber note, probably from the oud. As it dries down it smells something like an electronics shop, with rubber and some burnt wires. Rugged and assertive.
satinter – :
Great. Great. Great.
Shocking blast of oud at first then dries down to a juicy floral and white musk.
Smells like Sharpie marker and Auchentoshan triple wood (that’s a scotch).
Has some similarities to Amouage Interlude Man… some.
rolex72 – :
Other than the harsh first few seconds, this turns out to be a lovely meditative, leathery, woodsy and slightly camphorous scent that is truly wearable even for a woman like me who generally does not do well with very leathery or woody scents. Unlike some other wood notes that are so dry and solid, this wood is nicely blended with the leather and transitions smoothly.The wood drydown reminds me of the dryish woody resins in a sauna so it’s kind of calming to me. I can’t stop smelling my hand. I bought the travel sample set but I will get the full bottle of this as it’s quite unique to my collection.
Edit: Wow after several hours the real drydown is amazing! There is a very lovely strong saffron powdery sweet resinous wood. It really warms up and gets slightly ambery sweet. Unexpected and very nice.
alexii – :
Rhinos are dangerous. Short-sighted, bad-tempered, and often lethally aggressive. It makes sense to be afraid of them. At least until you have seen a baby one, gambolling about, having fun, playing naughty and seeming, for all the world, like nothing more threatening than a slightly more leathery and overgrown piglet. Then they’re cute and almost gentle (for something that makes the earth shake a bit when it capers.) And so is this.
The opening is indeed bold and big and butch, with leather and oud and rum, which I was expecting from this one’s big-beast reputation. I love so-called ‘manly’ leather scents with notes of booze and wood anyway, so was ready to handle any amount of heavy-duty, hard-charging, thundering weight of these ingredients. But Rhinoceros the scent is so much lighter than that – yes the sillage is big and the longevity very good indeed, but it’s not at all the huge macho juggernaut monster I was braced for. Instead, after about an hour, it’s … a FLOWERY rhino! A friendly, gentle and petite one, bedecked with garlands of blooms (I really did get very intense, natural geraniums) … and softened even further with lavender. And I’m normally a lavender-loather, but here it works just fine. Overall the effect is harmonious, not overwhelming, and its strength just adds to a sense of calm and centred-ness, not the sort of thing that clears room or trumpets its arrival. I’d certainly call it unisex and far far more manageable than its reputation or some reviews here would suggest.
So: you think it’s going to be a terrifying trampler, but instead this is a cuddly, well-mannered, affectionate little beast. I want to hug it and love it and give it carrots. Another beautiful thing from Zoologist, and one I’ll be more than happy to share a cage with.
rabiator – :
Zoologist fragrances do one of two things to me. Having never actually disliked a single one, I can safely say that I can either love/like them or visualise the message they try to convey through their title and illustrations. I’ve only been able to do the latter with four (from the selection I’ve tried – I still need to try Sarah McCartney’s and Bat). Civet straight up screams civet, not too difficult there. Nightingale & Panda are oriental fragrances in two different categories. The former being a spicy fruit scent with lashings of plum and the latter being a tingy green scent loaded with bamboo and ambergris. The final scent is this magnificent scent. Rhinoceros takes you straight to the desert planes of Africa, riding on a muddy and unbathed Rhino. The mud caked on, the animal’s sweat reeking to the heavens, and the dry heat surrounding you without a single bit of hesitation.
This appears, to my nose, to be a camphorus tobacco/ oud scent with generous dollops of rum. The rum doesn’t scream African culture at all to me, but its done in such a way that is smoooooooth. The tobacco is creamy and the oud is soft. Sandalwood and resins dance in and out, gently. It’s harsh and hard to wear… but at the same time calming and masculine. At first, if I hadn’t read the description on the card, I would’ve thought the rum to be whisky. It’s a bit smoky and well aged. The leather is definitely easy to spot, but it doesn’t throw itself out there. It’s mainly just a base, to my nose. There’s a nice development going on that just reminds me of the smells you might smell in an African store that sells culturally significant objects like music, instruments, art and perhaps food. Don’t know how to describe it, but I like it
Having never been to Africa, this makes me want to. I don’t even know if it’s based on African or Indian Rhinos. I just get Africa from this. 8/10, easily.
Serg1605 – :
I really like this. Yes the opening is leather and agarwood. The booze then becomes evident. With the tobacco swirling around it’s rather masculine at this stage. These notes settle and then the woods and aromatics kick in. I like the natural sweetness coming from the immortelle. This is what keeps this lovely scent firmly unisex.
From half an hour onwards it’s warm, dry and aromatic. I particularly like the geranium accent. It defines the others woods and aromatics.
This would be perfect for wearing in cold weather.
Moderate sillage with good longevity.
zaia – :
Rhino has one of the best openings in the business. Rich rum, then tobacco and oud followed by a sweet leather that falls a little flat with time. If that opening could be sustained, that would be heaven. Although this seems to be considered masculine, this fragrance could totally be rocked by a woman. I would love to smell this on a female! I no doubt will be wearing this a lot myself, frequently reapplying to re-experience a most appealing opening.
malikov – :
If I could compare this one to another I couldn’t, but I could say I think its what bentley intense was meant to be, this is exactly how I thought bentley intense should smell. Zoologist knocked it out of the park.
This smells like experience, money, leather, booze this is how a boss smells.if a rich rino could make cologne I think it would smell just like this. Very classy and high end smelling but very rugged at the same time. Indiana Jones in a bottle.
Bars_rb – :
I find this to be a great and original interpretation of a leathery scent for men. Strong opening which explodes with a blast od Rhum. I loved it. I also loved the dryness that this fragrance maintained throughout all stages. It’s sunny in a way. It settled into transparent oud, leather, sandalwood, amber, artemisia & pine. I can not compare it to any other scent.
Very wearable and classy. Clean. Contemporary. Wealthy. Wise. Sexy.
A woman can pull this one off as well, but I simply see it as more masculine.
Very good longevity and moderate silage. The beginning is loud, but it settled quickly in a classy daytime frag.
Tested from a sample sent directly from Zoologist.
bobrinnna – :
First of all this is quite an original fragrance and I take my hat off to it for that but it’s not entirely without comparison. The opening is extremely loud and makes me immediately think that the name is appropriate as it runs at you head on, barging and gouging you with it’s horn!
The opening is sharp, slightly bitter and very off kilter. I get a massive dose of elemi, a yesty resinous smell I usually like but coupled with a dizzying booziness and a horrid tanning leather, oud accord. This is pretty much a perfect storm of things I might like individually or in another context but when put together in this just become gross. Kind of reminds me of the more ill judged fragrances from 4160 Tuesdays, messy and deliberately weird, something I’d usually say is cool or funky. Well this is just plain FUNKY…in a stinky way. The oud is transparent and has a leathery, barnyard feel at times but as it steadily dries down this fragrance becomes more tolerable. In fact it dries down to a complex oud/rose type smell of undoubted quality but I still just don’t like Rhinoceros. It’s pretty much a scrubber for me and I consider myself into some ‘out there’ stuff fragrance wise.
I thought the longevity would be massive but thankfully it isn’t…pretty average really after an invasive and strong start. Needless to say this stuff is not my cup of tea as much as I want to be praising trendy niche perfumes there’s no accounting for taste and in this instance my taste says “errrrr…Yuck!”
mila13 – :
Original smell, but as the majority of niche fragrances, it has low proyection and low longevity. I know that not everyone like great proyection. Anyway, given the prices they ask, this is the pending debt of so many niche houses.
janluka – :
At first whiff, I smell a concoction (but a very interesting one!) of notes that I perceive are the following ones: oud, leather, tobacco, something minty/menthol, woods, vetiver, patchouli. I realise when reading the actual notes, that the patchouli must be the vetiver, and the “menthol” might be the pine. The opening is kind of rough and in your face (but in a pleasant way) and what comes after are indeed softer, and maybe more wearable for those who are a bit afraid of loud and slightly animalic scents. My overall impression is good, but I kind of which that the oud would be a little bit more present throughout the whole composition. As of now, I only smell the oud in the first part of the fragrance – the base gets way more soft, with a herbal undertone.
However, it definitely makes me think of animals, big and heavy animals. But that might just me because I already know I’m smelling something called Rhinoceros (although the real deal would probably smell way more dirty and unrefined…hehe).
layz86 – :
What a fascinating perfume! First I got hit with a ton of buttered rum, it was absolutely delicious. It lasted longer than I expected, so I reveled in it’s ambered warmth.
I detect some artemisia, which provides a certain kind of tang, similar to citrus. It aids in giving me the impression of a lot of green; not like a forest but of arid African grasslands with yellowish, light-green grasses, an impresssion I have only ever received from Timbuktu.
While I dont smell much in the way of musk, specifically, there is definitely leather, front and center. Makes me think of a rhino’s skin–rough. My daughter and I go to the zoo and watch the magnificent rhino kick up dust. It’s a good zoo that’s more of a conservation & rehabilitation center. The poor rhino lost his horn and would not be able to survive in the wild. We absolutely love him. This perfume makes me feel like I have just hugged him.
Intense woody notes grace the heart. I notice cedar and sandalwood, not so much pine, although I do smell it in trace amounts. Oud too, but it’s difficult for me to tell where the oud ends and the leather begins; or maybe they are one in the same.
The drydown smells like something creamy, and it mingles with warmed leather and semi-sweet/semi-bitter tree resins. Gorgeous!
While I considered Rhinoceros to be a fragrance I would only wear for myself, the moment my three-year-old daughter smelled it on me, her eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, “Flowers! It smells good!” I shall spritz on Rhinoceros for our next zoo adventure.
Fr0ble – :
Rhinoceros, the juggernaut of the jungle. This one gives me a strange sensation. My dad has a welding kit for wires. Well, this smells like if you put a hot welding tool into a bit of amber to check the heat, and then start welding some wires or some motherboards. Strange discription, I know, but that is what I get. The pine reminds me of that heated amber piece, however I have no idea where that heated metal smell comes from. I like it, very masculine, but quite difficult to wear. I do love the opening though, that initial blast of rum is amazing, too bad it’s gone from my skin in like 5 minutes. This and Bat are the most daring scents in the Zoologist line and difficult to wear. Great artistic value, but I would not get a bottle just for the occasional personal enjoyment.
shylbert – :
I simply found my favourite masculine fragrance with this one. I wish they did bigger bottles, definitely worth a 120ml.
The first time I wore this fragrance was on my way to see black sabbath live, I thought a big concert area, people of heavy metal persuasion, and night time, it’s the perfect opportunity to try it. Well I could still smell it in the areana 4 hours later under my jacket, and no one seemed annoyed by the smell not that I really cared, if you’re looking to please everyone this isn’t for you. I could also still smell it as a skin scent the morning after. My girlfriend liked it but prefers interlude man by Amouage, she said it’s hard to find you Smelling like a Rhinoceros sexy. I can understand that, but for me, that instant rush of Whiskey smell which smells very different to bay leaf or rum to my nose, mixed with lavender and leather arrrg! Drives me crazy in the best way. Makes me feel a certain way and puts me in the mood and mind set of I’m the boss. Any fragrance that can bring up such strong imagery and mood enhancing its worth every penny. Plus Zoologist and victor wong is a great new company I can see releasing many more great smells. I would love to see an aquatic shark fragrance, an uplifting fresh woody eagle and even an invigorating musky lion!
polfiniks – :
Even before I tried Rhinoceros I expected it to be somewhat rugged and rather butch because those were always the exact impressions I had when I visited the actual animals in the zoo. When I wore it for the first time I was totally blown away by its commanding presence as the strong leather aroma forcefully demanded my attention. The leather aroma was considerably raw, dark and smoky which led to the creation of a fragrant aura so dominant that it remained strikingly apparent for the entire life span of the fragrance.
Contrary to my belief that rhinoceroses were just gentle giants, this Rhino had proved me wrong. It wasn’t just a rugged creature, it was rather authoritative and fierce when in charge. And while wearing the fragrance, a hallucination hovered over me as if I were Maximus Decimus Meridius wearing an impenetrable invisible armor leading my army into battle as if I was actually in Gladiator. For once, I assured myself that I was going to intimidate rather than simply being intimidated.
It was quite obvious and convincing that deep down inside this Rhino was a warrior and a general of his Legions. However, it did have a softer side to balance its fearsome nature.
Though I did not find anything particularly sweet about Rhinoceros, it did display an occasional refreshing quality, perhaps a combination of bergamot, pine and vetiver; the juxtaposition of these fresh, aromatic accords with the woody notes in the composition conjuring a vision of the forest just after a midsummer’s rainstorm. This subtle undertone created a certain dampness that kept the overall concoction from being too dry; therefore, it gracefully tempered the beast from within. The usage of musks in Rhinoceros’ was very civilized, so I wouldn’t go as far as calling it dirty or animalic, in fact it wasn’t at all but simply a subtle undercurrent of warmth as a delicate foil to the Rhinoceros’ intrinsic ferocity.
What intrigued me the most about this fragrance, and this brand in general, was how masterfully the elements were blended together in a way that the olfactory experience really reminded me of this animal’s habitat. They absolutely delivered on a very true-to-life journey into the animal kingdom, which in turn convinced me to believe the artistry and creativity of Zoologist products were unparalleled.
I have always been a fan of the 80s and 90s masculine powerhouse genre, so it wasn’t a hard decision to add Rhinoceros into my collection. Even among the undisputed champions of the classics such as YSL Kouros, Chanel Antaeus and Guerlain Derby it is still a force to be reckoned with.
Rainbou – :
This really took me by surprise when i first sprayed it, a huge blast of rum! It smell so authentic, but lasted for a minute it settled down but still smelled of rum. Than you smell the leather in the back round, as of its waiting to take over the show, and it does after about 20 or so minutes. This is not a leather jacket type of leather, more of a raw right off the back of a rhino leather. I feel like i want to hate this fragance, but i cant, i cant stop smelling it, and thinking mmmm that smells lovly! I blind bought this, and im glad i did. Do not wear this to get compliments, it probably wont happen but atleast you will love the way you smell.
sveta28 – :
Beautiful, well rounded masculine fragrance, that I have absolutely no problems wearing as a woman. The leather and oud in this are outstanding. Dry, dusty, almost musty, totally authentic “dry hide” leather, rounded smooth tabacco, oud, rum, all blended beautifully seamlessly. Very light cedar and pine make it lightly aromatic, it has a slightly smoky overture…. the drydown is smooth, supple even, I think I’m in love. Excellent longevity, decent projection to skin after about 6hrs, this one has made it to my list for a fb purchase.
DarkTsar – :
This is the first powerful wood perfume I’ve enjoyed wearing. The wood is combined with geranium to create the illusion of a really vivid, bitter leather. This ‘leather’ has the quality of an illusion in that it shifts in and out of focus for me—sometimes all I smell is the wood, sometimes the leather. Oud + geranium = leather—who would of thought? Maybe it’s this shifting quality makes it seem natural and supernatural at the same time—the rhinoceros as a real animal but also a magical, impossible beast. As if you were to just stumble into a clearing in the woods, and there it is—this enormous, powerful, dark, still, impossible thing. (Rhinoceroses are savannah animals, but this one lurks in the pine forest somewhere in Canada. Creepy.)
Something warm and sweet—I assume it’s the immortelle—enriches the leather effect, and this warmness and sweetness intensifies as Rhinoceros dries down. At the end, the bitter wood is mostly gone, and you are left with just this spicy warm deliciousness. Rum, if you like.
In the opening: yes! — it smells just like the fertilizer section of a feed store—specifically like the rock phosphate component of organic fertilizer. Smelling like a feed store is manly, but also womanly—lots of women are into gardening. It’s very distinctive and evocative, and I like it.
Either way, its an outdoorsy perfume, both because it smells like pine and gardening and leather, and because it is so big. Not office friendly, I would say, though I don’t know how far it carries.
I’d sure like to own some of this. Maybe a small portion, as a little goes a long way. More of a special occasion perfume, than everyday. It’s perfect for l