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Portuguese Man O' War 2025

7.4 / 10 48 Ratings
A new perfume by Zoologist for women and men, released in 2025. The scent is spicy-aquatic. It is still in production. The perfume is vegan according to the manufacturer.
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Main accords

Spicy
Aquatic
Fresh
Smoky
Synthetic

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
GingerGinger SaffronSaffron ImmortelleImmortelle
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Gun powderGun powder GeraniumGeranium Jasmine sambacJasmine sambac
Base Notes Base Notes
Fucus absoluteFucus absolute Tonka beanTonka bean SandalwoodSandalwood

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.448 Ratings
Longevity
7.942 Ratings
Sillage
7.441 Ratings
Bottle
7.743 Ratings
Value for money
6.128 Ratings
Submitted by Franfan20 · last update on 12/30/2025.
Source-backed & verified

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Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions
ScentSlave

253 Reviews
ScentSlave
ScentSlave
6  
I ordered this blindly…
… because I love Zoologist scents, and I am a collector.

It was JUST released last week (10/20/2025), and I received it 2 days ago. I could not wait to give it a shot, as I’ve read the reviews, and as stated above am a fan of Squid, T-Rex, etc.

This one is REALLY cool in how they executed it. I grew up in Hawai’i, and surfed half of the time. I lived on the “windward” side of the island of O’ahu, where the trade winds blow 10-20+ mph 300days of the year.

This meant that the beaches I frequented had the Pacific variant of Physalia (Portuguese Man-o-War) quite often. While I have heard that the Pacific version is smaller in size, and slightly less intense in pain, I’ve been stung NUMEROUS times. It is a unique feeling, unlike any other. It has an almost burning sensation, but it’s very much on the surface, and almost feels like it’s “just outside” of the skin. Painful, and localized, but it’s like a “floating” pain. As the burning intensifies, it also has a sensation similar to an itch. This continues for a good 10-20minutes (depending on sensitivity), and then as the burning begins to subside, there is almost a “swelling” type of pain in the glands that are nearest to the sting site (armpit sweat area, if you’re stung on the arm, for example). It subsides, leaves a mark so you see where the tentacles were and 2-3 days later it’s is the most ridiculously crazy itch ever.

Somehow they manage to NAIL this. The opening has a sharp, kind of soapy,“ginger-esque note and it sits there. It is very present, but it’s almost floating like a phantom, “on the other side” of the olfactory sense (similar to the beginning of a sting). It lingers this way, and then it grows in depth for the next 20-30min to a darker, almost Smokey scent (similar to how the sting sensation grows in depth, penetrating the skin) I think this is what they are trying to call “gunpowder”, but it isn’t quite sulphuric enough to be a true gunpowder note. This continues for the next 2-4 hours, but a note similar to, but not the same as Megamare begins to make an entry and creep in. It’s the “airy seaweed” part of Megamare I’m referring to. It’s nowhere near as loud, but to my nose, it is definitely similar. This note in the final dry-down becomes the star of the show. It lingers there, absolutely loud and present (like that intense itch that won’t disappear) It’s an EPIC, adventurous feeling fragrance experience.

If you don’t like Megamare, or Aqva type of oceanic marine scents, you’re not going to enjoy this.

I’ll say it projects to a good 4ft radius, has a nice long sillage trail (just like the real Portuguese Man-o-War tentacles stretch under the water), and a longevity of over 10 hours.

I am so glad I got this.
0 Comments
ObamaCare1

10 Reviews
ObamaCare1
ObamaCare1
3  
A miss from Zoologist
The opening is horrendous - a mix of ginger, fishy leather note similar to Penguin & burnt cables - quite a headache.
As it dries down, it gets slightly better, the weird notes get toned down, but are still present, and the seaweed blends well with the ginger.
The blending is poorly made, maybe if that was done more carefully the result would be better, as individually the notes sound nice.
1 Comment
Nose2nose

58 Reviews
Nose2nose
Nose2nose
2  
A fresh sting from a glistening sea
This one was completely different from what I expected, much fresher and crisper. With notes of gunpowder and seaweed, I imagined something along the lines of the heavier Squid, but Portuguese Man O' War is almost the opposite.

First of all, the opening had me very confused, because the first thing that hit me was that typical powdery “old lipstick” scent, which I always suspected comes from iris, but there’s no iris here. No carrot (seed) or anything else that could explain this dusty, vintage makeup smell either.

Thankfully, it fades slowly, revealing a beautiful blend of fresh ginger and leathery saffron, with a pleasant aquatic base of seaweed and soft jasmine. I have to make an effort to detect the gunpowder, but to be fair, I don’t think I’ve ever truly smelled gunpowder. It really isn’t heavy or smoky, more of a cool metallic edge, reminiscent of Ganymede, representing a glistening ocean in the sunlight, hiding its deadly creatures beneath the surface. I’d describe this as a fresh, spicy aquatic scent that’s ideal for sunny beach days.

Beyond the scent itself, I also have to admire the concept and the storytelling behind this creation again. Zoologist has captured the dangerous beauty of the Portuguese Man o’ War perfectly: the combination of fiery, stinging notes with the briny, almost hypnotic aquatic base reflects the elegance and menace of the creature. It’s clever, imaginative and immersive without ever feeling gimmicky. Another Zoologist scent that truly brings a very cool concept to life.

Wanna share fragrance stories? Let's connect on Instagram @melanie.buist
0 Comments
hypopixy

5 Reviews
hypopixy
hypopixy
1  
Tentacles of menacing ginger
The whip assault of ginger rapid-flashed me through a memory catalogue of every time I unexpectedly bit into a cube of raw ginger. Yuck. It gradually mellows out to let the others come out and play but there is no confusion over who is boss.

Crown: ginger, carrot juice, yellow curry, gunpowder
Heart: ginger, celery, tropical flowers, sea grass
Base: ginger, brackish
0 Comments
3Scent
second

20 Reviews
second
second
0  
Swing and a fish, I mean miss
Swing and a fish, I mean miss for Zoologist, but I'll always give them kudos for trying unique things. I get briny fishy moss. The gunpowder and sandalwood does weirdly work for me, but I'm struggling with the ginger. It and the jasmine blanket the other notes I was excited about, namely the saffron and immortelle. Poseidon would wear this.
0 Comments
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Statements

22 short views on the fragrance
10
​The golden veil of sugar lifts too fast.
A suffocated ember on the salty beach.
The tides nibble at the work.
Overpriced sigh. Bye.
0 Comments
6
6
Carrot-like sweetness, freshly grated ginger vs cold, metallic smokiness. Aromatic, soapy base with slightly briny, mossy smell of seaweed.
6 Comments
2 months ago
2
Opens to dead pirates, migrates to gingery dead pirates, then soapy dead pirates, then gunpowder so you know the pirates were shot.
0 Comments
2
Nobody's talking about gent-Lie-fication & con-Lie-rgence, but they should. At least once someone gota get this man out of his comfort zone!
0 Comments
3 days ago
1
Love the concept and the story. Unfortunately I just get “old musty motel room” from this. I had to scrub off
0 Comments
5 days ago
1
Strong ginger up front, tannic, bright, synthetic, long lasting. I really like it.
0 Comments
4 days ago
BRO. gray, mysterious, minerals aquatic. unlike anything i’ve ever smelled.
0 Comments
2 months ago
Initial impression on paper : akin to Lie’s previous Belle de Jour by ERIS, and aldehydic vibes of Oranger Sirroco by Les Indemodables
0 Comments
17
27
The image of the jellyfish pirate fits.
Gunpowder scent in the clothes
Lemons and seaweed in the pocket
A rough, fresh breeze tousles the tentacles
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27 Comments
14
1
Masterful electric shock-aquat (stitch) with a gentle gourmand finish (healing begins). Get a thrill and have fun. Top!
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1 Comment
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