Forget beaches. Zoologist Olm drags aquatics underground

If you think aquatics are for yacht decks and blue juice bros, Zoologist just turned off the lights. Meet Olm, a unisex aquatic mineral that doesn’t sparkle, it echoes. Picture a limestone cave after rain, drip by drip, with the kind of clean chill that hushes your breath.

Small batches of Olm slipped out as a sneak peek in early 2025 and sold out quickly, which tracks for this indie Canadian brand. Zoologist, founded by Victor Wong, has made a career out of perfumes that haunt first and explain later. We’ve crawled with Bat, blazed with Tyrannosaurus Rex, floated with Seahorse, and inked ourselves in shadow with Squid. Olm feels like the next logical dare, recasting the aquatic genre from beach postcard to karst geology.

I have a complicated history with aquatics. The ozonic stuff leaves me cold, too clean, too hotel lobby. Mineral aquatics are different. They whisper quietly, like wet stone warmed by skin, a trace of metallic sparkle, a saline line that reads as elegant instead of obvious. That is exactly where Olm seems to be pointing. Unisex here isn’t a checkbox, it’s an atmosphere. Wear it with a crisp white shirt, a wool sweater, or nothing but your own pulse, it should slot in without shouting.

What intrigues me most is the image of the actual olm, that pale cave-dweller that lives in darkness and survives on minimal oxygen. Aquatics usually traffic in sunlight, Olm sounds like it strips the genre down to the bones, more echo than wave, more mineral than marine. If you loved the meditative drift of Seahorse or the eerie stillness of Squid, this could be your next fixation. If you prefer the plush honeyed warmth of Bee, consider Olm your cool counterpoint for days when sweetness feels too loud.

I haven’t put nose to skin yet, and I’m fine admitting that. The anticipation is part of the thrill, and the early sellout tells me I’m not alone. If 2026 brings anything worth watching, it might be this shift in aquatics, from neon surf to shadowed water. Zoologist Olm is not here to refresh you. It wants to reframe you, gently, with stone, silence, and a pulse you can almost hear.