Lovebird Has Landed: A Fruity Fougère From Zoologist That Might Ruffle Feathers

If you told me “fruity fougère” last year, I would have pictured a salon smoothie colliding with barbershop tonic. Then I remembered this is Zoologist. The brand that made honey feel operatic with Bee and turned airy florals into a sugar-drunk cloud in Hummingbird does not do bland.

Lovebird arrives as a unisex fruity fougère. Translation for the non-nerds: expect the bones of a fougère - lavender brightness, coumarin’s hay-like sweetness, a mossy or musky frame - with a fruit accent that tilts the vibe from “fresh shave” to “sunlit terrace.” It is a risky junction. Too much fruit and you lose the spine. Too much fern and you smell like your grandfather’s cologne with a fruit cup on top. When Zoologist behaves, they thread that needle.

I have not put Lovebird through a full day yet, but the category choice makes sense in this catalog. If Hummingbird was nectar-drunk spring and Bee was golden autumn, Lovebird reads as the bright, everyday bridge in between. I can imagine a crisp, calyx-like fruit opening that quickly leans back into herbal-green, then coasts on gentle warmth rather than roar. It is pitched as for everyone, which in real life means no pink or blue tax on your wrist. Office friendly. Date friendly. Weekend farmers market friendly.

What excites me is tone. Zoologist at its best sits right at that edge where pretty meets peculiar. Think the silky growl in Civet tucked behind a glamorous smile. A fruity fougère gives them room to wink without turning oddball. If you crave modern cleanliness but hate the metallic scream some fresher launches bring, this could be your detour.

Sampling plan if you are fougère-curious: test on fabric and skin, then give it an hour. Fruity tops can front-load the extroversion, but the genre is about the drydown’s discipline. If the fruit drapes rather than drowns the fern, Lovebird will earn its spot as the brand’s easy-reach daywear.

File this under “optimistic launches I actually want to wear.” If you loved the lift of Hummingbird but wished for a sharper backbone, Lovebird might be your next spritz.