Odoon
Pekji (2015)

Sampling Pekji Odoon, a dry but semi-sweet woody and resinous blend consisting of pepper, a strong mix of woods (ash, cedar, guaiac, pine, sandalwood), vanilla, and notable resinous presence, not specified much beyond that, but perhaps a mix of benzoin and labdanum—a little sweet, and little smoky with the vanilla. It does not feel overloaded in any one aspect—woody, spicy, resinous, or sweet—but rather, a quite effective balance of all of these elements. It feels well-rounded and complete, well-thought-out to the point that I think lots of people could enjoy this, particularly in the winter, and it does not smell too much like any other fragrance, at least that comes to mind now, in that it’s less resinous or vanilla-laden than numerous other options, and the particular blend of woods plays really nice with the pepper to have a sort of genuine outdoor feel that’s nonetheless brought indoors a bit by the vanilla.

This is certainly my favorite of the line so far (I still need to try two others in the discovery set of 5 that I bought from Luckyscent, however), a cool weather gem that performs well, also. Like the rest of the line, Odoon is priced at $165 for 50ml, in extrait concentration, and is sold in the US at Luckyscent and a few other boutiques like ZGO. I think the value is very good here, as Odoon could be worn frequently or occasionally and has that quality of being a potentially everyday scent that also smells special, something I feel that stems from Creed Spice and Wood, perhaps a lighter, less complex comp, even, while we’re on the subject.

8 out of 10

Pine forest green. Slight barnyard, urine-soaked hay / straw smell. Very resinous. Lots of screechy wood smells. It might be a challenge to wear in public - I don't know.... Pine sap, and an accord I can't describe. Stays resinous with a somewhat sweet, balsamic vinegar note. It's kind of earthy as well. I like it. Pine tar-y, guaiac wood is what I think confuses my nose at times. Overall, it's very good.

Hmm...I am a lover of woods, that's for sure. Coniferous woods are at the pinnacle of my fragrance love fest, but I also love wood based fragrances of the deciduous variety as well. Now, to clarify, I never got my hands on the original release Odoon, so what I'm speaking of here is the current batch from a dabber sample from Lucky Scent. This stuff has a definite presence. A presence of many woods. I appreciate it's complexity. There is however the presence of Oud wood in this, which takes things in a direction I'm not as fond of. I know that puts me on the outside looking in with regards to being a refined fragrance lover these days, but the slightly sour edge of Oud is just not my shizzle. I'm also smelling the "burnt woods" mentioned in the notes, and there's a slight resemblance to Fumidus by Profumum that I don't care for either. That funk is not nearly as strong in Odoon as it is in Fumidus, but it smells slightly of burning garbage to me. I've been wearing Odoon since first thing this morning so about 6 hours now and it projects like a million watt wooden smile! George Washington would have loved this stuff! Seriously though, I do appreciate Odoon on several levels, and will wear it many more times before determining if I want a bottle. Honestly though, it projects so much that this dabber sample could last for A LONG TIME!

The opening phase is a wood-fest, with a gently spicy undertone. Over time I get mainly cedarwood, but various other varietals coming and going, including hints of crispness, but no agarwood. In the drydown some floral whiffs, inter alia a soft and dark patchouli as well as violet with a herbal undertones, are also present.

Other facets of this very nice development is a fairly constant spiciness, variable in prominence and net very strong. Additionally, especially in the second half, the otherwise dry woodsiness is accompanied by a dark but fairly unobtrusive resinous undertone, but I get neither a waxy nor a powdery undertone.

The sillage is moderate, the projection excellent and the longevity on my skin is seven hours.

A wood-lovers' autumnal delight, well structured and nicely blended. 3.25/5.

The most wearable, balanced and at same time complex Pekji's composition in my humble experience. Yes the complexity of simplicity. Melancholic and meditative stuff. Odoon starts by soon in a "cedary" (cedarwood) "sharply woody/aqueous" way conjuring me more than vaguely the Comme des Garcons Wonderwood's "fluidy" "cedary" woodiness (with a touch of "yuzu's like vibe" as coming straight from orient) but overall as by soon embellished, enriched and rounded by a deeper (less neutral, less cedary, less aqueous, more intense, fruity-resinous and smokey) and gradually growing up leatherish-berrish-piney (vaguely boozy-medicinal) deep twist. I tend to be not addicted with such so powerfully woody juices but in this case is like to be dealing with something secretly resinous-floral, something more complex, sophisticated, rooty-leathery, vaguely incensey, in short with something not just sharply woody but projecting diverse nuances of leather, resins (forest resins and soothing balmy resins), floral notes, smoke, herbal notes, vetiver (quite notable, almost central) and apparently fruits. The more the aroma evolves the more it tends to be back sharp and subtle (it seems to detect violet, lily, a touch of spiciness and a fluidy subtle virile woodiness connected to a "casual" sort of style). Scents like Canali Man, Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme (anyway both basically different) or Cashmere for Men by Cristiano Fissore come partially on mind for several of their (lighter, more aqueous) hallmarks, despite in here smoke, extreme woodiness, earth, (probably a floral/incensey combination) and forest resins provide a specific personality. I detect indeed as well points in common with far "harder" (more hardcore in comparison with the ones previously pointed out) types of woody concoctions a la Nasomatto Duro, Montale Aoud Musk and the superior
Etro Sandalo. Basically it seems Odoon could be standing in the middle between a subtle woody-floral status and a more robust type of resinous-smokey woodiness. Dry down is solid, discreet, fine, warm and virile, something really rich of nuances (spices, leather, roots, floral notes).

Omer Pekji is one hell of a talented perfumer. I have been working my way through his pack of samples since March, and even though there are only five of them, they are the kind of perfumes you have to take your time with. Not because they are inaccessible – far from it – but because each of the perfumes is such a clear statement on each of the categories he has taken on (woods, incense, aquatic, leather, and oriental) that it forces you to think about everything the perfumer must have included and excluded on his way to finish the perfume.

So when I smell Odoon, I am not smelling and evaluating just a wood perfume, but rather the finished outcome of a thought process that kind of goes like this:

“I have smelled all the great woods perfumes there are to smell. Some of them are great, some of them are almost-great, and some of them are missing a lot. Here's my answer to all of that. This is MY wood. This is what I think wood should smell like in a perfume.”

That kind of confidence could go either way, frankly. Because either my vision of what a great wood scent smells like lines up with his, or it doesn't. Thankfully, it does. Actually, it's the exact shape of the perfect wood scent I've been carrying around in my head for a while.

I am kind of amazed because this Omer Pekji has managed to create not only an Ur- woods for me (Odoon) but also an ur-Smoke/Leather (Cuir6). Given that I only like maybe one sample out of twenty, and even that one sample not necessarily making it onto my must-buy list, this is a weirdly phenomenal success rate. I guess I should just hand him my credit card and be done with it.

Anyway, Odoon. I don't know what the name means, but every time I say it, I think of “Brigadoon”. I only vaguely remember the movie, but there were small people living in a forest and it looked like everyone was on acid. I broke my sample vial of Odoon and the liquid evaporated down into an attar-like sludge at the bottom, but I can tell you that it's been ages since I smelled something that smelled this good.

It opens on a crisp note of wood smoke. It's dry wood but there's a slight sweetness to it, like little droplets of maple syrup caught inside the wood going pop, pop, pop when the log is put on the fire to burn. It is not at all acrid or ashy. It smells clean and sweet, like the start of the burn, not the end.

There's a good brown, rich sandalwood here performing its deep bass thrum in the background, but its creamy, lactic pungency is kept nicely out of the picture, allowing the clean cedar to shine. Balancing out the clean, creamy side of things is a wet, green, rooty vetiver note, just bitter enough to keep things in perfect balance.

It smells rich and clean and sweet in that natural way a wood log does when it's freshly split open. Nothing more and nothing less. I like it because it smells like wood without any unnecessary upholstery, and yet is not in any way blunt or raw. To me, it is the most perfect lullaby of woods ever, and relaxes me in a way I thought Tam Dao would (but doesn't). It is a restful, beautiful perfume, and an example of what happens when a perfumer has utter confidence in what he's doing.