Sometimes in the fragrance world, houses will choose to reformulate a fragrance. Zoologist is one of those houses and has already reformulated scents such as Bat and Rhinoceros in its lineup with entirely different noses behind the “new” smells. Dodo 2020 is another new reformulation to add to its growing list.
Back when Rhinoceros 2020 was released, we compared the original scent to its latest incarnation. I’ll be upfront in admitting that I have not smelled the original Dodo from Zoologist, created by Joseph DeLapp. While our consensus for Rhinoceros was that we did prefer the 2020 version, there will be no comparison for Dodo (for obvious reasons).
Dodo Edition 2020, created by Yves Cassar is, well, an experience. You might recognize Cassar’s name as the nose behind the popular 2003 release, Emporio Armani Night. Dodo 2020, however is… you know what? Let’s take a look at the notes first.
Dodo 2020 Notes
Top: Bergamot, petitgrain, rosemary, pink pepper
Heart: Pineapple, cardamom, black currant, clary sage
Base: Basil, cumin, musk, lavender, Tonka bean, patchouli, oak, oakmoss, geranium
Now you might be looking at these notes and thinking “But Kori, you love Fougeres and barbershops, these notes seem right up your alley!” And you’d be right, on paper. But there’s this thing called blending them all together which leads us to my actual opinion after wearing this on my skin.
Verdict
I’ll be blunt. The blending doesn’t work here. The cumin is far too overpowering compared to the rest of the notes and the result is excessively ~fragrant.
If you want to smell like body odor, this is your scent. If you love dirrrrrrrrrrty scents, this might be for you. But make no mistake, this is an incredibly pungent body odor. Worse, it has a powdery element to it, so anyone who has worn women’s deodorant is going to immediately sympathize with what I’m about to say.
Dodo 2020 smells like someone wearing baby powder-scented deodorant who just went through a three-hour gym session focusing on HIIT and leg day, and then let themselves sit and marinate in the locker room after for a good 20 minutes, crammed a stick of Juicy Fruit in their mouth, then put on a jacket, left the gym, and got on a crowded public transport train car.
This is Schrödinger’s stink because you are both experiencing being the source of this funk, as well as being the poor train passenger stuck next to that person in the cramped car.
Needless to say, I strongly advise against wearing this malodorous scent cloud out in public in any setting where people will not be able to get away from you. Unless you’re a heartless bastard and want to win a “most hated person in the office” contest.
Now, from an artistic perspective, I have to give Dodo 2020 credit because it is definitely an experience. For anyone brave enough, I’d actually recommend ordering a sample of this (currently $8) in January 2021 after Zoologist is taking orders again. It really is fun to experience and wear once or twice or to gift and witness other’s reactions. Sort of like an olfactory version of passing around a mixed bag of those Harry Potter jellybeans.
Although this is an EDP concentration, be aware that it’s still going to perform like most Zoologist fragrances, meaning it will last forever. So be sure to trial this when you won’t gas someone else out.
Ultimately, it’s worth trying for the experience, but I would not recommend that you wear this out in public under any circumstances.
The Fandomentals “Fragdomentals” team base our reviews off of fragrances that we have personally, independently sourced. Any reviews based off of house-provided materials will be explicitly stated.
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