Dorian

[Mamma Badger]

Inspired by and created for my beloved Tedwin: my eternal, beautiful, wicked Dorian Gray. Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.

Sadly as much as I want this to work I have just reminded my self why I didn't like this the first time I tried it. As soon as I put it on it becomes lemon furniture polish on my skin. After a while the vanilla comes out a bit but the furniture polish smell is still overwhelming.

[Icekitten]

From the imp: A strong lemon scent but creamy

 

Wet: starts to smell like lemon cake

 

Dry: I smell a soft but lemony scent with cream and tea.

[yakiguri]

Dear Dorian,

How have you not come into my life earlier? You are warm, sweet, and creamy without being cloying and sour. The lemon others have claimed you have does not show up at all, which I am thankful for since that was the one thing I feared might harm our relationship. But rather than seeing myself disappointed and sad I am besotted, wanting your scent on myself, my hair, my bedding...I just cannot get enough of you. And you are glad to return the favor, your scent staying with me all throughout my work day and even into the night with just one application.

 

If you were to disappear from my life forever I would die I tell you, I would die. Your creators must know it would be a crime to ever let you go. I know I will not.

 

Your girl forever,

yakiguri

[calivianya]

Dorian is a lovely, soft, lemon vanilla tea scent both in the imp and wet. As it dries down, the lemon becomes less and less pronounced and the vanilla shines through. This is a very beautiful scent, absolutely bottle worthy.

[paradoxicaljlb]

The citrus quality others have described seems more like bergamot to me, making the tea note not just a regular black tea but more like Earl Grey. This is the most prominent note, but after a few minutes, it mellows and the vanilla sweetness becomes more prominent. There's also something a little earthy and shadowy ... maybe oakmoss ... that is just barely detectable after a few hours on. Dorian lasts through the day on me, and it doesn't smell strongly feminine or masculine. Bonus points for the occasional whiff of sexy spicy sugar cookie that I get with this one. This is a must-try for tea lovers.

[Rhian]

Dorian reminds me of a darker, more sinister Antique Lace. It's the sweetest of sweet tea with a hint of vanilla, and then there's a dark undercurrent which I assume is the fougère. It's hard to define, but I think there's definitely something ferny/mossy/green in there. It gives it a quality that I really associate with men's cologne, but it's not dominant enough to make this into a men-only scent. It's heady, and the musk comes out after a while to dim the fougère, but the sweetness remains throughout until that's all there is left.

 

I applied just a smidgen and it threw like anything, so it's not one for slathering. A little goes a long way and lasts a long time (overnight, in my case).

 

I'm not always in the mood for Dorian, as it's very commanding, but I'd still rate it among my favourites.

[owlfeathers]

I got an imp of Dorian for the vanilla and tea notes. Dried down, it smells exactly like the lemon cookies my mother let me use for tea parties when I was little. No trace of the tea itself, though. I'll have to try again sometime, but I don't think this one's for me. I'd rather not smell like tray of lemon cookies.

[StevenBoatman]

Ah, I am loving this scent! A bit of sugary vanilla, a drop of strong tea, and a generous squeeze of lemon. This is a great scent, I absolutely love it! I only wish it lasted longer on my skin, but that can't be helped.

 

10/10-On the "Big bottle ASAP" list

[LittleMissAspie]

Reading these reviews makes me wonder if they accidentally left the vanilla out of mine because I can't smell the slightest hint of it. I got this to try out on my boyfriend and on both him and me it smells like lavender talcum powder. I get a bit of citrus in the bottle but that disappears on the skin. Once it's dried down it just smells like a soft lavender talc that an elderly lady would wear. It's a mild and inoffensive scent but not one I want to smell like and definitely not what I want my boyfriend to smell like!

 

Boyfriend's opinion: "A bit too light and feminine but a nice scent".

 

3 out of 5.

 

Edit: It would seem I was too hasty to sample my new goodies. The Dorian imp is 6-8 weeks old now and I can definitely smell the vanilla and the tea too. It changes the scent a lot and it's a lot more warm now. The lavender and lemon are still in the background making it a more manly scent than just vanilla tea, although I would call it gender neutral. No more old ladies in it! I actually would prefer it to be just vanilla tea, it would be perfect then.

 

Upgraded to 4 out of 5.

Edited February 23, 2011 by LittleMissAspie

[hersphinxness]

Oh, Dorian. If you knew how much I love your namesake...

 

I knew I wouldn't like this one, because of the vanilla. I am very much opposed to vanilla. I knew it was futile, but I had to try it anyway.

 

Yep, vanilla and sugar. Maybe a tea-ish note there? Mostly vanilla and sugar. While I enjoy tea and tiny cakes you might have with tea, smelling like them is not my thing. Absolutely lovely if you dig that, however.

[levelek]

Wet: TKO rolled around in vanilla and went on the prowl.

 

Drydown: the tea note emerges strongly.

 

Dry: Vanilla is the most dominant , the tea is only there to keep it fresh, and TKO recedes to the background.

 

I prefer tonka to vanilla, and not mad about tea. Not a favourite, but I will use it up.

[lygophilous]

I can't stop thinking about this man whenever I think about Dorian Gray. Though he does have that sort of debauched Goethe's Mephistopheles 19th-century look about him (side note: Trent Reznor did it better). Please please please let the scent live up to the image!

 

In the imp, I'm extremely intrigued! Sweet honey nectar, and sharply musky. Not too much like food, although I'm wondering what it will turn out like on my skin. I don't get the scent of tea at all.

 

Wet on the skin, and I still like, although I'm somewhat concerned by smelling like a vanilla honey cake all day long. It's rather strong and practically throws across the room. This definitely is not an every day scent. I'm enjoying the combination of sweetness and darkness all in one. The musk plus the sugary honey is a fascinating mix.

 

Dry on the skin, thirty-five minutes later, and I think I suffocated a co-worker. This scent has a powerful throw, which is not something I would recommend for the daytime work environment. However, I think this is a perfect play scent that ages spectacularly well (just like it's namesake, of course!). Seriously, the longer you wear it, the better it gets, while it doesn't lose it's fervor at all. After an hour and a half, there is a small powdery twist to the musk (but this happens on me for all musks and sandalwoods, so this might be just my skin), but interestingly enough, the extra something just makes it more interesting.

 

Overall, I will probably get the bottle of this scent... eventually. It's by far one of the best play scents I've found. Dorian is strikingly similar to the fictional Dorian Grey. Lasts a long time, doesn't get old on your skin, and just gets better as time passes. The only possible downside is the strength of the scent. Wow, does it stick around and float all over the place.

 

I did have an odd occurrence when I washed up in the restroom where the perfumed soap made Dorian smell weird. I'll just have to be wary of scented soaps/lotions whenever I wear Dorian in the future!

[pteron]

I ordered this imp for a friend, who graciously allowed me to test it first. (Thank you!)

 

The oil is a very light, pale yellow. In the imp, Dorian smells sweet, but with a kick behind it I can't properly describe.

 

On my skin, my immediate reaction is candied vanilla! There's a bit of a murkiness to it, which I imagine are the musks, but the murk don't cover up any of the sweetness.

 

After a few minutes, a smell comes out that I can best describe as rubbing alcohol. The vanilla is still there, but it's become much more astringent. Another few minutes and Dorian settles into vanilla-scented Lysol.

 

Overall thoughts: The initial sugared vanilla stage, while nice, was too foody for my tastes, though someone who doesn't mind sweet or food-based scents would probably enjoy it. The second stage was too sharp and off-putting; there must be something in here that doesn't agree with my skin, though I don't know what as I've never used another oil containing any of these ingredients. This was only the second BPAL scent where I was exceedingly happy to wash it off early (the other being Langour, also from Sin & Salvation). Experimenting with Dorian has made me realise that, while I enjoy the taste of vanilla and even have some vanilla candles, I prefer not to smell like it, so cheers for that.

[angelicreprieve]

I could almost stop searching for the perfect BPAL right now ...

 

First applied I thought "powdered vanilla cake!" After a few minutes of drydown the cakeyness was gone and it was more a straight powdered vanilla sugar ...Its a very elegant and refined vanilla, it does have quite a bit of throw. Its sweet and dark at the same time...

 

It dries down to delicious delicious vanilla. There's something a little cold in the background, I guess its the tea ...

[Vickery]

Lab Fresh

 

In the bottle: Oooh. This smells like vanilla, earl grey, & lavender. I detect hints of lemon, but they are fleeting.

 

Wet: The lavender is very pronounced and holds hands with the musks. The tea note is waving in the background, I have forgotten that this was supposed to have vanilla in it. Lemon completely vanished. Never to return (yesssss).

 

Dry: Mmm. This morphs into a comforting smell of boyfriend t-shirts that still smell a bit like lavender vanilla fabric softener. & tea. I suppose boyfriend could have spilled black tea on his t-shirt. This is such a comforting smell, warm. I cannot decide if I want to wear it - or if I want my boyfriend to. Hmm...

 

Note: I opened up my bpal package at my mom's, and she grabbed Dorian, put some on her wrist, wowed, and immediately went off to order some.

 

5/5 So, so, so good. If this gets better as it ages - I might just have to buy a drum from BPAL.

[lejlkwiet]

I loved Dorian in the bottle but sadly as soon as I put it on the musk amped up like crazy, and not in a good way. I can smell the sweet vanilla underneath and it's lovely, but I'm not too sure I like this on me. The vanilla does seem to come into its own after a while and it's more enjoyable then, but I'm still going to need to try it out a couple more times before I make up my mind on this one.

 

Editing after a few hours: Wow, the change in scent is amazing, the musk has completely faded into the background, keeping the scent warm with sugary vanilla strongly on top. I think I've changed my mind about this, it's a lovely scent and should be great for cold evenings. I just have to be sure to apply it a couple of hours before going out. Moderate throw but very long lasting.

Edited March 7, 2011 by lejlkwiet

[cuppycake]

in the imp:

 

there's wifts of sweet, creamy vanilla floating up tantalizingly.. i almost feel like i can drink this smell. it's almost warm, like vanilla honey slipping down your throat.. but strangely enough, i'm not getting whiffs of tea. which is a bit of a let down because i really love the bergamot fragrance of earl grey. still, this is really quite lovely. i can't wait to put it on.

 

sniffie meets skin:

 

yummilicious. i'm wearing dorian on my wrist and neck and the beautiful vanilla is surrounding me like a warm blanket. i'm getting hints of musk now, which enacts a cozy feeling, like i'm lying against warm scented cushions in a victorian arm chair. it's starting to mature a little.. nothing too sweet or cloying. this is a refined scent with just a hint of lavender to put me at ease. i'm surprised by how feminine this scent is on me.. i was prepared for something more androgynous, but i'm not complaining. it's not foody at all; i don't do gourmand scents.. and even antique lace's vanilla was a bit too much for me. i wish it had a better throw on me though.. although i guess the fact that you have to cozy up in order to appreciate it makes this blend just that bit more sexy.

 

right now, i'm very much loving the blend. will update this after i've worn the blend for longer. for now, i'm off to enjoy my little private time with dorian, so excuse moi.

 

 

ETA: i was wrong about the throw, Dorian's presence is indisputable, but never overbearing. this is a polished, dignified gentleman.. yet, there is just a bit of darkness which weighs the scent down. there's sugar, but this is in no way a buoyant scent. i'm starting to get a tinge of an antique sophistry to it, a very subtle mix of bitter tea leaves and ferns lying quietly beneath the creamy, seductive vanilla. this is a really deep blend.

 

i can't wait to try it on my love. i'd better make sure that no one's home when i do though, because this is just the scent that unlocks some carnal desires. Dorian is very sensual, very loved.

Edited March 17, 2011 by cuppycake

[girlcalledmoment]

Dorian was my first BPAL love; It must have been 2005, and back then there was an outlet in the UK called the Apothecary's Cat, which stocked some BPAL scents. Since it closed I haven't explored much more of the BPAL catalogue, until now.

 

I see Dorian is a much-loved scent, and it doesn't surprise me in the least. I had feelings for Dorian I hadn't thought were possible for a fragrance. The lemon was tart and sugared - not too biting; the tea was austere enough to have a touch of refined old English manners; on the same theme, I could smell a plate of biscuits, fresh from a Victorian kitchen. Beneath it all, a grounding musk. Sexy, sweet, elegant, playful.

 

I went through two bottles of Dorian, and the second, ordered a a few months to a year later, was different to the first. The second had a fuzzy vanilla aspect - fuzzy like spun sugar, a quality I have noticed in some cheaper vanilla fragrances, like Yves Rocher Vanilla. I'm not sure if it was my skin chemistry or whether there was some change in the order of things, but it worked less well. The first bottle, however, was divine. I have an imp on order from the lab, and I am looking forward to seeing how the formula presents itself now.

 

Dorian was a true love; I wonder if it's the reason I haven't aged much since it first hit my skin?

5/5

Edited April 4, 2011 by Shollin

[Vega]

Sniffed: Sugary black tea with a splash of citrus, obscured behind fuzzy musks.

 

On skin: Thickly sweet sugar tempered by the contemplative, non-sweet depth of black tea, and blurred by furry, pale musks. There's a hint of citrus (lime? lemon?) in here. Not sure what notes are in the fougère, but they must be the slightly obscure, unfamiliar notes in the blend. A cozy, simple blend, a bit "flattened" by the musks and sugar. Quite a light scent that fades quickly into vague sugar. It certainly puts me in mind of looking at the world from behind a languid haze, or perceiving one's reflection through an obscuring veil. Colour impression is a furry smoke-gray, touched with faded, indistinct colour.

 

Verdict: Meh. Neither impressive nor repellent. I can understand why Dorian is well-loved, but I'm indifferent at best. I have better scents in my collection.

[Tiada]

I just realized that I haven't reviewed Dorian yet, and that is just so many kinds of wrong! Both my husband and I have worn this, and I can't tell who suits it more. It treats each of us differently and I adore it!

 

Wet: Strong black tea (I get Earl Grey, there's a hint of bergamot which I always smell as Fruit Loops) sweetened with creamy vanilla and a tad lemony. I love how complex this scent is! Typically when wet scents on me stick to one dominant note and get more complex on the dry down.

 

Sometime in the dry down this starts to smell a bit like citronella bug spray and the first time it hit this phase I started to worry. Now I know better than to worry and just wait it out. Besides, I don't mind the smell of citronella, it reminds me of being at the cottage

 

Dry: Lemon cake, heavy HEAVY on the vanilla. There's a hint of the tea that wafts through now and then, but it's predominantly a vanilla/baked lemon scent. There are supposed to be musks in this right? I don't get any.

 

Now on my husband it's mostly tea, with a hint of vanilla and I do get some depths of the musks. Either way it's delicious! I love how that works!

 

(Oh, and also, I adore the very first review in this thread! It's perfect!)

Edited April 10, 2011 by Tiada

[Gin]

I never reviewed Dorian because I could never figure out what it smelled like. It eludes me like TKO does--and I think they share a component or two. Dorian is soft and snuggly. A bit of vanilla, a bit of lemony something-or-other. It's really divine, one of those effortless scents that Beth is so skilled at creating.

[angelamaria]

In imp: refreshing, sweet tea—slightly spicy, slightly citrusy and minty, and the vanilla all around it is just plain delicious: I can almost drink this! Definitely gender neutral to my nose. I have TWO “yummy” notes in the “imp” section of my notes, one with an underline, so it’s very yummy.

 

Wet on skin: vanilla is definitely topmost, and the sweetness and the citrus mesh very well together, kind of like the lemon you find in pastries, but the tartness still hanging around. The vanilla keeps growing softer and rounder as it dries, but loses none of its potency. Can I eat my wrist now?

 

Dry: sugared vanilla is just perfect as a description, and I really, really love this round sweetness, with the tartness of the lemon (or whatever citrus scents are in here—I don’t know yet) keeping it awake and alive and non-flat. Much later on, it’s turned really, really sexy. My notes have exclamation points in them. This is a fabulous “date” scent—a date that you’d bring home for the night.

 

Verdict: absolutely bottle-worthy. I’m slightly leaning towards wanting this on a man more than on myself, but it’s neutral enough to wear and I just love how it smells like on me too.

[rhetoricians]

What an amazing, lemony, vaguely cinnamony scent! Not only that, but it stuck to my skin all day long - not just for an hour or two. It only went away when I went swimming in chlorinated water - I am definitely putting this on a "want a bottle" list! Holy crap.

[Helas]

Even though the first review says pretty much everything that needs to be said about Dorian, I figured I would add my two cents.

 

I got Dorian from a swap with my sister. On her, it was all sugary vanilla extract; on me, all the listed notes come out to play. I get the shot of vanilla, the lovely astringence of the lemon tea, an herbal note that makes me think of lavender (probably the fougere?) and a touch of white musk. It's definitely on the foody side, but a bit less sweet and more herbal than most gourmand scents. It's not my favourite type of scent, but I like it a lot, and often crave its cool, slightly bitter sweetness now that the weather is warming up.

 

I have trouble associating this one with Dorian, though. It's just too damn nice. It makes me think of lace petticoats, summer picnics, having tea with the queen. I suppose it might work if I imagine the pre-fall Dorian, having his portrait painted while watching Lord Henry smoke his opium-tinged cigarettes, rather than the corrupt aesthete who kills Basil, seduces Sybil, and scandalizes London with his rentboy-frequenting and sleazy-opium-den-visiting ways.

 

A nineteenth-century Eve, before the apple. Four out of five stars.

[holborne]

Everyone has reviewed this far more eloquently than I ever could, so I'll just briefly throw in my two cents to say that I love this one. It doesn't smell all that much like tea to me, exactly, although I do find it somewhat sugary. It has a lovely, calming quality to it -- like walking into a welcoming Bed & Breakfast or small, charming hotel.

 

This one is definitely my favorite of the ones I've tried so far; a bottle is in my near future. I'm sort of obsessed with it, actually.