Dorian

[Mechanical Death]

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.

Okay, so at first I bought this for my fiance since it had been described as a unisex scent that lent a hand towards being more masculine.

When I got it I stole it-- or rather kept it for my self. Instead I got him Rogue for him (which is OMG gorgeous on him).

It starts out soft almost floral. The musks are definitely there. Then I smell... pine? *confused* The scent morphs, there's tea and milk, something else incredibly sexy and delicious and warm, a hint of men's cologne (which is where I'm getting pine still). Still it all blends into this incredible sweet, warm, and yet sexy devious scent. It's smoldering and daring. As if you were pressed up too closely against the english gentleman and his cologne rubbed off on you and mixed with your fragrance.

I just feel sexy, delicious, and at the same time cozy wearing it. It's wonderful!

[opheliatrey]

Sigh...... This smells like heaven. If you are thinking about getting this scent, do it. I only like a few oils on my weirdo skin and this one stayed true the entire time I wore it. Somehow I turn good things into the smell of old wood floors. But not Dorian, he is too fancy to change. It's clean and dirty, sexy and pure. Everything melds into the perfect scent, Dorian you are the man I have been waiting for.

[Elliemental]

Dorian smells like black tea with lemon garnished with vanilla sugar lumps. There's an edge of masculine sophistication that plays footsie with the vanilla sugar but it stays soft-- it's background noise.

 

Overall I pretty much just want to chew on my arm.

 

I LOVE Dorian. Lovelovelove!!!!

[Decima]

So, this smells like vanilla chai both in the imp, and on me. Warm, heady vanilla chai complete with milk foam on top.

 

This means two things:

1. The imp is probably a little older (it were a meet n sniffy!)

2. I'll have to inquire with the lab if there's a possibility of obtaining a vat of this.

 

Or, were Dorian a Real Boy, the only appropriate thing to do would be to lounge back on the soft, silky pillows of my divan and with a clap of my hands, order him bathed and brought to my tent.

 

Dorian has some pretty great ::ahem:: stamina, I had it on a few days ago and it lasted nearly 12 hours! The sexy/slinky factor here makes me think of the way a properly laced set of stays feels. Restrained, but only at first glance. Underneath, it's all quite naughty.

[russalka]

This is my very first review as Dorian is my very first 'favorite' BPAL scent. Bear in mind my knowledge of scents, different notes and perfumes in general is pretty much non-existent and I've just embarked on my journey into the vast world of BPAL. I feel a little like Harry Potter that just made it to Diagon Alley

 

Now on to the review ...

 

I have to say that I simply love this scent.

 

Dry and a couple of hours in it's tea sweetened with milk and honey and vanilla wafers - lots of vanilla wafers as this one is for those with a sweet tooth. One just wants to recline in a loveseat, with a cup of tea in a fine china cup and nibble on some wafers while swooning over a hot mysterious man that's at the other end of the room, looking out of the window, with his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed ... Oh yeah, there is some soft, almost imaginary, sexiness in this scent as well - something what longing and daytime sexual fantasies might smell-like.

 

I know there is a bottle of Dorian waiting for me in the Lab ...

[lady_pandora]

I didn't expect this to work on me, but I think it does. I haven't decided if it's "me," but it definitely smells nice.

In the imp, I get a whiff of lemon along with something green and soapy.

On, it turns quickly to a spicy tea scent with a little bit of lemon and a very light men's-cologne type scent. Doesn't morph much. It's quite nice, actually, and fresh-smelling.

I'm not sure if I want to keep it or put it on the boyfriend. It goes a little more traditionally "masculine" than my favorites, but I do think my chemistry is working well with it and it's not trying anything funky. Which is especially nice because lemon never behaves this well on me!

 

 

 

Edit, December 4, 2014

 

Dorian definitely changes with age, unlike his namesake. I really like this now!

 

The wet stage is tea with lemon. And hallelujah and praise the Goddess of good-smelling things, I actually mean tea with lemon, and not LEMON and tea, which is what my skin does far too often instead. I mean, the lemon actually smells like it's submerged in tea! It brings back a nice scent memory of the tea with lemon I used to drink a lot in college. There's a bit of the men's-cologne thing hanging around at this stage too.

 

Dry, it's more vanilla and musk with a hint of sugar. It's very second-skin, very sexy, without shouting "PERFUME!" And it's not masculine on me at all after the opening stages. I still kind of want to see what it'll smell like on the boyfriend, but I like it juuuust fine on me.

Edited December 4, 2014 by lady_pandora

[JazzieCazzie]

Received as frimp from the Lab with an Etsy purchase of some wonderful oldie-goodies.

 

I would never have chosen this myself but I know I received it as a frimp several years ago. However, I apparently never reviewed it so this is a first-time look.

 

I want to preface this by saying that one of my weirdnesses when it comes to BPAL and scent in general is that while I ADORE lemon-flavored iced tea, I cannot drink hot tea at all mainly because I can't stand the smell. (When I get lovely lagniappes of tea in swaps, I send them to my very grateful daughter who ADORES hot tea so it's win-win).

 

And I find the BPAL tea note almost unfailingly goes that form of wonky on me ... but in the name of being anal-retentive, open-minded and scientific, I am trying and reviewing (or re-reviewing) every imp and bottle that comes my way so here goes.

 

IMP: Fruity, sweet, musky vanilla. Not bad.

 

Dabbed on one wrist while co-testing Dia de los Muertos 2012 on the other one.

 

WET: I know there is no fruit listed in the description but it goes distinctly "Jolly Rancher" on me as soon as it hits my skin. It's actually quite nice ... kind of sugar candy with a fruity kick. And no tea, so that is good.

 

For the next few minutes, I TOTALLY get why this has been one of the most popular scents since its release. But then it dries down and ...

 

DRYDOWN: Boom. Ugh. Tea. Lemon and tea. It just smells bitter and sour on me, as always.

 

OVERALL: I totally understand this scent's popularity but it just is SO not right for me. Swap box on the ASAP.

 

Score on a scale of 1-5: 1.5

[Deliciousness]

A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea

 

Imp: Lemony tea

Wet on skin: Lemon with a bit of foody cake/vanilla thrown into the mix

Dry: warm, lemony, cakey goodness

 

Love this scent!

I remember when I first tried this on. My hubby and I went on date night to the movies to see Seven Psychopaths; I know, lovely date movie right?! We're a little odd. Anyway, I'm sitting in my seat with my elbow resting on the arm rest and my wrist up to my face. I couldn't stop sniffing myself - I was addicted!

[ScabbyLucy]

I should have learned my lesson with Katharina about musk. In bottle, nice, dark sweetened tea. On me. Laundry. Clean laundry. Nothing else.

 

ETA: OK, once it dries completely, the laundry smell dissipates, but what I'm left with smells exactly like Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar. And I already have a bottle of that.

Edited March 28, 2013 by ScabbyLucy

[mermaidsdream]

In the Imp: Sweet, with a bit of spice to it. Not bad, but not my usual fare.

 

Applied, wet: Lemony men's cologne. I'm most assuredly not a man, so this is somewhat problematic.

 

Applied, dry: I'm still getting a lot of "men's cologne" out of this, but now I'm starting to get the sticky, sweet, soapy smell that the "sugared" anything turns to on me. I should have learned my lesson from "Giant Vulva". :\

[Atrous]

Wet: Sugary tea. Not a scent I would normally go for but it is nice.

 

Dry: OMG! This scent is amazing. Seemingly clean and fresh but with something dirty and deceptive underneath. Dorian is the right name for this scent. Definitely masculine...a sexy gentleman's scent. Too bad I'm not a guy because this rates at a 5 out of 5. Have to get my man to try this. I promise to attack him if he does.

[claudia6913]

He's soft, sweet, musky. Like a warm blanket that you've pulled out for the fall. You'd put it away after washing it in your favorite laundry detergent that is now discontinued and it's that first inhale sitting in front of a small fire, with a cup of tea in your hands and a good book set off to the side of the rocker.

 

In other words, I like this. A lot.

[kaberett]

Imp: musk, citrus, and something sweet and redolent of vanilla.

 

Wet: sweet vanilla, black tea, and citrus high notes.

 

Dry: Oh my word, this rounds out beautifully during drydown - it stays sweet and vanilla but the musk and tea billow (and I do mean that) out from underneath it - it doesn't get heavy, but it has a certain amount of glorious sleaze lurking just beneath the surface. Sweet but definitely not innocent.

[ccelaya]

Imp - Its Sweet with a slight floral or citrus smell.

 

Skin - umm sweet tea that is balanced out

 

As it dries it softens and becomes clean.

 

This is one of my favs!

[quickdrawkiddo]

Wow, this is really different from what I expected! Wet, this was all vanilla tea on me, which wasn't terrible since I can sometimes wear vanilla if there's another note to cut the sweetness (i.e. Tombstone). The drydown is a bit weird though -- I'm getting the same musk note (white? green?) that drove me nuts in 51. No lemon at all, which is a bummer. I still like the complexity of the blend but I wish the musk wasn't going buck-wild with my skin chemistry.

[Foxdreams]

Omg. I had this rec'd to me as a vanilla-note and tea-note lover. I'm also a milk-note lover (have you seen my signature??? Haha.) so I had high hopes.

 

Dorian doesn't disappoint.

 

In the imp it smells like lemon tea, which I am all for, because hello massive tea drinker over here.

 

On, it almost immediately goes to cream and black tea, and mmmmm the best vanilla you've ever smelled. Creamy, delicious vanilla. And for me, that's perfect.

 

Now this and Mouse have to fight it out for what bottle I get next.

[MtMoonKitty]

I definitely get "victorian" from this. In the bottle it is lemony-soapy with a slight tea note. Wet on my skin it very lemon tea and cologne. As it dries down it gets a little powdery (at least on the wrist application) as musks often do on me, but its not an unpleasant smell. Because scents tend to behave different on different parts of me, I can really pick out all the components of this one from various areas of my body. On the back of my hand is the only place I get the sugared vanilla and that is my favorite chapter. It smells more manly to me than I normally care to wear and I find myself wishing my husband would let me slather him with it (he doesn't wear any kind of cologne or "smellies" other than deoderant). I like it. It smells like a freshly showered man. Its just not something I think I will wear much of.

[enfleurage]

Dorian is very strange. I get a whiff of something vaguely chlorinated in here, like somehow in between taking sips of afternoon tea and smiling sweetly while tearing your heart into ribbons he found the time to wade through a municipal pool. Interesting! The musk is quite heavy on my skin, amping up the sweetness and trampling the tea note under its heel. I was hoping to find something a little more herbaceous from the fougere but so far I've only been able to smell a bit of lavender in the bottle. In short, this blend doesn't translate well on my skin, but something about it compels me to try it again and again. Like I said before, he's very strange.

Edited May 25, 2013 by enfleurage

[EricthoDesalamander]

I got this as a free sample a while back, and while it wasn't unpleasant it just wasn't up my alley.

 

Given its namesake, I thought this would be darker - which it is not. It smells like iced tea with lemon. Granted, I love iced tea, and I was somewhat put off by smelling like one.

 

Do I think this scent is interesting? Yes. Do I think its sexy? Nope.

[lucycat]

It's time I reviewed Dorian, which was the first BPAL I tried four months ago, one of my first two bottles (with Snake Oil,) and again, with Snake Oil, the BPAL I've worn the most.

 

This was love from the moment I put it on. Sweet lemony vanilla tea. The musks give it dimension and make it sexy.

 

For years I've worn vanilla perfumes in the colder months, and citrus in the warmer months. Dorian combines my two favorite notes, with the addition of black tea, my favorite beverage. Perfection. It also lasts and lasts.

[welcometothefamily]

So glad I got this as a frimp! It was on my list for my next order!

 

In the Imp: Sugared vanilla tea with a lemon wedge! Combines to smell a little like those starburst fruit gummies . Very gentle, sweet and tart, yummy!

 

Wet: Lemony, still tart and slightly gummy-like. No...lemon meringue pie! Seriously! It's sweet, tart, lemony filling with a delicious sugary, vanilla-y meringue!

 

Drydown: Cold vanilla tea, with a sugared lemon slice. This smells cool on me, it's definitely not hot tea.

 

Verdict: This smells yummy. Not sure how often I'd wear it, but I like it a lot. It reminds me quite a lot of Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden, except sweeter and with lemon. My mum also likes it a lot, so I may buy her a bottle, and it may go on my bottle list too. 4/5

[Magycmyste]

I got a free sniffie from someone in an earlier order - it smelled very sugar cookie-milk tea-ish, so I decided to try out a full bottle.

 

In the bottle: Sugar and lemon - it reminds me a little of lemon bars. Mmmm.....

 

Wet on skin: Lemony green tea, with a hint of sugar cookie.

 

Dried down: The sugar cookie/vanilla tea's come out a lot stronger now, but there's still the lemon in the background tarting it up a bit and making it brighter. This is a happy scent.

 

Throw: It took awhile for the sugar cookie to come out, but once it did, the throw is almost entirely that - but the lemon is still there, too.

 

Verdict: ***** I am glad I went for a bottle of this, and I hope it stays in the catalog for a long, long time.

[serpentyne]

I've had Dorian for a year or two now, and I was obsessed with it at first, got a little sick of it and so stopped wearing it, but I'm back on it now and it is wonderful. <3 Impressions:

 

Wet: Mostly sweet vanilla tea and lemon, with a relaxing, sheer cover of lavender.

 

Drydown: The lemon disappears, the vanilla tea sticks around and become creamier, and it feels like the scent warms up a little, with the musk coming through. The lavender sticks around but gets shrouded by the vanilla at this point.

 

I do love it by itself, but it's always seemed too sweet for me to evoke the image of a proper, sexy Victorian gentleman as mentioned by the first reviewer. Just not enough fougere I think. So. I went out, smelt a whole bunch of different fougere fragrances (with the help of suggestions from the internet) and ended up with a bottle of Penhaligon's Sartorial. This beat out all the other suggestions by a far cry - it smells almost exactly like the fougere part of Dorian in my opinion. Layered a mist of it with a few dabs of Dorian and DEAR LORD THE SEXY. Highly recommend this combination. :3

[alyelle]

I resisted this forever because musk and I tend not to get on, but I finally bit the bullet and ordered an imp with my Yules. I'm so very, very glad I did.

 

Imp: sweet lavender, overlaid with the slight bitterness of hot brewing tea

 

Wet: VANILLA. Cake-mix vanilla, summer lemon trees, the smell of sunshine on clean sheets - this morphs quickly through all three of those, and by quickly, I mean in under a minute.

 

Dry: the very first review for this scent is spot on; this absolutely brings to mind images of a proper English gentleman, a tea parlour, and an encounter with his naughty side. There's a deep earthy tone which I'm guessing is some sort of oak? It smells very much like other oak-based perfumes I've tried, and if I remember correctly, that's one of the more common bases to use for a fougère. It's woody, at any rate, though not overpoweringly so - I've been wearing Conservatory Tableaux for two days, and Dee before that, and it's nothing even close to how woody those two are. There's a waft of lavender and lemon every so often, but mostly a warm, rich vanilla sugar and tea combination that's a strange combination of alluring and comforting. I don't know that I'd recommend this for alpha-males - it's more Russell Brand than Russell Crowe - but it's a beautiful, masterpiece of a scent, and definitely one I'll be buying multiple bottles on. 5/5!

[icecreamcone]

Dorian is one of those scents that gets better with age!

When I do a side-by-side comparison of my six year old bottle with the new bottle, the aged one wins easily.

 

In bottle - bergamot, musk, and sugar.

Dry - This smells amazing on me which is why it's my second favorite Bpal scent.

 

Verdict - I will always own a bottle of Dorian. Definitely a keeper for life.

Edited December 26, 2022 by icecreamcone