Dorian

[Pachelbel]

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.

This was a freebie from jj_j

This is...wow. How did I not try this one before? It smells just like smooth lemon-custard pastries when it's dry (though on my dad and brother it kept a very sharp, citrus-vanilla-musk scent that was just as tasty). I don't think I've ever smelled anything quite as delicious.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Vanilla, white musk and lemon, I think.

 

Wet: Lemony fougere, a bit artificial smelling, and vanilla emerging.

 

Drydown: I still get the fougere, but that's about it, at first. Then there are hints of vanilla and tea that start peeking out. Finally the tea settles in as the main component, it's a light and rather sweet tea, like tea that didn't have quite enough time to infuse. There's still lemon hanging around, too.

 

Overall: It ends up as soapy vanilla and tea, pale musks don't love my skin. Everything smells quite artificial on me, a bit like a detergent with a vanilla tea note. I can see this working extremely well on a man, and it does make me think of Dorian Gray, with his Victorian elegance and sweetness. Unfortunately, Dorian doesn't like me.

[brownbear]

Yum wow. This is really does deserve all the raves. I see this as being unisex. It's definitely worth a try. It's lemony, musky, sweet tea.

[urbanruralferal]

Oh my. 12 pages of reviews! Don't know how much new I can add to this, but here's my two cents.

Can I tell you how much I love this?

I must admit, it is the first BPAL of the vanilla.tea.lemon ilk I have smelled, and perhaps I will love them all! but this has brought out the slatherer in me. I want to experience this with more than my nose. I want to travel to this place. I want immersion.

Okay, the gentleman in question is (don't laugh) Donovan on the back of the Mellow Yellow album. In his white linen suit, and such a lover.

The color is a yellowed white. Not like old lady hair, though. maybe like the sun shining on vintage cotton bedsheets.

The food is those vanilla lemon wafer cookies, with a cup of tea that is laced with something a little bit sharp.

It promises to feel really good in a drawn out way that has you gritting your teeth just a little.

[valentina]

Dorian was a love-at-first-sniff scent. All too often, the scents that make me swoon in the imp sadly change on my body. But I was so frenzied by the smell of Dorian that I put in on promptly. And it's great. On my body, it's sugar and vanilla with a high note of lemon, but there's something darker and spicier underneath it. Musk tends to turn dark and spicy-smelling on me, so I'd guess that's what gives off that quality in the blend. It doesn't morph at all, but retains a certain complexity that I love. I also found this scent was very feminine on me -- I can see how it could heat up into something else altogether on a man's body, but for me it's the perfect olfactory embodiment of Dorian Gray -- a true juxtaposition of scents that works beautifully together.

Edited June 5, 2006 by valentina

[storme]

In the imp: sharp, sweet tea and musk.

 

On me, wet: lots of sweet vanilla honeyness, but not as cloying as in other BPAL scents. It's reminding me of Jack a fair amount.

 

On me, dry: still lots of sweet, wet, sugary vanilla. The SO likes it. I'd like it better if I could smell the musk, or even the lemon others mention, but at least it's not overpoweringly sweet like I feared.

 

Verdict: I have 3 imps of this, for various reasons. I guess I will use those up, but I probably won't be buying more after that.

Edited June 21, 2006 by Shollin

[littlefarmgirl]

I did not actually try to pick out any notes, except vanilla, because I was too busy thinking what a beautiful scent it was. I will try again another time and list some notes.

If this wasn't already a keeper for my mom, it would be now.

[mirutai]

Just like it says - a very sweet, sugared tea, with a hint of vanilla.

 

Unfortunately, my skin drinks tea and amps sugar, so I end up smelling like glucose syrup. Not one for me!

[populuxa]

A creamy, lemony, sweet tea. Very light and delicate. I love how the musk and sugar dance around. It's a very natural, unassuming fragrance. Just downright pleasant.

[kungfuwaynewho]

Dorian is a very warm scent, like it might be the only shield you'd need on a cold winter's day. Which makes it sometimes feel a bit too much for me in the Austin heat.

 

The strongest note to me is the tea, which reminds me of a lovely mug of English Breakfast, but on some days I really notice the underlying lemon, and on other days, the vanilla. The sugar is sweet without being too sweet, and is just right in bringing down the perhaps too-bitter strength of the tea.

 

Lovely, really lovely.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

as a general rule, i don't like lemon.

i don't like the tart or the sour or, frankly, the colour.

 

this isn't (as always, IMesHO) a real lemon. this is lemon cookies -- the ones made like oreos but where the cookie part is vanilla-ish and the middle is lemon-flavoured and more sweet than not?

 

with the slightest whiff of fresh-out-of-the-box plastic/vinyl doll smell.

 

if i'm getting tea -- it'd be green tea or white tea. i don't get the black tea others have.

 

this is a good smell -- which is good as i've a bottle on the way...

 

and what i'm getting today doesn't really match up with the scent-memory i have from when i tried this about a month ago.

so i'll wait a week and try it again.

 

i'd say this would probably smell really good on the right man -- or maybe the wrong man. and might be the perfect oil to get for mom, if she's having trouble grasping the concept of your obsession with itty bitty bottles of oil.

 

i have some clay drawer-scenty-sachet-thingies that used to smell like green tea (many years ago -- i've kept them cuz they're pretty) that i think i'll drizzle with Dorian once i get my bottle. or maybe i'll just start with one....

 

edited to add: last night, i went to see Poison in Atlanta... and i was feeling very under the weather and *bleh* so i wanted a gentle sort of scent.... so i slathered Dorian in all the usual places...

and this morning at 4am -- about 12 hours after i put it on, and after the concert, the mad dancing, and who knows how much beer and smoke -- i could still smell it, mostly only from my scalp, but still! that was a happy thing. i was filthy and exhausted, but still smelled good [=

Edited August 26, 2006 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[edenssixthday]

Dorian - The top notes are definitely a smooth blend of lemon and tea with a dash of sugar and cream. However, those notes almost instantly fade into something that's slightly old and musty. The words that keep coming to mind are "musty" and "antique" I like it at first, but after a few minutes, despite how soft and subtle this fragrance is, it becomes annoying. I feel like I smell like an old man -- who has been living in a dank, musty, dusty attic for a few years. This just doesn't work on me, unfortunately, since the initial top notes are so lovely!

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Light, lemony tea

 

On me: Wow - this is incredible. It's very sugary, milky tea, with just a hint of lemon. The lemon, fortunately, isn't enough to turn me away. This scent is absolutely beautiful.

 

Verdict: Bottle, now!

 

Rating: 5/5

[tiraneah]

I really wanted to like Dorian. I love the scent of tea and vanilla, so I thought it would be the perfect combination, and it's such a popular scent. But the whole time I've had it on, from wet to dry I've gotten a plasticy vanilla scent. Kind of like cheap votive vanilla candles. I don't know if it's the musk or the vanilla itself because I've had similar problems with Antique Lace and Lick it, which makes me so very sad because I love vanilla and want it to work on me. I'll have to try this out on a friend to see if it works differently on them or try layering with it to see if it eases out the plasticy bit.

[abejita]

The short version: perfection in a bottle.

 

The slightly longer version: The description is true to my nose. I get the clean astringence of the tea, the pure sugar note, and the creamy vanilla. The light musks give it a very pleasant roundness. I don't get the lemon the people keep talking about, not at all. Dorian is definitely good on both men and women, and is a much loved favorite of mine and one of my partners. It's the bpal I reach for when I don't know what I feel like wearing, because it's always good. But that's not to say it's a default scent. Sometimes I reach for it out of sheer love.

 

10/10. Dorian will always have a place on my best of bpal list.

[tidesong]

In the Bottle: Very gentle scent, mostly vanilla, with a touch of musk.

 

On Application: Oh, this is nice. Sugary vanilla tea is a close description on the part of the Lab. A base of very gentle musk comes out after the vanilla. I can't wait to see how this dries.

 

On Drydown: Mmm, this is very pretty. It's very light and subtle. Mostly vanilla, a touch of a separate sugar note, but very light, which balances nicely with the subtle musks in this blend.

 

Comments: This is a definite keeper. I love this!

 

Verdict: I need a 5ml. Oh, yes.

[beeboppin]

I was very interested in trying this, since it is such a favorite...unfortunately, the imp I received smelled strongly of lemon, a scent I am not usually fond of. I've noticed this in many perfumes; often 'tea' seems to go hand in hand with lemon notes. I might be able to work with just a drop of a fresh lemon scent, but the lemon here seems strong and artificial.

 

I will try another imp of Dorian, maybe fresh from the lab. I'd love to experience what all the fans see in it!

[themerrybaker]

No lemon or tea in my imp. The Dorian I have is mostly pale musk and vanilla and maybe a little fougere. The overall effect is light and powdery. Glad I got to try it, but don't need a big bottle.

[BrightRedScream]

I got this as a frimp from the lab

I was really excited because this one is on my wishlist of things I HAD to try!

 

In the vial: Very sweet, vanilla tea. It's so so nice!

I can detect the musks a little..but not a whole lot.

 

Wet on the skin: Sweet tea. Very very sweet tea. With a bit of a creamy goodness, which I'm assuming is the vanilla. Omg..this is to die for.

 

Dry down: The musks come out to play just a little - and they're making this a little less of a candy sweet blend. This almost goes powdery - but not quite...it smells a lot like a vanilla tea that I have here. I just love how all these notes blend together...So delicious - and I need this in a 10 ml.

[copyshopclerk]

I almost feel bad writing this since everyone else loves it, but Dorian and I were not meant to be I had such high hopes for this since I thought I loved everything in it, and it was in the first imp set order I ever got from the lab. Just didn't work out!

 

 

In the imp - *VERY* sweet, cloying, to the point of being unpleasant. But I put it on anyway & hoped that it'd improve.

 

Wet - Nope - smells plasticky, fake, cloying, sweaty, ugh. Something in here doesn't sit well on me!

 

Dry - Just sickeningly sweet, an artifical sweaty sweetness. Get it off!

 

 

Just in case it was a hormonal thing for me, I tried at a different time in my cycle. Same problem. Oh well.. I think I'm the fluke because my husband tested it and didn't think it was bad at all!

[catrinella]

Imp: Warm sweet tea.

 

Wet: Honey - I almost thought I'd put on O by mistake.

 

Drydown: Vanilla/honey/tea - very nice indeed. After about 10-15 minutes, some musk starts to appear.

 

1 hour: Warm vanilla/amber/honey with a subtle musky undertone. I like this very much - it's quite understated.

 

3 hours: The same as before, but much faded.

 

Verdict: Keeper. For me, it's in the same family as O and Chimera, but much softer. I never got the ferny/lavender green note that other people report, nor the lemon. It was just warm vanilla and honey with a bit of amber and a hint of musk. A comforting scent, really.

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Tea and sugar.

 

Wet: Lemony tea. Musk comes out a bit as it dries.

 

Dry: Musty with a bit of lemon.

[bicyclette]

Dorian is sweet, creamy tea, a cup of Earl Grey with loads of milk and sugar. Reminds me of eating tea and biscuits at my Gran's house in Sussex when I was little. It's a very comforting scent for me, and one I sense I'll love to slather. I might need another 10ml of this goodness. Really, really nice.

[gaai]

I was surprised to see musks listed in this.......I get *no* musk, while normally my skin is sure to let me know there is some.....

I love this though! It's all tea and vanilla on me.....a very light, fresh, everyday kinda scent!

 

eta: This has become my 'can't-decide-what-oil-to-use-but-have-to-leave-right-now-and-Smut-is-too-heavy'-scent, in no time flat!

Edited August 4, 2006 by gaai

[Cedar]

So, how late to this party am I?

 

I'm very fussy about what I wear, and I held off on buying Dorian for the longest time because I didn't think I would like the musk. Normally, musks and I are not friends. But I'd seen all the raves about it, so I took the plunge.

 

Wow.

 

I don't get any musk at all, or maybe that's what comes through as the kind of spicy temperance behind the vanilla. Or maybe that's what other people are referring to as the lemon? Maybe. In any event, vanilla tea is really the perfect description. It's got that sweet vanilla scent that I like (sugar scents usually work well on me) but it's not cloying (hello musk or lemon or whatever). It's definitely catapulted to the top of my list.