Dee

[whitsunweddings]

... His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods.

In the imp: A sweet cologney scent - might be the mix of tonka and leather.
Wet: Leather, rosewood, spices.
Dry: Spicy, sweet woods with leather. I also get milk chocolate, weirdly. I think this is nice, but really too masculine for me. I might keep my imp on hand on the off chance that I ever meet a nice boy again, because I think it would be quite lovely on a dude. Edited April 6, 2012 by whitsunweddings

[Floria]

This is a bit of an odd scent on me, although I don't dislike it. I mostly get a sort of spicy rosewood out of it - the leather isn't obvious, but some leathers (like the ones in Rogue and Possets' The Girls Love Leather) go a bit spicy on me, so it might have been blending with the woods. The tonka's detectable underneath and separate from the spicy wood melange that is the main body of the scent - it doesn't go "off" on me, but something about it in this context reminded me of coconut milk or hand lotion, which is an effect I'm not sure I like. It has very good lasting power.

The scent's definitely on the masculine side of androgynous, but in a gentlemanly way, and it's not too heavy or cologne-like for me to feel comfortable wearing.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Floria

[yakiguri]

I've waited so long to try this, and I'm wondering what took me so damn long.

 

Dee is definitely androgynous. At first application it smells a bit on the cologne-y side, and I feared it'd be more for Mr. whiteelf than for me. After a few minutes, more of the tonka seeps in and sweetens the leather and woods, but the rosewood and incense keep the blend from veering too close to the feminine. Hubby and I have finally found a blend we can wear equally.

 

I do agree that the throw could be better, but I'll happily slather this one.

[catalyst]

This absolutely broke my damn heart. I've been wanting to try this for over a year, and there is one note in there that's too sharp. It starts out way too sharp, and while it does soften down to something better, there is something in this that's got that cologney sharpness.

 

The whole reason I started getting BPAL is because I don't like most over the counter department store colognes. It's like the manufacturers all think that a guy's scent needs to scream in your face.

 

Anyway... Dee. Dammit. Why did you have to end up smelling like my dad. *sigh*

[Scorianelle]

I tried this one blind but after looking up the notes I wish I hadn't. It is so much easier to understand what I was smelling during each phase when I can put a word to it. Nevertheless, I wrote it all down in my day book, but I've gone and added in what I think I was smelling in some areas.

 

First Sniff: Delicious. Honey and Nutmeg. Very recognisable nutmeg. This is a lot warmer than I expected.

 

Second Sniff: Huh. This isn't as sweet or foody now. It's sharper - I think some sort of wood, and a spice like cinnamon. There is only the barest hint of the nutmeg.

 

Wet: The wood has come to the fore. There's no sweetness, it is till warm spices/cinnamon (I think what I thought was cinnamon was actually part of the tonka). It is dry - orris? (I think this was the parchment), and again there is only a tiny hint of nutmeg. There is also something grounding - patchouli? (think this was sandalwood) This gets spicier and sharper as it dries.

 

Dry (30 mins): The spices are dominant now. They tickle my nose a little but aren't overpowering anything else. There is a warm delicious layer of honey (tonka) and sandalwood.

 

Dry (1.5 hours): It's changed again. It's like a spicy amber (this is the incense, I'm sure) and the wood has come back. It has a little buzz to it and is still quite dry/dusty.

 

Dry (3 hours): Wood and something warm and sharp (this was the incense again).

 

Throw: None.

 

Colour: Deep golden honey.

 

Dee turned out to be interesting and quite nice. The one note I'm sure I didn't get was the leather, which doesn't bother me either way. Still, I feel that this scent could be better. I'm thinking of getting a bottle to age and see how it evolves.

[milo]

Dude blend! At first, kind of cologney, but I don't mind that for a dude blend. Dry, the leather comes out, it kind of smells like suede to me, and woods. Kind of sucks that I get a bleach kind of vibe off and on, but otherwise, this is a great masculine blend, and I'd love to smell it on a guy.

[zeldaZ4]

Warm and woodsy. Aged wood, unlike the fresh sharp Cedar tang in Cathedral. Soft and comforting, like my grandfather bringing firewood in from the pile, then snuggling next to him in his old leather chair and reading from his floor-to-ceiling library. Dee wraps itself around me like a hug from my Grandfather in his cashmere sweater. Mmmmmmmm......

 

Got this imp straight from the lab. It is going in my potential-bottle-box for a little age.

[brilliantcat]

Dream notes: check! Wet, it's leather and woods topped by incense. I'm in love already It warms beautifully into leather, incense, and old books. I adore it. It's the old library of my dreams, settled into a leather couch that faintly smells of smoky incense.

[hexnut]

DEE

 

Tested blind. Oil in the imp is yellow.

 

In Vitro Resin, maybe spice.

 

Wet Strong and resiny. Some throw from the application site.

 

Drying After ten minutes this was sweeter and less sharp, and a hint of floral emerged. Another ten minutes on it had faded and was slightly soapy but not unpleasant. Three hours after application I recorded the scent as "faint and pleasant", and at the seven hour mark it was extremely faint.

 

With the list of notes to hand I tentatively identified faint leather, and the incense may have been the source of the sharpness in the imp. Between this and another BPAL sample I haven't written up yet, I suspect that certain "-wood" notes (e.g., rosewood and sandalwood) go soapy on me. Overall, Dee is a pleasant skin scent, clean and a bit cologne-ish but not too conventional, and neither exclusively feminine nor masculine. I'll certainly wear this again.

 

 

46

[ajansuz]

This was a lab frimp.

 

In the imp, the tonka is a bit of a dry, woody vanilla. There's a men's cologne feel to this, so I also encouraged my husband to try it.

 

On me from wet to dry it's WAY too masculine. I'm not sure what I amped that was sharp and manly, but it just didn't work. On my husband, it was lovely. The leather came out for him with a nice, woody base note and a bit of sweetness. It has something of a Western vibe, kind of old time saloon meets magic man. We're wanting a bottle for him. It makes me sad it didn't work for me. We both like scents we can share.

[ladymeag]

Initially, I tried this at a BPAL in-store retailer and it did not smell good - creamy, even. I think the bottle must have been mis-labeled because I got a lab-fresh imp more than a year later to test it again (I just can't give up on the leather!) and this is amazing.

 

In the bottle: Woodsy leather. I smell cedar, pine, and leather - leather that's a little soft but similar to the leather in Red Rider or Captain Cully.

 

On Me: Wet, the first sniff is woody and nutty, then incense starts coming up. The woods are what I'd call "soft" but they aren't powdery at all. Every time my hand waves past me as I'm doing something, I smell something that simply smells manly. Mid-dry-down, the woods go sharp and then die back. The throw, though, even during this phase is almost all incense and tonka and leather but when you get closer, it's sharp-woodsy. At full dry-down it's smoky, warm, vanilla, woodsy, incensey, and fantastic. I'm not getting leather here but my skin has a habit of swallowing the best leather scents. There's something similar here to October 2007 and I can't place it.

 

On my spouse: Wet, almost all sharp woods, which die back nearly immediately and leather comes forward to dominate the scent. Dries down to sweet, incensey, manly leather. Smells a little on my spouse like Iago does on me.

[KakashiMorph]

... His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods.

 

This imp was graciously gifted to me, so I am not sure of it's age.

 

In the bottle: Something that reminds me of almonds, or something bitter and vetiver-like.

On my skin: Almondy and bitter, this must be the tonka. A couple of minutes later I can detect a faint smokiness underneath, but it is too faint to change anything - I think it is the incense. I can't distinguish any other notes so far.

Drydown: More of the same, this didn't change much.

[chicorymist]

In the imp: Sharp, alcoholic, like whiskey with some woods behind. Not really a fan of whiskey, but I'm trying this anyway.

 

Wet: Whiskey pulls a miraculous disappearing act! Now it smells kind of like men's cologne, but like, a nice, woody men's cologne and not the Lilac Vegetal my dad wears. I could be okay with this.

 

Dry: Oh my goodness. This has turned warm and dryly sweet and almost floral - that's probably the rosewood - and I think I can smell some parchment deep under there, but for all the sweetness, it's still masculine enough to feel *right.* This is like being in an old, elegant library on a cold day, surrounded by dark wood shelves, sitting next to the fireplace and leafing through a fascinating old book you've just discovered. This is delicious and I want to curl up in it.

 

Dry, later: I think the tonka and incense are contributing to the sweetness - it's a little bit spicy, but the rosewood's dominating on me. The leather doesn't really make an appearance at all, but I think that's what keeping this as dry as it is.

 

Lasted a good 10 hours on me, with at least a couple feet of throw.

 

This sounded so good I was tempted to just ask for a 5 mL for the holidays unsniffed, and it more than met my expectations. Definitely getting a bottle of this!

 

5/5

[elinox]

First Sniff: Something astringent and not pleasant. It’s probably that leather/patchouli scent again!

 

Initial Wet Application: Yup, leather. But there’s also some sort of light flower with this too. It does remind me of pleasantly perfumed paper. It’s light though, even after a heavy swipe with the wand.

 

Beginning Dry Down (first 15 minutes) & Dry: Once it dried completely it was warm and smelled like nutmeg (I think). I can now smell some cinnamon and the whole thing smells warm like from someone’s kitchen although it doesn’t smell like anything in particular, just reminds me of a good kitchen smell with various warm spices.

 

My Reaction: I had actually purchased this back in the fall of 2012 and had somehow forgotten to test this! I’m glad I did because I’m actually getting throw from this! I can smell it from my wrists with my hands typing away at the keyboard, which is odd since I rarely get any throw. This is warm and I can definitely see a connection to a library. It’s kind of what I’d wished Miskatonic University was going to be: dry paper and books, with a hint of incense and warm spices with sunlight wafting through the high windows on a summer afternoon. 30 minutes into this and it’s soft, faint paper with some light spices; it’s faded and is a bit too light, but bonus points for a library scent, yay!

 

Rating: 3

[OctoberGwen]

On my skin, I don't like scents that are too masculine. I also don't care for leather 99% of the time.

 

Dee smells wonderful on me, though.

 

I get mostly rosewood and incense, with a touch of tonka and a hint of soft leather. It's not cologney at all on me, nor is it overly manly smelling; I'd say more unisex.

 

I don't see myself reaching for this very often, but it really is nice.

[Erinofhere]

His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods.

My husband wears Tombstone as his everyday scent. I really don't like Tombstone all that much. It's okay I guess but I ordered him a few imps to see if we could find him a better everyday scent. I think we may have found it.

Dee is really nice. Dee is very masculine but not loud or over powering.

I do smell the leather and rosewood, tonka, parchment and woods. I don't smell incense at all. Husband is fine with that. He thinks all incense smells like a head shop anyway.

This doesn't last all that long and has low throw. He prefers a scent with low throw so this works for him.

He still can't forsake his beloved tombstone but said he would wear this just as often.

Ordering a big bottle with pay check.

[lucycat]

I wanted to try Dee because so many people mention it evoking a classic old-fashioned library, and I'm a librarian.

 

In the imp, Dee smells like spicy wood.

 

Wet, it's very woodsy.

 

Apparently, I amp wood scents, because that's almost all I get from Dee: the rosewood, the unspecified "soft woods." After about three hours, the incense emerges. I don't smell leather or parchment at all.

 

It's a beautiful blend, just more masculine than I enjoy wearing.

[Magycmyste]

I've been looking forward to trying this one - partially because the notes sound wonderful (though I'm a teeny bit hesitant about soft woods and rosewood - most wood scents tend to go a little too dry on my skin), and partially because Dee is a prominent figure in one of my favorite books - the book, in fact, that bridged me from reading legendry and folklore into more contemporary fantasy.

 

In the imp: wood and incense. At this point, at least, I'm not turned off by the woods - the incense helps out a lot, I think. And there's something a little bit sweet tinging the scent. Though, I am wearing Charisma already (I usually try to do my scent test before putting on any TALs, but that didn't work out today) - I don't think this sweetness is coming from there, but I'm not sure.

 

Wet on skin: On my skin, this is mostly incense and paper. Still pretty. I'm not really getting the leather at this point.

 

Dried down: I had to run some errands, so this has been on me for about an hour or so now. This is GORGEOUS. It's a very incensey blend - I get the feeling I might like wearing this while writing or anything else that might involve thinking. I'm not sure I can pick out all the notes, but I would LOVE for my library to smell like this. I would be there all the time. I do pick up a bit of the leather amongst the incense. I'm still not sure what tonka smells like, but so far, it hasn't hampered any other perfumes I like. This is just pretty.

 

Throw: There isn't a whole lot at this point, though I get a whiff of incense around my head. I think there was a bit more incense in the throw earlier, just after it had dried down.

 

Verdict: **** 1/* I do have a few incensey blends that I love, so I probably won't seek a bottle of this out immediately unless I find a good price. Sometime in the future, though..... it will be MINE! Muahahahaha!

[whataboutprom]

Ah... this is what I wanted from The Book! While The Book was all sharp leather to me, the leather in Dee is softened and warmed by the other notes. I can't pick out incense specifically, but Dee smells like an old library where incense has been burned maybe a few days ago. It's definitely a bit masculine, but also glowing and cozy and wonderful, not harsh in any way. This is the closest I have found to my ultimate library fragrance.

[IambicDearie]

I quite like Dee in very small amounts, but dear oh dear does it ever last a long time. I put a tiny amount on 14 hours ago and it's still going pretty strong!

[nihil]

In vial: Peanut mixed with leather and wood with a mix of spices.

Wet: Still pretty much the same as in the bottle.

Dry: Peanut is gone, replaced by incense. Still a strong leather smell and wood coming through.

 

Very masculine scent. Definitely one of my favourites.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Dry, dark wood and leather with a touch of creamy tonka.

 

Drydown: Smoother now, more ephemeral even. The robustness of the wood has toned down considerably and the scent is now primarily tonka and clean parchment. Studious, refined, and perfectly suited for the librarian of your daydreams...or for attracting said librarian!

 

Dry: Sweeter now, aided by amping tonka. The incense and rosewood are more present, on par with the parchment strength-wise. The leather and wood remain quiet but noticeable in the background. Really quite lovely and damn sexy. Masculine leaning, but suitable for all bookish types regardless of gender.

 

 

 

 

8.5 out of 10 bones

[KakashiMorph]

Gave a different imp of Dee a go, since last time it didn't go so well.

 

This imp is of unknown age.

In the bottle: Parchment? Tonka? Leather? Whatever it is it smells like a pleasant cologne and it is fresh and delightful.

On my skin: Fresh pleasant cologne! I think it is mostly the tonka, or the rosewood. I think I can tell the soft woods in the background but for some reason it smells like a papyrus should smell to me ( not that I've ever smelled one..). A couple of minutes later the soft leather emerges and boy, is it soft and comfortable. I feel like rubbing myself against it.

Drydown: It reminds me of my father, clean shaven and wearing his leather jacket. It is a masculine fresh scent, yet at the same time comforting. <3

 

Verdict: Aging is kind to him. Note to self: Wear when mature.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Kashi

[batsy]

In the vial: super woodsy. And probably a healthy dollop of tonka. A bit musty.

 

On the skin: Yup. Tonka and incense. (I don't know why my brain just said 'peanut butter??' but I think that's just me.) This certainly invokes mental imagery of a dusty, small private library full of papers and old books. As I sort of put quite a bit much on my knuckle, it took forever to dry down, but as it started to, the leather popped out, warm and soft. Almost fully dried down, it took on more of the incense smoke. Really, it's a morpher and quite beautiful. I'm sure it would smell wonderful on a guy.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: The first thing I have written in my notes is "Tonka is chocolate, right?", so there must have been some chocolate there at the start, but I'm not getting it now. There are also strong notes of something sweet-floral-woody (rosewood, most likely, although I don't have much experience with it), something dry and smokey (unsure whether this is the incense or the parchment), and possibly leather? I have literally zero experience with BPAL's leather note, so that's what that uncategorizable extra note is.

 

Wet: A smoky-leather, very masculine scent, but pleasantly so. The leather (I think) also really amps up. There's a lovely warm underlying sweetness that could be the tobacco, could be the leather, or could even be the incense and/or parchment. (EDIT: This is probably the tonka, now that I actually look it up.) It starts very close to the skin, but, unusually, really amps up over the next few minutes to achieve an overall decently-sized throw. (Un)fortunately, this becomes part of my skin-scent within half an hour, so it's difficult for me to distinguish on myself, while others can smell it just fine.

 

Dry: Incense, tonka, and leather - still fairly masculine/unisex (which is hilarious, because the only place I can really smell it for any length of time is in my cleavage), but in a warm, sexy kind of way. Do want!