Theodosius, The Legerdemain

[LizziesLuck]

Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean.

 

Wet: Lemon tea. I know lemon isn't listed, but this is really lemony on me. It's really nice.

 

Dry: This is a little tiny bit masculine on me, but that vanilla bean note is killer! I may have to have a bottle. I am not sure how much I will actually wear this, but I love it and am not sure I can stand to not have it in my collection. Also, as an aside, super glad jasmine leaf does not smell like the flower, or it would have killed this on me (I amp Jasmine, almost without exception, and I dislike it. So if you're afraid of the jasmine leaf, I don't think you need be!)

[BeyondBad1313]

This blend is absolutely fantastic, it smells like earl grey tea and mens cologne. This is a more masculine scent, but I think it can work for anyone. I love it so much as it smells mostly like earl grey on my skin, which is my favorite tea. I had to get a backup of this, I tried the old and the new version and they are about the same in my opinion.

[agirlnamedfury]

Unfortunately this just smells a bit like air freshener on me. I do get whiffs of the tea and vanilla, but can't agree about the comparisons to Dorian (which I love) -- this is much sharper, at least on my skin. Lemon lysol all the way here. A shame.

[Missy_killer]

2015-version.

In the imp: Very sweet. I smell vanilla and grapefruits, very sugary and bright. This also has a faint floral aspect, I can't decide if it's the tea or the fougere that I smell.

 

On: just like in the imp it is super sweet and for some reason it reminds me a lot of Gobo. Even thought Gobo was more citrusy, they share the vanilla sweetness.

As this sits on my skin it also reminds me of Blood Pearl. Why, I really don't know.

And then my nemesis Jasmine pokes its ugly face out which of course means that I get a slight headache.

 

I really wanted to love Theodosius, but it is sadly the first of the Carnaval scents that doesn't work on me

[Casablanca]

2015

 

I like fougeres and tea blends. I see nothing but goodness coming from Theo based on the notes.

On my skin, Theodosius smells like lavender: the color, not the herb, although I think I get a little of that aromatic herb, too. The tea is prominent and clean, merging well into a light jasmine-vanilla-musk combination.

The fougere is strong beside the tea. Fougere and teas together seem such a natural pairing. I also seem to get orange, maybe bergamot, and grapefruit. After drydown, the tonka from the fougere comes forward, steeped in vanilla tea, and it's lovely.

I like this.

[torikitty]

Wow, I'm not getting tea at all. So sad. Strangely enough, this went oddly bright floral on me, and reminded me a lot of Flower Bomb.

[Convallaria]

The opening is a mix of chilled tea and fougere spiced with ti leaf and bergamot. Black tea is, again, of the "fresh" variety. I get the comparisons to Dorian, but thankfully it lacks that extra spoonful of sugar that makes Dorian unbearable to me. When the drydown starts, the the top is less "fresh", more like a cologne. Latter drydown is first fougere and vanilla, then fougere and musk.

 

ETA: Review for 2015/16 version, never sniffed the original.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Convallaria

[kattalog]

2006s version:
Wet: Strong bergamot and dark leaves! Sharp, green masculine cologne

Dry: Fresly dried its bergamot and fresh leaves… and something cologne-y. Very much a unisex, leaning towards traditional masculine scent. In the background you can find a bit of the vanilla bean hanging around, keeping the sharpness from the tea and leaves getting to edgy.
An hour in the sharp leaves and bergamot is softened by the vanilla, which turns Theodosius into a grown up tea with a hint of vanilla. Its not a floral scent but its more leafy than regular tea. Very pretty in this stage, compared to its sharp beginning which was more cologne-y.
However, already 90 minutes in, Theodosius is getting near the near-skin stage.

The added vanilla and musk makes Theodosius much warmer during its later stages, which in the end makes it a very comfortable scent. I really, really like how Theodosius ends, I just wish he would stay longer and as its fading already at 2.5-3 hours.

Makes me think of: Cologne in its wet stage, delicious tea for grown ups as dry.

Dominant notes: Bergamot and leaves first hours, tea and vanilla the second.

Lasting: barely 3.5 hours

[VioletChaos]

Now that Dorian is on an unexpected hiatus, I blind-bought a bottle of this as I've heard rumors as to it's similarities to Dorian. Liker it or not, this review for me is mostly as a comparison to my beloved Dorian, not as an expected twin, but certainly, hopefully, a close relation.

 

In The Bottle: I, too, get a decidedly "lemony" aspect to the black tea here, and the fougere is light, lighter than in Dorian, but still quite lovely.

 

Wet On Skin: This is a LOVELY black tea. The "earl grey" aspect is still coming across more as lemon than bergamot to me at this stage, but I've no complaints, because I adore lemon scents and lemony tea is no great tragedy, to be sure.

 

Dry Down: This is absolutely a cousin of Dorian, in that the sweet black tea and fougere are all accounted for. But this is absolutely its own scent. It's possible that there will be times when I'll happily wear this to conserve my bottle of Dorian, but there will also be times where I'd definitely choose this as it's own thing and there will be times where this scent cannot possibly take Dorian's place. I am delighted to have taken a chance on it and to have a bottle to call my own.

[renfair]

Like I think a few other people, I picked up a bottle of Theodosius from the lab when Dorian was out of stock. I ended up really liking Dorian after it was already sold out, so I wanted to have something else on hand until hopefully that one came back. Therefore I got this as well as Jareth to tide me over.

First Sniff Impression: Definitely similar to Jareth and Dorian slightly, but I get more of a white tea note with this?

Wet in Vial: Green or white tea instead of Earl Grey, whiter fourgere, not so sweet as Dorian and Jareth, more fresh.

 

Drying Down on Skin: This is definitely a lighter, fresher fougere. The Earl Grey and white flowers combine to make a white tea scent to me, while the white musk forms a good solid base, and keeps it from getting *too* feminine, and the vanilla smooths everything over.

Dry on Skin: Dry a bit of the citrus tea scent fades and the white musk spreads out. "Pearlescent" white musk makes me think of one that would be creamy, and that seems to fit here. Fully dry it's definitely more masculine than when it first started. It has a good solid base, with the lighter fougere and other floral notes to make it interesting.

Conclusion: This ended up being slightly different than I was expecting, but that's totally fine with me. It was a lighter fougere and maybe better for summertime than some of the others that can feel heavier and syrupy. I liked this one a lot!

[roseus]

Bought this for my guy for the mentions of Dorian, and it does reminds me of Dorian, but fresher and lighter. On me, s it dries I get a mossy greeness over everything, and I wonder if it is in the fougere? On my guy however I distinctly get a creamy earl grey with a splash of fresh clean cologne.

[nok]

After years of alternating through Dorian, Jareth and Theo, I find myself most likely to reach for Theo these days. An oversimplification would be to refer to Theo as Summertime Dorian, or rather, Dorian strolling through a garden in the golden hour while enjoying an effervescent gin and tonic with lemon. There's even a faint trace of soapy florals hidden in the mix which lends a certain freshness. The whole affair eventually fades to a sweet creamy musk that'll lure even the most fragrance-phobic person in for a closer sniff. Masterpiece material from the lab.

[Cali]

This starts VERY strong tea on me and transforms into a softer masculine scent, still with the earl gray in the background, but mainly fougere with the vanilla bean poking through. Lovely lovely lovely. There's a magic to it.

Indeed a bit like Dorian and how I imagine Jareth would smell.

Not strong enough for me, but definately worth the try!!

[clockworkcrypt]

On me at least this was a watered down dorian, or on me at the time, a weaker version of Paper Phoenix. Lovely, but in comparison to the other two, just not the same throw or potential. Off to the swapping pile it went, but hey, I figured slapping a review could remind my later self not to try this again. 

[ccelaya]

I do agree that there is some Dorian in this. This is a perfect blended on me of white tea, vanilla, and soft florals. 
 

clean, floral, slightly sweet, and light. 
 

 

[Ezra]

Oh, Theodosius, how desperately I wanted to love you...

In the bottle, this is strong Earl Grey tea, sugar, and lemon. There's something a bit darker in it, more masculine and cologne-y. A bit overwhelming in the bottle!

 

Wet, this somehow turns into vanilla-y lemony jasmine. Jasmine leaf doesn't smell the same as jasmine, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. It's not quite bad enough that I ran to wash it off, but it certainly wasn't pleasant at all- not what I expected from Theodosius, and not something I like. 

 

As it drys down, however, the jasmine scent sloooowly fades away. The vanilla bean comes to the front, with a hint of bergamot and a squeeze of citrus. It has this green floral undertone (the fougere?)  that keeps it surprisingly light and spring-y, but the white musk grounds it and keeps the scent from being too sweet and flowery. I'm not getting black tea from this at all- it's more of a light white or green tea. 

 

It fades surprisingly quickly. As it faded, it morphed wildly yet again- it's late stages are a warm, lightly sweet, creamy musk. At this point it doesn't have much throw, instead hugging the skin. I can't stop sniffing my wrists to get more of that faint creamy sweetness. All in all, I like Theodosius okay, but it wasn't all I dreamed it would be. Nevertheless, I'll be keeping it and hoping it will grow more to my liking with time. 

 

Strong throw (at the beginning), very brief staying power

[monocainsheresy]

2021

 

This smells way more like Dorian than I expected! The base is almost dead on for un-aged Dorian, and the rest of the scent is super sugary lemon, which reminds me of lemonade mixed with black tea. The musk comes out as it dries.

[MonkeysInk]

Found an old imp in my stash and I don’t think I’ve ever tried it.  If I had to guess, it’s at least 10 years old and probably older.  I’ve also never tried Dorian (blushes…) so maybe I need to try that next.

 

In the imp, this smelled like lemony tea and bright leaves.  On the skin, this smells like cedar.  Lots and lots of cedar.  It smells sweet and fresh, but all I get is that very bright woodsy note.

Edited January 12, 2023 by MonkeysInk

[feyofthefellwood]

2023 restocked version. I like this even more than I thought I would. It's quite similar to Dorian IMO, but it smells much more green at first. I think the jasmine leaf and white musk make it a bit sharper, though the jasmine note never goes into super floral territory. It opens with stronger bergamot and some mossiness, but the dry down is a similar sugary vanilla tea. To me, it's a "colder" Dorian. For some reason the dry down also reminds me of my beloved Grey Columns, and even though I'm not sure why it does, that makes me happy.