C. Auguste Dupin

[sookster]

Residing in Paris during the spring and part of the summer of 18--, I there became acquainted with a Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin. This young gentleman was of an excellent -- indeed of an illustrious family, but, by a variety of untoward events, had been reduced to such poverty that the energy of his character succumbed beneath it, and he ceased to bestir himself in the world, or to care for the retrieval of his fortunes. By courtesy of his creditors, there still remained in his possession a small remnant of his patrimony; and, upon the income arising from this, he managed, by means of a rigorous economy, to procure the necessaries of life, without troubling himself about its superfluities. Books, indeed, were his sole luxuries, and in Paris these are easily obtained.

Well-worn leather and lavender-lime cologne.

straight sniff from bottle is, indeed, very well-worn leather

once applied...WOW! serious "in-your-face" lavendery leather...this
leather is so strong it almost has a gamey or farm-like note

this rarely changed with my chemistry except it is almost a leather single note...

the lavender fades fast and furiously and i never do get any lime.... Edited December 27, 2007 by Shollin

[GypsyRoseRed]

This is leather blend is interesting partly because it comes across as white leather, whereas Perversion, Quincy Morris and Dead Man's Hand were much darker. That's probably the lavender/lime at work, but hoo boy, it's hard for anything to get past the leather here. I keep sniffing my wrist and I can't decide whether I smell like a new car or the inside of a dominatrix's closet.. Either way, this fragrance has it's place, though I doubt it'd make it into my every day rotation, so it's off to the swap/sale pile it goes..

[trocarnoir]

This is my first 'leather' scent..and WOW...it really is leather! In the bottle it's a bit sharper, but since it's been sitting on my skin it reminds me of a nice handcrafted leather journal...or my sister's suede hot pants...or an old fringey hippy suede jacket. mmmm...leather. As another poster mentioned, I didn't get any lime at all..maybe that's what the sharpness was I got out of the bottle at first whiff.

[kuroitsuki]

I agree with the others -- this scent is leather leather leather. I'm comparing it to De Sade on the other wrist, and the leather of Dupin smells much harsher and crisper... it reminds me of horse tack, actually, and that's not really a good thing. However, I do smell a light, gentle lavender as well with maybe a hint of clean citrus. It's gorgeous, but those notes fade quickly on me, leaving behind the ultra-aggressive leather.

 

I'm going to keep an imp of this but give up the bottle.

[medvssa]

In the bottle it is very sharp, but on, wet, it is somehow contained by the lavender. Which is quite green, therefore a bit sharp, too; doesn't feel at all flowery. The lime seems to give it a bit of a fresh throw, but it is not too evident or sour, or juicy, or sunny.

 

It is a bit dry, although not powdery at all. I like this leather note better than Quincey Morris' (which sadly I just didn't like, although the pear might be to blame) but less than the darker leathers of Loviatar or Crowley, which just... make me drool ^^

It is kind of velvety, so I associate it to suede.

 

The scent is very nice, especially as it dries down; it stays close, in a second-skin way, but I don't think I would reach for it myself. I will keep the bottle since my boyfriend likes it. I really have to put my nose to it to smell it, and it sadly fades pretty fast.

 

Perfectly suits the understated, earnest, and brilliant character of Dupin.

[edenssixthday]

C. Auguste Dupin – I’m not familiar with this Poe character, so after smelling this scent on my skin, I was surprised to read the Poe excerpt that accompanies this scent description. I was surprised because the character is Parisian, bookish, and a “gentleman.” However, I don’t get that connotation at all from this perfume oil. On me, it reminds me of one of the well-worn saddles hanging in the tack room in my mother’s barn. It smells like the leather of the saddle combined with the scent of saddle oil and tack room dust and the scent of the horse that’s rubbed off on the saddle. It’s slightly gamey, but that’s a word I’ve often used to describe BPAL lavender scents, so I’m guessing that’s coming from the lavender in this, as well. The longer this blend stays on my skin, the less lavendery it is and the more it starts reminding me of Dead Man’s Hand, but it never quite reaches the awesomeness of DMH. The throw and staying power are both about average.

[maribouquet]

Sadly, the leather note makes this unwearable for me - I don't get any lavender or lime, just hot car interior.

 

But you leather-lovers out there will adore this, I'm sure!

[zankoku_zen]

This is such a powerfully masculine scent. Well-worn leather.

 

My guy tends to appreciate a floral masculine bouquet more. But I might just have to convince him to wear this one.

[Little Bird]

I snagged a decant of Dupin for my boy, because lavender & lime are two of my favorite scents and they smell dreamy on him. Unfortunately, this seems to be a pretty heavy leather scent. I tried it out on the boy and on myself, and all I can smell is leather. A dark, sharp, smoky sort of leather. It fades really fast on my boy's skin, but seems to stick around on mine. Too much leather for my tastes, and my skin really amps up leather.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, I totally get lavender-lime cologne - it's weird.

 

The leather comes out on my skin, backed by the light fruity-flowerness of the lavender-lime cologne.

 

When it'd dry, it's very... heady - it's a little too sharp (with the cologne) and too much of the leather. I'll pass it along to someone who will love it.

[Tulliver]

I bought a bottle of this since it's one of my missions in life to get everything Poe or Stoker that the Lab produces, whether I like them or not.

 

... wow.

 

Just... wow. This is the gentleman himself. This is so incredibly evocative and I feel as though I'm transported to the Rue Morgue. This truly is a Chevalier's scent.

 

It morphs incredibly little from the bottle right through to final sniff, except that the leather which throws itself at me in the bottle (but NOT in a bad way, this is most definitely a superior type of leather *grin*), loses its strength fairly quickly on my skin. Yes, I know this would seem to make me experience it the other way round to everyone else.

 

Fade it does, however. But not completely. It stays just "there", and lets the lavender and lime through beautifully.

 

This scent is almost breathtaking - not beautiful, but definitely striking. It's not to be ignored and, while I'll most assuredly wear it myself, it's very much a masculine scent. It's SO unusual - I hate to say it's unique but I haven't smelled anything else like it yet - I think I may just need to "purloin" myself yet another bottle.

[Apple]

THIS. IS. IT. This is the leather scent I have been searching for since discovering BPAL! I am ecstatic.

 

I have tried every leathery blend I could get my hands on (De Sade, Loviatar, Perversion, Coyote, Dragon's Hide, Jolly Roger, The Black Tower, The Bow & Crown of Conquest, Whip, Wanda, Iago , Casanova, Severin, Hellfire, Manhattan, Les Infortunes De La Vertu), and eventually developed a fear of all BPAL leather notes other than black leather. So many of these blends were sickly sweet, and even the ones I love (De Sade and Jolly Roger) don't really smell like leather to me, either in the imp or on the skin.

 

But C. Auguste Dupin is perfect. Very leathery at first, the lavender-lime notes bloom briefly but then recede quickly, leaving just gorgeous, gorgeous LEATHER. Crisp, clean leather.

[theal8r]

All the other leathers have smelled too... floral. This leather is just perfect and smells like pure sex on my hub. Leather on me just smells like an old horse; not good. This even smells pretty nice, although too mannish, on me.

 

The leather amps very nicely and has a good amount of staying power. The lime sweetens the mix a little without making it smell like a fruit bowl.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Men’s shoe store, leather and cologne. Wet. Shoe polish on leather shoes. Dry: It grew on me a bit. The effect is weirdly comforting, and the shoe polish scent softens with wear. I am guessing the lime is making the shoe polish scent. I agree with the other. This smells mostly of thick harsh leather, like in shoes and horse tack. I’ll need to play with some more to decide if I want to keep it.

[cranberry]

At first this was strong, strong leather.

 

As it dries, there’s a touch of lavender there too the background, which makes the leather seems just that much more leathery. This leather is sharp, strong, crisp and smooth.

 

This is such a strong leather that it’s stunning. Damn!

[lilacea]

Wet: potent lavender with a leather undercurrent. As it warms on the skin there's a hint of something almost like lilac. Nowhere do I see the lime though.

 

Dry: this is leather, leather, leather! It's missing that pine-y note I usually detect in BPAL leather, so it's all leather and nothing more. The lavender has faded by this point, leaving this dominant, pure leather. It has a gorgeous gray, polished feeling about it.

[Indigo78]

While I love Leather, Lavander and I have had issues in the past. Serious ones. The in-bottle scent is frighteningly Lavander and not much else. Mediciney and herbal.

 

Too medicinal, too herbal... I was hoping for a truer leather scent.

 

Swap.

Edited December 15, 2008 by Indig0

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Salty-sharp leather and citrus.

 

Wet: Still salty, but the lime ramps and the lavender pops up.

 

Twenty minutes: Leather, salt, light citrus and lavender. Meh.

 

One hour: Smells like stale houseboat to me.

 

Two hours: Yup, definitely stale mouldy houseboat.

 

This is the second-most spectaular fail on me that I've encountered in a BPAL scent. I still have no idea why!

[Limelight]

Leather, leather everywhere, and not a myth left from the ghetto. David Bowie wrote my review the year I was born. And yes, this scent stuns me. I like it, but yeesh. Wouldn't mind having a briefcase or laptop bag with this aroma.

[filigree_shadow]

I can smell lime at first, but after a while it's mostly just leather and lavender. Kind of an even blend of both. I think I can still smell a little lime in it, but not a whole lot. Sometimes I sniff it and think the leather is stronger, and sometimes the lavender seems stronger. It smells very masculine to me -- too much for me.

 

My husband wears leather scents very frequently, so I asked him to try this one. He said that he liked it but he likes other BPAL leather scents better. We're not likely to run out of leather blends for him any time soon (or any time this decade -- that's how many he has), so I suppose it's a good thing that he's starting to narrow down which leather ones he wants and which ones he doesn't!

[SusanGistTaylor]

In the bottle i can get a leather note, heavy on the lavender & lime.

 

On the wrist wet, lime, Lime, LIME!!! with hints of leather and lavender.

 

Dry-down, lavender's coming up and balancing nicely with the citrus notes of the lime. Leather's gone bye-bye. Reminds me of the way my great-great-aunt's house in Natchitoches, Louisiana smelled.

 

I am positive my body chemistry is seriously screwed up, my skin seems to amp up all the contrary notes to what most other peoples does. @_@ anyhoo, this ones a keeper and i'm glad i traded for it. But, it's not a daily wearer for me. Maybe it's just the fact that its and older scent and has time to settle.

[donnatron]

Bottle: A Lammles Western Wear store. Lammles right before Stampede, in fact, when they are loading up on the cowboy boots and other assorted leather goods for tourists to buy.

 

Wet: A bottle of Sprite open at a Lammles. Faint hint of the lavender. Still a strong leather and very, very, very, very, VERY masculine. Definitely one of those scents that can go either way--teetering on the edge of wonderful but may be downright icky.

 

Dry: I think this is lacking the sweetness most leather blends require in order to really work on my skin. I kind of smell like a saddle. It's... interesting. And I might actually wear it just to mess with people (is that weird? Probably) but it's really not the greatest on my skin. It's very literally a saddle leather sort of scent with a strange lime/lavender thing going on. I actually think that this will smell great on my skin a few hours in when the leather has had time to really sink in and become a skin scent and the lime has died a brutal death. It's the lime that's really making this nose-tingling to me and throwing me off from enjoying the blend.

 

Throw: STRONG.

 

Overall: Eh. It's not really doing it for me. Maybe with a bit more sweetness and a little less lime.

[stellans]

This is a lovely leather blend, not least because of the lavender note which lends a crispness to the smooth, sinous smell of leather. On me, it's leather right off the bat, but the lavender shows up quickly and duels with the leather for dominance. This does not happen. Leather is the dominant note and Lavender learns her lesson. But soft, demure, yet strong (the iron fist in a velvet glove?), Lavender is still there: like wearing a lavender sachet next to one's skin, under the leather corset.

 

p.s. the lime? Total no-show.

Edited March 6, 2011 by stellans

[LavenderCoffee]

A dab'll do ya with this one. It's a wonderfully persistent but soft leather, well worn and warm, carrying the scent of its owner/wearer.

 

This isn't nearly as "leather goods store" to my nose as something like You're A Daisy, but it is predominantly leather. Herbal lavender cologne pops out, then settles as the oil dries, perfect for a gentleman detective or anyone in search of a subtle leather/cologne vibe. Fresh lime wedge is certainly not happening here, but the cologne has a nice citrus slant.

I just purchased the bottle this week, but I'm not sure how long it's been in stock waiting to be claimed, so it could possibly be aged? Anyway it's lovely and nicely balanced. 

[doomsday_disco]

C. Auguste Dupin is heavy on the leather. It starts off really sharp and is quite the bully, but eventually, it smooths over once the lavender lime cologne emerges and smells more well-worn after several hours, long after the cologne has faded.

 

The leather was way too much for me in the beginning of the scent, but I really enjoyed the lavender lime cologne and wish I had gotten more of it! While I don't think it is something I'd reach for over other leather scents in my collection, I am glad I got to try this one because I love the story and have been curious about this scent for some time.