Chaos Theory V: Recursive Self-Similarity v1

[schackjj]

CXXXIV (134)

 

Wet: A breath of mint, a hint of kitchen-type spices, but I don't smell the Dorian. No fruit, resins, or florals.

 

Drydown: Throw is niice, this is wafting around as I read my book No idea where the mint went, maybe it was my imagination? It seems to be Dorian + spice cake. In the very late drydown, around the 3-hour mark, something sweet and powdery appears too (amber?). Call it powdered sugar on the spice cake

 

A little foody for my tastes, though.

[AnArtfuldodger]

CCCXL (I think, the silver ink smudged a little but I wrote down what I thought I saw): In the bottle: heady, with a hint of lemon dusting spray?

 

On my skin wet: Very lemony, sort of like a lemon tart, but just the filling of the tart, not anything else (no pastry).

 

On the drydown: Still very lemon-tart-filling, and an afterwave of Dorian in the background...it's like Dorian at a lemon tart party.

 

An hour later: It's still there on my arm, but the lemon tart's mixing with something that reminds me of what "The Sea Foam's Blood" turned into on me -- not bad, but sort of like what a store selling salt water taffy smells like.

 

I think in the end, I like the idea of lemon-tart-taffy-store Dorian better than it likes me on my arm. If there were more pastry and less whatever-that-scent-from-"The Sea Foam's Blood" is, I'd be all over this, as I'm quite the foodie.

 

Hmm.

 

 

 

 

CCCCXXIV (I think)

 

Sniffing the bottle, I almost wondered whether this was a Snake Oil blend, rather than Dorian, but the bottle says Dorian, sooooo....here we go.

 

Wet on wrist: This is dark, not floral...I'm not getting any Dorian from this at all, but I'm getting a hint of a childhood memory. It's like dark clay, and resins, and some dark spices added to the mix.

 

On the drydown: This reminds me faintly of Lilith Victoria, but less flowery. The clay smell has morphed into some sort of earthy tree smell (I don't think it's cedar, but something similar) and it's very earthy and woody. Like Dorian went on a hike? It's definitely nice...just not *me*.

 

 

CCCL (I think)

 

In the bottle: very similar to my first CT, CCCXL above, but cleaner. I'm getting a sort of clean floral detergent smell + a whiff of Dorian (and just a tiny wee whiff) too. I'm at work and one of the admissions people just walked in a remarked that my office smells the best in the whole building! Hee!

 

On my wrist: I really can't detect what this is though. I'm *terrible* with detecting florals in general -- this is quite light to me though. Dorian picked some tiny flowers? If I liked florals, I'm sure I'd like this! Is there a hint of lemon in here too? I really can't tell at all.

Edited April 13, 2009 by AnArtfuldodger

[alizarin]

CCCLVVII (I think, label is slightly smudged.)

 

In the bottle I get a sugared fruity clove scent. It reminds me a bit of something else I have. Blood Kiss, maybe.

 

On wet it's almost a fruit tea sort of scent, a dry loose fruit tea. I'm not getting much Dorian save for the sugary note, it's buried in something that might be clove and something red & fruity, cherry maybe. It smells red.

 

Drydown kills the sweet a bit but leaves an interesting scent. Any individual notes I could discern earlier are gone, and what's left is really lovely. Dry and slightly sweet with something kind of sharp and clear in the middle. Soft but with a bite to it. Like poisoned cherries instead of poisoned apples.

 

I almost didn't order this (even though Dorian is one of my favorites) because I'm very picky but I seem to have lucked out. Dorian wrapped in red velvet. Meow.

[PlasticBlue]

CVII

 

In the bottle: I can smell something cologney that must be the fougère mixed with something sweet, but it's all very faint.

 

On, wet: The cologne smell is the strongest right now. I can smell what I think is bergamot? Quite nice, really. My mother agrees in her typically loquacious manner.

The cats run away.

 

After 10 minutes: The lavender is coming out and dominating the scent.

 

After 1 hour: It's quite sweet now, with the sugary tea scent dominating. Most of the fougère has faded.

 

Verdict: If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was straight Dorian with no additives. Fortunately, I only have Dorian in imp form, so it's nice to have a bottle of more-or-less Dorian to dip into! Me likey very much.

[zee]

LVIII (58)

 

This one puzzles me, quite a lot. In the bottle it smelt citrusy, but directly on it was Dorian with a harsher note beneath - possibly iris, which is always harsh on my skin, or maybe a metallic note? Although granted I've never tried the lab's metallic note and my nose is so very untrained.

 

Drying down, sniffing my wrists mainly just gives me Dorian. But when I waft it, I can detect something else... something a bit like lemon cleaner? It seems like my first instinct was right.

 

I love Dorian, and it's got enough of the original scent to make me not dislike it, yet I think I'd have spent my money more wisely on a bottle of straight up Dorian. Hmmmm.

 

 

[DangerInRed]

LXXI (71):

 

Oil is clear in the vial. I just got a decant of this, and upon opening it, was blasted with a whiff of...nothing. I couldn't smell anything in the imp, so I had to try it on.

 

Once applied, I still couldn't tell what it was for a good minute or so. It smelled kinda familiar, soft, and possibly florally only not strong, overpowering, or very identifiable (rose, violet, jasmine, gardenia). After a bit of thinking, I came to the conclusion that the floral note is probably lily (maybe of the stargazer variety), as my wrist now smells a lot like Haloes. I think there's a soft, powdery amber/vanilla tinge to this as well, and it's quite lovely. Not much Dorian, but I love it and am glad I tried it on!

[Geminirubyshoes]

Aww man, my silver number has rubbed off already

 

My bottle smells like lemons and rose geranium when sniffed. When I have it on it turns into bergamot/lemon Earl Gray tea time. I definatley agree with the lemony-Embalming Fluid association that people seem to be making on here.

 

The throw is pretty strong and lasts awhile. It made my whole living room smell like it!

This was my first Chaos Theory purchase and I dont regret it one bit. It may not be one that will wear that often as I am not a huge fan of lemon but I love it anyways for being special

 

Oh and one of my friends got a bottle of the Snake Oil Series and it smelled EXACTLY like brownies. I was sooo jealous! LOL!

[whisperingmachines]

I'm so bad at detecting notes.

 

Dorian CLXIX:

I can barely smell the Dorian- there's something in here I swear I've smelled before. It started off a bit cocoa or molassesy, and then just kinda faded into this sweet autumnal scent. Not bad.

[Lyrical]

In vial: fresh and floral, but also a little vanilla-foody.

 

Wet on skin: light and floral, with Dorian's sugared tea. It starts out girly, but swiftly morphs into a soft, unisex scent, less powdery than Dorian alone. The vanilla is creamy and foody and there's a fruity note which I later identify as honeydew melon. So far I like it!

 

Dry on skin: pale, sweet, musky, melony, floral, vanilla, unisex, yet surprisingly warm. Unique and very nice! It has a Tamamo-No-Mae/Hungry Ghost Moon vibe to it.

 

Next morning it felt cooler and reminded me of Black Opal! WIN! And it's really cool that this is the only bottle of this scent in existence and it's mine!

[cinnamonster]

CCVII

 

I have to say I am so glad I waited to review this as at first sniff it was strongly frankincense and opium, no Dorian, and I applied a tiny dab and felt the same, the opium came out a little more and it reminded me of a darker (electricity-free) cousin to Stormclouds on the Midway with a hint of sugar.

 

Either a few days have changed it or it's my nose working better as it's different now.

 

Wet on my skin I'm getting a strong opium/incense/frankincense smell (no Dorian), but after a few minutes I keep noticing a very sweet smell. I'm being surrounded by a sweet almost soporific cloud. It's lovely and it takes me a minute to work out what I'm smelling - the chaos. So I sniff my arms, and they're all opium and frankincense, but when I move my nose further away, it gets sweeter and sweeter and I wrack my brains for what it smells like, and I think it is violet.

 

Oh it is just lovely.

 

For a while it's like a very sweet Stormclouds with Faith, but she fades a lot and then it makes me think of Fairy Market only a dark nighttime version.

 

I have no idea where Dorian went in this mix (I think he got stand-ins and butt doubles), but I love this and am thankful my secondhand bottle is overfilled as I may cry when it runs out. You could wear this for a date as it's quite sexy but it's starting to make me very sleepy.

 

I don't know if I should have ordered my own now, or whether this is my perfect scent... There's no way on earth I could have concocted this if you asked what I would like to smell in my chaos but it is just so amazing. I took a chance on it hearing it contained resins. Having read the reviews of the others I think I got the right one for me.

 

 

[AnArtfuldodger]

Got some more half-bottles to review!

 

CCCLXX:

 

In the bottle: Is that...anise and Dorian?

 

Wet on wrist: It's reminding me of candy...there's a tiny hint of licorice in there, yes. But it's not like the sweet sugary anise from Absinthe...this is dark, heady licorice, with a hint of something else playing in the background. What is that in the background? Incense? Licorice, a sweet incense, and Dorian.

 

On the drydown: This is morphing into something quite tame. The heady licorice is subdued, and Dorian's peeking his head out a little more. It's like regular Dorian, but with a spicy kick thrown in.

 

 

 

CCCXXXV... (quite smudged)

 

In the bottle: This smells...I don't know WHAT it smells like, but it's invoking some childhood memory. Not bad! WAIT! It's reminding me of this lilac bubble bath that I had YEARS ago and hoarded from about age 12 to about age 16. HOARDED.

 

Wet on wrist: I get regular Dorian, with a hint of something quite clean.

 

Drydown: ...Is this Dorian and bananas??? Wait, there it goes again, that's gone...back to the lilac bubble bath smell.

 

After a few more minutes: I don't know if the banana smell was a freak waft, because nothing else is reminding me of bananas here. Just the lilac bubble bath scent, mixed with Dorian. Not sure I'm going to keep it -- I don't dislike lilac, but it turns more soapy on me (hence the bubble bath, probably!), so I might as well just wear regular Dorian without the soap, yanno? Even though the lilac is quite nice. I do like lilacs. (*wail* they just don't like me!)

 

 

CCCCXXXI

 

In the bottle: Fruity pink CAKE and Dorian! 6th time's the charm! This is what I was hoping for with this CTV thing!

 

Wet on wrist: omnomno--...WHERE'D YOU GO, CAKE DORIAN LOVE?

 

On the drydown: *sniffle* Please to be coming back now? I can barely smell it. It's a clean smell on my wrist, and I'm going to need to apply some more, methinks...*slathers* Nope. All but disappears on me. In the bottle, this is divine. On me, it fades to almost nothing in .02 seconds. What's left behind is a sweet hint of flowers and cake, and Dorian...I may try layering this with regular Dorian to see what happens then. :-/

Edited April 20, 2009 by AnArtfuldodger

[ShadowsDance]

XII

 

Huh.. it's just Dorian. I can't smell anything else with this.. My imp of Dorian is all used up, thinking of getting a 5ml anyway, so might try to compare the two again then. Until then, though.. it's just like Dorian. *shrug*

[DangerInRed]

More Dorian CTs!

 

Bottle CCCXXXIV (334): The Dorian is strong in this one! In the bottle, it's very limey! Like, mostly lime. And not your tame, everyday lime. This is LIME, strong and proud. After applying and still wet, the oil was a limey Dorian, nice, and balanced. There may have been a hint of another citrus poking around in the background, but it was hard to tell. After a few minutes though, most of the lime fades and a slightly more crisp version of Dorian is what's left. I like this more than I thought I would!

 

 

Decant CLVIII (158): When first applied, this smells...strange. Something doesn't smell quite right. It smells like a mixture of honey (straight from the jar) and herbs or some kind of greenery and plant life. Even though there is a honey note, the oil doesn't smell very sweet, just mostly fresh and green. The honey note fades after a few minutes, so now it's just a hint of Dorian with fresh greenery. Now on the drydown, it almost reminds me a bit of Ostara.

 

Decant CLXIX (169): Whoa, holy foodiness, Batman! This Dorian-based mixture smells like a Halloween blend. It reminds me a lot of Sugar Skull, I think it has that same almost spicy but not quite burnt sugar/caramelly note. I'm only getting a hint of Dorian in the background. I'd say this is the sibling of Sugar Skull, and cousin to Sugar Slathered Candy Apple (sans apple, of course).

Previously reviewed by whisperingmachines.

 

Bottle CCXXXV (235): This was my first Dorian CT bottle, and it inspired me to want more! I'd say it smells similar to Creepy and Sugar Slathered Candy Apple...it's caramelly. Similar, but with notable differences, to the Decant of 169 I have. There is a little more Dorian in this blend as well, so the caramel is mingling with the musky vanilla tea, it's veeeeery nice! Not too much change from application to drydown, either.

Previously reviewed by JulyBooks.

[Little Bird]

XXV (decant from angelicruin <3).

 

In the vial, this smells like the lab's blackberry note. It's a creamy, almost citrussy blackberry.

 

On my skin at first, it's blackberry and a clean orange smell, I think. It doesn't *really* smell like Dorian, but I can kinda convince myself that there's a clean tea note in here. As it dries down, it smells like orange hard candy and clean tea with a hint of berry (and the berry part now reminds me a lot of Jester). It's a bit dryer-sheet-fresh.

 

Jester, orange candy, and dryer sheets. Not so much on the Dorian.

[lacyjae]

Okaaay, so my two bottles of CTV: Dorian have arrived! I am so excited! However, I'm sad that the numbers rub off. I guess that's part of the chaos, though.

 

 

I *think* these are the numbers, but smudging and such make it hard to tell for sure.

 

edit:So, I've been told in nicer terms, that I am stupid. Haha. So I don't think my numbers are right. But I don't know what they are for real. Bah. lol. Any suggestions on how to read 'em?

 

 

CCCLXIX (369) - At first in the bottle it has the softness that Dorian has, and maybe.. a bit of musk and fruit? On skin, there's some mint, I think, just a touch - more like... chocolate mint tea? The mint is hiding a lot, just peeking out. It definitely reminds me of the time I went to Vancouver for a week or two, and stayed with a friend; her mom brought in some chocolate mint from her garden and made me tea. I'm not doing the scent justice, though, I think there's definitely a touch of musk hiding in there. It's very nice, gentle and sweet. It seems like Dorian469 disappears quickly, though. :/ I think a little bit of Dorian and whispers of fruit remain.

eta: Dorian369 seems to disappear almost completely. It's like a memory of it. Wafting, I think I get a hint of that chocolate mint tea, but it's faint.

 

edit: I figured this one out! woo!

CCCXLIV (344) - In the bottle this is very strongly perfumey. Maybe some aquatics or water flowers of some sort? Wet on skin I'm definitely picking up aquatics, which don't tend to work well on me. I don't really get any Dorian out of it at all. I think it's definitely watery and floral.. I'm thinking it won't stick around for me much... It's very fresh, almost in... I don't know.. a floral dryer cloth way? Floral x vaguely citrus x fresh? This might be nice while I'm in Australia if it sticks around on me.

eta: Dorian344 dries really nicely. It's faint, and quite fresh - it's like a fresher Dorian, outdoors for a nice walk before it gets too hot. I still get vague traces of aquatics, just the lightest touches though. If I waft, I get much more Dorian than I do huffing, the gentle tea notes. mmm.

 

Now I must run to the swaps page and demand swaps of Dorian! buahaha. I do also have two decants coming eventually. glee!

Edited April 29, 2009 by LacyJae

[midnight_aeval]

CCLXXV: origin - purchase on ebay

 

The ebay auction for this one said Dorian with a definite foody/baked goods note, like fresh butter/sugar cookies! and I'll tell you it's not far off!! It's like a small, round, spicey tea cookie fell into a brewing pot of Dorian mmmm

 

The perfect combination I think, Dorian was meant to be served with cookies!

Edited May 24, 2009 by Midnight Aeval

[crebbsgirl]

CCCLXXIX

 

Dorian with champaca flower, skin musk and chardonnay. I was a little worried as my skin tends to amp champaca but this is QUITE nice. The chardonnay lightens this up, while the musk gives it a bit of grounding. You can still smell Dorian quite well as the underlying base here. Brilliant.

[stellans]

CCXI = 211

Not much Dorian-like at all (at least at first), but a musky melon scent...cool and refreshing. This is a deeper, more complicated melon blend than say, Yemaya, and is utterly lovely. There's also a bit of florals going on, but deep in the background, and not any sweet white florals, but something deeper and a bit darker. After a while, the Dorian creamy vanilla tea notes come forward a bit, but still the melony-musky-deep florals hold sway. I love this blend, love it so much! I wish the GC Dorian was this blend...

Previously reviewed by OneTheyCallLuna. Edited May 3, 2009 by Shollin

[fairnymph]

The number had rubbed off on this, but I shall refer to it as cheshirecat #6:

 

Sniffed: Colourless or nearly colourless oil. Nutty, spicy cake. Walnut, I think. And vanilla-foody spice cake. The walnut/spice thing makes me think carrot cake.

 

Wet: Less foody, more spicy, and I get a bit of the tea note from Dorian. Much more Dorian-ish, though less sweet than Dorian is on me. I believe the spice is cassia, as this isn't too spicy.

 

Dry: Sweeter, more sugary, and more musky. The cassia is extremely light. The walnut/sugar combo reminds me of the honeyed walnuts I got from Intergalactic.

 

Later: I think there is ginger in this, too. Since it can't actually be walnut, I'd say the note is a grain of some sort, which gives a vague Dana O'Shee feel.

 

Summary: Gingered walnutty grains, sugared vanilla tea, and cassia. It still strikes me as a bit foody on drydown, but it's pretty nice. Good throw and longevity, fairly unisex.

 

 

[Rheliwen]

CCCLIX (should be 359)

 

I don't want to jinx myself but I really give myself over to the chaos and it has worked both times. The first, and last, chaos theory I did was the 2nd one. I ordered one bottle and got something that was perfect. I didn't bother ordering from the other incarnations and risk breaking that initial chaotic magic. Well, these were different so I ordered this one, and only this one. Strike again!

 

I get a cross between The Blockhead (which I oddly love) and Dorian. It goes on all lemony musky leather and dries down into carnation spicey bubblegum, white musk, lemon tea, and leather.

 

Instant love.

[Little Bird]

Partial bottle CLXIX.

 

This morphs like crazy on my skin, but it does smell really good for the most part. In the bottle & on my skin at first, it reminds me of Sugar Slathered Candy Apple, but darker, richer, and better. I get something crisp and slightly fruity smelling, smothered in sugar (brown sugar, burnt sugar, and not quite caramel-goodness). It has a dry smell that reminds me of walnuts as well. As it dries down on my skin, it has a perfumey apple + musk quality that's keeping all of that sweetness in check. Then suddenly it morphs into smelling like burnt sugar, caramel apple, and coffee for about an hour. My boy hates coffee, so it bothered him a bit. It dries down to burnt sugar and crisp fruitiness for me. It's sort of like Sugar Skull, but not quite as obnoxious, lol.

 

I wouldn't say that this smells anything like Dorian, though.

 

Last reviewed by DangerInRed.

[AnArtfuldodger]

Round 3 of 3 of testing this series for me, so here I go!

 

CCCXCI

 

In the bottle: This is a very sweet scent, I can pick up the Dorian in it as well.

 

Wet on wrist: It's a light musk, similar to....I can't quite tell, maybe Giant Vulva, mixed with Dorian.

 

On the drydown: Skin musk + Dorian, I think?

 

 

 

CCCXLIX

 

In the bottle: Yew trees!

 

Wet on wrist: Dorian has taken a stroll through a heavily wooded area of Yew trees, and has perhaps climbed one.

 

On the drydown: It settles down into a tamer yew tree with just a tiny, tiny hint of Dorian mixed in -- a sweeter version of Yew Trees. I like it, but not sure when I'd wear it. Hmm.

 

 

CCXLV.

 

In the bottle: Heady dime store perfume. But that's to me -- 80% of florals remind me of dime store perfumes even when everyone else smells something divine.

 

Wet on wrist: This reminds me most of Khrysee, actually. *sniff sniff* A lot of Khrysee, maybe another floral, not getting much Dorian here. My skin amps scents like Khrysee like crazy so I tend to steer clear of them these days.

 

On the drydown: Sweet, a little heavier than CCCXCI in the musk department, but they make a good pair together, I think. Not for me, but not bad.

Edited April 27, 2009 by AnArtfuldodger

[sirensea]

CCLXXX (280) I'm testing this for the very kind schackjj.

 

In the imp: The first impression I get from this is a sugary floral with a hint of something a little darker at the edges. She mentioned smelling a leather note, and the more I sniff, the more I agree. It's not an overpowering amount, but just enough to top off the sweetness.

 

On my skin: Mmmm. Cool, sugary lime, soft floral and a hint of leather. The dry-down is heavenly... just sniffing my wrist is making my mouth water! If I had to compare this to another scent, I'd say it's quite a bit like Mr. Nancy: sweet, citrusy, masculine without being manly.

 

This is a wonderful scent for the warm season. Excuse me while I dab on the rest of my decant and imagine myself drinking an unfortunately nonexistent glass of limeade.

[CynicalPink]

CCCLVII (is that 357? man my 5th grade history teacher would be so disappointed...)

 

Bottle: Dorian "after the operation." All that was manly about Dorian has gone decidedly femme. Right up my alley!

 

Wet: Lemony lily sugar...woah...Okay there's the musk from Dorian...What the heck is giving me that spicy edge, though? Myrrh? Whenever I get something smokey musk i just assume it's myrrh, for better or worse. Smells great but I'm pretty lost as to what's going on. I can tell this'll be a long strange trip, but a fun one to take

 

Drydown: Wow this review makes no sense. Like Dorian with extra lemon, maybe a touch of floral. If Dorian is a sly Victorian rake, this CT version is a no-nonsense Victorian lady taking tea with her friends in a very elegant room. It make the Victorian history nerd in me very very happy

 

I'm very glad I took the gamble on a Chaos theory. Also the bottle is super full, which makes me

Edited April 27, 2009 by CynicalPink

[dreadpiraterustypants2]

CLVI

dorian, light and fresh with white rabbit cream- like soft cottonballs!

slight spring flowers on the breeze now~ a bit green.

 

CCXXIX

chocolate watermelon cookie dorian?

a bit spicy! has dorian's musk~

 

XLIV

reallllly light citrus-y musk-

a green sugared lemon!

a tad tart~

 

 

hmmm! all very seasonally appropriate!