Dumb Cake

[LiberAmoris]

This is the scent of an awkward encounter with a Yule-evoked doppelgänger mate: spectral cologne, blurry herbs, fireplace ash, and a dusting of crumbs.

Dorian Dopplegänger! Dumb Cake smells like Dorian on the other side of the looking glass.

The spectral cologne note is pretty great—like a luminous Dorian. The blurry herbs and dusting of crumbs are very faint...there's just an edge of something foody here, like white cake and the barest hint of perhaps rosemary? The ash is also spectral—pure grey-white, rather than gritty, sooty black. It's fantastic, and I will enjoy every drop (and endeavor to get some on my husband, because I think this would be amazing on him).

[Aviatrix]

This is very good! The cologne gives a freshness to the blend, but stays in the background. In the foreground is more than just a little dusting of cake crumbs, or maybe more like bread crumbs; it's not overly sweet or cakey, but has a definite baked goods quality to it.

If I try to pick them out, I can sort of distinguish the herbs as well. There is a smokiness to the blend that reminds me a little of La Befana; must be the fireplace ash!

I can certainly see the comparison to Dorian here; although the Dorian-quality stays in the back, you can feel the light, slightly masculine, but sweetly so, atmosphere in it.

 

I might need a big bottle of this!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the bottle, i get a sort of sweet-lavender-y-yellow-cake kinda thing. nice but not amazing.

 

on skin, wet, it goes to this ucky pickle-like bitter celery weirdness that made me desperately want to scrub it off. (i have the same pickle issue with Ivanushka, and the most recent Herr Drosselmeyer, but not the original one)

 

after half an hour or so (and for the next 6 hours, and a good 24 hours on my sweater cuff) it has settled down into something i can only describe as Daddy. some amalgamation of the colognes my Daddy wore when i was little. not entirely unlike The Gentleman from a couple years back.

 

so i'll pick up another bottle of this, and put it away.

 

the only way i can describe this is, well, heartwrenching. but that's for my personal take on it. in reality, it's a nice, masculine, classic sort of scent. if pressed, i'd have to say probably something along the lines of original (not the current reforumulated version) of Old Spice, and Halston's old Z14.

[Haltija]

This is soooo good you guys!

 

This blend is so herbal when it's wet. My nose is recognizing a little bit of sage, though it very well could be rosemary like another reviewer mentioned. It's not bad by any means and it has almost a soothing effect to the senses. The ashy quality starts coming out more the longer it sits and it reminds me of when the fire has been out for a few days and you walk into the room and inhale, almost a little dusty. I do get a bready, cake smell the more it dries but it's not super foody even in the least. When it's finally dry I swear this is the more sophisticated version of Dorian (if that is even possible) with a dusting of crumbs over top of it. This is brilliant and since Dorian is my baby I have got to get a bottle

Edited January 8, 2015 by Haltija

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is strangely compelling. The ash and crumbs combine to make something dry, ashy. And sweet. The herbs lend a sharpness. I’m guessing there is evergreen in the cologne. It invokes Yule and a touch of masculine sexiness. Wet: The herbs really come out on the skin, bringing out the dark green sexiness of the cologne with them and becoming the dominant impression together. The crumbs are a background sweetness with the ghost of ash hanging over it. This is shockingly sexy on the skin. I was intrigued with the virgin scent, on my skin? Wow! Dry: Fast fading, alas. The cologne remains lovely and mingles with the cake crumbs.

[zankoku_zen]

Ash, sage, herbs and a touch of Dorian. This to me smells like a medieval Dorian. In the sense you find a dusty piece of pressed cloth with herbs and leftover cologne (Dorian). I really get a metric ton of ask from this. Good throw, good wear length.

 

Ash, herbs, Dorian.

[agirlnamedfury]

Interesting... not at all what I expected. Light, fresh, and cologne-like, with something leafy and green -- can't exactly identify what the herb(s) are, but something grassy. I don't get cake at all, actually!

 

This one isn't really my style, but I can see what others would like about it.

[milo]

This one is an odd duck to be sure.... Spice at first, strong nutmeg, allspice, or something to that effect. After a bit, a sharp freshness, like mint, or could be the herbs. It seems to be staying that way for now, it seems like a rather mismatched placement of notes. Geez.

[MCS4096]

I sat out for this years Yule decant circles, and in the end decided to blind buy a couple bottles based on reviews. I picked this one due to the comparisons to Dorian.. the idea of ashy Dorian sounded awesome. I dont find this remotely like Dorian unfortunately.. there is a strong acrid note that must be something "herbal" but instead reads as vaguely citrus and vaguely caustic cleaning agent. I tend to stay away from foody blends, so it's been awhile since I had a 'cake' scent, but I recognize the same white cake note here as was in I Fell In Love With A Floating Brain. IOn my skin it quickly morphs into plastic.

 

I was hoping for Doarian sweetness and softness, with an edge of gritty ash. To me this is acrid herbs and cologne and plasticy white cake.. most unfortunate.

[Nicnivin]

So, I love this.

For me to say that is very odd indeed, as I tend to abhor sweet, foodie scents, and Dorian is among my most despised scents in the BPAL library.

 

That said, although this has a scattering of cookie crumbs, the ash and herbs offset any sweetness, and just evoke a warm, soft memory of childhood, namely the experience of rooting through one of those Danish butter biscuit tins while sitting by the fireside. Although it goes on sweet-ish, that sugary note fades quickly and all that remains is warmth, and the traces left by an ancestor's ghost after they've walked through the parlour for a quick visit.

 

This is definitely a "ghost of Christmas past" scent for me, and one that I'd happily wear at Yuletide.

[Little Bird]

I get nothing like cake (the cake is a lie!) or Dorian from this. Ashes, yes, and a sour, strange, evergreen-ish note that's reminding me of PineSol. The drydown has some savory, bright, sharp herbs and sharp spices. This actually makes me kind of sick to my stomach when I smell it. Green + spice + ashes is not working for me.

[MischiefofRats]

I have the 2016 version, and I get root beer. Not sticky sweet, not sugary, not sarsparilla, not like Outlaw or Tombstone--there's a very distinct scent that makes me think of carbonated root beer soda, but it is not sweet, if that makes sense. It's herbal and green. It's not like Dorian at all. I get no cake out of this. It's interesting, very very different, but not for me.

 

ETA: It's Dr. Pepper this is making me think of, not root beer. Still not sweet, but I'm thinking some of the same herbs are in this.

Edited January 6, 2017 by MischiefofRats

[Casablanca]

2016

 

I got to sample this with my friend as one of her decants.

 

On the wand, this is Boom! Brown-sugary/molasses yellow cake! Some herbs (tarragon?) and a wildly aquatic cologne sit behind it. The cologne part does not smell like Dorian. I also smell no lavender. This might be different from the earlier year…

 

On my skin, it’s the same as on the wand. The cake dominates and smells both brown and yellow to me, like a yellow cake covered with molasses or brown sugar. This is herbal; the herbs are blended but seem like “hot” herbs, like maybe tarragon. At the base is, of all things, an aquatic cologne. I don’t smell ashes.

 

Once the Cake dries, though, the notes blend together with something comforting I don’t recognize at first. I think now it might be the ash. It reminds me of the smell of a living room after a fireplace was going for a while. It smells like a couch from that room.

 

Strange brew.

[freyasfae]

This was mostly spicy cake on me with a dash of ash.

[gloame]

Herbyyyyy. I am so confused by this scent, but I keep sniffing it, so I'm confused in a good way. Or just too confused to know which way I'm confused. The cake note is more apparent when wet; by drydown, it's more herbal. Not super cologne-y, which is good in my opinion. More fresh garden herb than cologne herb. I think Mrs Pattmore's kitchen would smell like this. I think I'd get a decant of this if it came out in another Yule, but I'm not sure about a bottle. MAYBE though. I'm still confused.

 

Where I'd wear this: Watching Downton Abbey and eating chicken pot pie

[Lucchesa]

Dumb Cake 2014 was not what I was expecting, probably because I hadn't looked at the notes in a while and imagined it was purely foodie. In fact, when I applied it, I could smell the cake note, but within a few minutes the cologne was first and foremost, and I was getting really good throw, which is unusual for my skin. It definitely skews to the masculine side of unisex whereas Dorian, to me, sits right in the middle. I'm not getting much ash. I like this one but it was definitely a surprise.

[doomsday_disco]

My decant is not labeled with the year, but I ordered it from Ajevie, so I suspect it is from the 2016 release.

 

In the decant: I get the cologne, ash, and herbs, accompanied by some sweet crumbs. This is a green scent.

 

Wet: The cologne and herbs stand out to me, but the ash isn’t far behind them. It’s kind of watery and definitely green. The crumbs start to come out after a few minutes, making the scent somewhat sweeter.

 

Dry: The ash note ends up dominating the scent, backed by the cologne. I agree that the ash is a grayish-white sort of ash. The scent no longer reads as green. There’s a bit of sweetness as well as saltiness in the background, which I am attributing to the cake. I prefer this phase of the scent.

 

Verdict: It’s definitely an intriguing cologne scent, and the ash note is surprisingly nice. I don’t think this is one I’d reach for myself, but I bet it would be lovely on a guy. If you’re afraid of the cake, don’t be -- the crumbs are not what we tend to think of when we think of cake.

[VetchVesper]

So - 2018 version. This one is really odd and hard for me to describe. What's most prominent to me is a green grass note, followed by a powdery note that could be cake flour or powdery ash.  I get no yellow cake. I get no Dorian. I might be getting some herbs.  I find this a truly odd and offputting malange of notes that don't seem to work together. 

 

However... 3 or 4 hours later, I smelled something pleasant, and realized it was this. I could swear I was getting a wispy, slightly soapy champaca. I got no clue, man..... 😕 

 

[follis]

I received a free decant of this, from 2018.

It's... indescribable at the start. What a mix. I wouldn't say it was appealing here.

Eventually I can smell something with cologne, ashy and herby. Starts strong then fades to almost no throw, a gentler version of the start.

 

Not bad but not for me.

[starbrow]

2019: cake, where are you??

 

Seriously, this is a very accurate listing of ingredients from most abundant to least. Lots of fuzzy cologne - the exact opposite of the sharp "dead leaves" style cologne, this one is mild-mannered and ghostly, a little dapper, a spectre trying to slap on his favorite scent from when he went a-courting. Next, the "blurry herbs" - nettle? Nettle. Probably something else too, but that distinct cold piercing grassiness of nettles is cutting through the blur. A vague smudge of ash, no more than a smudge.

 

And the cake crumbs? 😪

 

No cake here. The ghosts took it all. None for us mortals, I'm afraid. I did have this same problem with Dusk in Autumn, but I like to chalk it up to the ghosts this time.