2004: Paper Phoenix

[Aviatrix]

A memory of Antique Lace, Formula 54s pink pepper, and a splash of Dorian's white tea and lavender fougere.

 

White tea and a sweet lavender - definitely sweetened by some fluffy vanilla in the background!

 

It feels like a perfect sleep scent, at least if you are the sort of person who enjoys lavender for sleep. It reminds me a little of The Serpentine, but not as much as I had expected. This one is softer than The Serpentine, and it feels well balanced with the sharpness of the white tea.

 

If you enjoy any of the notes listed, you should check it out. Chances are you will love it!

[LizziesLuck]

I waited a bit to try this - in theory so I could let my bottle settle, but I think I was also quite nervous it wouldn't live up tot he hype I had built for it in my mind.

 

 

Wet: (insert expletives that I typed and then erased so as not to be crass...) WOW. Dorian and AL's love child is a beautiful thing. The lavender comes through stronger in this than plain Dorian. The custardy aspect from AL is going strong too. It manages to smell like tea and cakes and sex. Yeeeaaaaahh, buddy

 

Dry: Mostly Dorian (though a slightly different Dorian - having a hard time pinning down why it's different) with some gorgeous Antique Lace vanilla. It's really lovely. And one can never have too many Dorian-like scents. (Especially if you are like me and Dorian is a comfort scent).

[Teamama]

^^ What Wench457 said.

 

This was a sleeper hit for me, as in gobsmacked. Neither Dorian (fresh,) nor Antique Lace '17 are magic on my skin (hair is another matter.)

 

Wet: lavender tea with vanilla, with a keen edge from the pink pepper to keep it from edging into the territory of a soft-focus Victoria magazine feature on bone china from 1990.

 

Dry: Everything that is excellent about Dorian & Antique Lace. Plus they smell as good on my skin as they do in my hair this time. Plus pink pepper.

 

100% fantastic. Nice throw, plus great longevity. I bought some, & swapped away my AL '17 to get more.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Okay, it’s not a note listed, but I swear I smell lemon in this. This is Dorian, with a hint of lemon. I’m guessing my nose thinks pink pepper = lemon?

Dry: There’s the Antique Lace! The lemon I was smelling earlier has disappeared. This is mostly AL with a hint of Dorian. There’s not much throw to this; I’ll dedinitely have to slather this one.

This is a no-brainer to try out if you like Antique Lace and Dorian. So, so pretty.

Edited June 16, 2018 by donkehpoo

[Deceitfuldescender]

Super unfortunately for me my skin chemistry does not agree wholly with this. On the short to mid dry down it is a very musky (not in a way I enjoy) and almost cloying hit of antique lace and that is it. I get no lavender or tea or pepper, and this is not the antique lave I enjoy.

I am hoping I am just at a bit if my cycle that confounds it and that it might work on me later. Hoping hoping!

Edited March 24, 2018 by Deceitfuldescender

[ririchu]

This is a lavender'ed dorian with an extra kick of lemon. The lavender wears sharp on application and it is a lot more "fresh" and good for a warm summer day. It also has the longetivity and throw of dorian on me but no Antique Lace.

[RedPersimmon]

Dorian + Vanilla + Purple marshmallows.

[Alisha_SBC]

Got ahold of this through a forum/FB seller. Thanks @Upstart Crow!!!!

This is pretty. Perfumy and sophisticated is what I get. There is lavender for sure, backed by a splash of tea and whiffs of soft vanilla linen. Not entirely sure what pink pepper smells liek but it could be the slight bitterness I get when I put my nose to my wrist. Overall a enjoyable scent I could see appropriate for a date or the office.

As it dries I get more of a peppery bite that I really like. In my elbow this is lavender and so pretty. On my wrists this has gone tea, tea, tea. Which isn't necessarily bad but it it isn't exactly what I wanna smell like all the time. It's bright with a hint of vanilla beneath and a mere whisper of peppery bite. My elbow is completely different and a lovely subdued lavender linen.

 

After this is fully dry (about an hour or two) it is the prettiest vanilla on my wrists. Still more lavender in my elbow but much softer now.

I think I am really going to enjoy this bottle. While the tea phase isn't my favorite, it's still pretty. Now that I get this vanilla, I really want to try and find myself a bottle of Antique Lace.

[Kanra]

This should be a no brainer buy for people who love Dorian, Dorian blends, and Antique Lace. At first, on me, the Dorian element is very heavy with extra lemon in the usual sugared tea. I'm not usually a big fan of lemon, and honestly my skin amps it heavily so was worried all this lemon would completely take over the blend. The lemon is strong here, at least on my skin, but is isn't as sharp as lemons often are due to the creamy, lacy vanilla of Antique Lace. Eventually the lemon mellows out a bit and is only there as a faint trace, and it becomes more about the creamy vanilla tea with an almost cashmere lie element. A little lemon and pink pepper in the background, but nothing too crazy.

 

This is very pretty and a scent you can wear easily in your day to day life. I love it. Fans of Dorian and Antique Lace need this in their collection.

[katharina]

Is it possible to fall in love with s scent? No, I'm being serious. Like you find a scent and it's your soul mate and now you are wondering how to write Paper Phoenix on your marriage license application without the registrar looking at you funny?

 

Ahem.

 

I like this scent a lot.

 

Someone gave me a tester and before I even tried it on I managed to score a bottle through a trade, so I decided to skin test it.

 

HOLY FUCK.

 

I have never smelled Dorian, Antique lace, or Formula 54, but goddamn, they made a beautiful baby!

 

In the bottle: First whiff was straight up cologne, which is why it took me so long to skin test it. It wasn't bad, but I was like "What's the fuss about?"

 

Wet: Cologne is still there, but has been pushed far to the back with lemon tea coming in stronger. There's a hint of vanilla supporting it all.

 

Dry: Creamy, luscious, comforting, magical goodness. I can't even really pick out a note, but this is what lying on a cloud with a snuggly blanket, and your your mom baking *something* sweet must smell like. If heaven exists, it smells like this.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by katharina

[ND¢]

I think it's lavender that punches up first, but a very refined blend that isn't all over the place. The tea note, I think it is, is quite strong, and reminded me of my beloved Severin. Something about Paper Phoenix set off my deja vu super strongly. I like it. 

[kaileycatface]

ok, i have had this one before and destashed for … whatever reason, lol. but i recently picked up another bottle and i’m really glad i did. 

 

this is the only time Dorian has worked for me (sadly, as i love the way Dorian smells in bottle but my skin seems to hate it) but not here! my skin plays very nice with this. i definitely get the pink pepper note, which starts off strong but fades a bit, and i mostly get lots of sweet vanilla, and the Antique Lace. 🤍

[MolyH]

Oh my god. Every two minutes, I get a whiff of pure Antique Lace among all the lavender and the Dorian and it makes me want to cry. This smells like the first hug I ever got.

[Amoraexcena]

This scent has aged to perfection. Like a lot of reviewers, I got a surprising amount of citrus when I first bought this (okay, two bottles) and wasn't sure about it. But now it's definitely a pink-pepper-and-vanilla-sweetened Dorian. Like a bright, happy, effeminate Dorian. The white tea is also settled snugly into everything else. Gorgeous!