Dorian

[SeaMonkey]

Inspired by and created for my beloved Tedwin: my eternal, beautiful, wicked Dorian Gray. Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.

I get ginger, vanilla, a tea.


Its a little masculine, but it also kind of smells like gingerbread cookies or Kirklands at christmas. I might try it on a male, but I'm not sure. I don't think its something I'd wear. I was expecting vanilla tea, but its more ginger cookie-ish.

I'll definately have to try it on a male and see what happens.

[rainyseason]

I'm finding that I really do go for the more gender neutral fragrances.

 

I LOVE Dorian. With all the imps in my imp tin and my 5mls for the past two weeks I just keep coming back to Dorian. When I need a pick me up - Dorian. It's clean and sweet and slightly musky. It's like the scent of skin dipped in vanilla sugar.

 

I want to share this fragrance with everyone I know. It's one of those scents that you feel like if everyone wore it the world would be a happier, more beautiful place.

 

Dreamy Sigh.

[sarahj]

Dorian

 

in vial: musk and lemon

 

wet: musk and lemony sweet tea

 

dry: sweet musky vanilla...lasts about 4 hours

 

verdict: <---- that means I need a big bottle

[bexone]

Just a quickie review -- in a word, yummy! It goes on sweet but not too sweet, and it stays sort of comforting and warm. Wet, I smelled the sugar-vanilla-tea notes distinctly, but they mellowed into the background quickly. I'm pretty sure this is kind of an amped-up, slightly sweetened version of my natural skin scent. Definitely a big bottle purchase.

[Voleuse]

Vanilla, tea, and lavender on first application. This is gorgeous. It's sweet, but tempered by a hint of lemon, and the musks round it out perfectly. I can see why this is so popular.

 

Over time, the scent becomes a little more pure, which I think is due to the lemon and lavender notes. It's still sweet and sensual, but not as obviously. On my skin, it fades quickly, so I'm sure I'd have to slather it. I really must get a bottle of this scent.

[malanna]

Tea, some lavender, some lemon, sugared vanilla, and clear musk upon application. Dorian remains pretty consistent, although the sugared vanilla is stronger at first, with the the musk coming to dominate at the end. It makes me think of a sweet girl, the girl-next-door type. I would say man, except this really does seem like more of a feminine scent, so we can just pretend that I, and everyone in the world, are attracted to women. You see her several years later and you're trying to reconcile that sweet girl you never gave a thought to with this woman in front of you, whom you now find really appealing and attractive. Dorian is the missing link. It's sweet, yet wearing it, I feel like people would be drawn to me because it smells like something familiar and homey.

[donsixgun]

Creamy, vanilla tea. This isnt too sweet and foody, and it lasts forever.

I like it a lot, and Im glad I got a 5ml.

[pickman's model]

Wet: Sweet, an undifferentiated sweetness and a "mainstream perfumey" note that sort of alarms me.

 

Dry:The vanilla fades into the background, bringing up a wonderful spiciness that makes me think of really nice chai. And a touch of lemon. (I love lemon!)

 

A little later: There's that musk. Light musks make me ever so happy. This is a very clean, sweet scent. A little wicked though, as the spices smirk through the milky sweetness. This one comes off very femininely on me, unsurprising as my skin amps every stereotypically girly note out there. There's not a ton of throw, but that's fine with me.

[AngellicMystique]

This smells like chai and musk. It’s wonderful in the bottle. On skin, I'm keeping the vanilla chai feeling with a definite musky undertone. I think is my new "I want a cup of hot tea, a good book, and a cold night." smell. It smells the way the word "home" feels.

[turbojenn]

I'm late in joining the Dorian worshippers in the course of my BPAL addiction, but....I just got my bottle yesterday, previously unsniffed, and I think this is definitely in my top 5!

 

Ooooh, it starts out with light tea and musk on me - so heavenly, but then two hours later, I sniffed my elbow - sugary lemon vanilla - its just warm and light, and so lovely. Now, six hours later, its dried down to a vanilla musk, which is just amazing. I'm in love. I want to slather myself and my man in it!

[stardreamer]

I ordered this largely because of Andrabell's review -- and if you haven't seen it, you really should go take a look! (It's the very first one for this scent.)

 

First impression: Maybe a little more masculine than I would prefer.

 

Fresh on: Yes, it's fairly masculine; I'm starting to be a bit wary of that term "fougere". I can definitely see this as Dorian Gray's scent in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (movie version).

 

Drydown: I don't get much tea from this at all. It's more of a "milky" scent on me; I'm betting that's the combination of vanilla and white musk. I'm having a rather ambivalent response to it -- while it doesn't exactly either reach out and grab me or repel me, there are elements of both going on here. A few hours later, my skin has done its normal vanilla amp-up and it's more appealing. But it certainly isn't the "sex on a stick" I was half-expecting from the review! That honor remains with O, still the undefeated champion.

 

Bottom line: Not ready to give it up yet, but I think I'm going to have to try it again in warmer weather before I make up my mind. It feels a little out of tune with the winter chill.

[crescentwench]

a kind of sicky sweet vanilla. like if candy could have sweaty feet. i know that sounds wierd but it sounds right to me. I love it! count me in the hoards of dorian hoarders as well.

[des]

First impression is citrus--lemon, or maybe bergamot--that softens into a light tang over sweet vanilla. A very pretty, lightly seductive scent, and one I'll wear often.

 

Also the cause of my first bpal conversion! My sister asked what I was wearing, and I gave her the card that came with my order. Woo!

[BlackDahlia]

In the imp ~ Sugared lemons. Soft, moist and slightly sweet with a twist of tartness.

 

Wet ~ Lemons and a mild (very mild) tea fragrance comes through.

 

On the dry down ~ It is a tart-ish fragrance... not as foody as I expected... but soft and rather powdery.

 

I might have been expecting too much from ole Dorian... so I will have to re-try this, soon. It just seemed not very special to me...

Maybe I was expecting too much.

[silver_springs]

I must say, Dorian was not what I was expecting. It's very sweet. Sugary, with some musk. It's nice but nothing about it really struck with me. I like it enough to keep the imp and use it but it's not big bottle worthy for me, and I doubt even that I'd get another imp when mine runs out.

 

It also happens to fade rather quickly on me. Perhaps if my skin amped the notes more that I'd like it a little better, but I don't know. It was certainly worth the try and it makes a nice daytime scent to wear just about anywhere.

 

5.5/10

Edited January 2, 2006 by silver_springs

[feline.by.design]

How could I have worn Dorian so long without writing a review? What the hey?

 

Well, a bit belated, here is my review for Dorian.

 

Dorian is a fragrance that is more vanilla and tea than anything else. It's a sweet fragrance on me that doesn't morph much once I've put it on. It's soft, nice, comforting and delicious. Unlike others, I don't get much or any citrus, in either the imp or my bottle which I have. The vanilla is amped up on my skin, as well as the "sugar." I'm not a major sweet-fragrance lover, but Dorian isn't especially cloying, and I find it appealing.

 

I wore it to work once and caused a cookie-craving to go out amongst a few coworkers. I've been cautioned to never wear it again. However, that goes to show how delicious this fragrance is.

 

Dorian, I admit, wasn't something I was especially keen on at first. I tried it on around the same time as White Rabbit, so I had a hard time distinguishing the both (I don't care for White Rabbit, actually). Plus, the inaugrial testing of Dorian wasn't a particularly good day; I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance that I am *still* paying for (ahem). So for a while Dorian was this "oil of doom," which was a reputation it didn't deserve.

 

I've worn my bottle of Dorian quite a bit lately, since it seems suitable for a variety of occasions, and it often fits with my mood. I just can't wear it to work lest my coworkers eat me.

 

-doreen

--

 

20 May 2011

 

Edited to add: Dorian has now become one of my staple scents. I've gone through at least three bottles of it, including a 10 ml. I order a new bottle once every year or year and a half now.

 

And now I happen to really enjoy White Rabbit, too.

Edited May 20, 2011 by feline.by.design

[Polly]

I got a 5ml on eBay when I was itching to try things before my very first BPAL order ever arrived. I'm just about ready to need a 10ml of this for sure.

 

In the bottle: Vanilla tea. I adore tea!!

 

On wet: Vanilla tea but with the slightest squeeze of fresh lemon. Oh my!

 

On drydown: Mmm... still vanilla tea, but just faint whiffs of lemon on me. And now I get a nice touch of spice. It's rather creamy and good.

 

Oh Dorian, how I love thee! He fades a little fast on me, like an hour or so. However that's okay, I can keep slathering. I'm besotted. My favorite of all I've tried since discovering BPAL.

 

Let me just say that I too concur completely with Andrabell's review. Absolutely.

Edited January 3, 2006 by Polly

[terrierhead]

I was beginning to worry that none of the popular scents would work for me, but Dorian is fantastic. I get vanilla that's not cloying, sugar that doesn't run over everything else, and tea - amazingly, it's a sweet scent that I can handle. This establishes that honey notes are bad for me, but sugar is ok. I love this to pieces and will be ordering a larger bottle.

[binkyboots]

I've put off and put off trying dorian, tea is (unless I have a head cold) not my thing, the idea of smelling like vanilla tea, bleh.

 

but hey, it was sitting there in my imp stash....

 

oh man, I need this stuff, I'll bath in it, wear it, knit a scarf inspired by it....

 

I get vanilla, sugared lemons, tea, a little spice (but understated) and musk, full on glorious musk.

 

 

this is so going in my next order.

[wanderingredhead]

I wanted to smell like vanilla lemon tea! however, my skin turned this into a very blah light, fresh, slightly creamy scent of insipidness.

so sad. Add another imp to the swap pile.

[gingersnapp]

Mmmm. A very sweet vanilla was most dominant at first, but as it's dried, there is a spicy muskiness that has taken over. I would love to smell this on a man. It's very elegant, but commanding. Very proper, but dead sexy.

[mudtusk]

My First Review!

 

Ok, in the bottle it smells fruity, but soft not citrus. It's like berries. There's an 'other' note too that gives it a little more depth - enough to make it interesting.

 

Wet - Smells similar but sweeter, and quite 'clean' too.

 

Dry - That 'other' note has returned and the berries have backed off a bit. It's still sweet, but not so sticky. A latent spicy note deepens and warms the aroma.

 

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Dorian. I tried it out for several days. It err's on the clean and sweet side a little too much for me and yet, and yet something in it is compelling. This is definitely something for an alternative fellow, but perhaps one a little more flamboyant the I.

 

I Score It: 7.5/10

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Rich vanilla with something elusive and male behind it. Musk?

 

Dry: Wow, exactly the same, a non-morpher. I get very little tea with this. It's a rich warm scent, smells like a candle, but not in a cheap bad way. I like it very much.

[elphaba]

The first time I tried Dorian, I was repulsed and honestly couldn't understand what any of the hype was about. I put it on and got a lemon tea scent for about an hour, followed by a disgusting, stinky, rancid musk. Horrible.

 

Today, though, I tried it again, and it's beautiful sweet tea with pale musk that turns it from a food scent to a person scent, just how the description said it would be. I had a similar experience with Morocco so I can only conclude that my skin chemisty is extremely sensitive to musks and there will be times over the course of a month when I won't be able to wear them at all.

 

I'm going to keep my imp because Dorian really is beautiful when it works. I just wish it wasn't so horrid when it didn't.

[mandragora]

I got Dorian because of all the lovely reviews here. I must admit to being wary of vanilla, because it always seem to be hit and miss with me and vanilla.

 

In the vial: Lemon and tea. Hint of tartness.

Wet on me: Still lemony tea, seems a little masculine (which I don't mind really).

On the drydown: It softens as the vanilla note seeps through. Oh, and it's lovely. A vanilla that's not too sweet.

 

Verdict: Will keep the imp, perhaps a bigger bottle on the next order (after my wallet has recovered from the Lupercalia frenzy)

Edited January 21, 2006 by mandragora