Dee

[innocent]

... His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods.

I don't have too much to add to all the other reviews... when I first got this imp (almost a year ago) the leather, even in the dry down, was really overpowering on my skin. I didn't like it much. Now that it's aged the leather has really mellowed out and I can enjoy the other notes without smelling like a pair of freshly saddle-soaped boots. Yay! Now that the leather is under control this is one of my favorite scents, perfect for a rainy day when I get to stay inside and read a good book.

It is on the mannish side, as other reviewers have said, but I love manly scents so that's a-okay to me.


edited to add lab description Edited June 19, 2008 by innocent

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Leather and incense

 

On Application

Woody leather. Dry and worn.

 

Dry Down

I can smell rosemary on initial application, with rich woods and incense. This is a fantastic scent of cologne, old polished wood and soft incense. Awesome!

 

Rating (0-5)

5

[luveday]

Just got the imp of this yesterday and ordered a bottle of it today!

 

To me, it reminds me of a medieval/SCA event I've been to in the past, specifically Pennsic, at night when most people get out the spiffy garb and campfires are burning and that whole "transport to the Middle Ages" thing is there.

 

Best I could come up with

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Oh my. Oh wow. Oh... my.

 

Leather yes, tonka yes, incense yes, the others I-don't-see-why-not - and it's named after one of the most awesome nutcase geniuses in history. What is there not to love in this?

 

In the imp: Leather, tonka and incense - this is very manly, and a little like the smell of a really old library. It's also fairly potent, which I wasn't expecting.

 

On the wrist, wet: Mostly the same, actually - it smells like a man who's had a little too much to do with old books and incense. I realise that means either a magician or a priest, which makes me giggle just a bit.

 

Twenty minutes later: Mmmm... this is definately a men's scent, and I love it. The leather comes through more strongly in the dry-down, and the incense is not so prominent, but the tonka and woods give it a definate 'cologne' edge that I actually quite enjoy. This is what the handsome rogue who unties you from the traintracks and sweeps you off your feet with crinoline petticoats rustling smells like. Mwah.

 

Verdict: Keeper, and bottle pwease.

 

Tl;Dr: A roguish, charming tonka and woods cologne with undertones of leather and incense.

[GeorgeJr]

This is funny . To me Dee is the perfect example as to how your nose can change . When I first got into BPAL , I received a frimp of Dee . I tried it , but the first thing I got out of it was " typical mens cologne " . My GF , on the other hand , was blown away by how it smelled on me . I didn't " get " any of the notes out of it . It just struck me as nothing that great .

Now , I feel totally different . Now I am able to sort out scents much better then I used to . Now I get the rich leather from Dee . The lovely sweet wood & parchment that almost has a smokiness to it . Now , I get the hidden subtext of sexuality oozing from the scent . This has gone from " meh " to " must have a bottle on hand " in a matter of months . It's scents like these that make me a fan of the lab . Anything that makes me grow as a person in any way , I have always considered a good thing . Learning about these scents has helped me learn about myself in some way . I thank the lab for the lesson .

[Andrea912]

The leather and the rosewood are pretty overpowering; I think this would be nice for a distinguished British gentleman...

Edited July 7, 2008 by Andrea912

[caffinatedangel]

Dee is my first ever BPAL scent I've tried. I just got it in the mail today, and was looking forward to it.

 

What I expected: I really was looking forward to a musky library smell. Leather and paper.

 

In the bottle: My sister said it best: "It smells like sweaty man-pit." It was man, overwhelmingly so. I coughed a little, lol.

 

Wet on skin: I smelled like I just got done having a very sensual tumble with a sweaty brit. Not a bad smell, but wow it's strong.

Dry down, stage one: Oh thank you, man-pit has gone away. I now only smell a sensual, dark collection of leather and tonka. Sadly, I don't know what rosewood smells like, so I'm unable to pick that out of the mix. But, I'm sure it's in there somewhere. My mother made a comment about me smelling like rosewood. (after saying I smelled like a man, of course) Also my sister said "You smell like a hippie." And I must admit, I would certainly fit in at the yellow springs street fair (local hippie town here in Ohio).

 

Dry down, stage two: My skin is eating whatever causes the man-scent. Now, Just soft gentle notes of leather, faint but there and soothing. The tonka is delicious. Overall, it smells like a leather strip soaked in spice vanilla, and now drying out. (Why leather was soaked in vanilla and spices, I'll never know.) I think the soft leather smell reminds my sister of hippies, somehow.

Dry down, stage three: I fell asleep with my wrist to my nose (long day, took a lovely nap after reading a chapter of a romance novel) in the soothing tones. But when I awoke about an hour or two later, I just had a soft dusting of tonka. There is a touch of something darker and muskier left behind, but it's faint and still fading. Time to wash off my wrists and try one of my new scents.

 

Overall:This is beautiful. It does have a masculine smell, especially at first, but I found as it blended with my skin it softened out to a very feminine (in the earthy-hippie sort of way) scent and made me so very very cozy. Perfect for wintery days inside. I love it. I almost passed out sniffing, I think. I should note that I'm not a feminine girl though, in personality. I'm a bandanna and dirty jeans in the garden kind of girl. So "feminine" to me is not girly. It's very adult, womanly, and earthy (In my head.) So you should keep that in mind. lol

 

Dee has a decent throw. I'm clumsy when I open my imps, and I only used the tiny spillage that fell on my finger and dabbed it on both wrists. It was plenty. My imp should last a long while. And I caught wafts of it throughout the day (I think it took 5-6 hours for it to fade to a dusting, and even then it may have gone on longer). This was my first scent, so I'll wait to test out other scents before deciding how wonderful it is. But right now, I'm in love with it. Next time I get myself a significant other, I'll be begging him to wear it. But I have a feeling on a man, it would accentuate that musky "man-pit" in a delicious way.

 

So at the end: I smelled like a hippie who had earlier done the nasty with a British horseman. Or, soft vanilla (tonka :3) with something slightly incensed and leather delicately brushing. The description for the scent is quite perfect.

[clawsight]

Dee.

 

This was one of the first BPAL scents I got to try. I remember getting it, popping open the imp and imediately jamming the cap back on. It was and overwhelming and caustic man's cologne. Bravely, I tried it on my skin in case it morphed into pure masculine joy. Alas. It got worse.

 

And then it wouldn't come off no matter how much I washed.

 

That was 6 months ago.

 

NOW on the other hand, aging seems to have done this scent a world of good! I am about to try it again for review purposes before I send it off to my boyfriend. I am doing this for you, fair forum readers. For you and for science.

 

In the imp: Rosewood, incense, leather, tonka. In that order. When I first got the imp the rosewood and incense were having a wild party, drinking, dancing, drinking, hitting on chicks, barfing in the fish tank... etc. Now they've calmed down a bit. The leather is no longer lingering in the background with a look of disgust, and shy tonka can come out and add their sweet presence to the mix.

 

Wet: Leather, incense, rosewood and tonka, in that order. It still has some of that typical department store men's cologne thing going on, which I blame on the rosewood, and on the other woods included in this blend. However, the leather and tonka blessedly soften things.

 

Drydown: Mmm... What's this? Parchment? Fancy seeing you here. You and leather seem to get along well. Rosewood and incense are now playing nice, and the scent has become much more complex and pleasent!

 

Verdict:

If you try this, try and get an aged imp -- after 3 months I remember the leather notes being much more prominent, and after 6 months it actually started smelling nice. If you get a new imp let it age a bit before flinging it into the swap pile. My rating for it fresh is only about a 1 out of 5 however, my rating for it now is...

 

3.9 out of 5 hardcore partying rosewoods

[undream]

wet: men's cologne.

 

first applied: woodsy, almost like the cedar chips i used to purchase for the lining of my hamster's cage when i was in high school. just very fresh and ... well, woodsy.

 

drydown: i can smell the leather now, and something spicy. i can only detect the tonka wafting and not up close to the skin, but it is lovely. the longer it is on, the warmer it seems, a slightly powdery, spicy cedar smell, with a faint vanilla wafting about every once in a while.

 

it's not a scent i'm terribly interested in for myself - it's just too masculine for me - but i'd definitely like to try it on the boy.

[lilacea]

This has to be one of the softest BPAL leather scents I've smelled. Plus, it is dead sexy. It's warm and soft and slightly musty. There'a hint of white musk and perhaps something slightly herbal like patchouli or lavender. The tonka just rounds everything out, making it smooth and sexy and just a touch grainy. There's a touch of that slight anise note that sometimes comes up in the linen blends, but this dissapates once it dries. Overall impression is of warmth, woodiness, comfort; like snuggling in a crisp doona in front of an open fire with a sexy man by your side.

[starwild]

Wow, lab frimp!

 

Wet: Very herby-medicinal with a strong smack of cedar.

 

Dry: Leather and incense, with some spicy wood. Oh, hai, tonka. Coming out to play?

 

Probably too masculine for me, but I want the man I marry to smell like this. :3 I'm going to age the imp and try again later, as I do love the notes.

 

I think this smells like Rhett Butler.

[greenranger]

Wet, sweet leather.

 

Drying, tonka! Woods, leather and tonka. Yum!

 

Ah, there's the incense rising up. The tonka, wood and incense have really caught up to the leather. At the moment, this is actually a bit masculine for me, but, I have hope. The scent is probably going to last a long time on me, as well, since all the notes tend to be long lasting ones on my skin.

[simpsonmeredith]

Oh, Dee! Where were you when I worked as a librarian? This is the smell of discovery that could only be found on the printed page, overlooked for countless years by everyone else too careless to notice. Exciting and youthful as a result. It's confident and mysterious. It's...Indian Jones about to take on a great adventure!

 

The leather and tonka are amazing, and they are also amazing on my dh. Yum!

This is one that I'll be sharing with him because it works well on both of us. On me, it's more tonka with leather and it's the reverse on him. It always surprises me how the same oil can smell so different.

[cam]

The tonka and leather are the strongest notes in the bottle. On, as it dries, I get more of the incense and parchment, and very subtle rosewood. This is awesome. The warm, comforting scent of old books, pipe tobacco and rainy days in front of the fire. Great on the hubby, too. May need a bottle of this one.

[Allumina]

I wanted to try this again, after reading all the good reviews here, and I rationalized that I maybe just put a bit too much on the last time I tried it. However, I've had the imp for a couple of months now, and all I still smell is a super strong blast of headachey, perfumed, manly man cologne. No woods, no leather, just something highly perfumed (the rosewood?) and man smell. (and I normally love masculine perfumes) Off to swaps.

[meredevachon]

I've really been looking forward to trying Dee. How could I not, given how much I love its notes?

 

In the imp: Strongly chemically, but that's what the lab's leather note does for me in the bottle, so I'm not worried.

 

Wet: The chemical scent changes, but it's still strong and kind of astringent and I can't really pull out any specific notes.

 

Dry down: Much the same as wet until it's really had time to dry.

 

Dry: Only the barest hints of leather (and not all the time), mostly it's men's cologney, but I don't know that I'd call it particularly masculine (which may only make sense to me, but there it is).

 

Overall: I really want to like this, and based on some of the other reviews, I think some aging is in order. But I'll probably try it again in a week or so to make sure it isn't just hormonal chemistry/a wonky nose. Then it'll probably be off to the back of the box for a few months.

[Methos]

First, I'd like to say that I greatly admired John Dee to begin with. This scent turned me into a foaming fangirl. ; Anyways, it smells very intelligent and rather sexy-- like a freshly-scrubbed college graduate in a suit. Or perhaps a young professor? In the very back of the scent, is something that smells like men's cologne and it lingers a bit too long, but otherwise, wow, what a great scent.

[tacey]

I'm liking Dee -- not so masculine as I had feared. More gender-neutral. Very soft scent of incense and what appears to be rosewood -- almost a sweetened wood. My first experience with roesewood, but I like very much. I never detect leather, so it appearing to be missing is probably just me. Really pretty as it wafts by my nose, sitting still.

[teacrumb]

Can a scent be fresh and musty at the same time? I love this! It's dust and wood and cold, stale air and incense. Okay I'm going to go raid a library at midnight now.

[femmefatale]

mmmm....this is beautiful and very unisex. I catch a hint of the leather, but it's soft, not sharp at all. I can also pick up some of the tonka and rosewood and smooth woods.

I really love this and I'm so happy I was frimped it. I can't wait to see how this smells on hubby! I can see us getting a bottle to share.

[stefrand]

My husband's nickname is D, so I had to try this on him.

 

ITI: Can smell the leather & wood. There is something sharp in it as well...like a citrus or a pine.

 

Wet: The leather is prominent, as is the rosewood. I can smell the incense, but it isn't overwhelming. Mmm, mostly soft, sweet, spicy leather.

 

Dry: The rosewood is coming out, and the leather is still there. So is the incense, though, and it is getting stronger. Not sure about the incense. Dee has medium throw. I can smell the tonka when I am a little farther off...it seems to waft well.

 

Drydown: Incense! He smells overwhelmingly like nag champa. He smells good, don't get me wrong, but I thought the incense would be a background note. No leather, no parchment, no lovely woods, just incense.

 

Final thoughts: I see now that many reviews here mention the incense, but I thought it would be a background note...I posit that D amps incense. I was really hoping this would be a hit because of the name connection, but I don't think Dee is for D.

[/font]

Edited December 7, 2008 by Stef

[rayvn1]

Uh-oh, can't...stop....nuzzling...arm! Dee smells unbelievable! Amazing! Perfect!! It was a strong men's cologne for about a minute, although the leather and something like tobacco was very prominent at that point as well. As it dried, the leather did indeed soften and I'm getting the dusty rosewood swirled with a light background of incense. This is fricking amazing. Top ten BPAL easily!

 

And I just got more as a frimp in the mail! YES!!!

[zankoku_zen]

I get this soft rosewood and leather scent. It's quite pretty actually. I feel my husband would enjoy this if he hadn't fallen so desperately in love with Hessian of the Hollow.

 

It's a little too masculine for me though.

[themerrybaker]

Very faint leather, but mostly wood and PIPE!! It reminds me of an old-fashioned study with wooden bookcases where a pipe has been left on the desk. I could see wearing Tweedy Dee when I want to be refined and scholarly.

[Mousesong]

This... smells amazing. Like a headshop, but softer? Like a headshop in a fog. I don't know.

 

But I do know it smells like someone I know in one of the stages, and evokes his skin-smell in all the others, and I have extremely bad associations with that person, so I am not in a position to review it properly.

 

So basically: warm, rosey (the colour, not the flower), slightly powdery... masculine as hell in the bottle but mellowing down to unisex or even feminine by the time it's dry. The best imp in my lot of four I got from a swap today.

 

And I don't know if I'll be able to wear it. SIGH. Such is life.