Dee

[Aldercy]

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

Sweet, sweet leather. Almostly flowery, sugar-coated leather. The rosewood is there as well, polished and creamy and gleaming. The incense is a very resiny Catholic type-- an authoritarian, antique grey-gold sort of incense. Reminds me of major holy days and funerals.

The leather is too strong for me... too gooey-romance-novel-masculine. The idea behind this is solid, but the final product does not bring to mind the personality or work of Dr. Dee, who I've been interested in for some time. The incense does, given his weird heavenly pursuits, and the parchment certainly would if I could discern that note. I wish I got the chilly, musky, gender-neutral library type notes some others are lucky enough to find. Alas, I smell icky aftershave.

[Lucretia]

oooh I'm really pleased with this one. Woods and leather with a hint of parchment. This is really sexy but still suitable for everyday. I'm thinking a 5ml.

[MCS4096]

In the Imp: Mostly sweet woods and leather, with a hint of incense. I've been wanting to try a parchment note.. but I'm not really sure what that means, and am not sure what I'm looking for.

 

Wet: Mmm this is a warm scent. Woods fell back a little, mostly spices and leather and tonka-- it's quite sweet. Well, I guess you could say the "parchment" is just the sorta dry flat note you can sense beneath the spices and tonka. It's kinda like a book.. you can smell a flat smooth leather and dry note, and over that hovers the spices and incense. Guess that's spot on eh

 

Dry: I'm usually one of those people that finds scents masculine that others may find gender neutral, but suprisingly I find this totally gender neutral. On me the tonka makes it very sweet. It's a very nice balance of creamy sweetness, dry leather and warm spices. I think this one might grow on me!

 

ETA: I actually think this smells a similar to fresh Snake Oil

Edited December 17, 2008 by MCS4096

[hespera4523]

I ordered the imp of Dee as part of my latest imp pack, with the express purpose of presenting it to my guy. He's a scholar, a historical nut, and a bit older than me, so I thought he would love it. Particularly since he was complaining that he can never get a scent that works on him.

 

I opened the imp for a test, just to see if I would like it on my guy.

 

My guy is not getting the imp. He may get some dotted on him for intimate moments, but this is all mine, mine, mine.

 

I have been looking for a perfume that is similar to a discontinued Body Shop oil called Eau de Zitron for a long, long while. Remembering what I do about the notes, I was looking for jasmine and clove and citrus/lemon. But when I put Dee on to test it, I got a very similar scent to my long lost Body Shop love. It may be the tonka. Dee is a bit more androgynous, lacking the obvious floral top note, and without the citrus, but the rest of it is almost dead on how I remember it smelling. I wore EdZ on my very first trip to New Orleans when I was 21, and putting this on was a memory roller coaster back to walking down Royal Street looking in the windows of antique shops.

 

Mine. Mine, mine, mine. Fella cannot have. Too much love for Dee to let him go!

[crebbsgirl]

This is smooooooooooooth! The leather and tonka combine to create a sweet earthy comfortable scent. The incense and woods come out later in the drydown and really add a depth to this blend. I found it to be a little reminiscent of Crowley. This lasted forever on me too! I put it on before I went to work this morning, and when I came home at 5 it was still going strong. Wonderful indeed!

[Ceri]

In the vial: Spicy and woody.

 

Wet: Spicy, woodsy and incense. There is a dry note here that I think comes from the parchment.

 

Drydown: A very soft yet spicy incense. It all comes together quite well.

 

Overall: I like it but I'm not sure I love it. Will definitely try it again. I was really anticipating the leather, but it did not appear. :/

Edited February 3, 2009 by Ceri

[tajana]

When I first tried this, I dabbed it on my wrist, and I thought it was ok. I couldn't help but feel like it was missing something. I'd add some nice dark musk to this if I could, and I may try layering it with things to bring out the best in this. I tried Dee on my boyfriend, too, since this is a pretty cologne-ish, masculine scent, but it wasn't anything special on him. On my second try I liked it more. Soft woodsy notes (I'm really digging the rosewood), pleasant light incense, a prominent dry "parchment" note, and a subtle bit of leather. I didn't get much tonka. I'll keep the imp around because when I take a deep whiff it smells like an old candlelit library with a leather armchair, wooden shelves and old books... something to wear whenever I need to study and the actual library feels too glaring and dismal.

[MisterShrapnel]

I recently received this as a frimp from an awesome someone

What took me so long to try it?! This is amazing stuff. Rather dry and woody, with a delicious soft leather and doses of spiciness and incense smoke for good measure. I agree to comparisons to Crowley, though this is drier and doesn't have the devilish musk. I'll have to get more of this ASAP, because this imp is going to disappear very quickly. Maybe it's just a sudden infatuation, but Dee is one of my favorites as of today. Instant love.

[inkaddict]

My very first review! *frets*

 

Wet: soft and sweet, on the edge of too sweet. After a few seconds my nose starts to pick up notes and...yum! Leather, woods and something spicy.

 

Dry: the sweetness backs down completely, and Dee gets more spicy. It's light, and keeps close to my skin, but I keep getting wafts of this smooth, sexy smell.

 

It's so warm, makes me think of a potion lab filled with ingredients, old wooden tables, leather-bound books and cauldrons bubbling softly.

It was the first BPAL I sniffed, and it turned me into a complete addict.

[thelaurenator]

OMG, YUCK. This smells like cheap cologne. I prefer Havana for a soft, spicy leather scent. It's similar to this only not as harsh and "loud."

 

 

[Tess]

In the bottle - Strong men's scent, heavy on the leather, although the sweet incense in in there. The leather is very clarifying.

 

Wet - So very much leather!

 

Drying - This is far less sweet than I thought it would be. The leather is certainly the strongest note, with quite a backing of those woods and just a touch of the rosewood to give it a softer, dreamier feeling. Oh, geez, the throw is very lovely, though. Soft, floaty... Very much smelling like a man wearing cologne in an old library, but not dusty at all. A well-kept library.

 

Dry (1.5 hours) - Hrm, sweet leather on a man in rosewood perfume. It's nice, it really is. Not overpowering, almost subtle but not faint.

 

Overall - This is a tough one. I feel like I SHOULD love it, but I just don't. It's... nice. It just doesn't wow me. I think it's due to being so upstanding and respectable. Like an older version of Quincy Morris. But I love my Quincy in all his wildness.

[awesomeoverlord]

Mehh...I had high hopes for this one. Starts out like a dry mossy leather, which is ok, except that it quickly turns into...I don't even know how to put this kindly, but...old people. And not in a good way. Oh well.

[Banyangirl]

This scent is like being in a library, surrounded by leather-bound books, soft pipe smoke and dark woods outside. It's highly evocative and masculine but not in an intimidating way.

 

I have decided: this is the scent of an English major.

 

It's deep and dark and sweet. And I'm getting something... almost minty from it. No idea what that could be, perhaps the woody undertones. I'm definitely keeping my imp of this for studying and reading times (read: all the time, haha!). This scent could save my grades!

[thestrangeheart]

Oh, yum. This is definitely a readerly/writerly scent. I got an imp to see if it would fit as one of my character's scents, but I think it's going to become one of my signatures instead.

 

Wet: The rosewood comes out strong, with just a hint of the incense. It's a smell I find comforting (reminds me a lot of my childhood, since my dad is a luthier). As it dries, the parchment starts to come out, but the rosewood doesn't go away.

 

Dry: There's the dusty, warm scent of parchment. My skin turns this creamy (because it wants to turn everything into a floral, no doubt), but the rosewood stays and there's always the slightest hint of incense that warms everything up.

 

Hmm, I should try it with Peacock Queen to see if I can get roses and books. . . that would be my ideal scent!

[PersephonesChild]

In the imp, this was very leathery, with some light woods beneath it. Yes, it was masculine, but only if you really wanted to interpret it that way.

 

On my skin, I like the way the other notes sit on top of the leather-- the leather is a very subtle base. The rosewood is rather prominent, and definitely adds to the "dusty books" feel. Oddly enough, it becomes very, very overtly masculine-- in fact, it smells somewhat like shaving cream! I don't really get any tonka at all, just leather and wood.

 

It's very nice-- very gentle. This is a very clean, friendly man. But it's decidedly a man.

 

I've been wearing it all day, and everytime I move I can smell it (it's got some serious throw for something so gentle) and I think to myself "Man, I smell like shaving cream."

 

This isn't a bad thing-- really, it does smell pretty good- but I think I'm kind of tired of smelling like it at this point.

Edited May 23, 2009 by PersephonesChild

[liquidtrance]

Golly, wood and leather like WHOA. Very scruffy smelling > Manly. With just the faintest hint of what could be pseudo familiar tonka? Reeeally warm, and comforting in a VERY strange way. Really really strong, too. Very easily apparent without getting wrists close to nose. It's definitely worn, comfortable, soft leather. The rosewood must be giving that plushness to it. This is very appealing in much the same way that Hay Moon is. The rosewood seems to take the stage, still with a veil of leather, as it's drying, but theres something almost vanillic in the background. Reminds me a bit of the biker/leather shops on the boardwalk, but not as seedy. There's something... sophisticated about this. Sophisticated, but alluring, inviting. Inspires sighs of comfort. Neither the leather or the woods are too overbearing. And so happily pungent with just a single wand swipe! i keep worrying that the wood or the leather is going to overtake the scent, and I'll be weirded out, but it stays nice and rounded. Almost, almost too pungent. Strongest BPAL I've ever tried to date.

 

Hmm.. On second test, VERY leathery/woody. A little too much of a strange scent.. not bad, just felt self-conscious in it. I think Dee might have patchouli in it... very similar to the leather smell... Overall this is deemed a good sent to snuggle up and read a book in, but makes me a little too self conscious reeking of leather in public, haha

[Seismogenic]

Dee had been sitting on my wishlist for a while, though it kept ever so slightly missing the cut for my orders. I've had good luck with wood scents in the past, definitely like tonka, and enjoyed the leather note in Coyote, at least. I was definitely also curious about the parchment. And yet, I didn't get to ordering it, until septima_pica pointed out at Will Call that Dee was one she thought I'd like. I guess an overt recommendation was all I needed! I'm trying this today (22 May 2009) because I'll be performing in a concert of music from Elizabethan England later this evening, and it seemed totally appropriate to wear an oil based on Elizabeth I's astrologer!

 

In the imp: Tonka, wood, and something a little bit sharp that I can't identify.

 

Wet on skin: All tonka and wood now. Whatever was sharp isn't really there anymore.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, the leather is definitely coming out, and is melding really smoothly with the tonka. This layers nicely with the soft woody dryness that's the other main thing going on. I think I might be getting the incense along with the wood, though I'm not entirely sure. At one hour in, this has become a completely smooth mix of leather, tonka, wood, and a faint dry sweetness that I'm supposing is incense.

 

Five hours later: The same rich smooth mix as at the one hour mark, and not even much fainter, either.

 

End of the day: Still going! The balance has shifted more in favor of wood and incense than tonka and leather, though the latter notes are still there in the background.

 

Overall: Ooooh. Recommendation entirely spot-on. This is so good. The notes blend very smoothly, though are still distinguishable enough to lend individual characteristics to the mix. It's rather gentlemanly and certainly distinctive; this is not just a run-of-the-mill gentleman, but more likely someone up to strange and fascinating things. I absolutely love how this smells, and the idea of it being inspired by a sort of proto-mad-scientist is also deeply appealing. I'm sure I'll use this imp gladly, and foresee upgrading it in the future.

[iiinterstate]

Rosewood doesn't usually get along with me, but I will try this one anyway!

 

As soon as it touches my skin, I get rosewood and incense. No leather or anything else. Weird.

 

How odd. Dee dries down into a nondescript sweetness. Its not BAD, just nothing spectacular and nothing like what I had hoped for. I'm sure this is my skin chemistry working its magic.

[gingiemay]

Upon first application, this smells like leather, tonka and I get a distinct woody overtone. After drydown, the woodiness has disappeared and I'm left with a gorgeous, sexy and relatively manly leather/tonka blend that almost gets musky. I don't get any parchment or incense but I don't mind. This could work well for a man or a woman, but as a woman I'd wear it on badass days, like when I have to chop wood for the fire or something like that.

[hkhm]

imp: this is soft leather and rosewood. very nice.

 

wet: the leather becomes a bit sharp as it hits my skin but it's really softened by the incense.

 

dry: leather incense. this is smooth and a bit smoky, nicer than i was expecting.

[bubblefish]

I was expecting something a little mustier, duller, and more masculine. Instead, it's light and not nearly as masculine as I was expecting. It's really a pleasant scent, though not the sort that I view as "my kind" of scent. I shall have to dupe some male friend of mine into putting it on, because I think that might only improve it

[angelicruin]

This is a very woodsy scent tempered with leather and tonka. It goes on a bit like sweetened cedar initially. Definitely a good choice for men, but it's not so masculine that a woman can't wear it. I need to try this on my hubby.

[topazphoenix]

This is pretty, masculine, and woodsy, tea and leather and incense, and the tonka gives it a nice flavor. I prefer Tristan for tonka and rosewood though.

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Woody incense

On: Patchouli, sandalwood and a few other woods, tampered by smoke. Amazing. Upon drydown, a slightly creamy note softens the still quite prevalent woodiness - I suspect it's the tonka. This is absolutely gorgeous and if it sticks around long enough, this one is gonna jump straight into my bottle list. I don't seem to get any outright leather, but hell, I don't need it, this is already wonderful enough.

Later: It keeps almost all its oomph after drydown and is a mixture of woods on a warm tonka base. Bottle list for sure.

[phantomphoenix3]

Dee was the second oil I tried when I first got into BPAL a few years ago. I promptly labelled it "too masculine" for me and gave it away. I decided to try it again and I must say, it is lovely! The leather and woods are most prominent on my skin, but it does make me imagine a huge, dusty, well-loved library (and a very sexy librarian!) It is slightly masculine, but in a good way, with a slight sweetness from the tonka underneath. I really like it!