Dee

[loladae]

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

I surprisingly love this. Leather never worked on me until this scent. To me, it smells very very similar to my favorite perfume, Tombstone, just without the vanilla, and a little more deeper and complex. I can definitely see myself wearing this a lot.

[Lamia]

Delicious.

 

Reminds me a bit of my beloved Lucifer, sort of a poor man's version.

 

Yummy yummy yummy.

 

Eventually turns somewhat bitter, but is still delicious.

[Invidiana]

I could have sworn there was clove in this (which I love) but I guess that's just the leather and incense blending together, and I'm sure the rosewood and tonka are responsible for a bit of it. A lovely, mysterious and intriguing scent; reminds me somewhat of Samhainophobia.

 

 

 

[jennythereader]

First Worn On: 6/17/2009

 

In the Imp: Masculine; leather, woods; sort of harsh

 

At Application: softens a little, smells like my dream library; nice as a smell, but not great as a perfume

 

When Dry: very masculine, sort of soapy; 3 hours after applying it's faded down enough to almost be pleasant; This one is OK if I apply very little. (Noted later) Very nice when I remember to apply a small amount

 

Rating: 2 - use up, but don't replace; tradeable for something amazing

 

My Comments: I received this imp as a gift several years ago, but only got around to wearing it this summer.

 

Comments from Others: My husband thinks he could grow to like it.

[starfish327]

I love this scent!

 

I agree with other reviews that this reminds me of a library, in all the best ways. It's a complex blend on me. It often smells smoky and piney in a good way, but I can pick out incense and leather as well. It's my current favorite go to blend, as it's heavy without being cloying and it's not too masculine.

[jamethiel]

In the bottle--this is a dead ringer for the old fashioned cologne, 4711. My grandma used to wear that!

 

Wet: 4711.

 

After five minutes: Oh, nice! The overwhelming cologne smell is gone and instead I'm getting parchment and pepper.

 

After ten minutes: Mmm. The leather's starting to come out now. The pepper has morphed into incense and there's a slight wood scent there was well.

 

The drydown. It's unfortunately very faint now. Incense and paper.

 

I love it, I just wish it lasted more.

[lensflaaare]

Wet: I can smell the incense and rosewood. It's tempered by the tonka, which makes it a little bit sweet and so lovely.

 

Dry-down: Still the same as wet. I'm starting to get a bit of something that smells like dusty books. There's something smoky about it now. I think that may be the leather. Or is it the parchment? I DON'T KNOW IT'S JUST AMAZING.

 

Dry: Dee smells like sexy, spectacled man leafing through ancient dusty tomes in the candlelight, with his hair pulled back into a low ponytail to keep it out of his face. The library is large and dark, but it's comforting instead of intimidating. Wow. I don't know how I got that, but wow. Also, it somehow manages to smell intellectual. My god I love this blend.

 

My brother's opinion: At first it smells like potpurri, then it smells nice.

Edited December 22, 2009 by lensflaaare

[Carmencita]

In the vial: Smells like a woodsy, bookish Wilde

 

On: Too strong! I only put a dab and I'm drowning in men's cologne

 

Drydown: This smells like my dad, every nuance. His cologne, the tobacco from his cigarettes, the leather from his jacket, and the rich soil in his garden in the mountains. This is unsettling. Incredible. I will keep a vial but do not think I will do a bottle. The leather is too strong for me.

[ralenth]

Wet: Incense and aged leather. Reminds me of Ü , but a bit muted.

 

Drydown: As Dee dries, it smells like a sexy bookish man, surrounded by well-worn leather tomes. There's a bit of a hint of arcane ritual going on there in the background. Maybe The High Priest Not To Be Described is in the next room over...

 

After 2 hours: Soft, musky woods with a tinge of leather and a whisper of incense.

 

After 4 hours: If a man smelled like this, I would follow him home without hesitation (and I do not say that lightly). Holy hotness, Batman. This just gets more amazing as the day wears on.

Verdict: Bottle purchase.

Edited February 22, 2010 by ralenth

[Gregory]

I'm a guy, and this is my favorite BPAL scent. It lasts quite a long time, which is a plus.

 

Incense, old books, leather, magic. What more can be said?

[mari4212]

Wet and on: This starts out with a hint of leather and green woods, with something light and warm underneath.

 

As the dry-down starts, the scent continues to warm, and I see where people are pulling out the image of a sexy geek in the library. I've been re-watching Angel recently, so the image which pops into my head is of a Wesley Wyndam-Pryce tucked away in his office surrounded by old books. So, you know, not exactly a bad mental picture.

 

15 minutes into wearing: The incense is peaking out. That must have been part of what was warming this up. And I'm getting hints of sweetness, what may well be the tonka. Ummmm.

 

I love this scent. I'm not sure I can wear it that often, because it's a lot more masculine than I normally go for, but I need to at least keep the imp so I can smell it and enjoy the scent associations.

[impolight]

:::DEE:::

 

Dee is an acrobatic morpher if ever there was one! Upon opening the bottle and inhaling deeply from the contents, it was Rosewood and a Leather-clad fist that hovered just under the lip of the opening...

The sensation was confusing; It was almost as though there was a bleed deep in the sinuses, as though being bonked profoundly atop the head during a fall from worrisome heights...

The Leather in Dee isn't quite what was expected either. It's being combined with the Rosewood's sweetness evoked the image of pink, glistening skin heaving beneath a Leather corset, mussed hair and running eye-liner...

Whoah!

Curious!

Let's see what happens when Dee gets intermingled with the body chemistry...

Yipe!

There is an immediate, panicky impulse to scrub Dee off posthaste! This is not, understand, because of some outwardly offensive quality, this is because, in this instance, Dee smells VERY much like post-coital hyperventilations!

Yes!

This time, Dee smells like... SEX!

Unprepared is definitely the word of the hour. Paranoia dictated that it was now impossible to imagine walking into work smelling like this!!! Conversations would screech to a halt, mid-syllable, heads would pivot like neck-mounted skeet-launchers, eyes would bug, mouths would carp... No WAY could this be pulled off!

Upon reflection on some of the morphing potential of some of The Lab's more notorious blends, the final verdict was going to be reserved for the arrival at work, which is roughly a 20 minute drive.

The ride to work brought manifold second thoughts! The whole of the interior of the car smelled like rut and debauchery!

Abject deviation!

After an attempt to nonchalantly stroll past co-workers, Dee had, by that time, morphed again into something more closely resembling what had been described in The Lab's notes.

The Leather has now softened considerably, while still being the predominant note, and the Rosewood smells, well, Heavenly!

Dee has waxed Incensational! Seriously, whatever the incense is in Dee, it should be available to be purchased in bulk! This is really, really GOOD!!!

5 ml. of Dee was purchased unsniffed, and this was extremely fortuitous!

Dee is dead sexy! Sure, this is evocative of studiousness, reverence and Angelic dialogue and correspondence, yet Dee is also... Hot!

Dee is a pantomime of pulling your hair up off the back of your neck while hula-hooping while your eyes roll up in your head and you chew on your lower lip... More, please!

Dee is a masterful blend.

Dee is a mood-altering experience.

Dee is high-voltage and turbulent.

Dee is scholarly.

Dee is eye-opening.

Dee is absolutely gorgeous!

Dee could be a unisex fragrance in some stages, but Dee is, in all probability, best suited for Him.

If you have been at all curious, Dee is certainly worth a look.

A smashing good fragrance.

5.5 out of 5!

[Ashmedai]

This is one of the (to me) most soothing and comforting blends I have. It evokes the image of one of those old-fashioned libraries, softly lit with petroleum lamps, surrounded by polished antiques, old books, and warmed by a fire in a fireplace. It's a relatively masculine fragrance, but still soft, warm and sweet, caressed by incense and what could be pipe smoke from the tonka note, like being wrapped in a blanket and someone's arms, while he reads to you from an old leather-bound book, and everything is quiet, peaceful and focused.

 

[pteron]

After experiencing little to no leather with other scents, I was a bit worried that maybe leather just didn't work well with my skin, which would have been disappointing as I quite like it. Fortunately, my worries were put to rest when the first notes I got from Dee were wood shavings and leather. It's a gorgeous leather, too, more elegant and gentlemany than dark and rough. I'm echoing what nearly everyone else has written here, but Dee really does smell like an old-fashioned library with leather armchairs and wooden floors and tables.

 

Dry, the parchment and tonka begin to emerge. My skin thankfully isn't amping the incense in this, which it's done with other scents. Instead, all of the notes are beautifully blended together while still being distinguishable from one another.

 

Dee doesn't morph much over time for me and remains smelling like the Lab's description almost verbatim. This is a scent that strikes me as androgynous with a slight masculine leaning. The oil is potent; just a drop or two goes a long way and the smell lasts for hours. I really love this and Dee is my current favourite BPAL scent.

[Balame]

In the Imp: A gentle but full blooming rose, the vagueness of a forest in the backdrop, and tonka.

 

Wet: So soft! A lot of oils bowl you over when you first put them on, but this is pleasantly subdued and yet attention getting from the get-go. I really don't smell leather at all, which isn't a letdown. Mostly I can pick up a very fresh rose in rain-dewed forest.

 

Dry: The spices and incense become more pronounced once this settles, but not obnoxiously so - just a waft of smoke in a natural setting. It also doesn't lose the dreamy quality of its initial scent. Reminds me not of being lost, but just wandering through old woods until you find a small clearing to settle down in, sitting on a log to peruse some intriguing texts.

 

Verdict: I didn't expect to like this so much but I'm really enjoying it. It gives you "forest" without being heavy on patchouli or pine, more like the rejuvenating, pure scent you get after it rains. But with the addition of the tiniest, yet still noticeable, hint of mystery and... sort of a studious vibe. But somehow to me it's almost sensual. Imagine daydreaming about an angel - endlessly pure and untouchable, yet you can't help but glance its way and feel a longing to claim it as your own. You feel embarrassed at first but somehow you can't stay angry with yourself for long, because its loving nature understands simple "human folly", a flaw you can't correct. Or maybe an older professor, happily married, yet in his simple ways and maturity, his intelligence, you're drawn to his charm. Ugh, this is just yummy, plain and simple. An alluring innocence. WANT MORE.

 

[voorishsign]

I've been meaning to try this for a bit because I love the Lab's leather and tonka notes

 

In the imp - sheer leather and incense. Light but beautiful.

 

On wet - a lot of rosewood and tonka - not that much leather yet. Distant woods too.

 

Drydown - much lighter than I expected. Very faint parchment, leather and incense, with a hint of tonka and rosewood. Barely any throw. Beautiful, but I had expected a stronger blend based on everyone's reviews.

[tailoredshirt]

[lab-fresh imp]

 

I tried this a couple of weeks ago and was really disappointed because I got a sharp woodsy scent and not much else. It was also incredibly light. But I love leather and woods, and it sounded so perfect, so I put it in my "To Try Again Later" pile. I'm really glad I did!

 

Wet, this is definitely woods and leather. It is pretty sharp, with almost a citrus edge to it? This might be the leather or the woods, but I don't know. After about ten minutes, it's almost dry and the sharpness has died down some. It's a really lovely blend - wood and a bit of leather, slightly sweet. I definitely get the "old parchment" scent from it. I think this would age really well, and maybe a bit of the sharpness would fade with time. I think I will pick up a bottle with my next order to test that theory.

[reconditarmonia]

Tons of leather - smells very like The Bow and Crown of Conquest on me, so perhaps I amp the leather in both. If I bury my nose in my wrists, I do get some parchment (and maybe other components too, but it's too light to tell), but this is mostly leather.

 

Edit: I put this on in the evening without washing off Against Idleness, which I'd worn during the day, and either Dee grew on me very quickly or it's improved by layering. I may try it with some of my other creamy-type oils (Morocco, Hod) to see what happens.

Edited June 17, 2010 by reconditarmonia

[lahdeedah]

Books, incense, magic indeed! I LOVE Dee. I love the concept, I love the scent, I love that it reminds me of one of my favorite (living) people though I can't exactly explain why. It's not really a great scent on me, but I will always have at least an imp in my possession.

 

Wet: This is my favorite stage. I get a lot of leather, which is kind of sharp, but the sweet tonka comes out singing and it's this beautiful dance of masculine and feminine.

 

Dry: All the notes blend together in a lovely way. The leather and rosewood stay on the sharp side, but the tonka and incense are still there to keep them in check. Really, if I knew a man who wore this I would probably be glued to him. The scent is so perfect for it's namesake. It's distinguished, mysterious, wise. The scent of a smart, visionary man, dreaming away in his library with an ancient tome open in his lap.

[FathomBelow]

In the bottle, I get leather and wood swirling around each other. And swirl is what they pretty much do the entire time on my skin as well. Tonka and incense don't show up at all (neither does parchment, but sometimes paper notes disappear on my skin). The woods really are beautifully soft, not harsh at all.

 

To be precise about the whirling sensation: it's caused by the strength of the leather oscillating. Sometimes it's weaker, blending into the woods and making it smell peppery, almost like really soft cedar wood. When it's stronger, it's clearly distinguishable from the woods, and smells delicious - the soft, old, worn kind of leather, not the shiny, sharper PVC-and-leather in, say, Whip. The leather's changed several times thus far; I don't mind at all because I like both phases, and it adds a bit of interest. And in the meantime, the soft woods stand by to give the scent some stability.

 

All in all, I adore Dee. It's unisex, not in the sense that you can't tell whether it's for a guy or a girl, but rather it could be really masculine or intriguingly feminine depending on who's wearing it. It could be devilishly attractive on the guy, but I think it works well on me too. At least I like it. All in all, one of my new favorites!

[SophieCedar]

very cologney wet. I was disappointed at first. after it dried down, it was AWESOME. english leather and tonka and a touch of parchment.

[whisperstilled]

In imp: Surprisingly cologney!

Wet: There's the leather, but spiced, not sweet the way I'm used to. Rosewood, I think, with tonka to leaven it.

Dry: I do get a hint of parchment as it dries, which serves as a fantastic backdrop, though the leather also drops off a touch. This is a complicated scent, reminiscent of musty old books in a library. It does go a touch powdery on the drydown, which is a strike against it, but still, very interesting.

Edited August 4, 2017 by Whisperstilled

[brettashley]

Oh dear, I'm afraid I'll have to be in the minority about this one. I was so looking forward to trying Dee, too.

 

Wet, in-vial: cologne-y and pleasant, a bit spicy, mostly a mellow, polished wood and leather smell. I think I'll like this one.

 

On skin: The leather has come out strongly, along with something that smells rather like pipe tobacco. It's pretty realistic, actually, how much this smells like sitting in the old, broken-in armchair of a man who smokes and collects old books.

 

Drydown: The tobacco has come out much too strongly for my liking. I get whiffs of something like cigarette smoke every time my wrist comes near my nose.

 

Hours after: All I get now is cigarette smoke. I feel like an intelligent smoker (or at least one who reads a lot). The scent of cigarettes is a bit too much for me though, and I'm starting to get a headache (especially when I'm in an enclosed space with this scent, like the car). I don't think I'll be able to wear this at all. It's a pity though, because the scent was so very evocative.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Mostly warm, thick and cozy incense/parchment, with a vanilla-like creaminess and a smidgin of leather.

 

On skin: Well-blended and complex. I can't pick out individual notes in Dee, but they all cooperate to produce an evocative scent. The warm, deep leather brings to mind a worn, leatherbound, parchment-folio filled with esoteric but benevolent secrets. The cozy, "close" creaminess (now I know this is tonka) feels like a cluttered, slightly stuffy (not oppressively so) alchemical laboratory. A rounded, full-bodied scent, in no way thin or dry or sharp.

Colour impressions are various shades of reddish-browns, but I can't shake the imagery of a leatherbound folio.

 

Verdict: Very cozy, snuggly and deliciously sweet: I like it very much! I don't think I'll get a bottle, but my imp of Dee is here to stay.

[flyby]

I was frimped this from the Lab, and the imp came very full so I managed to spill a generous amount over my hands when I opened it to sniff.

 

On me, I get a predominant impression of woodsmoke, wafting over leather and spice and something subtly creamy. Like a bonfire that someone's thrown a handful of incense and spices into. I think I like it, though it's definitely an autumn/winter scent for me.