Dee

[The_Merf]

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

In the imp: I smell the leather and something woody. The woody smell is quite green. I was hoping for something a bit deeper.

Wet: This is still quite green.

Dry-down and wear: This has become quite nice--I'll need to wear more to make it last, but the leather has come out. It has combined with the incense to create a smell that reminds me more of tobacco than anything else (not the sweetness of Santo Domingo, but something more smoky). I'll be wearing the entire imp, and this will probably go on my 5mL list.

[Diana]

I was waiting so long for this bottle to show up, and it did not dissappoint!

 

I slathered this on from the bottle. It felt thicker than usual. The scent was very woody and there's a noticable note of incense, like frankincense in the background.

 

The woody note (which smells very similar to Golden Priapus to me), stays on ALL day. It didn't really lessen much, but I like it, so nyah.

 

The leather smell was very faint and there was a subtle basenote, which I'm guessing was the parchment. But overall, it's a warm, slightly sweet, strong, fabulous oil. This is definitely in my top 10. I put this on yesterday and can still smell it this morning. Words just cannot do this justice.

 

[yeahbutnobut]

Dee

 

In the imp: mmm, antique leather, leather bound books, a gentlemanly leather with something resinous.

Wet on skin: leather! Gorgeous and refined leather.

Dry on skin: this is dee-licious! (ha ha!) a deep, rich leather scent sweetened by tonka and accented by smoky incense. This is a sophisticated leather, the kind that binds antique books. It is a truly gentlemanly scent without being overtly masculine, and has a hint of the 'old library' about it, which I love.

After a while: still that rich leather scent, but now I get more incense, it's a very smoky incense, like the loose blends of resins and woods burnt on charcoal, it's dark, warm, mysterious and magical…truly fit for an alchemist!

After a few hours, the tonka makes a comeback, giving a lovely sweetness to the final drydown of the scent.

Verdict: I've really warmed to Beth's leather note and I must say this is the finest leather scent I've tried. Refined and elegant, with a touch of occult mystery about it, this is a deep and sophisticated leather scent with the smoke and resinous scent of smouldering incense and sweet tonka. The fragrance evokes old libraries filled with great magical tomes bound in leather, and the smoky scent of some arcane ritual incense. A truly magnificent scent, warm and rich, and I think it will be wonderful in the cooler months. I love it.

[parrot_suspect]

I seem to be getting something different from everyone else. I don't get leather, books, or any warm notes -- rather, I'm getting the scent of a forest filled with evergreens. Very, very forest-like; similar to Black Forest. The drydown stays green. Not to be insulting, but this reminds me of evergreen-scented air freshener or potpourri. It's not a bad scent, but I don't want to smell that way. I can see this as more of a room fragrance than a personal fragrance.

[oakmoss]

In the bottle, this was very masculine, but once on my skin, it lost some sharpness and became much more neutral. My first impression was that it reminded me of Mistletoe, a blend that smells to me exactly like walking through a Christmas tree lot -- or at least, the Christmas tree lots of my childhood, which were just heavenly. Trees don't seem to smell like they used to. Anyway, Dee isn't the tree lot, it's the forest where the trees come from, and deep in that forest there is an alchemist's secret retreat, with dried herbs and woodsmoke and incense in aromatic piles, used in rites of invocation and inspiration. This is a magical scent, and one I will be wearing often through the winter, I'm sure.

[carolinachiquita]

When I first put this on I got a spicy warm floral coming from it and thought that it was really nice, then it morphed into this manly scent (which was still gorgeous!) that was all strong and warm and sexy. I can't wait to try this on my boyf!! I think this is another possible 5ml!

[melange]

Wet (as best I can tell*): cologne, a sharpness that's wood+leather+incense.

 

Drydown: it all starts warming and softening up, a well-used chair instead of a new one. It still feels as though it's more at the front of my nose, but it's deepening. The incense emerges further.

 

Worn: comfortable as it is, and hinting of thorough studies, it could be mistaken for a simple scholar's scent if it weren't for its additional hint of adventure.

 

Conclusion: on me it's a comfortable yet directed scent, one that doesn't thrust itself forward: targeted speech instead of a shout, academia donned for a purpose. I bought the imp more out of curiosity (and the great reviews) than specific expectations, and because Dee is somewhat more all-around than some, I'll have to try him out again before I know just how he fits into my personal library.

 

(* Caveat lector: the label was soaked in two other scents due to a mishap in the mail, so I can't get an accurate smell by sniffing the imp directly, and the scents rubbed off onto my fingers just a little.)

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

I ordered an imp of this thinking that it could potentially be good (love incense and parchment and soft woods sound wonderful, but the rosewood and tonka made me a little wary), but then Diana told me that I'd love it so I'm looking forward to trying it. My imp pimp knows her girl, so I've got high expectations.

 

First sniff:

 

Sort of a combination of men's cologne (that sort of generic smell you get in department stores and the like - not a bad smell, but not fantastic, either) and a sort of soft wood and leather scent...like a den with bookshelves wrapping around the walls and a soft, well-worn leather chair in the corner by the fireplace. It smells masculine, but I love masculine scents, so this could be good on me.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Mmm, I love this. All the cologney overtones disappear once this hits my skin and I get a sort of leather and parchment scent with a touch of incense. It's an instantaneous shift from generic masculine cologne to warm and comforting. I'm not sure why I have an emotional connection to masculine scents that remind me of dens and leather armchairs, but I do know that those scents evoke an instantaneous feeling of safety and security and make me feel warm and safe. Dee is no exception to that rule, even though I don't have any conscious memories to connect it with.

 

Dry down:

 

I put this on and then went about doing something else that needed to be done and didn't really think about what I was wearing until I got a strong whiff of tobacco out of nowhere and had one of those "What is that wonderful smell? Oh, wait, that's me!" moments when I realized that it was Dee that I was smelling. There's no tobacco in here (at least there's none listed), but that's the dominant impression I get once Dee dries. It's not an overwhelmingly cigar store kind of smell, more like loose tobacco with a hint of leather and wood and a tiny touch of vanilla (the tonka, I'm sure).

 

Up until this point, I've been having a troubling day. I've been anxious and unable to sit still and unsure of why I was so worked up, but Dee's been an instantaneous calming factor for me.

 

The bottom line:

 

Diana was right, I love this. Not only does it smell beautiful, but it makes me feel secure in a way that I really need right about now. This is the effect (and, to a certain degree, the scent) that I've been anticipating in Herr Drosselmeyer, so until my Yule order comes in, I've got something to fill the void (and something that will, no doubt, remain a favorite of mine).

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Quite sharp, the incense stands out, but thewood is there in the background aswell.

Wet on me - Leather and book adhesive!

Dry on me - it faded quite quickly leaving a warm creamy after smell.

[teaketcha]

This is a six week old imp from the lab. I bought it for my boy, tried it on him once and decided it is not "him" or how I like to smell "him" ... I may give it one more go on him, but today it was all about me. I wanted the leather. I get the leather. I get leather, incense and Skin-So-Soft. I smell like I got in big trouble out in some woods on a hot summer day. Strangely enough, with that connotation, I want to keep smelling it because its heady and sexy. I also want some patchouli mixed in with it. And a spanking.

 

Edited November 15, 2005 by ketalady

[Orodemniades]

Hmm, I smell ambergris with a hint of cinnamon?! Could it be tonka? Or the leather? How odd.

 

As time passes it becomes very peppery with just the merest twinge of...not smoke, but the way that you walk into a room after incense is burned, that after smoke scent...and then, far after that, it's old, comfortable leather, oh so slightly sweet, like good pipe tobacco.

 

Yeah, I'm liking it.

 

Oro

[theseagrows]

ugh. this one does NOT work on me. and it sounded so fascinating. :/

 

i think i can smell the leather and tonka, which are both notes i like, but perhaps the rosewood doesnt work on me. it's very strong on me, and when i first put it on there is a weird foody smell, but not sweet-foody, more like meat-foody- like some kind of non-dessert food cooking. which to say the least, is pretty gross.

 

after awhile that aspect mostly disappears, but this scent gives me a headache. im disappointed because a lot of the notes in this are ones i like, but the rosewood or parchment must not work on my skin.

[misfitroxy]

Dee is very spicy, masculine and woodsy to start. As others have mentioned, it's got a peppery quality to it which blends nicely with the woods (which bring to mind an ancient, well-worn cedar chest).

 

I haven't tested a lot of leather blends as it tends to disagree with me. But I like the darkness it lends to Dee. It becomes more dry and musky after it settles down.

 

I think this would be heavenly on a romantic partner, as it's crazy sexy. The oil is too heavy for my tastes, though. However, I will say that I can certainly see John Dee pouring over a pile of dusty books while incense wafts around him, so it's perfectly spot on.

[hypatia]

Oooh. Dee is a little sweet, a little sharp, very woodsy. The sweet/sharp part comes out at the very first -- the leather's there, and a lot of incense. I can tell that there's rosewood, but it's not overpowering, the way rosewood sometimes is on me. I'm not sure I like the first stage; there's something intimidating about it.

 

After about half an hour, I start to get the parchment note. I was sure I wouldn't be able to spot it, but it's there. Amazing! The parchment warms everything up, and the scent becomes softer and more inviting and more lived-in, if that makes sense. After several hours, the papery note mostly goes away, leaving a softened version of the initial incense-and-rosewood. And finally it dies down into a lovely, smooth tonka bean finish, a bit like Saint-Germain.

 

Not every BPAL turns into a story in my head, but Dee does. The image it conjures up is the entryway of a house (an old, dark house, with lots of hallways, little wooden tables with paper on them, and an incense burner). The house is on the edge of a chilly evergreen forest, and night has fallen. The house is kind of forbidding and creepy at first, but then you're shown into the library, which is warmer than the rest of the house and full of fascinating old books, and you realize that you and the austere alchemist are going to get along after all.

 

Oh, and I have to agree with this:

Anyone dressing like Jonathan Strange for Halloween? You so have to wear this scent.

Helarctos hits the nail on the head! It's totally a Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell kind of scent. It's kind of like Mr. Norrell's library in the very first chapter, now that I think of it.

[LiberAmoris]

Holy sh*t, Dee is good. It smells like a library off the wing of a great estate---vaulted ceilings, mahogany shelving with sliding ladders, an enormous fireplace with a leather wing chair, and a vast wood table piled high with cloth- and leather-bound books. With a touch of water damage or dampness on the pages. The woodsy notes make it seem as through the library has a set of double doors that lead out onto the grounds, where a copse of trees sends fresh green-laden air rifling through the pages of the books open on the table.

 

Yum. If academics had a smell, this would be it. It's like a bookish mating cry. I don't even know if this is something I would wear often, as it is so specific and evocative for me. But I think I'll be getting a little bottle just to have, to sniff and occasionally anoint my BF with.

[hangingfire]

In the bottle: Wood, incense, spices. Maybe a touch of leather? Also a slight smokiness, like burnt-out candles.

 

On, wet: The wood is more clearly rosewood now. I'm getting a little bit of what's probably tonka -- a slight sweetness.

 

Drydown: Rosewood and tonka. A very nice combination.

 

This didn't really smell all that interesting in the imp, but the drydown is very pretty. Definitely keeping the imp.

[WidgetAlley]

The Boy ordered an Imp of this, and kindly let me have a go-- although that may have been his sense of self-preservation, now that I come to think of it. I was desperate to try this.

 

In the Imp: Incense, something green and woodsy, and that very distinct blown-out-candles smell. I'm not smelling any leather, but the BPAL leather seems to generally be right in my scent blind spot, and I can only rarely find it. I like it so far. Not what I was expecting, but I like it.

 

Wet: Rosewood, I think, is what's causing that green note. This is smoky rosewood, incense, and wood. No leather or parchment or tonka, yet. Just wood and spice. It's nice but not that impressive-- yet. I'll see what it does on the drydown before I judge. I hope it sweetens up a bit, I think I'd really like it if it did.

 

Hmm, I just sniffed my sweater, where I accidentally got a drop or two, and it's much better there! Much sweeter and more incensey.

 

Drydown: Something in here is going faintly powdery on me, but not in a bad way. This is parchment and incense, still with no leather, and much less rosewood. It is sweeter now, but I'm really just not getting the library vibe from this. On my sweater it smells fantastic, rich and deep and drily delicious, but it's just not cooperating on me. To top it all off, it's starting to fade.

 

It seems like the ones I get most excited about simply never work on me. Ah well. The search for the librarian scent continues. This is quite masculine, and will work very well on the Boy, but it doesn't seem to be for me-- although I'll enjoy burying my nose in my sweater from time to time, and catching whiffs of incensey tonka and wood.

 

*sigh* Godsdammit. And I was really looking forward to this one.

 

[edit] Later that same day, I starting doing that classic, "What is that smell? Oh God, something smells so good-- like a spicy, sweet, really fantastic cologne! Is that you, (insert name of family member here)?" I'd forgotten entire about the Dee on my sweater-- it wasn't until the next morning when I pulled it on to go out into the cold, and my entire head was enveloped in masculine deliciousness, that I worked it out. This is going to be fan-freakin'-tastic on the Boy. I can't wait!

 

[edit] I'm pleased to report that, post college-applications stress, this does work on me! It's a melange of spicy woods and blown-out candle wax and delicious manliness, and I'm very, very fond of it.

Edited August 13, 2006 by WidgetAlley

[AngellicMystique]

The old parchment an leather on me is very masculine. I deffinitely get the feel of a man's vintage library with semi-mystical undertones.

 

VERY male in the "I'm an educated aristocrat" way.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Like a laboratory, or a magician’s workroom. Wood paneling, soft incense and mystery… but a lighter scent than all that implies.

 

Wearing: Rupert Giles. If I hugged Giles, he’d smell exactly like this. Not the early “I’m so stuffy, gimme a scone” Librarian Giles, but the Mage who arrived during Willow’s vengeance quest. DUDE. I have to find a darker-edged Ethan Rayne scent to go along with it.

[ginevra]

My guy is not much into cologne. At first this was okay by me - after all, I almost get a headache walking through the men's fragrance counter at the department stores.

 

Then I got hooked on BPAL, and wanted to find something special for him. Dee is it! It's a great blend of leather and books and a bit of spice - not overpowering, very complex. And he likes it too!

[theshapeshifter]

In the imp: Something muted and cologne-y.

 

Initial application: Ugh, at first it's a bit too men's-cologne on me. After a minute or so it gets nicer, but still very masculine.

 

Drydown: As it starts to try, it quickly becomes less overpoweringly manly - although I'd still love to smell it on a boy. It's reminiscent of Cathedral on me: very woody-incensey, but with a twist (I guess the parchment note) that makes it much more 'library' than 'church'. It's a very comfortable scent. It has very little throw on me, though - I need to put my nose right to my wrist to find it.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a word or two: Heavy.

 

In the imp/bottle: Woodsy, green and dry, but with a wee bit of smoothness.

 

On skin, wet: Wow. Just... wow. Woodsy and earthy and smooth and beautiful. I try not to lump scents into gender-type categories, but this is a very "masculine" scent.

 

On skin, dry: Musky, smokey/incensey and woodsy. The tonka keeps it from straying too far into "sharp" territory. Earthy, without being dirty.

 

Conclusion: Lovely, but way too heavy/dark/incensey for me. Another "Must try on a boy, when I snag a boy worth snagging" scent -- in the meantime, though, I'll keep the imp to try on a male friend that'll be visiting me in March.

[aedes]

This smells more herbal to me than I thought it would. I could swear I smell cypress in there. Reminds me a bit of Nero, actually, especially wet. It warms and "browns" so to speak as it dries down. The guy really likes it, more for himself than for something I would wear. Smells quite basic and maybe more suited to a guy's pH. Very nice!

[try_infrared]

My impressions...

 

in the imp/bottle: The incense and smokiness hit me right away, and there is definitely a warm spiciness. I also smell a little green woodsiness.

 

On, wet: The incense and smoke notes are softened, the spice remains, and the wood/woodsiness really came out here. Also something remotely warm and soapy, like a men's soap bar.

 

On, drydown: Woods and spice, soapyness fades, and aha! there's the leather!

 

this would be a fabulous scent for a man, but a bit too masculine for myself (I need more sweetness! bring on the vanilla!)

Edited January 4, 2006 by try_infrared

[Voleuse]

On first sniff, this is all incense and the smallest hint of leather. As it dries, it gets smoky and resinous. It still smells sharp to me, though, and verging on masculine.

 

After a while, I can detect the woods as well--it reminds me of cedar, I think. And the leather just begins to bloom, getting stronger over time. Wow! I was unsure about it on first application, but I like how it ends up. It's sensual and masculine, and also smells like an old-fashioned library, rich and a little dusty.

Edited February 3, 2006 by Shollin