Theodosius, The Legerdemain

[zillah37]

A flash of light and the smell of sulfur seize your attention. A vast black tent stands before you, subtly glowing with an unnatural, almost phosphorescent light. This tent has no pennants, no ornamentation, save for a carved ebony sign, lettered in silver:

“Master Theodosius
Legerdemain, Medium, Conjurer
One thousand years of marvels.
Enter at your peril.”

Another flash blinds you, and from a swirl of smoke a rakish, devilishly handsome man appears, long black hair falling down halfway to his waist, elegant and sinister in an inky silk tuxedo and a voluminous cape. The shadow he casts against the tent, oddly, seems to be that of an enormous corvus, and his eyes radiate a deep azure light. Staring fixedly at you, he snaps his fingers, and two bolts of violet lightning strike the ground on either side of him, blinding you momentarily. As your eyes adjust, you see that two lovely, slender, waiflike women now stand upon the scarred ground beside him, dressed in tattered ballerina costumes the nebulous color of smoke. Turning to his right, he touches the woman's lips and says, “Seachd seachd uair!” She opens her mouth, and a flock of diminutive bats fly forth from her throat. Turning to his left, he touches the other woman's hair and repeats, “Seachd seachd uair!” What once was a gleaming mane of stark white hair is now a nest of writhing vipers. She opens her mouth, baring fangs, and spits forth a thin stream of venom. The Master swirls his cape, which suddenly seems to grow and twist like a living shadow, and in a final flash of red lightning and a deafening thunderclap, he and both his assistants vanish.

Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean.

In the bottle: I can't pick out any of the scents individually to be honest except for the lightest hint of vanilla bean. It's a very sophisticated masculine scent, the musk and tea leaves reminding me of my grandfather. Especially because of the hint of vanilla bean behind it. He always smoked vanilla pipe tobacco and constantly had just a hint of vanilla on him.

On my skin: This does not smell good on my skin, but I'm not surprised by that at all. It's a lot of scents that don't match with my skin and when combined become very masculine. However, it's very light and subtle with a wonderful combination of musk, tea leaves, and vanilla bean.

Final verdict: This is a scent for a man, at least to me. I'm pretty sure it won't smell good on the boy because scents that are too light don't work for him. However, I think this will work great on my dad. It's a beautiful scent that's blended wonderfully.

[Scylla]

If I were to describe Theodosius in three words, I'd say "manly man's" Dorian!" Not exactly, but perhaps it's the vanilla, musk and fougere that make me think that. Theodosius doesn't seem to have any citrus in it.

 

My husband wouldn't try Dorian because he likes more herbal "manly" smelling oils, but I think he'll be all over this! I'll update after he tries it tomorrow.

[Magda]

I'm going to say this scent is unisex, but that's probably because I love a lot of masculine scents on me.

 

Theodosius is, to put it bluntly, the scent of a sexy boy dipped in citrus tea and rolled in sugar.

 

I'm going to wear this all the time, but if I smelled a guy wearing this, it would probably make me want to slam him up against a wall and make out with him.

[minnalavender]

God/dess, I adore the trading cards and admission tickets!!!

*ahem*

 

In the bottle: this smells good enough to drink. It's musky sweet, light, and perhaps it's the Earl Grey that gives the blend a hint of citrus. So clean and fresh to my nose!

 

Wet on my skin: true to the bottle at first application. After a few minutes my skin is amping vanilla, musk, and the citrus note. Oh jeez, this smells so good!! This reminds me so much of my CTIII blends - I guess they contain more "masculine" notes than floral, "feminine" ones, yet it doesn't smell like I'm wearing my husband's aftershave - it's more like I've put on a tuxedo with the white shirt open to my cleavage and a corset instead of a cummerbund, kept my hair long and tousled and have on dark pink, shiny lip gloss and fuck-me black patent leather pumps. lol! Or Eddie Izzard - I could smell this on him when he's wearing a satin Cheongsam and heels. It's close to the skin, but I can detect it from my wrists down on the keyboard.

 

The drydown is luscious, musky vanilla tea, sweet, clean and crisp but still sexy. It's kind of a combination of Dirty and Xiuhtecuhtli on me. I wasn't so sure about the white fougere as the pale flowers don't love me, but I think they're keeping this from becoming heavy.

 

Maybe this is supposed to be a "men's" blend, but I'm going to wear my bottle myself - and keep it away from my husband! He stole my first CTIII for himself.

[zenvodunista]

The Carnaval rolled into my corner of town tonight, and the BF was here for it. Before I could say much of anything he'd sorted out my frimps and taken a bunch for himself, and then asked me what this one was --- as he opened it and slathered it on.

 

However, it appears that BPAL favors the brave. This one is all Dorian, but with bergamont (the flavor used on Earl Grey tea leaves) dominating rather than full on vanilla.

 

I told him he could have the bottle after I get a chance to smell it on me too!

 

n.

[m13]

When I first put Theo on this morning he grinned and vanished. I spent a puzzled 15 minutes or so sniffing my arm -- I could see the oil on my skin, I can smell it in the bottle, but on my skin I couldn't smell a thing. Oh, well, I figured this one wasn't for me.

 

Then, as I sit here cruising the forum, I'm suddenly surrounded with a cloud of wonderful fragrance -- a light warm waft of musk with vanilla and just a touch of tea ... wait, is that just a bit of bergamot I smell? No idea. Whatever it is, it's delicious. And would be equally fine on a woman or a man, I think.

 

Theodosius isn't overpowering at all, but he's definitely present. But not always. Occasionally he disappears, leaving just a trace of vanilla behind, and then he returns in all his musky glory. Ah, a magician's scent that's playing tricks on me -- now I 'see' him, and now I don't.

 

This one is perfect for days when you want to feel magical but don't want to make a major statement with your fragrance. Like the best magic, its adaptable to any situation and enhances your enjoyment of whatever is going on around you.

[porcelain72]

In the bottle: an only slightly less sweet Dorian.

 

Initial application: Dorian

 

Drydown: Dorian

 

Now, let me say that, if I haven't mentioned it enough times already, Dorian is my favorite BPAL scent. Theodosius is wonderful, a perfect unisex scent, however to me it's almost a duplicate of Dorian, just a bit more masculine. As I've just ordered a 5ml of Dorian, I've offered Theodosius up for trade. Again, though, this is not meant to be a negative review. It's a beautiful blend, the Earl Grey keeping the vanilla and other notes from becoming too sweet and cloying.

[SoapyRN]

When I read the reviews and saw that it was similar to Dorian, I was suprised, at least while it is wet. Wet, I got so much of the musk that the other notes are not to strong. Then, rather quickly, the creamy vanilla and tea come to the surface....holy hotness. I love it. Like Dorian it is so creamy and spicy but this is more spicy. Mmmmm. I have to edit this later when I am not drinking muscato and during a different week. I really want my dh to try some of the CD oils I got. This might be the one.

[Diana]

In the bottle: pale notes; I can't really detect anything specific.

 

Wet: It does smell a bit like Dorian! But with more of a fougere base to it, so it's a bit more "leafy" smelling.

 

Drydown: The Dorian-ness is fading a bit; there's still that sweetened vanilla-tea thing going on, but the fougere & darker tea makes it a bit more masculine & deeper & more complex. After a bit the fougere becomes softer.

 

This is like Dorian x grr! I love it.

Edited September 3, 2006 by Diana

[GypsyRoseRed]

This is, for me, almost the perfect man scent. I agree with the similarity to Dorian, but it's most definitely different. I mean, you could have both of these and still be able to tell a sigificant difference between the two. There's a strong note in Dorian that isn't in Theodosius, and Theo is smoother, lighter in scent but somehow subtly *darker*. Dorian is a gentleman's fragrance - Theodosius is more manly. Sexier.. Personally, there's something about this blend that kept my nose going back to my wrist over and over when I tested it.. If you're looking for a BPAL blend to buy as a gift for a man, this is it.

Edited September 3, 2006 by GypsyRoseRed

[LiberAmoris]

Dorian. On. Steroids.

 

This is pure earl grey tea on me, just lightly rounded out with the jasmine leaf and white musk. The vanilla bean is very slight, just enough to keep the tea from being bitter. I love it on myself but will also put some on the guy when we go out. I can wear Dorian and we can waft yummy sexy tea goodness.

[Rosaleen Dhu]

This is Dorian in coitus. I slathered my boy in this...Dorian is my fav on him, but this is way better. Unbelievable sexy goodness.

[shelldoo]

sex in a bottle. it is an amazing scent. stunning. tea, musk and vanilla. the musk is teh strongest on me, but it is filled out by the other notes. this is dead on sexy. i love it slathered on me, and i love it slathered on dh. this is a great scent

[lorajc]

Wow....all I can say is that Beth hit the Carnivale series out of the ball park! I'm lovin' most all of them so far (got the whole Al-Gazam)! This is very Dorian like (as I suspected) and is quite lovely. I love Beth's tea blends and this one is exceptional. The jasmine leaf is not anything like jasmine (as I can't wear Beth's jasmine) and the vanilla bean adds a hint of creamy smoothness. This is going to get a lot of wear and I don't find it masculine in the least (although I don't find Dorian masculine either). I think it is very gender neutral. Great one to own if you're a Dorian lover, as I am.

Edited September 3, 2006 by lorajc

[blueroses]

I'm surprised that I don't find this much like Dorian. There's the similar tea note, but this is definitely a masculine scent on me, because of the fougere. It dries down to a musky, leafy tea scent that is reminiscent of traditional colognes. I think this will appeal to many.

[filigree_shadow]

This smells very similar to Dorian to me. At first it had a bit of a citrus scent as well... I think that's because white musk tends to smell a bit lemony on me. But that went away after about 10 minutes, and what's left is... um, Dorian. Almost. Dorian has this very "white tea" sort of feel to it. Theodosius is more masculine, a little gruffer. I think it has a leafy undertone, something just a little bit wood-like.

 

This was supposed to be a birthday present for my husband, but, um.... well, no. See, the thing is, Dorian is one of my all-time favorites. I love the scent of it, and I get a ridiculous number of compliments whenever I wear it. And I'm selfish. That's really the bottom line. I love Theodosius and it smells fabulous on me, so I'm keeping it.

 

ETA: Also, I should have mentioned this: Theo's throw is not as strong as Dorian. It's softer, and quite faint after a couple of hours.

Edited September 8, 2006 by filigree_shadow

[lysithea]

This can be called a Dorian variation, but I do find that they have their differences. The drydown is softer and more fluid. At times, this blend comes off a bit more perfumy to me. This is the same kind of results I had when trying Usher.

 

I will say that I am quite pleased with the blend overall. Perhaps, I just over-applied this morning. Who knows? I can pick up similarities in the drydown to Cheshire Cat, surprisingly enough. The musk is soft and lingers all day. I love the way the vanilla and musk wrap around the edge from the Earl Gray's bergamot. It's quite fantastic.

[olympia301]

This one reminds me more of Severin than any other blend, at least the tea and lemon part really do. There is a clean and musky element under it all which makes me say "man's blend" in my head. It doesn't remind me of Dorian much, not as sporty as Dorian. It's well mannered, not overwhelming, and the bottle looks great.

[savage_rose]

In the bottle: Almost citrusy...mellow muskiness with a sharp note that blends perfectly.

 

Wet: Okay, lemon's not mentioned, but that's what it smells like! Sharp lemon over creamy vanilla musk, with a bit of rugged spice. Very well-balanced!

 

Dry: Where did it go? Everything's pretty much gone almost immediately, but I'm occasionally getting a whiff of vanilla musk. Nice, and I like it, but my skin just soaks it up. Sigh.

[abejita]

To me, this is a less sweet, more masculine Dorian. More refined. The Earl Grey is astringent and dry, the fougere prominent.

 

I prefer Dorian on my skin, but I am saving this bottle for my man. I think it would be dead sexy on him.

[Bagfish]

Definitely Earl Grey - I think the citrus note in this must be the bergamot from the Earl Grey. This is the most tealike tea scent I have ever smelled, it really does smell like freshly brewed black tea.

 

Unfortunately I prefer to drink my Earl Grey rather than wear it, and although it smells pleasant on me, it smells awful on Mr Bagfish, so this one is going into the swap pile.

[theseagrows]

first off, i see an initial dorian similarity, but that fades away. on me, this is much more perfumey than dorian. a bit masculine, but more unisex. i think my skin is mostly exuding the white musk, vanilla and earl grey. i LOVE earl grey and have been trying to find a scent that exactly duplicates it. theodosius does not, but the tea-ish element is definitely there. i am also getting a slight pencil-shaving scent in the background that i usually get from frankincense. i have no idea what's doing it in here.

 

this scent gives off the same feeling as one of my favorite commercial scents- versace dreamer. a men's scent, but very perfumy and more unisex to me. both are very crisp and a little bit sweet and warm at the same time.

 

overall, i like this very much, and i think i'll keep my imp and buy a bottle of this when i get the chance.

Edited September 12, 2006 by theseagrows

[Shannihilation]

OMG I am in love.

This is incredible. In the bottle I can pick out the vanilla bean and the jasmine leaf. And an almost "foody" kind of scent. It's rich but not overpowering. On my skin it's even better. Wow. Vanilla and jasmine and Earl Grey... the musk adds a nice subtle "sexy" tone. I have no idea what a fougere is so I can't say much about that. The vanilla is definitely the prominent note but it's a deep vanilla, not a sweet foody one. I can't even say enough about this. It is fabulous. Seriously. I am so in love with this blend. I can't stop sniffing my wrists....

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Whew, this one is strong! To no one's surprise, Mr. Theo, after a quick flash of musk and vanilla, becomes nothing but jasmine on my skin. On Brian, who does not share my lifelong enmity with jasmine, it's all musk. Neither of us got Earl Grey, so it seems this one is just not compatible with our collective household chemistry! Good thing we have Dorian, Theo's jasmine-free cousin.

[oceandreamer001]

In the bottle: Lemon tea, with light smoke grounding it.

 

After five minutes: The lemon is fading, I smell Earl Grey tea, what I imagine is the fougere.

 

Further drydown: The lemon is very faint, it smells a little acrid, but underneath there is a clean smell, but I'm getting leather, kindof oiled leather.

 

This is a manly smell, a strong, silent type.

 

I'll edit if it changes any more!

Edited September 14, 2006 by oceandreamer001