Theodosius, The Legerdemain

[Tess]

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

I've just realized that I've yet to try Dorian... Well, I guess if I like this one, I know which to hunt up.

In the vial - Ooooo! Bergamont and musk with some sweet vanilla bean! The jasmine is doing slightly odd things, though, and I can't smell any tea at all.

Wet - Odd skin and cleaning fluid? Mreh?

Drying - This is super light. I can get the bergamont and the musk most clearly, but it's so faint I'm having issues with it. Darn it, what's going on here?

Dry (2 hours) - Wow, this is completely gone.

Overall - What can you say about something that doesn't stick around for more than a few seconds?

[sophia_helix]

I sniffed this and knew it was for my husband, the Earl Grey fanatic. On him I didn't get the bergamot so much, but a lovely blended cologne of citrus and tea and something a little sweet, but not as sweet as Dorian or something, and still manly. He loved it, I loved it, yay.

[Koumori]

I liked this one in the bottle, but once I had it on, it reminded me of nothing so much as bay rum. Which is a fine scent, but not something I personally want to smell like, alas. I think on me the bergamot just came out a little too much for me to find it palatable, but it did stick around all day. Until I washed it off.

[Toby]

Very subtle, and I can barely smell it, but man, it smells good. It's masculine without being manly, if that makes sense -- elegant and refined mascline, that is, not macho-manly bravado. Mmm, oh man. Weirdly, I can see myself actually using a bottle of this, though I'm not sure why I'd want to smell like a very sexy man. Huh.

[mountainwitch]

It's so funny to see so many reviews call this a "manly scent," considering that the first time I tried to describe Theodosius, I said, "It's like Dorian, but a less sugary and a touch more floral. It's sexy, and it's much more feminine!"

 

And that is what it smells like to me. It doesn't have the "bite" I associate with some "masculine" fragrances; it's silky, a blend of light musk touched with vanilla and a hint of something floral. (I'm guessing that's the jasmine leaf?) On me this really does smell feminine. After reading the comments above, however, I'm very curious about smelling it on a masculine skin chemistry . . .

 

But afraid too. Did I mention my boyfriend ran off with my whole imp of Dorian?! (Well, at least it wasn't another woman . . . )

Edited November 7, 2006 by mountainwitch

[grrrlennyl]

at first: gorgeous. lots of white musk and tea, with a touch of something floral.

on: wow. this is bright and citrussy, with just a hint of sweetness. very refreshing.

1 hour later: sweet, musky, and heavier than when first applied. this reminds me of dorian.

2 hours later: this has moved back to being refreshing. lovely, slightly sweet, musky tea. wonderful.

4 hours later: soft, sweet tea, with a bit of musk. still lovely.

overall: this seems like a less sweet, more mature version of dorian. lovely, lovely stuff.

[Aevalin]

First off let me just mention I love tea scents. When I first started using BPAL I got the usual favourites -and took recommendations from my friends. They all turned to baby powder on me without fail. Then I got Dorian. I'm in love with Dorian. I started working my way through tea scents and then I met Theo

 

While there are similarities to Dorian, definitely, I find I smell the tea more in Theo. The hint of bergamot is just that - a hint. I know a lot of people are saying this is a masculine scent - and while I'm sure it would smell wonderful on a man, there's no frikken way I'm sharing

 

When Theo dries down it still holds its scent for me - something that's been a problem. I don't find it has a lot of throw which means I may have to slather, but honestly even if I just put it in a spot where I can smell it and no one else can, I'm ok with that too

[edenssixthday]

Theodosius the Legerdemain - This scent is crisp and clean, and smells very masculine to me. It's incredibly well-blended and I wasn't able to identify any of the notes on their own, with the exception of the tea, although it's certainly not a strong tea scent. It's incredibly fresh and has an aspect of it that reminds me of a light men's cologne. I wouldn't wear it myself, but I think it would smell wonderful on my husband. The throw is moderate and the staying power is well below average.

[nyxluna]

Manly yes, but I like it too! (remember that Irish Spring commercial?) A less fruity Dorian on me, subtle, and comforting. My husband refuses to wear any sort of scent period, but I may have to sneak some on him! But all in all, I will wear this when I don't want something strong, but want something cozy.

 

Nyxxy

[Naamah_Darling]

This is an astringent and clean musk with a draught of lavender. Wonderful and masculine, yet also inviting. And I mean that. It's very sexually, submissively masculine. When I first smelled it, on Bat Cheva, the sense-image it conjured prompted me to leap from my seat and exclaim "You're my little man-bitch!" Just ask her. (For the record, Babe, I meant Theo, not you.)

 

It smells almost exactly like I expected from the description. This wears a little like Villain, save that this is lighter overall, a trifle more refined, and not quite as deep. It shares the citric twang of Villain, and the musky lavender fougere, but Villain makes me tremble with the force of its restrained power, where this has a lighter touch that only hints at the depth beneath.

 

It bears a passing kinship to Dorian as well, though sans Dorian's cuddly sweetness. The vanilla here is a step down from Dorian's, the lavender fougere a step up, and the musk is, dare I say it, yet more feminine.

 

The tea is what keeps this masculine – clean and dry, chased with bergamot for the citrusy Earl Grey note, and that gives this a dressy manliness. It's unisex, androgynous, even, but definitely edges closer to cologne than perfume.

 

As it dries it sweetens a little, but in a different direction than Dorian. This is the sweetness of florals and pale musk. Quite gentlemanly. Very light, very mysterious. Leger de main indeed. This is a very light-handed scent, sophisticated and cerebral, with just a touch of offhand and unsuspecting sexiness.

 

Recommended for those who like Dorian and Villain, or for those who found those scents an almost-hit, but wanted something just a hair lighter and less sweet.

 

Theodosius: for your irresistible little man-bitch.

[Pachelbel]

When I first got this, my first thought was, "Limited Edition Dorian?" which on the one hand was nice because I used up my Dorian imp and haven't bought a bottle yet, but on the other hand was slightly disappointing. However, the more I try this the more I think I like it better than Dorian.

 

WET: Tea, clean lemon-esque musk.

DRY: Tea and vanilla, but a deeper vanilla than Dorian has. And light musk. (I will never stop being surprised that BPAL has made me like musks )

 

And the final result is something strong-feeling, clean, and utterly delicious. I would love this on a man but he'd have to fight me for it first

[Dymphna]

In the imp: Very lemony, almost like cleaning fluid, but saved by...white musk, I think. But my husband thinks it smells like Fantastik.

 

Wet: Undeniably lemony, with that powdery white musk, and something sweet like cookies.

 

Dry: Something unpleasantly sharp and oily (light oily rather than the dark oily of red musk or patchouli) comes out and ruins the lemon scent. This ends up smelling like the lemon oil used on wood furniture.

 

This started out smelling rather odd, got better, and then went south quickly. Grumble, grumble....

[The_Witching_Hour]

In the bottle: tea with vanilla and something smoky.

 

On my skin: vanilla and herbal tea. The smoky feel remains but I can't put my finger on it.

 

Drydown: this turned a tad cologne-esque on me but I suspect that this would be gorgeous on my man. The sweetness of the vanilla is still there in the background, but the smokiness tends to overwhelm it.

[Voleuse]

Ooooh. Tea and vanilla, and a hint of smoke. This is like Dorian, except a little more masculine. As it dries, the smoke intensifies, though I start to catch the faintest hint of jasmine in the background. A perfect Earl Grey, I think. I want a bottle.

[ViolentKitten]

Theodosius has a wonderful, rich, dry warmth with a little sweetness. When I first tried it, I was instantly reminded of Florence. For a moment I couldn’t work out why, then it hit me: Fendi Theorema! When I was in Italy in 2002, I bought Theorema in a chemist in Florence, and Theodosis reminded me straight away of that creamy, lightly spiced citrus chocolate. When compared side by side though, they are quite different. Theodosius is not as smooth as Theorema, it’s more aggressive, but I like that.

 

Theodosius has that citrus feel from the Earl Grey, but the tea gives it that lovely dry note and the fougere, I think a very light leathery lavender note, which makes it a little masculine. I’m not sure what the jasmine leaf smells like but it’s not at all jasminey, it might be adding a touch of green. At the base, there is a stunning vanilla musk which sweetens everything up, but doesn’t take over, that slightly bitter black tea. It’s just so good. Discreetly sexy, a little masculine and sophisticated.

[hepkitten]

Tea and vanilla and yummyness...in short, SOOOOO much like Dorian, but...not.

 

As much as I love the smell of Dorian, there's a musky undernote that just goes very "boy" on my girlish self in an unpleasant way. However, it's not there in Theodosius. This does smell "androgynous" in a "woman wearing men's fragrance" way, but it's really good.

 

In short: just a bit manly, yes, so I really like it too!

[inkdarkmoon]

Straight out of the bottle I don't smell much of anything, but on, this is luscious. I don't get the tea at all, but what I do get is lemon - not sharp or tart, but sweet and creamy, almost like lemon curd...with an undercurrent of something very sexy, I am guessing that's the musk.

This is...sexy lemon meringue pie!

[Shollin]

First sniff: Oh, very much yum. This is decidedly Dorianesque, with a bit more citrus.

 

Wearing: Tea, Earl Grey, hot. With a drizzle of rich vanilla syrup. Puddin me dear, both your incarnations smell truly delicious.

[jiggahava]

Hmmm....this is quite a masculine scent. The earl grey tea leaves and the fougere(spelling?) are very prominent, and they create a very crisp astingent feel, which to my nose, translates as masculine. It is indeed, a male counterpart to Dorian. I'm not getting much out of it, personally, but I would love to slather this on a guy's neck.

[lightgatherer]

I really expected to love this one, and it came so close. The vanilla in this I absolutely adored, and the musk was very nice too. While I'm not a jasmine hater, it didn't work for me in this blend, and I'm not sure how I felt about the tea. At one point the scent developed into this warm, delicious, almost foody, musky vanilla, and it had me swooning, but there was this edge in the background that ruined it for me. I'm glad I got an imp before I went for a bottle.

[emzebel]

Mmm. I was so frightened by the possibility of the jasmine sambac in this blend that I almost didn't try it, despite the temptations of musk and Earl Gray and vanilla and :swoon:

 

I am so glad that I gave this a shot, because this is one of those blends where the jasmine just ads depth and character and does not really overwhelm. Instead, I get mostly thick milky sweet tee, thined by a sophistocated musky floral note that makes this gender neutral, not overtly and perfect for my personal taste.

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

Theodosius starts out crisp, with the tea being prominent and mixed with dignified musks. This stage dries down to a softer fougere of a scent, with the tartness of the tea firmly tamed by a bed of very light, sweet musks. If there's jasmine leaf in there, he hides well, but the tea note is delicious.

 

As a note, the wear-length and throw for me is decidedly under-average in strength, so I have to reapply generously to keep the scent level up to par for even past an hour or two.

 

Verdict: I would buy a 5ml of this one if Theodosious showed a little more bite and dimension with the tea component, and perhaps if the musks didn't go so delicate in the drydown. As it is, I'll simply enjoy my imp, for its not everyday I can find a blend with vanilla-anything that actually translates so well on my skin chemistry.

 

Court

Edited March 30, 2007 by Court Analyst/Strategist

[Maia]

Since I love Dorian, I had to try Theodosius. Theodosius does indeed remind of Dorian at first sniff, and especially in the bottle. Once applied the scent develops in a different direction; the tea is stronger and more bitter, the vanilla is warmer and rounder and it doesn’t have the sugary sweetnees of Dorian. I also detect something that kind of smells like leather, which I think does make this more traditionally masculine to my nose.

 

After a while the white musk emerges. I never really get the citrussy freshness that some of the other reviewers picked up – and which I had hoped for. This settles into an almost cloying but vanilla/white musk, yet masculine cologne on me. I’m sorry to say this didn't work out for me at all.

Edited March 31, 2007 by Maia

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Lemony Dorian

 

On Skin: Lemony Dorian! Yum!

 

Drydown: Still lemony, but with a more woody and a bit smoky Dorian.

 

After an hour: No more lemon, woody and smoky and yes, a more masculine version of Dorian

 

Verdict: I don't like this as much as Dorian, but I think it might be dead sexy on the husband. Definitely more of a 'masculine' bent on this one than Dorian.

[shonensamurai]

All I can say is, by the end of the night, I'm going to owe myself dinner and a smoke.

 

I can't stop smelling myself. This is freaking delicious.

 

My untrained nose can't detect the subtleties yet, but...man.