Chaos Theory V: Recursive Self-Similarity v1

[wl552]

CCII

 

in bottle: fresh and vibrant... a tad soapish maybe.

 

wet on skin: very fresh and happy. It's a green and yellow scent... late Spring feeling. Is that mint down in there? Not a store bought mint, more like a wild, deep forest mint. There's a sharpness to it.

 

drying: seems to be mellowing out and not as sharp, thank goodness.

 

later: still a sharp almost astringent smell to it. I wouldn't call this pretty, but it is interesting. I can't really smell anything really resembling a "perfume". No florals, no fruit, no food... I just can't put my finger on this scent... it reminds me of a bar of soap. I don't hate it, but I really don't see myself wearing this as it's just not my thing. I'll let this hang out for a month or two and try it again later.

 

Overall: Interesting, but it's not something I can ever love.

[celticgeekess]

CLXIV 164

 

In the bottle: Sugar Skull meets Red Lantern. Very sweet with an unknown spice scent that I get from SS. In the background is a hint of the Dorian base, a clear fresh tea note.

 

Wet on the skin: The first scent I get is a clean lemony tea, but sweeter. Not a lot of the original Dorian feel, but it's ok because sometimes Dorian is a tad manly for me. I can feel the Sugar Skull "spice" creeping up.

 

Dry: Mostly the spiciness of SS. I like it better than SS, and the smokiness is not as overwhelming as Red Lantern can be. I think this bottle makes my Red Lantern obsolete, though.

Edited September 1, 2009 by celticgeekess

[Dianora]

CCXL (240)

 

In the bottle I smell... violet and lavender? I think that's what it is. It's very faint, I almost have to stick my nose in the bottle to get a strong impression of it. On the skin, the florals and vanilla take center stage, making this a much more feminine, girly version of Dorian. Once it starts to dry down, it reminds me of Dorian with Jazz Funeral, minus the fresh dirt. Somewhere in there, the vanilla seems to bow out just a bit and it becomes much more of an "old lady perfume".

 

I'm not really that fond of florals, but I do like this blend; the vanilla and florals are really nice and sweet together. It's an understated, more feminine version of the scent I know and love. If my bottle of Dorian is any indication, I think with a bit of aging, the vanilla will become more full and the wonderful notes in Dorian will develop more fully, making this a bit more sophisticated.

 

Edit: On second wearing, I think I detect a bit of pomegranate in there with the florals. After several hours of wearing, it now smells a bit like a more floral version of Candy Pheonix mixed with Dorian. Very yummy.

Edited April 2, 2009 by Dianora

[Delirium1009]

There was a little leakage in this package, which ruined the labels of my two CT bottles. One was completely rubbed off so I'm just calling it "Mystery Dorian CT" for now.

 

Mystery Dorian CT:

In the bottle this smells like deep, resinous, gritty myrrh. That's it... no other notes. On my skin it smells the same at first, but after a few minutes it becomes even grittier and more dirt-like. I would say it's a combo of myrrh and patchouli, since bpal patchouli turns to pure dirt on me. VERY lightly in the background lingers Dorian's tea note

 

 

XXI (I think... this one's numbers were mostly rubbed out, but I'm pretty sure that's what it said)

In the bottle, this smells like powdery and slightly herbal orange plus a background of Dorian. It's slightly creamy and powdery at the same time.

 

On my skin, the orange gets less herbal and blends more into the powdery vanilla note. Underneath that is pretty strong Dorian, creamy and lovely. The Dorian base is very obvious in this one.

 

After it sits on my skin a while, the orange and powderiness fades and the Dorian gets a little stronger.

 

 

[loverstreet]

I got my Chaos CLXII today - on my Birthday!

 

In the bottle it was a very faint form of Dorian, but on... oh Lordy!

 

A beautiful combo of Dorian and Zarita - orange blossom, sugared cream and tea.

 

Better than birthday cake, and less fattening!

[gaai]

LXXIX

 

In the bottle and wet this is Dorian with a fizzy, bubbly grapefruit topnote!

It dries down to a sweeter, more girly version of Dorian........it's *really* good and I'm glad to have gotten this bottle.

[mineralgirl]

My Dorian (#68) is just terrible for me personally.

 

I had a friend who is better at notes than I am tell me what she thought.. she thinks it's the amber that is in FALLEN and some bergamot. I wish I knew how to offer this for swap! I'm not gonna keep this.. I'm more of a foodie girl.

[astarinel]

CXCIV:

 

In the bottle, I'm getting some Dorian, but it's in the background. Most prominently, I smell what is definitely sugar cane -- that dark, woody, liquid sweetness. There's also some unidentifiable fruity note lurking about, something brown and rich, like fig or date or something.

 

Once I put it on, sugar cane does its inevitable sugar cane thing on my skin and begins to smell like celery. Notably, it does it LESS than it does for me in most blends, so I can still smell the other notes underneath. It lasts really well, and the musk is really rich (maybe extra musk added?), but my skin chemistry issues prevent this one from being a keeper.

[Malista]

Dorian Series CCLXXXV (285)

 

Oh, YUM! This is Dorian, all right, with a huge helping of spice; sweet clove mostly, but I think some allspice in there, too. Almost smells like cinnamon (not cassia, which is more harsh and less sweet), but I know they didn't use cinnamon in the Chaoses, so I'm going with sweet clove, allspice, and maybe one of the gingers, too. Whichever spices they are, they seem to cut the aggressive musk that I generally don't like about Dorian, leaving the vanilla, tea, and lemony notes to mix, mingle, and smooth everything out into spicy wearability.

 

Not a lot of throw or staying power, but I'm guessing this will get a little stronger as the elements marry. I like it very much.

[kohaisama]

CCXLLI (291) :

 

In the bottle: Caramel latte and black tea

 

Wet: Nutmeg, lemongrass? (something lightly green with a bit of citrus), coffee

 

Dry: Back to a caramel latte w/tea and dash of nutmeg and a spritz of lemon zest. Decent throw.

 

This is what I imagine would happen if Miskatonic University and Dorian had babies.

 

15 min later: Ha! The throw has increased a LOT. I can now smell it from my hand (testing spot) on the keyboard and my head leaned back on the reclining chair. The tea smell of Dorian has come through more and the caramel/nutmeg is blending wonderfully with it.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Gunny

[JulyBooks]

CCXXXV (235)

 

In the bottle & wet this one smells fruity and musky but I couldn't entirely pick out the fruit until it dried. Final verdict is... Swank-style pomegranate. It's interesting, mixed with the musk in the Dorian it has an incensey vibe. I'm not usually an incense girl but somehow it's kinda sexy and comforting at the same time.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

CCXI:

 

Holy frijoles! This is crazy amazing! Starts out really gritty, no Dorian in sight...this is what I wished that Brimstone smelled like in my wildest dreams! On my skin it gets sooooooo incense smoky, and in a really unique way. This is no champaca, this is like being in close proximity with a smoldering medieval incense brick...thick heady cathedral smoke. None of that nag champa head shop stuff here. Where this incense is burning there are gargoyles for sure. As it dries, Dorian peeks out his pretty little head with a hint of creamy lemon in the background. Swoooooon! I'd so buy a bottle of this if I could!!!!! It's kind of dark and creepy in a really stony gothic way and would be awesome for Halloween. I'll love it all year round until it runs out...

 

 

ETA my boyfriend's take on this one. I thought it was pretty interesting. He says it reminds him of his childhood, because it smells like the corner of his parent's house where the chimney is...specifically the brick work in the corner.

 

Why can't I have more? Whyyyyyyyyyyyy???

Edited April 3, 2009 by OneTheyCallLuna

[theseagrows]

CXLVI

 

got a decant of this. oh god i am not so good at picking out notes sometimes. it smells like dorian + a floral oriental (vague, i know) on my skin. when i smell the imp, i get a dorian + extra citrus + SOME floral that i can't put my finger on, but maybe it's iris. the floral part is almost a bit spicy, like florals such as chrysanthemum or carnation can get in some blends, but i don't think it's either of those florals. could be...orchid too. this is driving me nuts at any rate, it's a bit strong at first, but once it settles, it's really pretty, like dorian with extra oomph and femininity.

Edited April 3, 2009 by theseagrows

[Brianne]

I really wish they would have used a different pen to write the numbers down. Before I even put my fingers on the bottle, the numbers were smudged (still readable thankfully, but barely). Now that I've touched them, I have to rely on my handwritten labels on the top in order to see what they are, because the pen is pretty much gone. Good thing I wrote it down real quick!

 

 

Dorian is one of my favorites, so I was really eager to get this!

 

CXIV -

The bad news is that this is a leaky bottle. The good news is that I don't want to send it off to anyone else anyways, so what didn't leak is staying here with me because I LOVE it. It's so straightforward and I really love a good straightforward scent these days. Dorian with lemon. The lemon starts off bright and sugary sweet, but settles into a creamier, but still very bright lemon. It makes for a version of Dorian that is perfectly summery!

 

 

CCXXXXX (that is how it is written)

I think this one is pretty straightforward also - quite a bit of Dorian in this one, but with a wood of some sort. I want to say redwood, because redwood always smells a bit "nutty" on me in it's wet stages, and this one certainly does. This also has a bit of extra citrus or the citrus that is normally in Dorian is really played up by that wood note, because it dries down with more of a citrus note than regular Dorian does.

[Blood onmy hands]

Dorian is my all-time favorite perfume, so I was a bit worried about the 'Chaos' ruining it, lol.

 

In the bottle, this smells like sweet, vanilla-y, awesome Dorian <3 and cool, black potting soil. It also smells sweeter than Dorian usually does to me. Perhaps some extra vanilla or honey in this one?

 

On my skin, this is mostly Dorian with hints of black, earthy, perfumey potting soil. Every once in a while, I think that I smell something like black pepper.

 

Mostly I think that this is Dorian + dirt & honey. It also has a perfumey/musky sort of quality in the drydown that starts giving me a headache after a while. I think that I'll stick with non-chaotic Dorian, lol.

[naeelah]

LXX; straight up Dorian with cinnamon. As in, like red hots, but it's subtle enough that it isn't like slathering yourself in candy. Compared to regular Dorian it feels a little bit lighter and cleaner -- maybe there's an aquatic note here -- with a hint of red hot cinnamon in the background. The note that initially struck me as aquatic now reminds me of dragon's blood, but the oil is gold, not orange or red at all, so not sure if it contains dragon's blood. But something seems to suggest a cherry-like resin. (It also comes off a little bit like red musk.)

 

As it wears, everything melds together into a nice, warm, round, smooth, creamy scent. This will be a great winter Dorian.

 

LXVII Foody like woah! But with a twist. I think I might love this one.

 

Wet there's a blast of something sugary and cake-like. I get suggestions of milk chocolate buttercream, nearly burnt english muffins, brown sugar... It sort of smells like a snickerdoodle, but it's contrasted with the lemon and bright musk of Dorian and it's....way better than regular Dorian. It does smell a bit like a Yankee candle shop, but in a way that's awesome. The sugar seems to be fading as it dries (and I lose the impression of chocolate) so eventually, it has more of a clean Dorian quality with a little Snickerdoodle for color.

 

This one fades pretty quickly, on me.

 

I'll update these as the blends age and I get better impressions.

Edited April 7, 2009 by naeelah

[furygrrl]

LXV - 65

 

In the bottle: Dorian cake, pure and simple.

 

On wet: Dorian cake...morphing almost immediately into musky-is that fruit?-cakey-spicy-something else I can't describe-Dorian. Hmmm....not sure if I'm going to like this.

 

Drydown: Dorian spice cake. It's mellow, skin-hugging, and the first "clean foodie" blend I think I've ever come across. Dorian balances out the foodier aspects so that it doesn't get too cloying or overwhelming (most food-based scents are both according to my nose), and the spicy cake element helps to warm up Mr. D's much cooler, fresher side. The vanilla-sweetness amps considerably as time passes, but the spice lingers just underneath that frosting-like layer, keeping it from getting out of hand. And I'm *still* wondering if I'm catching whiffs of some kind of mystery fruit?! It's not lemon - whenever my nose detects it, my mind flashes to a red/pink fruit - but it's gone before I can latch on to what it could possibly be.

 

Overall: Not sure how I feel about this one so far - I absolutely love Dorian, but not so much with the spiced pastry he's got tucked away in his pocket. Overt food scents tend to make me queasy, but this one isn't hitting my ick buttons (yet), and I've kept every Chaos Theory blend I've ever ordered to date - adopting this fellow out without giving him a chance to age would seem kinda cruel. So, I guess he'll stick around until I get to know him better!

[pirettablaze]

My # is CLVII (#157)

 

On me... it's warm and naughty... cinnamon tea maybe... a little spicy, Like Dorian is lounging around, reading the Kama Sutra at tea time...

 

But in the Bottle?????? Tangy BBQ sauce... maybe Teriyaki. I kid you not. FOr the fist few minutes on I smeel like tenderized meat. WTF?????

 

I have to really think about keeping him or not.....

[devilbunnyart]

Dorian CT CCLXXXIII: (i think?)

in bottle:

Smells like Mad Hatter! Interesting! Must be pennyroyal or peppermint or something? I think I can also detect some lavender. Don't smell any Dorian in the bottle, but this one makes me happy.

 

on skin: still smells like Mad Hatter, which is nice because I've been wanting a bottle of that anyway. A warm pepperminty scent. After it's dried down a little bit, the lemony tea scent starts peeking out from behind the Hatter. Not strong, but it's there.

 

Nice. Of the 3 CT bottles I ordered, this one is probably the one that suits me best.

[cuervosueno]

Bottle number: CCCXXXIII (I think, ink fades fast)

 

I got a bottle of this, and a bottle of the O ct at the same time, and they were similar enough that I kept getting mixed up on which was which. Because I kept smelling something bright, kind of lemony and green, and yet something that also had a men's cologne feel to it. (I had one on each wrist, hence the confusion).

 

So my two CT's start out quite similar though quickly diverge.

 

The thing is, I knew I recognized the top note in the O one, but couldn't place it, and finally did: Bergamot. And I thought, huh, could my Dorian one possibly have bergamot too? And maybe some oakmoss, because they seem very similar in that. How could that be?

 

Then I decided to refresh my memory on what a fougere is. Oh. Bergamot. Oakmoss. Lavender. So those notes are actually the Dorian base I'm getting.

 

So what is the chaos part? Lemon and something sweet. When this is first on it is friggin' gorgeous....lemon cake, but not an overly sweet lemon cake--think only slightly sweet tea cakes. With sweetened Earl Grey tea. I LOVE IT!

 

Unfortunately for me, the lovely lemon tea cakes fades into regular Dorian, which I always feel like I should love (love me some tea and vanilla scents), but I don't. And I don't love Dorian because the fougere always overwhelms. So I lose my lovely lemon cakes and tea, and end up with more of the base of Dorian and the fougere.

 

It also fades fairly quickly.

 

So I don't know if I'll keep it. I'm totally in love with how it starts, though. Actually I could try it my scent locket perhaps....

 

eta: It does finally fade down to a nice Dorian, with a bit more of the sweet vanilla tea than the fougere so I may keep it....And today I compared it to regular Dorian and the dry down is virtually the same. I'd forgotten that it was the earlier stages of Dorian I wasn't as crazy about, so I think I will keep this. It is lovely.

Edited April 10, 2009 by cuervosueno

[Reedsong]

CCXXVIII if I'm reading the smudgy numbers right, and in the bottle, it's Dorian and...penicillin?

 

Ah, this is why - it's ripe plummy Dorian, with a bit of fuzzy peach in there. On my skin, the fruit notes amp and produce the effect of a cup of hot Blue Eyes tea. It's a sweet and cheerful blend, and if I can get past the initial blast of juicy pink penicillin, I might just keep an imp of this one.

[angelmecha]

So... either I'm really dumb, or I think I rubbed the number off of my bottle without ever seeing it. Either way, durr.

 

In bottle: Dorian, plus aquatic and some gentle (but strong) citrus. All together, it somehow smells like wet, melty butterscotch (my first impression of it). It makes your mouth water. :x

 

Wet on skin: Here it morphs into a bergamot tea with vanilla and citrus. It's like lemon without the tang. It changes like crazy-- really rapid and really drastic-- in the first few minutes.

 

Drydown: Aquatic comes out again I love BPAL aquatic smelly. This bottle was made to be mine, because now that it's settling down it is SO a lovechild of Dorian Gray and my beloved Quincy Morris. Quincy drinking evil tea. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

Dry/later: The throw is medium/short, but it does have lasting power. It's throw just gets closer and closer to the skin as time goes on, but it's still lingering around a few hours on.

 

Yay! I'd call my first Chaos a success. :3

[bheansidhe]

Dorian CLXXV - 175 (decant from bookandbroom)

 

News flash: Dorian Incites Crumpet Rebellion!

 

...yep! My initial impression was correct: sweet red fruits and buttered, yeasty pastry added to Dorian. I have an imp of Crumpet right here, and the notes are *very* similar to this Chaos Dorian.

 

I was going to call it "Drunken Dorian" because the very first whiff out of the vial was of red wine or dark red fruit, but once the cap was off, the red fruits and pastry rose up and dominated the nose. Possibly currant notes too. The lemon overlay in Dorian gives this a candied sweetness (almost like the candied peel of Pumpkin Queen).

 

All in all, too sweet and foody for me, but someone else is going to LOVE this.

 

ETA: After an hour of wearing both Chaos Dorian and Crumpet on my arm, the similarities are still striking. However, Chaos Dorian has a faintly boozy red note with the candied citrus, which is now reminding my nose of Sugar Skull.

 

(You know you've been using BPAL too long when all of your scent descriptions are nothing but references to other scents. )

Edited April 11, 2009 by bheansidhe

[naeelah]

These are from my decant circle, so I really hope that those of you participating will review them too!

 

CCCXXXI -Dorian + extra lemon, resins (benzoin, amber, frankincense?), teak or sandalwood

 

For like 10 minutes I couldn't tell how this was different from regular Dorian, except that I liked it better. I've tried Dorian fresh and aged, many times, and although I liked it better aged (it was less spiky and gritty), it just wasn't for me.

 

This is like regular Dorian, but darker and richer. I'm not sure what IS in it, but perhaps things like benzoin, olibanum, maybe a little frankincense. Soft, round resins. It's smooth and subtle, just with a hint of fuzzy smoke. There might be a dry wood note like teak also.

 

I've tried a lot of CTVs and although I've liked many, very few have worked for my skin. I think I've finally found a keeper, though. I always wanted to like Dorian and I keep looking for ways to make it wearable. Here it is!

 

ETA 5/6: It goes through a No. 93 Engine-like phase, but a little bit darker. Once dry it settles into a darker, very slightly resinous Dorian with pronounced vanilla. I don't know if it has added vanilla or if that's just the natural Dorian shining through. It's a little lighter now, more steamworks, less Heavenly Love.

 

CCXCVII - Dorian + patchouli (a fresh one like in the grindhouse), bitter clove, vanilla orchid?

 

The added notes are stronger in this one, but the Dorian base is still distinctive. As a whole, this blend is STRONG. I think there's some kind of floral but it's blending well. This seems creamier than regular Dorian so I'm going to guess vanilla orchid. There's a light edge but it also has a smooth, rich center.

 

This definitely contains bitter clove. It's a soft, warm, woody fuzziness and as luck would have it, the proportion here is PERFECT. There may be a separate wood note as well (maybe cedar or red sandalwood), but it doesn't stand out. It reminds me of Calico Jack minus the water, or of Mort de Cesar, especially in that both scents blend well and the notes create an effect that's different from just the sum of the individual notes.

 

Rich, dark, warm, with hints of fougere and creamy, lemony tea in the background.

 

ETA 5/6: With some age, it's apparent that the maybe-wood note is actually patchouli. It's the fresh, green sort of patchouli that's in the grindhouse ladies. Now it reminds me more of Clemence than Mort de Cesar, because the clove seems softer. The floral aspect is less pronounced.

Edited May 7, 2009 by naeelah

[milo]

In the bottle, rich milk chocolate and a touch of Dorian. On, the Dorian is very bold and musky. It seems stronger than my aged Dorian, more musky and less creamy, and oddly enough less citrussy tea. The milk chocolate is poking through, and I could swear there is a bit of spice in there, maybe it's just the Dorian. I didn't think I'd like the combination of Dorian and Chocolate, but it seems to work here, like a more foodier, hot chocolate Dorian, rather than tea as a base note. So far it's two for two with my Chaos Theories! Excited to try my last one!

 

Ha! I just got the opportunity to try Candy Butcher, and it is the exact same chocolate in this Dorian than CB. It pretty much dries down to CB on my skin, but with a bit more of Dorian's vanilla note.

Edited July 3, 2009 by milo