Dolly Kei

[Mellifluous]

DOLLY KEI
Antiqued bourbon vanilla and tobacco-tinged yellow sandalwood with copal and amber incense, frankincense, tonka absolute, and myrrh.

It is a bit tobacco heavy on first application, but mellows really nicely as it dries. Like really really nicely. TBH, it smells like Pinched had a baby with Underpants. Not to sensationalize it, but its TRUE! The vanilla/sandalwood combo, with some spicy resins, woods, and tonka next to that tobacco. It starts with a resin chewy sweet tobacco and then the vanilla /sandalwood just develops and develops until it reaches this nice vanilla/sandalwood/tobacco with just the slightest incensey spice , which keeps it from being too cloying. The finish is a distinguished smelling vanilla wood, with just the slightest wisp of tobacco.

[lunchboxmonkey]

I'm not very good at this (and I thought I'd be able to write something perhaps slightly clever, if clumsy, but really, this is such a serious and beautiful scent I just couldn't), but as there is only one review, I thought I'd throw my two cents in. Its warm, the bourbon vanilla is definitely the main thing I get, but the everything else gives it a darker depth. I like the previous review's description with the chewy tobacco, because it I'm absolutely getting a "chewy" vibe from it. I can just get a wood and slightly spicy smell in the background, overall its a dark, sweet scent, but not at all sickly. It doesn't stray into foodie territory at all, its bourbon vanilla sweet, but with this resiny depth. Its definitely not little-girl sweetness and light, its feels adult, and sexy, it makes me think of dark, shadowy places. I know I'm doing a horrible job of describing it, but really, its amazing. Its vanilla spiked with bourbon and darkness. Absolutely gorgeous. I guess what I'm trying to say is that wearing this is currently making me want to bite my person, and I can't think of any higher praise than that.

[ami226]

On the skin: This smells veeeeery familiar, but I can't think of what it is! Right off the bat, I smell the tobacco and some vanilla. This is a similar tobacco note to A Bachelor's Dog and all other tobacco notes that turn sickly sweet on my skin. What I can smell of the vanilla, though, is very nice. (Oh! I think this reminds me a bit of The Antikythera Mechanism!)

 

After a bit the tobacco does fade a little. Still mostly smelling the tobacco, vanilla, and possibly a bit of the sandalwood...

 

I think I need to test this one again, but I feel like it just isn't for me. Tobacco just never works on my skin.

[windbourne]

Urghgghghghgh *sigh* Okay, copal. You win again. This starts out lively and resinous and a little sweet, and then turns into tobacco-y flea shampoo. There is a slight import-shop thing happening with the sandalwood and incense notes, but it never becomes overwhelming. The scent it wafts as it dries reminds me a little of the tobacco in Variety of Pleasing Amusements or Ruddy Daggerwing, but then I lose everything else to the copal. I can easily see how this would be gorgeous on someone else. Just not on me. Fortunately, doesn't stick around long. Fading starts at around twenty minutes, and it's gone entirely by an hour.

 

I hate you, copal resins, I hate you so much. If you are someone who adores Snake Oil or any of the other resinous/sweet class of scents, plus has a firm liking for tobacco, then you are aces and should hunt this down like the furriers responsible for the frequent fur accessories involved in this style. It is warm and amber and burnt sienna and you will probably love this. I can say that it does remind me of browsing Dolly-kei tumblrs for hours, and the imagined scent of the vintage shops, slightly macabre accessories, and the often warm colors involved, so if you are a fan of this style, you should probably check this thing out tout de suit.

 

If you are not a fan of these things, or cannot deal with resinous and slightly goopy scents, do look elsewhere for your perfume needs.

[angelamaria]

In bottle: wow. Resins, tobacco, and sweet, creamy vanilla. It's a bit...Celeste-like, only not as spicy as Celeste: no what was saffron in celeste is the lovely mix of warm woods and incense here, but the overall feel of the blend is similar, without going all the way incense.

 

Wet on skin: yup, definitely resinous and incensey, but it's not overwhelming (I don't like wearing incense scents, but this is okay). Tobacco, sandalwood, frankincense all meld together nicely, in an almost Tombstone-like quality, and the creamy vanilla and tonka is sweet. I'm not sure I detect myrrh.

 

Dry: this is SUPERBLY lovely. This doesn't change much from the wet phase: vanilla and tobacco and resins. The tobacco is giving this the spicy, peppery feel that is present in Celeste but is suitably subdued and smoky as not to overwhelm. Right now, it doesn't have as much longevity and throw as I'd expect from a blend of this "feel" but this will definitely age wonderfully and I know this will only get better, smoother, richer.

 

Verdict: holy moly, so glad I was right. This is lovely! I've been heartbroken by Celeste before, but Dolly Kei more than makes up for it.

 

[mxtine]

Dolly Kei is like a lighter, flirtier Haloes or Antikythera Mechanism to me. Something, the tobacco-smells like teak/oak. It's a creamy golden vanilla. It's positively gorgeous!

[ljaylh]

First up.. a HUGE thank you to my pick-up fairy for getting this one for me!! Much to you

 

OK.. so Dolly Kei. Of course, this is the one I was most excited about when I read the notes.. and so it's the first I've tested from the Anime blends. I slowly open the bottle, leaning in for what I hope is going to be a big hit of rich bourbon vanilla and resiny goodness.. and what do I get? Tobacco! I thought for one moment that I was having some sort of Matrix-esque experience where instead of opening the lid of a little glass bottle I had actually torn off the seal on a pack of cigarettes.. but I looked around and couldn't see Keanu Reeves nor anyone lurking around in a black suit so I guess not. Slightly disappointing, I must say (both the uber-tobacco hit and the absence of Keanu Reeves).

 

So I dab some oil on, then go quietly about my business for ten minutes or so.. then dive in for another smell. Hey! Hello vanilla, hello resins!! The tobacco is still there, but now instead of being all TOBACCO it's mellowed out into a nice golden hue that's flirting around under all the resiny goodness. The tonka is lovely with the vanilla, and there's a gorgeous smoky tone in there too. This is turning out to be really interesting - I was expecting more sweetness but it really isn't sweet at all on my skin. It has a real tactile vibe about it though - like that particular kind of toffee you can smoosh around in your hand without it sticking to you.

 

I do agree with mxtine's comparisons to Haloes (but this is less golden and sweet), and Antikythera (but this is more smoky).. but what this really reminds me of is one of my favourite commercial perfumes - Tom Ford's wickedly sexydelicious Tobacco Vanille (with notes of tobacco blossom, tobacco leaf, tonka bean, vanilla, cacao and woody something) - Dolly Kei is almost *exactly* the same as Tobacco Vanille on my skin, but so much better in this oil format than the spray that I have TV in. So it's true - Beth > Tom Ford Although as a side note - TV lingers on my skin for hours.. Dolly Kei starts fading after about 20 minutes and is pretty much gone completely within the hour. I'm curious to see how this one will age - I'd like to see it deepen a lot more.

 

Anyway - does this live up to the hype? Hmm.. I dunno, it's nice - but ultimately for me the tobacco is just a bit too dominant and I would prefer the vanilla + resins to be more obvious - also its (lack of) staying power is a problem. I kinda need Dolly Kei to go to 11, and it really only makes it to about 7 for me. I'm also a bit sad that I can't really find the sandalwood in here at all (and to be honest, still kinda bummed about Keanu). It's a magnificent blend, very interesting and quite unique amongst the BPALs I've encountered to date. I know nothing of anime, but I really like windbourne's mention of vintage shops and warm autumn-like colours - that's it for me too, this smells kinda like being in a slightly dishevelled but elegantly groovy old vintage clothing shop and rummaging around in piles of old coats and scarves and hats and things. Good times, good smells.

[Monday]

Thanks angelamaria for the tester!

 

Sri Lanka! Dolly Kei has the same woods/resins combo that Sri Lanka has. Pair that with the dark tobacco from the Antikythera Mechanism and add lots of frankincense et voila: Dolly Kei.

 

Dolly Kei starts out as sharp sandalwood paired with myrrh. Tobacco quickly comes to the foreground and dominates the blend together with frankincense. This is a lot more resin that I had bargained for. It doesn't morph a lot when it dries down. The vanilla is pretty much non-existent bourbon vanilla tends to be very faint on my skin (Sonnet D'Automne made me realize that). There is a sweetness to it that might be the vanilla though. The notes in order of strength on my skin are: tobacco, resiny woods, myrrh, frankincense, vanilla.

Smoky, resiny woods. If it wasn't so sweet I'd have called it masculine but this is definitely unisex. On my skin it fades quickly, maybe aging the blend will help.

Dolly Kei has too much tobacco for me. If you like The Antikythera Mechanism, tobacco, resins and woods this is a good blend for you.

[absinthetics]

Love it! Just love love love it. I didn't get that huge tobacco blast like everyone is saying. At least not in any cigarette vein. I have other tobacco and vanilla blends but none are quite like this. I definitely see the connection with Antikythera Mech, but every note in this is brighter and a bit more in your face. I also feel like this is a sweeter version of Haloes, with an herby-er side to it.

 

And it is not a morpher... not in the slightest.

 

This will age Amazingly.

[zankoku_zen]

I have very mixed feelings on Dolly Kei. On wet, its this copal/tobacco mess. It's dark, aggressive, smoky on my skin.

 

As it dries, it mellows out. And the copal goes away. Two hours in, and its this beautiful tobacco vanilla business. (And I have Pinched on my other wrist as reference, and yes, there are some similarities).

 

I can see anyone who enjoys Haloes/Antikythera/Pinched enjoying this, but I'm very on the fence on it. Not to say that it isn't a beautiful vanilla-tinged tobacco but its just a tad masculine for my taste.

 

But uh... yeah, GORGEOUS blend. However, it doesn't trigger a visceral response in me, so I'm just going wave this blend goodbye!

[orata]

SWEET vanilla, tobacco leaf, and copal. It's much sweeter and less creamy than Haloes or Antikythera Mechanism. It's very sweet on my skin and (like sunshinedaisybliss) it reminds me a lot of Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille--like a really sweet, marshmallowy, vanilla-scented pipe tobacco. Slightly smoky, but much more like unsmoked tobacco to me.

[xscpx]

My skin must be broken. It starts off smelly sickening sweet and just like Silver Haired Bat. It has now morphed into Antikythera Mechanism. I was hoping to smell the amber and myrrh, but I don't detect either.

[milo]

Wet, a strong tobacco with sweet vanilla and a touch of sandalwood at first. It is a tad too masculine at first. Dries to a smoky vanilla, more feminine version of Antikythera Mechanism, though it reminds me somewhat of Lyoness and Atlas too. I like this, but I think it's one of those blends that needs a year or two to blend and mature, and then it will be FANTASTIC. It's also better suited for Fall/Winter, too.

[Blood onmy hands]

Dolly Kei is even sweeter on me than Hime Gyaru was, though this is super-sweet tobacco and resins where Hime Gyaru is cotton candy and sweet florals.

This smells like very sticky, sweet chewing tobacco and very sweet myrrh on me with a bit of sandalwood. I wish that the sandalwood were stronger, because I think this needs more of a grounding, not-so-sweet note to it.

This sticks around on my skin for about three hours, but doesn't have much throw at all. I think that this is my least favorite of the four anime event fragrances. Very sweet and simple.

[tarotgirl99]

Well, Hello Dolly! You're smelling swell, Dolly! (Someone had to write it--why not me?)

 

I have weird skin, so keep that in mind. Very few scents work on my skin, so the ones that really do make me slaver with joy.

 

Dolly Kei makes me a slavering slatherer.

 

From the get-go, it's boldly vanilla with a bit of nicotine to make it worldly instead of sweet. Throw is amazing and, on me, it lasts forever. The scent stays true pretty much for hours.

 

Thanks to my scent angel who sent me a tester...now I'm waiting on my bottle with great excitement.

 

ETA What Dolly Kei reminds me most of is Black Lace, but sharper and more powerful.

Edited August 7, 2012 by tarotgirl

[dreamingjune]

In bottle: This smells like the love child of Banshee Beat and White Peacock. Luckily this is a good thing!

 

Wet: This is dryer and less creamy than I imagined, but still fabulous. It definitely has more depth than White Peacock, yet it lacks the strong patchouli note of Banshee Beat.

 

Dry: I am starting to get a little bit of a sweet resiny myrrh note peeking through. The frankincense is also there keeping things fresh but still woody. I can not say that I am getting a lot of copal or tobacco, but I believe the tonka and vanilla are getting sweeter as this goes along. This blend has a dry, almost antiqued quality to it. There is nothing particularly pungent or sticky sweet present either. Dolly Kei has a romantic vibe to me due to the overall softness of it.

 

Overall: Really truly fabulous. This manages to be sweet and resinous while also being dusty and dry, yet it does not go to a generic powder scent. On me this has very little throw, yet it blends perfectly with my chemistry and is very wearable. I could see myself going for this when I want something simple yet unique. It does not have the "rough edges" or potency that some blends with similar notes might have yet it is anything but boring. This may seem silly, but I keep on thinking of this as an afterglow sort of scent, without the sweaty or the sticky .

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): I get bourbon vanilla and amber with subtle hints of myrrh and frankincense - it's really pretty.

 

Wet: On my skin, the copal and amber are much more prominent, although I'm also getting the tonka. I smell hints of the vanilla bourbon, but it is no longer the dominant note.

 

Dry: Now the bourbon vanilla has emerged again. The scent is pleasantly sweet with resinous overtones and woody undertones.

[grashopper8]

The vanilla and tobacco are sweet, and the sandalwood is subtle and musky. This scent is as smooth as maple syrup. Heavy, deep, and wildly addictive. The bourbon vanilla tobacco comes to me as one note, must be a scent memory. The incense/resin notes are subtle on me and not easy to recognize.

Yup, I get the hype. I think this is one I will wear several days in a row to try and figure out.

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

Reading the notes, I desperately wanted to love this.

 

On me, this oil was a sweet, rich, chewy tobacco rope. The kind the old-timers keep warm and almost melting in their overall pockets and chew on while their wives are in the general store.

 

I will say it's the same sort of sweet tobacco as in Pinched, so if you liked that this one is worth a shot.

 

Unfortunately for me, my husband *strongly* dislikes that scent, and I have some intense negative scent memories associated with it, so someone else will have to love it for me.

[opheliatrey]

This one pretty dolly. So nice, the perfect vanilla and my beloved copal and amber. Its sexy, earthy and tasty. It doesn't change much from start to finish. Argh going to have to add this to my scary long list of must own a bottle.

[Antoinette]

I am so happy to finally meet Dolly! This scent comes across quite smooth and sweet on my skin, a true winner for me. The top notes on me are the vanilla and tobacco. The copal, tonka and resins provide depth. Everything about this blend is appealing to me. I love it to pieces.

[Poenari]

Warm vanillic tobacco, but not smokey or cigarette-ish, it's so well-blended that it just damn smells good. When I wore it out to dinner, my sister-in-law said I smelled really good. I'm already regretting that I didn't buy two bottles when I had the chance.

[porcelina]

FINALLY, thanks to C2E2, i get to try Dolly Kei!

 

First, it is softer, lighter and sweeter than I imagined it would be. The sandalwood dominates at first but as it dries the other notes blend with it to create a soft golden whole. The tobacco is lovely and sweet. The resins are on the dry side- I don't get the sticky-sweet kind of resin note out of this.

 

It wears close to the skin and surrounds me like a soft sweet aura.

[theseagrows]

i must admit, i have mixed feelings on this one! my gut feeling was that this scent is too sweet for my tastes, but the more it settles into my skin, the more i don't seem to mind the sweetness. this is a warm, soft, sweet scent that kind of wraps you in comfort (did i just type that?) but really that's how it feels to me- soft and comforting if a bit sweet. i think the vanilla is the most prominent note on my skin...it's hard to even make out the other notes, rather than just a warm, sweet blend. definitely keeping my decant of this!

[Eemia]

I feel like I need to just start spouting off a string of clichés right now because this smells amazing. I'll try to restrain myself but wow. So sexy. Vanilla and sandalwood with deep, smokey, golden resin... I couldn't be swooning any harder. In the last couple of years sandalwood has become a note I'm really drawn to and crave. I think that's the little something in here that makes this so gorgeous to me even though it's not a big sandalwood.

 

In some vague sense this reminds me of Haloes (one of my all time favorites ever) but the vanilla in this is sweeter and more prominent. It doesn't give way to the other notes like it does in Haloes. It's bonding to the tobacco so that it smells like vanilla-tobacco at first, very silky. And sandalwood! Faint, shy sandalwood but the small hints of it that I get here and there are enough to make me happy. Overall there's a dark tone that's very rich, almost like a whiskey note and I'm guessing that's the tonka playing with the other notes. It's not heavy or thick despite being such a robust scent. It stays on a happy vanilla trail even as it wears down and takes on a drier, more incense tinged presence and what could almost be leather.

 

I love wearing this and when I do I become one of those people that shoves her wrist in everyone's face so they can love me wearing this too.