The Library of John Dee

[SJanet]

Last March, we took Lilith to the John Dee exhibit at the Royal College of Physicians in London. She loved it, especially the bits about his cryptography and the video presentation of his life and works.

I loved her loving it.

Truly, there's little that warms an old occultist's heart quite like holding her daughter's hand while gazing at books salvaged from John Dee's own library, or looking at our reflections together in Dee's scrying mirror. Worn leather bindings, the dry crackle of ancient paper, styrax and onycha, frankincense, a drop of candle wax, and the barest fleck of dried Tudor roses.

I just got this bottle in from the lab, so I'm sure the bottle needs to rest a bit. Here are my first impressions:

 

Cold sniff: This is a very pretty perfume. Very feminine. I smell some of the candle wax, It has a 1950's powder room vibe to it. Not to say that it is powdery though. But rather the smell of a vintage perfume. The rose note isn't predominant, but there is a floral tone to it.

 

On wrist: I am getting a bit of the leather and rose scent that would be in Whip, but not in a strong, hit you in the face way. It's mellow, and soft. It is reminiscent of Bear Prince, but much more mellow on the rose note. But it does have a similar background.

 

After 30 minutes: The Rose and leather are a bit more to the forefront, and the frankincense keeps the rose in check. I smell floral, without it verging into full bright rose territory. The notes have morphed into a bit of a powdery scent.

 

All in all: This scent has good throw! My husband could smell it across the room, and I had just dabbed some on my wrist. It is a very feminine scent, and very pretty. It's not my typical scent to wear as it is a bit powdery. So I'll wear this only occasionally. This would be a great scent for someone who loves vintage perfumes! Hope this review is helpful!

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: A smooth, cozy, well-worn scent, too well-blended for me to pick out any definite notes beyond what I'm pretty sure is the beeswax, half-melted resins of some sort, and a particularly soft, lived-in leather.

 

Wet: A resinous, leathery hug in a bottle. Styrax (which, according to my research, = benzoin), beeswax, and hints of the same well-worn leather are the most prominent, with ineffable resins feeling almost sticky at the base. Occasionally I get a whiff of dried roses (and yes, they are definitely dried, not fresh) around the edges, but mainly I'm getting a candlelit library full of occult and very well-used books.

 

Dry: It seems to settle into a pleasant but slightly disappointing roses-and-beeswax scent, but this proves to be just a phase before really settling into almost exactly the old paper scent I was looking for! Still some hints of leather and resins (almost woody by now), but yes this is a library scent indeed.

[Aviatrix]

This is mostly a huge blast of beeswax + some resins on me. Not much bookish in sight, sadly. I am also not getting any of the rose, so if you're worried about it being too floral, you need not be.

 

I will let this settle for a week or so and try it again to see if some of the book and leather bindings etc. comes out more!

[Blood onmy hands]

Dusty incense crushed to powder, crumbling, dried roses, and hints of old leather, vanilla-y old books, and sweet beeswax. I also keep thinking that I smell a lime tinged men's cologne in this. Mostly it's dusty, sweet roses and drips of candle wax in an old library. Turns a little too powdery on me in the drydown, but I do like this. It's romantic, smelling of roses, papers and candles, but sadly covered in dust, aged, and no longer used...

[theshapeshifter]

My hope for this one was that the rose really would just be the "barest fleck" and that the other notes would take precedence. Alas, I will amp rose forever.

 

In the bottle it was very rose-y, and for the first half-hour on skin, it was pretty much DRIED ROSE with a whisper of wax and resin. About 15 minutes in, it briefly veered into headache territory, but after about half an hour the rose settled down enough that I could pick out the other things. Alas, later that night the rose took over again.

 

When the rose calmed down, I liked the scent, so I'm willing to give it some aging and try again - although I think I've learned my lesson on roses and my skin chemistry for the future!

[Coldfire]

Imp: Incense and wax and the faintest trace of rose
Wet on Me: whew....going heavy rose. All the other notes ran away and are hiding right now. Hoping dry down is better.
Drying Down: Nope. All Rose. All amped up all the time.
Dry: Rose. I amp rose badly. Glad this is only a decant and not a bottle. I had high hopes for this one.

[Follow My Nose]

In the imp and when I first apply it, I mostly get straight-up rose. It's a powdery, light rose with a faint hint of something almost citrusy on the edges.

After a minute, I detect a faint whiff of incense in the background, I think it's predominantly the frankincense.

As it dries, I'm picking up a smooth, warm leather note hovering, but it's still fairly faint, while the incense is picking up strength. The citrus edge I smelled at first has disappeared. The rose note reminds me of a rose-scented powder I used to wear, soft and light and kind of old-fashioned, like a proper Victorian lady would wear.

I was sad that the candlewax never showed up on my skin. There's a faint, "dusty book" feeling to it, but the leather just doesn't show up much on my skin either. After an hour, this is mostly a pretty, powdery rose on me, with light incense backing it up.

[zankoku_zen]

Roses, beeswax, and a touch of frankincense and leather. This smells like a mix between the feminine and a dry scholarly book. Decent throw and wear length.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Lots of beeswax, mmm! Hints of roses...something smoky, maybe the Frank? It's quite light, and lovely so far. Hoping the Frank doesn't take over, it's such a bully note on my skin.

 

 

Dry: Creamy styrax, leather, paper, beeswax, Frankincense...it's all present, and it's nice, but the sweetness of the beeswax isn't quite enough to temper the Frank on me, and I am just not loving it. I'll give it another chance another day, but currently this is headed to the swap pile. Pleasant, but not amazing on me.

[spikyfairy]

Oh, I had such high expectations for this one, but it's been sadly disappointing on me.. Waited a few weeks to review just in case, and while it has settled & changed a lot it has not really improved. Something just isn't working on me here, I suspect the leather because it goes sour in a way leather has on me before. The beeswax is not helping - although I've enjoyed it in other blends before, I realise now it's only been with a very sharp / smoky top note holding it down a bit.

Wet on me, this is almost all beeswax & benzoin. Very creamy, if not quite powdery. It took me a couple of tests before I realised some of the overwhelming "beeswax" was actually the rose.. Although I like all these notes in theory, in combination they are verging on nauseating on me, and the leather pushes it into powdery territory as it dries. Not detecting any frankincense, which I usually do well with. I'm getting the 50s vibe others have described.. It's not awful, but not very me either.

The middle stage is where something goes badly wrong. Very sour leather, still with a creamy beeswax background. Not good. Honey often goes rancid on me too, so I think in combination they are making each other worse.

Hours & hours and/or a shower later, I actually get the roses & old paper I was expecting, and it's nice. But not worth the trauma of getting there on me. My bottle will be re-homed .

 

Throw & wear length above average, for me - isn't it always the ones you're not keen on!

[tinyvulture]

Dignified and somber, a scent of ancient wisdom! I admit I'm partial to this blend since I work in a library. I'm picking up dusty parchment, paper, candlewax, and quite a bit of rose. I'm not sure I could pick out the stryax or onycha. Not getting any leather at all. Later on, it's still a combination of roses, wax, and books. Love.

[whisperstilled]

Rose, paper, and wax in the decant. I'm kind of in love already.

 

Wet: Dry rosey beeswax oddness. The frankincense is quite strong here as well. This is a 'dry' incense scent to me rather than a 'wet' or heavy incense. A bit powdery and soapy, but nice overall.

 

Dry: Going very soapy and sharp as it dries. I do like it though. While not the papery scent I might have hoped for, I do get leather as it dries down, again a fragile and dry leather scent. Interesting, but just doesn't quite work. So close!

[Lucchesa]

The Library of John Dee is absolutely beautiful, the library scent I have been searching for. Some candlewax, gentle leather, incense, ancient paper, and a hint of papery dried rose petals, a lovely evocative combination, each note (ok, not so sure about styrax or onycha, but the others) perceptible, all quietly sounding in ensemble. And then my stupid middle-aged skin eats it up way too fast until all that is left is a dusty trace of rose. I will try slathering it because it is just that good and see if it lasts longer, but damn you, skin!

[achildoftime]

Frankincense and leather are the strongest notes here. There is also a bit of rose, but not much. Just enough for interest. It's pretty dusty, which I'm not sure why it caught me off guard, but it did. Probably because conservationists try and get the dust out of almost everything. I actually get more frankincense with the leather and paper playing support. I only get beeswax hours later.