Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab • Dorian • Fragrances

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Spocklobster on 5/21/2012 3:24:00 PM more reviews by Spocklobster

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

Oh Dorian... I love antfarm's review of this! Like every other BPAL fragrance I have tried, this stinks. It doesn't matter that it doesn't smell like a hippie head shop, it still smells cheap and thoughtlessly thrown together. It's like a lemon cupcake and irish spring had a baby. Eck.. Another fail.

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*TOP REVIEWER* slippingbeauty on 3/10/2012 1:27:00 AM more reviews by slippingbeauty

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Red, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Dorian is magical. Some detractors and critics of BPAL say that all of their scents smell like a hippie-filled, patchouli-burning head shop right in the heart of Haight-Ashbury in SF in the sixties. To those people, I say: DORIAN. Dorian is light, delicious, beautiful, and there isn't a BO, play-doh, or resin stink to be found anywhere. Along with Snake Oil, Dorian is one of BPAL's top oils for good reason. On me, it is mostly lemon-vanilla-cream-tea, which is a freaking awesome combination.Weirdly, I don't get a lot of musk (and I usually amp musks like whoa.) I don't get any one particular note that jumps out above all the others, they just harmonize together very nicely. The lemon/tea could have the tendency to become astringent, but I think the cream and vanilla balance it and keep it from being too masculine or medicinal. That said, I would definitely classify this scent as unisex, and if my DH wore any cologne/fragrance oil I would douse him in Dorian day in and day out. On my skin, it lasts reasonably well (about on par with my other perfume oils.) I love Dorian, and it is an absolute HG.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Gaijin on 6/22/2010 8:00:00 PM more reviews by Gaijin

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Why did I wait so long to try Dorian? It's fantastic, one of my favorites from BPAL. Musky, lemony, vanilla, sweet yet a bit masculine. Big bottle purchase for sure. A very sexy scent.

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argolis on 4/6/2010 12:08:00 PM more reviews by argolis

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Olive   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Smells of too-sweet lemon when it is still wet, but quickly transforms into a generic aerosol-like spray. It reminds me of the cheap toiletry kits they give you during long international flights.

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*TOP REVIEWER* AntFarm on 3/17/2010 9:31:00 PM more reviews by AntFarm

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Red, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

Perhaps because BPAL scents are hand-blended, each bottle comes out significantly different, but on my skin this smelled like someone rubbed Brut deodorant over a lemon cookie. I like the smell of those things separately, but together it doesn't make for a very good combination. It was cloyingly sweet juxtaposed against something extremely masculine. I was really hoping for tea, but there was none to be smelled. If I were the literary character Dorian Grey I would be offended by this rendering, and go look at my own self portrait.

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FyrePhoenix on 1/19/2010 9:08:00 PM more reviews by FyrePhoenix

Age: 19-24   Skin: Very Oily, Fair   Hair: Red, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

Dorian is my absolute favorite BPAL scent! It's perfect for me - it's relatively light, has good throw, and when it's very dry to the point of disappearing, the musk is light and unobtrusive.
It's like the better-looking, more refined, more subtle (but with the same capacity for depravity :D) brother of Snake Oil.
I have this in a 10mL bottle (won it on eBay), but I think I will order a 5 mL from the lab so it can start aging (it gets even yummier as it ages ;)
So yeah, that's a definite repurchase. Even though it costs a pretty penny, I'll continue to buy.
For those of you who don't like how the scent morphs as the hours pass, you should consider getting an aromatherapy pendant/locket, and/or aromatherapy earrings. I wear my favorite scents in my earrings, that way I regularly catch whiffs of it *all day.*

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*TOP REVIEWER* ianastar on 12/8/2009 4:59:00 PM more reviews by ianastar

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

To me I picked up more of the musk and the vanilla....I didnt really get a tea scent...might have to try again.

However I loved it!! Its gorgeous......reminds me of Lolita Lempickas fragrance for men.

I will most likely be gettting a bigger bottle of this.

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Panther4011 on 9/10/2009 7:31:00 PM more reviews by Panther4011

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Tan   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Oh I really wanted to like this because I am such a fan of the novel but alas it was not meant to be. I picked it up at the monthly will call and at first I was in love with the sugary, slightly lemony, brewed tea scent when I took a whiff of the bottle. Then when I applied it, it turned even sweeter but when it dried it became very musky, sweet, but musky enough to be considered masculine so I had to let my Dorian go in a swap.

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*TOP REVIEWER* haloinrverse on 8/5/2009 6:32:00 PM more reviews by haloinrverse

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

sin and salvation

notes: A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.

in the vial: smells like a sweet arnold palmer. sugary lemonade and iced tea.

wet on skin: this reminds me exactly of the lavender lemonade i sometimes make in the summer. its fresh and beautiful.

dry down: i dont know what else to say about this one! its so simple and perfect. sweet vanilla-lemon-musky-lavender-tea. very soft and feminine.

verdict: this reminds me SO much of lolita lempicka. easily one of my top ten favorites from BPAL.

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twizzyrain on 3/11/2009 10:09:00 PM more reviews by twizzyrain

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Cool   Hair: Brown, Curly   Eyes: Blue    

I just got an imp of this, along with a bunch of others in the mail, and it's the first BPAL oil I've tried! I was very excited. So when I first put it on, it smelled exactly like what I'd expected but a little lighter, and with a sweetness that smells natural to the tea, not sugary. It's like Nepali tea- I have no idea how it gets that way but it's lovely. I'm a sweet fragrance kind of girl. It also has a kick of lemon, which jazzed up the bergamot-tea scent and the vanilla. The vanilla was unexpected. Two hours later, it was this lovely very light tea with emerging vanilla. I have to sniff hard at this point, and when I do, I get a weird hint of sour milk, like the delicious milky tea has curdled. And then comes the kiss of death, when seven hours later, I have this strong scent of sour yogurt around me. My dad who loves yogurt says it's vanilla yogurt, to which he is impartial, not plain yogurt, which can do no wrong. I don't know, but it's increasingly smelling like the whey. Yucky. But it smelled so good for so long!

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*TOP REVIEWER* luxed2 on 11/22/2008 12:27:00 PM more reviews by luxed2

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Straight, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

This doesn't smell masculine on me at all. It's a creamy, soft vanilla lemon but not sugary sweet by any means. It's one of the lighter more wearable BPALS ime. It's not my favorite BPAL but I would definitely put it in my rotation of scents.

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*TOP REVIEWER* sushiiflower on 9/23/2008 9:50:00 PM more reviews by sushiiflower

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Dark, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

It's sugared lemon with slightly masculine base. I know that doesn't sound appealing (esp since I didn't think I would like Dorian) but mmm it's so sexy and underwhelming. At this stage a woman could definitely pull this off. You really have to get close to get a good whiff of this and normally I like in your face perfumes but this one is so damn sexy it's beckoning you to come closer. Wet to dry down, it pretty much stays the same but the lemon-y smell is more amped on my skin. I think I am going to get a full bottle of this for my boy. The last stages of the dry down is masculine smelling to me.

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*TOP REVIEWER* MAChostage on 5/28/2008 3:17:00 PM more reviews by MAChostage

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Warm   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

The only BPAL fragrances I wear regularly are Scherezade, Persephone and Vixen. I received an imp of Dorian a while back and instantly loved it, but hadn't gotten around to ordering a bottle. Dorian now fills the fourth spot in my regular BPAL scent arsenal and will be worn mostly during the warmer months. I do not personally smell anything "masculine" with Dorian, only a sexy sweetness. It is definitely at least imp worthy, IMO.

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hallospaceboy on 12/19/2007 10:07:00 PM more reviews by hallospaceboy

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Mmmm, this is so refined, so (tastefully) sexy! At first I get a lot of cologney-musk mixed in with the sugared lemon tea, but then the musk fades and the scent warms up, so it's more like lemon sugar cookies with a large pot of black tea. Unfortunately, it's just a *titch* too masculine for me to be a perfect 5, but I love it nevertheless.

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blahiffy on 12/1/2007 10:31:00 AM more reviews by blahiffy

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Oh, Oscar Wilde, how much do I love thee? Apparently enough to purchase a bottle of Dorian without testing it first due to my love for Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (which is absolute genius, by the way).



Dorian is part of the Sin & Salvation collection. The fragrance notes are: Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.



Oh, love! I knew that once I read the fragrance description, I had to have Dorian. And - thankfully - it is a great oil! In the bottle, Dorian smells like herbal, lemon tea. Wet on my skin, the musk comes out and the herbals seem to go into the background. Then, after the oil has dried, everything seems to be overpowered by the delicious note of vanilla, which I absolutely love. In general, Dorian has average throw and good staying power. I still get whiffs of vanilla 7+ hours after I first applied the oil.



All in all, I adored Dorian. But, I can see why some people would relate this to lemon-scented cleaning solution (because of the herbal lemon tea notes). On me, though, the dry-down of Dorian was pure creamy, honeyed vanilla tea. I would repurchase, but I think that my bottle will last me a while. :)

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*TOP REVIEWER* OmToast on 11/21/2007 11:52:00 AM more reviews by OmToast

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Coarse   Eyes: Hazel    

Sweet, creamy, lemony, musk with a passing whiff of tea. This is such a lovely scent -- it's comforting and smells almost like a non-scent to me. Sort of as if you just smelled really yummy, all on your own. I've also found that it layers fantastically. A regular application of this underneath a touch of Commes de Garcon Incense: Avignon is go-o-orgeous. Can't really say anymore: it's just . . . quite nice! I'd think it would be particularly good for someone who didn't really like fragrance.

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iridescent on 10/9/2007 9:47:00 PM more reviews by iridescent

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

This, like Morocco, is one of BPAL's most accessible fragrances. On me, it's a sugared creamy vanilla, dark tea, and pale musk scent. I've never got the lemon note that so many people insist is present. This is a classic BPAL, sexy but still appropriate for work. I use this one often and won't ever be caught without a bottle in my collection.

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Bossanova on 2/14/2007 10:14:00 AM more reviews by Bossanova

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

I really enjoy wearing Dorian. On me it is a sweet, lemony, vanilla-ish tea scent. Difficult to describe, but lovely to wear. It works beautifully with my skin chemistry. I already have a 5 ml bottle and since a little goes a long way, I doubt that I will have to buy loads more anytime soon, but if I do run out I can see myself getting more.

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*TOP REVIEWER* nemesis41 on 2/11/2007 2:48:00 AM more reviews by nemesis41

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I was desperately hoping to like this. It sounded so perfect: tea, sugar, lemon- what's not to love? Unfortunately, when I wear this, I get very little tea and lemon and lots of masculine musk. The scent was very, very masculine on me, so much so that I washed it off. And I so wanted to love it.

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donthate on 12/23/2006 2:57:00 AM more reviews by donthate

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I like this one! Smells like a creamy sugared tea with a musky undertone. On me the musk deepens but the scent retains the lovely sweet tea note. This scent is comforting but sometimes the musk is a bit much on me. If there was just a tad less musk and a bit more sugar this would be a perfect scent for me! It has great throw too with just the tiniest dab and it lasts forever! True story: it lasted through a 2-hour workout in a chlorinated pool.

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