Versace launched The Dreamer in 1996. It features notes of juniper, artemisia, tarragon, mugwort, linen seed flowers, tobacco, amber, lily, and iris. Today Marlen, one of the moderators from the basenotes forum, is joining me again for a dual review.
He says: When I was younger, I had a bottle of The Dreamer and I remember it as smelling a lot like a gin and tonic being sipped by a gentleman smoking a pipe. However, I couldn't quite understand the scent in those days and only wore it a handful of times before swapping away my beautiful bottle. Now however, I can detect the white floral note, and have a greater appreciation for that warm, rich, sweet tobacco base. I only wish there was some buttery leather in there!
The opening of the juniper and lily really help temper and develop the tobacco notes, and it is this lily note that I find most intriguing (lily? in a men's scent?) as it brings a cool freshness to the edges of the fragrance. Looking at the notes, I wonder where the iris is, as it's virtually undetectable to my nose. As the scent relaxes on the skin, the tobacco mellows and merges with the amber and the almost coconut-y tarragon note becomes apparent. The final effect of this combination of notes is almost soapy...and perfect!
Truly unique, and a pleasure in the cooler months, The Dreamer is perhaps the best of Versace and I now think of it as fondly as a favorite sweater or blanket — warm and comforting.
She says: I became interested in The Dreamer after seeing it on Chandler Burr's Top 10 list last year, and went off to Nordstroms for a sample, where of course, I was told by a sales associate that a woman couldn't possibly wear it.
The Dreamer starts with herbal notes under a bitter chemical haze that does bear some relation to a gin & tonic. Shortly thereafter it starts to get soapy, and adds tobacco and some light spices. The floral notes are apparent, but they do not leave much of an impression on me. What I remember instead is the distinct smell of tootsie rolls, some powdered sugar, a touch of auto parts.
It is a strange, rather eccentric fragrance. It is one of very few scents that actually calls to mind an image of a mad scientist in a lab coat, laughing maniacally as he mixes various fragrance components in a test tube. I would not say that I dislike it, exactly, because there is something compelling about it, but it has a toxic-industrial edge that I find disturbing. For all that, it is a soft, subdued scent once it dries down, and could easily qualify as unisex.
The Dreamer can be found at bargain prices if you shop carefully; right now a 1.6 oz bottle is $23.99 at imaginationperfumery or $20.38 at scentiments. Every so often a bottle pops up at TJ Maxx for even less.
Great reviews, Marlen and Robin! I have my sample, which we snatched yesterday from Sephora, and I cannot wait to try it. Anything that promises to be unconventional is a good thing in my book. I am especially intrigued by “the distinct smell of tootsie rolls, some powdered sugar, a touch of auto parts” of Robin's review and “tobacco mellows and merges with the amber and the almost coconut-y tarragon note becomes apparent” of Marlen's.
Wonderful reviews! Have tried this but I cannot even remember this. Must re-test. :))
Thanks again R! Hope all is well.
:))
We sound like we are reviewing 2 different fragrances, don't we? And Chandler Burr's review sounds like yet another fragrance entirely.
Hi N, Hope all is well with you too! I should have mentioned the bottle, which is nicely done with the head of Medusa on the front. Not sure the scent will be your cup of tea though…
Your impression is much more like my impression than Burr's was. I was so excited by his description that I ran out to find it, only to sit there smelling it thinking, “Is this the right fragrance?”
Hi R! I guessed it wasn't my cuppa – or would have bought it. Have a lovely day! Mwah!
T, I was interested by a review of some of the comments made about this one on MUA — a board search turns up lots of people who find it very sexy. I would never, ever have called it sexy. It also has some very positive comments on basenotes.
I finally sniffed this for the first time at Perfumania at Lincoln City, and was rather astounded. Everyother thing I've tried by Versace has been, well pleasant enough, but fairly picayune.
This perfume should not work. It shouldn't. It should be a messy jangle of nerves.
But it is a wonderful tribute to Gianni Versace's aesthete for designing clothes: A little of convention blended into something completely new and a little crazy.
You know what The Dreamer reminds me of? The way some hippies decorate their house. There's just random items, furniture and rugs that totally don't match, mismatched woods, etc. Yet somehow by virture of the fact that nothing in the house is being coordinated, everything does somehow “go” together perfectly.
It was actually Chandler Burr's assertion that it was “mouthwatering” that confused me the most. The soapiness was so prominent that I began to think that Mr. Burr must spend much of his time snacking on bars of Dial.
K, completely agree that this is the most interesting thing Versace has done to date, and have not given up on liking it. I take my sample out every so often, and maybe one day it will grow on me — it did for Marlen!
I'm thinking this may be full bottle worthy, myself. It's so interesting I'd like to have it around to develop a fuller impression of it. But I passed it over at Perfumania, since I knew I could get much cheaper (even with s&h) elsewhere.
I hear Blonde is significantly more interesting in parfum than the edt, but have not tried that one yet. From glancing at the notes I'm hesitant to believe it will be much of a departure from Versace's usual “nice but boring” motif, even in parfum strength.
It doesn't call up anything that I would eat either
I love the Dreamer bottle K, it is almost worth buying just for that and the general weirdness of the scent.
Haven't tried Blonde parfum, but I am dubious also
I was intrigued by this scent from the first time I tried it. It was always calling to me every time I stopped by Sephora. I was compelled to try it, yet it never agreed with me. There was something odd I couldn't put my finger on. Finally, after maybe four or five trips around the block, it all clicked. It is still a scent I don't wear often, but appreciate for its complexity and unique ability to be so many things to so many wearers. Easily one of the most dynamic and overlooked gems in the designer label fragrance world.
Well, I have already given it at least 4-5 tries, so it isn't going to click so easily for me. But will 2nd all the rest…it is complex, dynamic, all that, and a very unusual scent for a designer label. Maybe I will come around to it eventually!
Coriandre, hm? I love knowing that. xoxoxo
M, I was afraid to buy it last time I saw it at TJ Maxx for fear it would be completely different than I remembered. But will cave next time I see it
OMG! This is way sexy IMHO! I wouldn't wear it myself, but on the right man…swoooooon!
I have heard that from several people, P…it is odd that it doesn't strike me as particularly masculine. Will have to spray some on the husband sometime and see!
The Dreamer is magic; just love it. I wear it for myself, and am always surprised when I receive compliments – it's not one you expect others to appreciate. This and L'eau Bleue D'Issey are two of my favorite unusual/herbal frags.
Agree — it isn't something I'd expect to garner tons of compliments! Great scent though.
This goes for a song on discounters nowadays, and I snagged my bottle at a drug store’s clearance shelf for $19. After all I’ve read about its strangeness, I find The Dreamer eminently wearable and elegant, if a little on the loud side. I can actually see this one garnering compliments; up close and under the microscope, it does seem a little left-of-center, but from a short distance and “in the air”, as it were, it comes off as polished, clean, and sophisticated, with just a hint of mystery.