Dragon's Blood

[chapatti]

Powerful, commanding, blazing with strength.

First whiff: ...dragon's blood?
It's got a very short-lived, soft cherry-ish top note, followed by a soft, slightly herbal floral very similar to a muted lily-of-the-valley.

Drydown: still soft, muted lily-of-the-valley. I can understand where others get the soap impression, though it doesn't really smell soapy to me.

Verdict: it's a nice enough scent, but a bit too bland for my tastes. Give me my dragon's blood in Dragon's Milk please!

6/10 Edited February 4, 2006 by Shollin

[hypatia]

On me, Dragon's Blood is like smooth, oiled metal surrounded by heavy flowers (gardenias, or maybe lilacs), with a whiff of cherry cough syrup.

 

It's interesting -- especially the smooth oiled metal note, which isn't exactly metallic, but I don't know how else to characterize it -- but it's not me. The florals remind me of the flower note in Sacred Whore of Babylon, which is just about the only BPAL I've had to wash off my arm. Oh well. I'm glad I got to try it; maybe one of the other Ars Draconis scents will work out better.

[ohvanity]

In Bottle: Wow. Flowers. Deffinatley flowery. At first I smelt rose and then a softer flower scent underneath.

 

Wet: On me it smells quite strongly of gardenia's and it really does have that cleany soapy smell. Wow. It's quite strong, it's making my room smell nice. Well, at least the imediate area in which I'm sitting.

 

Drying: As it's drying the soapy smell just seems to keep on getting stronger. I think I might have to go wash this off and put less on next time, it's starting to give me a bit of a headache.

[mandragora]

Had high hopes for Dragon's blood. Very intrigued by it's description and I loved Dragon's Heart.

 

And Dragon's Blood did not dissapoint. It's a very strong, sweet floral with a metallic tang to it. Surprisingly for a strong floral, it's not cloying. Drydown, it's a full, warm, resin-y floral. This scent is indeed powerful and commanding.

 

Conclusion: Another winner from the Ars Draconis blends.

Edited February 12, 2006 by mandragora

[yeahbutnobut]

Dragon’s Blood

 

In the imp: pure dragon’s blood-that clear, red, bittersweet and unusual scent.

Wet on skin: sharp, red yet slightly floral dragon’s blood.

Dry: apparently this is pure dragon’s blood, but what a complex single note this is. It’s red-very red-a vivid clear red fitting the colour of the oil itself. It’s also dry. There’s a definite bitterness to it, yet there’s a slight, almost fruity, sweetness to it-at times it reminds me of cherries. Like real blood, this scent has a definite metallic aspect, it’s quite uncanny. There’s also a slight hint of floral to it which is, indeed, reminiscent of lilac. And this note is also warm, almost spicy. This is a fascinating and unusual note to get to know.

After a while: it gets a bit fainter, and not as sharp as the initial scent, it’s now a lot smoother, more reminiscent of lilac, yet still retaining it’s clear, red, metallic scent.

Verdict: dragon’s blood is a unique and unusual scent, hard to describe with scent-describing words, but the best I can do to describe what it smells is to say that it smells clear, bittersweet, warm, metallic, a bit spicy, a tiny bit floral, and very red. I’ve smelt many blends with dragon’s blood in it, but even as a single note scent, it is very complex. I like it and I will keep the imp for layering purposes, but I don’t think I need a bottle just yet.

[smallvoice]

Hmm. I don't get lots of florals out of this one. It's hard to describe, though. It's a really powerful scent, and incredibly complex. There's a metallic tang to it that I am enjoying, and I'm going to have to wear this one out and about for a while before I make a final decision about it. It's still in the process of doing the BPAL dance of morphiness on my skin, but I'm enjoying it as it changes. Lovely, really.

[Wyndi]

This is raunchy, dirty, "throw me to the ground and plow me into oblivion" bliss. Snarly, earthy, gritty, unbridled lust. Pure pheromones and need and want and primal urges and all that good stuff that turns sex into an Olympic sport. Tie me to the bed, blindfold me, talk dirty to me, and make me sleep in the wet spot.

 

Holy God, this stuff is niiiice. It's totally different than O or Scherezade, though. This is far more animalistic. It's probably just because of the name but it evokes more of a fantasy setting, I think. Either way, it's a wonderfully sensual, erotic scent that will hopefully spark more than a few naughty dreams.

 

There's a powerful sweetness to it that's underscored by an earthy texture. Like taking a handful of sweet cherries and smashing them against a spongy pile of freshly turned soil. From what I've read, that's the stereotypical "Dragon's Blood" smell that is unique and indescribable as anything but "Dragon's Blood."

[arabella]

First Impression: A unique resin-y floral.

 

Dries down to: One of the loveliest scents I've ever encountered.

 

Additional Comments: I wasn't familiar with Dragon's Blood until I got hooked on BPAL. Now, it's one of the, if not the, best notes on me. So far, there's not a scent "starring" BPAL's Dragon's Blood that I don't like - and, most of them are "loves". This one, in particular, is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Lasted: Several hours.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

[Missmoonlight]

I got it last year as gift and it was "my" perfume!!! Really, the girl that bought it for me must be psychic, because this scent reflects me perfectly!!

First, to me it isn't "commanding and powerful". It's feminine! It reminds me of a basket of juicy magenta and red tropical fruits dripping red and magenta juice, with magnolia and jasmine flowers in. But it isn't nothing commercial "tropical juice", it's sooo feminine, fruity, lightly floral (but not green or rose!!!), very lightly metallic (resin?) and it reminds mom of Lido, an island near me that delimitates the lagoon from the sea: city Lido has many art nouveau villas with large gardens and magnolia trees. Yes, it's indeed fruity magnolia...and it's my signature perfume!!!

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: I can smell the pure DBR cherry scent and LILACS! Wow, lilac!

Wet: The DBR has pretty much gone away, leaving STRONG lilac.

Dry: My skin turns DBR to a plasticy cherry, like a cherry-scented plastic doll. Mostly lilac. Very faint, though. Sad!

 

Category: Lilac/DBR

Rating: 2.5/5; more if it lasted at all.

Overall: I love the lilac of it. I don't think this blazes with strength, but it does clear my head a little. This would make a better incense, I think. It's sad that after an hour it's so faint I can barely smell it at all. Oh well. I may try it again or just let it go.

[Phaedra]

This oil is a rich, deep red color. First on it's sharp and a bit like cherry. It is very warm in feeling and a bit soapy too. This doesn't change much on me. I've discovered that I usually like Dragon's Blood better when it's mixed with other notes rather than on it's own (such as Dragon's Milk which I love!)

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: Yeah, that's definitely dragon's blood.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- Mmmm...dragon's blood.

Dry -- And still lovely, lovely dragon's blood.

 

Conclusion: I was a bit uncertain how dragon's blood would work on its own, as it's quite sweet, but this is beautiful! A sweet, sensual resin scent. *purrrrrrr*

[Kittyflop]

Sweet, clean and floral. Not at all what I expect from something called Blood. Familiar but I couldn’t identifiy note, so I had to go back to other reviews to find out what I was smelling, and it seems to be Lilac. I don’t detect cherry as some others have, but it could be blended. This was quite surprising and lovely. I think I prefer it blended with other notes, though

[marzstar]

i've always loved db in general. just as the description says Powerful, commanding, blazing with strength. that is how i feel when i wear dragon's blood. the name says it all. so i was über bummed when, at first sniff, (and 2nd and 3rd, etc,) i totally didn't like the black phoenix alchemy lab dragon's blood, nor the blends that contain them.

 

which is realllllly odd because last night,

 

a few months, 3 moons, and much money invested, later, . . . something happened

 

i fell in love

 

with dragon's blood.

 

it's not rotten cherries anymore; it's not cough syrup anymore; it's not soapy or flowery anymore.

it's just wonderfully magical. perfectly divine. unique and grandiose.

the way it smells and the way i feel when i wear it reminds me of a saying i feel akin to:

kill 'em with kindness.

for it's sweet yet evokes strength. not a cute girly sweet. more of a ripe sweet; a sweet that comes only with wisdom and experience and time.

 

it's balanced yet dual - light and dark, light and heavy, fruity yet flowery yet resiny.

empowering.

i think dragon's blood is the ultimate in joojoo-esque™

 

(admittedly, i am so pleased with the rekindling of my love of dragon's blood that this is the third post i've made in a row on the topic hehe)

[juniperus]

Bottle: sweet, definitely, and rather cherry - that cherry-ish gum-number the dentist uses

Wet: somewhere between cherry and rose, still on the sweet side but not as gacky as the aforementioned milk.

Dry: very rose..sweet, tho..maybe like a rose-hyacinth combination. I really don't seem to care for it in the blends I've sniffed, but by itself it's inherent darker notes can actually stand up to balance the sweet. complex. interesting...sweet, but interesting.

Later: still sweet rosy-ness. it almost wants to turn soapy on me. I'm uncertain about this one. it'll probably end up as a swap...I think I maybe should stick to the darker rose blends I wear better.

Edited April 24, 2006 by Juniperus Intrepidus

[urraca]

Dragon's blood is lightly floral, somewhat reminiscent of lily of the valley, and a little bit soapy on me, with a hint of a flowering tree that blooms in the spring around here, and whose name I don't know, that smells a tiny bit like girly parts. Sorry.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i've always loved DB....

one of my favourite incense flavours.... a good, dependable, yummy earth-dirt-passion scent.

 

so i had high hopes for the BPAL version. with good reason, yesh?

 

 

but....

at first, it smells like some sort of liquid medicine

which dries down to a very purple (lilac? iris? tulip?) sort of floral.

 

there's no cherry, or soap, or dirt here for me.

and certainly no tree bark.

 

an hour later, this has become "Hi. I'm A Generic Flower."

pretty, but nothing i'd ever wear. reminds me vaguely of scented toilet paper from the 80's or cheap potpourri.

 

i'm not going to give up, though. i'll put this away and try it again in a few months and hope it'll be better after it ages some.

[edenssixthday]

Dragon’s Blood is a nice dragon’s blood scent, but not my favorite. It is mellower than I thought it would be, and doesn’t have the “oomph” that I like in a good dragon’s blood blend. And while none of the dragon’s blood blends turn to soap on me, the pure dragon’s blood does. Not only that, but after sniffing it, I taste soap in my mouth! It’s got a really nice level of throw and lasts for hours, although it’s very subtle on my skin.

[ouch!]

I'm so glad that I got my hands on a vial of Dragon's Blood. I am completley in love with Blood Amber and had never smelled either Amber or Dragon's Blood on their own. Wearing it on it's own it definatley wafts around you in a big circumfrence. It's pure floral, but people can never put their finger on it! I love it. I makes people ask questions .

 

I think it's great..... and now can enjoy all the other Dragon's Blood scents which are all so interesting in their own way but still have that kick of Dragon's Blood!

 

To describe the scent.... as some peoplehave said it's very red and reminds me of a whole bunch of incence together. Kind of like what an occult bookstore would smell like! Very unusal and very familiar, it feels like the smell I've been waiting to smell for a long time.

[scarhead101]

On my skin, Dragon's Blood smells of powder and Ivory Soap. Sad, because I was hoping for something more powerful. Good, because I like powder and Ivory Soap.

 

I guess I was expecting a Hungarian Horntail and just got Baby Norbert instead.

[gypsybaby1]

 

I SO very much wanted this to work on me!!

 

Unfortunately, I should have gotten my first clue when I sniffed the bottle a few days ago and cringed in olfactory terror. <-- yeah, that was me.

 

Soapy flowers... or is it flowery soap? It's headache inducing, whatever it is. I stiffened my upper lip and dabbed a wee teeny bit from the bottle lid onto the back of my hand and gave it a few minutes to dry and mix with the chemistry...

 

no change at all. I couldn't stand it and had to go scrape it off with alcohol. I can still smell it faintly

 

I hope the other dragon blends aren't like this. Off to the swap list it goes!

Edited July 20, 2006 by Gypsybaby

[forspecial_plate]

Love the color of the oil itself, lovely blushing shade of red. Looks almost like blood smeared on my wrist.

 

Bright, fresh, sweet FLORAL is what I get from Dragon's Blood, with a sweetness almost like candy of some kind just peeking through, almost a marshmallow-y sweetness, but really mostly floral. As it dries and wafts I keep getting little hints of something spicy like cinnamon.

 

Every other time I've tried DB it gets sucked up by my skin very quickly, so today I tried applying it along with a fragrance free lotion which makes a little bit of difference. What happens it the initial blast dissipates after an hour or so, and I'm left with a faint floral sweetness. It's nice and I enjoy layering it with other scents, making my own Ars Draconis blends.

[blackfelicula]

I'd wanted to love this one. I really did. However, it's a lot sweeter than I thought it would be. I'm used to dragon's blood resin incense, which is so earthy and spicy. Dragon's Blood oil turned out to be pungently sweet. On my skin it was rather perfume-y and prone to going soapy. Age and summer softened it and brought out some of the more resiny tones to it, but it really wasn't what I'd had in mind when I thought "dragon's blood."

 

In the bottle, now that it's aged for a few months, it's got some more depth to it. I might get another imp sometime to try as a room scent or in ritual.

[Syzygy]

There's a truck stop in Snow Shoe, PA that I've been to about a hundred times where, along with cheap eats and the usual sundries, you can buy those big-ass scented pillar candles.* One time, stopping for supper on a long trip, my beau and I decided we were gonna buy one of those big-ass scented pillar candles because dammit, big-ass scented pillar candles are just plain cool. Problem was, they all smelled sickeningly sweet. We finally found a red one we liked. The scent was called "Fire", and it smelled like the red candles my mother used to burn at Christmas: a kind of red, waxy, vaguely spicy scent. We couldn't quite pin it down, but it was pleasant and kind of consoling. We bought it, took it home and enjoyed the fragrance whenever we burned it.

 

Dragon's Blood smells just like that pillar candle, right down to the waxiness. Weird! But I like it. It's a nice smell that brings back good memories. I don't want to wear this, and it's probably not doing what it's supposed to on me anyway, but I think I'd like to use it as a room scent. Thanks for the freebie, Lab!

 

 

 

* Not to be confused with big ass-scented pillar candles. There is a difference.

[steffanina]

Dragon's Blood-

 

(I've got to give this one a try before more time passes, seeing how it's an ingredient in so many scents.)

 

In Bottle: Oh! Beautifully powdery and light.

 

Wet: First like lilies and gardenia and honeysuckle, with something...cherry-like. And almost like carnation, but the bestest yummiest carnation ever, because I don't usually like the wussiness of carnation. This is NOT what I expected from something called Dragon's Blood, heh.

 

Dry: This stays lovely all through. Florals that are yummy and not at all prissy or light. Still not anything I would have expected from something called Dragon's Blood, but I'm pleasantly surprised.

 

Overall: I really like!