Dragon's Claw

[Jupita]

Smooth, polished and lethally sharp: dragon’s blood resin and three sandalwoods.

So... here we go.

I've never smelled Dragon Blood before, so, I didn't know what to expect. I do love sandalwood, so I really hoped I would like it.

When I opened the imp to sniff this, my first reaction was disapointment. It smelled very harsh, pungently floral. Like some cheap drak floral perfume.
I closed the imp and left it for later.

But, since, I've always thought that it's best to do the worst first, I decided to come back to it right away.
This is not one to be slathered, oh no. This one, is to be dabed to the pulse points in such a tiny amount, you're not even sure it's there.

The wet stage, was sharp florals... it screamed at me and yelled, beging atention, and almost knocked me inconscious.
No sandalwood whatsover, if we ignore the sharp edge this had.
I was already thinking to wash it off, since it was giving me the awfullest head ache, when it started mellowing.
The flowers (gues it must be the dragon blood), finally, decided to step back, and let the sandalwood come out to play.
Sandalwood, spicy, hot, sunny sandalwood. It's not overpowering, and I sincerelly can guess that I amp dragon blood, because it's still very much present on my skin, even 5 hours after aplication.
Yet, now, it's a sharp, sexy, woodsy floral... that's saying - "wear me to a the Opera Garnier, I want to see Boris Godunov..."

I know I won't be wearing this very often. It's a scent that doesn't go well with my everyday life.
This scent, demands a black velvet dress, heels so high you get the vertigo, and a man to eat you at the end of the evening...
This is a scent you wear out, to feel like a black princess...
Something Bellatrix Lestrange probably would have worn before going gaga in Azkaban.
It's perfumey and heady, and sharp and strong... and just plain beautifull.

I'll keep my imp, for that night special night... when I want to be that woman.

[odalisque]

There was sandalwood in this?

 

Well, that confirms it. On me, dragon's blood eats anything it's near. All I got was a sweet, rich, quite powerful lily-like floral. (Dragon's blood smells like lily to me/on me. Yeah, I know.)

 

I should get Mr O to try this on and see what it's like on him. On me, something further from a lethal polished claw it would be difficult to imagine.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Straight up DBR

 

Wet on me - This is a DBR strong on its floral aspect, namely jasmine

 

Dry on me - The DBR settles and becomes softer and sweeter

 

Overall - I like DBR, but not enough to want it straight up like this

 

[donnatron]

Imp: Dusty dragon's blood.

 

Wet: The dragon's blood amps a little over the sandalwood but there's not a lot of mystery to this one--you can smell the componengts strongly and distinctly.

 

Dry: Dragon's blodo resin with a grounding of sandalwood. Very simple but very elegant. It's a bit masculine but retains a sweet edge. Not really a lot to say here because neither are problem notes on my skin so it's really not that interesting: This smells like dragon's blood and sandalwood. If you like both I would highly recommend checking this out.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: I like this. Not enough to get a bottle but definitely enough to use up the imp. Simple, elegant and interesting without being overpowering or confusing. Probably a very good way to introduce yourself to dragon's blood

[tinyvulture]

when first applied, this is too strong for my taste. the sandalwood is so heavy. soon, it mellows out somewhat (although still quite strong). the spicy dragon’s blood resin paired with the dry sandalwood shavings results in a scent that is bold, fierce and powerful, like something a warrior would wear into battle!

[Wwindy]

Dragon's blood turns into a strong lilac-like floral on me, so the heavy dose of sandalwood here pretty much winds up just barely balancing that out. The sandalwood holds its own more strongly on my wrists and the backs of my hands, but the dragon's blood wins in my cleavage or the crooks of my elbows. The final result goes back and forth between incense-y sandalwood and a lilac/lily combination with a faint tinge of soap. Not bad, but I think just a tiny bit too flowery for me -- people who get more resinous qualities from dragon's blood will likely not have that problem!

[HamletsKeeper]

In the bottle this is strong dragon's blood and you really don't get much sandalwood. On contact though it peaks with a really strong sandalwood note that's almost unpleasant and had my heart sinking at a rapid rate. But that faded in about 5 seconds to be tempered by the wonderful florally dragons blood and quickly dries down into woody scent.

 

It's a little plain and I really can't see myself wearing it a lot. I think dragons blood is at it's best in a more aquatic or floral blend. This is just too much strong wood and too much strong dragons blood. There's not a lot of difference between Dragon's Claw & Dragon's Musk to be honest. They are both heavy on the DB with a little something to give them more character. If you have one you probably don't need both. Dragon's Musk dries down sweeter while this one is drier. This much sandalwood does have a tendency though to waft a strange sort of pancake batter smell at me every now and again then it settles down again.

 

If I can find something to layer this with I might keep it, but on it's own I don't find it to be a complete scent. I'm a dragons blood lover but there are really only a few scents in the Ars Draconis line which say perfume to me. Dragon's Claw isn't one of them.

 

Revisted - I've had this one for 3 months and used it in various ways including as a perfume. I have to admit I like it whole lot better now than I did in the beginning. Far from being lethally sharp etc...I find this to be a very soft cozy scent. It smells like a strong woody floral on me that's got a warm character. It's one of my comfort scents and not really one I wear out and about much. But when I need to feel comforted this is the one I turn to. My relatives have described it as "pretty" but very me. Meaning it doesn't smell mainstream in the least to them.

 

Dragons Blood really is a love or hate note. It's kinda weird smelling and on some would smell like a new age shop. On me it smells like floral perfume.

 

Edited January 13, 2010 by HamletsKeeper

[Redillon]

In the Imp: Seems very sweet and floral. Not a lot of resin.

 

Wet: VERY floral like, perfumey. STRONG! Wow. I think most people around me can smell me!

 

Dry down: I can smell the resin now. The floral (or sandalwood) is very prominent but the resin is in the background. I'm liking it more.

 

I'm not sure it's for me. I may gift it to someone who can appreciate the sandalwood. It is the holiday season....

[ralenth]

Aged bottle, 1-2 years

 

Bottle: Sweet and sandalwood. Not much else from the cold sniff.

 

Wet: Sharp, almost pungent floral and powder.

 

Drydown: As it dries, the sweetness takes over again. Still sharp, but I guess this dragon is a bit grandma-ish for me.

 

Dry: Old maid with a bit of attitude.

 

Overall: I am starting to think my skin eats Dragon's Blood. I don't seem to be picking it up in any of the Ars Draconis blends.

[SophieCedar]

This has an almost saccharine sweet undertone on me? I usually do fine with dragon's blood and sandalwoods however on me, it's almost like eating stevia sweetener. I can smell the dragon's blood and sandalwood but it's literally making my mouth water for no reason. Uhm.. okay?

[loubric]

Sharp and very sweet. I don't smell the sandlewood. This is all floral Dragon's Blood.

Very light, floral and candy sweet on me.

[ami226]

Whoa!! Major sandalwood with floral! This hasn't turned into the suntan lotion smell that other dragon blood scents have done on my skin.... Yay!

 

This scent is VERY strong. Might have put just a little too much on.

 

After a bit longer, this scent turns to pure dry woody sandalwood on my skin. I like sandalwood, but I think that I prefer it blended with other notes during the drydown stage rather than on its own.

[Deiicide]

As soon as it's wet, you can definitely smell the dragon's blood and the sandalwood warming up. There isn't much I can discern, I can smell white sandalwood but that's about it with the dragon's blood. Dry is no different then wet, but the sandalwood is coming out more stately. The Dragon's blood is in the background lifting up the sandalwood which is kind of heavy on my skin. It sticks close to the skin, and has no real wafting lift however it seems to stay on for a long time. Nice blend, and I'm glad I got to try it

[RhinestoneHousewife]

I got this as a frimp from the Lab.

 

In the bottle: Sandalwood and super incense-y

 

Wet on skin: Sandalwood

 

Dry of skin: Sandalwood, more powdery.

 

Dry down: Softer sandalwood.

 

I like it but I feel like I could get the same effect with a sandalwood single note. I'll let it sit for a bit and see if it changes.

[Leah703]

I get absolutely no sandlewood in the imp or on my skin. I do however get punched in the face with LILAC! Ugh I hate lilac. I hope aging will bring out the sandlewood.

[DameEmma]

The lab's sandalwood note (all the woods actually) are pretty aggressively woody on me. The Dragon's Blood keeps that in check, for a lovely, if strong and fairly dark fragrance. This is what I thought Ann Bonney would smell like.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

Imp bought on the forum? Or possibly lagniappe from someone I bought from (not the Lab). I don't remember where this one came from.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I love sandalwood. Love it. Dragon's blood and I have a turbulent history. There have been times when I loved it and other times when it was too sweet or floral. At the moment, I'm on a dragon's blood kick (especially with the Ars Draconis scents), so I'm expecting to really like Dragon's Claw.

 

First sniff:

 

If I didn't have the description to tell me that there was sandalwood (and more than one kind at that) in this, I'd probably miss it altogether. That tends to be true of a lot of the Ars Draconis scents, though. The dragon's blood can overwhelm everything else when you sniff them in the bottle.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Still mainly dragon's blood. A little bit sweet, a tiny bit fruity and floral and a little bit resinous. There's a touch of dry incense coming from the sandalwood, but the main even is the dragon's blood.

 

Dry down:

 

The sandalwood finally starts to put in a real appearance now, although it's still a supporting player rather than the lead note. It's mainly sweet, resinous dragon's blood, but with gentle, almost airy sandalwood floating around in the background. It's like incense smoke without being smoky, if that makes sense.

 

The bottom line:

 

I really like Dragon's Claw. It's headshop-like in a very subtle way, so it's more wearable for people who are put off by heavier, more intense "hippie incense" blends. My mom actually really likes this one (as well as several of the other Ars Draconis blends) and she hates incense, so it's worth a shot even if resins aren't your thing.

 

Honestly, several of the Ars Draconis blends are so similar (Dragon's Claw is one of the smell-alikes) that I don't really need more than a couple of them, but I'll be getting a bottle of this one since I've never been one to shy away from blends that are very similar to ones I already own. It's one of the reasons my collection is so enormous.

[JLH]

Out of the imp that I ordered, this only smelled like a very harsh, dry sandalwood, but my skin the dragon's blood comes out more. At first, this was a bit too strong for me, with quite a prominent throw. After it dries, the sandalwood softens up and more of the dragon's blood comes out, and it almost goes a bit powdery. I don't love it, but I like it. I also think it might be nice layered with something else, to temper the sandalwood's intensity at first.

[aleciarivas]

Yet again Dragon's Blood rebels and turns into some sort of soapy baby powder. Sadness, because the whiffs of other stuff (sandalwood especially) seem pleasant.

[maoric]

In the vial: slightly sweet, almost fruit-like with sandalwood.

 

Freshly applied: Thick, sweet resin.

 

Drying: Sweet resin and sandalwood, just like the description made me think it would smell.

 

Later: Simple, sweet sandalwood with floral hints that come and go over time. Very pleasant and good as a possible light day-to-day scent. I'll need to borrow other noses to make up my mind completely on this one, or try out Dragon's Blood by itself to see how it interacts with me more.

[milo]

Lot's of cherry dbr at first, with spice. After a bit, it becomes more dry and slightly cologney along with the fruit. I find dbr to be a little too loud with overwhelming sweet fruitiness, but the sandalwood makes this more wearable to me. I like this, it kind of reminds me of some other bpal, but I can't think of what it is right now. Wait, it has the same 'feel' as Mme Moriarty to me, though it doesn't smell the same, it's fruit with dry incensey dryness. Kind of the same vibe.

[JazzieCazzie]

Working my way through my imp and bottle collection (sloooooowly but surely) and decided to quadruple-test four of my Dragon's Blood scents today ... this included (along with Dragon's Hide, Dragon's Reverie and Dragon's Moon).

 

I've had this imp for awhile, but not sure how long ... must have been post-2006 or so since I never reviewed it but I know it's not a newcomer to the box.

 

IMP: Strong Dragon's Blood, perhaps the most out of the imp of the four, cut by the sharpness (in a good way) of the sandalwood.

 

Applied to left wrist.

 

WET: Of the four, upon application, remains the most "dragon's bloody" of the quartet but the pencil shavings of the sandalwood keeps it from being TOOOOO sweet and the two play together SO nicely.

 

DRYDOWN: This is such a great combination, as the sandalwood mellows out the DB to the perfect degree and they co-exist peacefully and subtly on my for the rest of the day and evening.

 

OVERALL: What's not to love? Dragon's Blood and THREE sandalwoods? Yummalicious.

 

On a scale of 1-5, another 5.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Dragon’s blood dominant with soft sandalwood support. Wet: Still dragon’s blood dominant but the sandalwood comes out a little more giving it a slightly more dry feel than the other Ars Draconis blends. The sandalwood is a good compliment to the heavy incense floral feel of the dragon’s blood. Huge throw. Dry: It balances out better as it wears with the sandalwood coming clearer as the Dragon Blood softens.

[mangotea]

Well, I just spilled some Dragon's Claw on myself, so I might as well not let it go to waste.

 

This is actually one of the scents I like, but when I first spill apply it, it's very musky and fragrant, reminding me of magnolia, but with an odd soapy quality to it. The soapy quality eventually dissipates allowing the smell of sandalwood and incense to slowly burn in. In the end, ie., hours later, all that remains is the sensual and reverent smell of sandalwood. I generally picture a dark, wooden temple lit by candlelight. It's moderately strong; I can pick up on it when I'm at work, but I doubt anyone not directly next to me can.

 

When I first got this one (it was a gift), I didn't think I'd like it, but the blend is working out quite well for me so far.

Edited March 24, 2013 by mangotea

[ToThineOwnSelfBeTrue]

I'm a big fan of Dragons Blood scent, however this smells to me of a typical dept. Store fragrance and sorry but I feel the florals over power the Dragons blood scent. Perhaps in time this will warm up but for now it just gives me a headache