The Brides of Dracula

[jewelbug]

Unquenchable desire, seething lust, malevolent sexuality, and voracious hunger lurking beneath a shimmering veil of unearthly beauty: gleaming skin musk, honey and white amber, plum blossom, osmanthus, sandalwood, calla lily, and a light, sensual blend of Eastern spices.

Imp: Light florals (lily and osmanthus would be my guess), with a honey-like sweetness. I don't really smell any spice or sandalwood.

Wet: Definitely honey. Honey with sweet green and white florals--I'm guessing mostly lily.

Drying: Less honey now, a lot of sweet, white florals. This is pretty and not at all overpowering. There is a bit more of the skin musk now, too, adding a bit more of a bold edge. But mostly lillies and honey....

Dry: Sweet white florals and honey, but at about 2 hrs I started to smell a burning plastic smell--no idea which note is doing that, though. My typical culprits are butter/sugar/coconut, but this doesn't have any of those listed. Maybe its the eastern spices? Snake Oil did something similar on me, and I think its got eastern spices. By about 4 hours the synthetic is gone, and this is mostly honey, with faint florals in the back. Pure and sweet and pretty.

Overall: I'd classify this as a beautiful sweet and light floral/honey blend, and it lasts 7ish hrs, with the end being all honey. This is more pure and delicate than I'd expect of Dracula's brides, though. I'd hoped to get more sandalwood and spice, so this isn't really for me (especially with the plastic phase). But this is very feminine and delicate, so if you like those, give it a try! Edited November 28, 2006 by jewelbug

[Melantha]

I like most of the notes here, so I gave it a try.

 

The spices, which I was eager to sniff, weren't to be found. It was a touch musky, and I got some amber and lily, but nothing made me sit up and take notice.

 

I haven't had luck with either OotD or CD yet.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is floral and light musk. When first on it's heady white florals, full bodied. After a couple of minutes it starts to soften. This reminds me of Khajurajo and Honey Moon. It's a well blended floral with hints of honey. It doesn't change much on me. This is nice but a little more refined or upscale than I was hoping for. I wanted it to be a bit earthier or "unhinged". Oh well. I ending up selling this one to a more deserving home.

[Lunaratu]

Wet: ok, on me my first reaction was “ick!” which musk can do from time to time (though I’ve only had very bad reactions with black/dark musk before this)

 

Initial drydown: mmm, much much nicer. I’m getting some vague fuzzy sweetness mixed in with florals with something dusting them a bit exotic when my wrist is turned away. The musk is still very powerful but I’m getting a good feeling about this once that dies back. However, I’m still getting the sensation of my nose being assaulted by a department store counter of perfumes when I go to sniff my wrist directly.

 

Half hour later: it’s settled down into a scent that is almost old fashioned in its floral warmth. It’s starting to remind me of the scene from the movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula when Jonathan Harker opens the perfume bottle and the drops fall upward. The bottle glows an unearthly golden and is antique—something in which the perfume should have long ago dried up in and yet it’s still liquid and usable. It’s both very womanly but at the same time has a hint of the unearthly. Already I’m thinking this might suit my mom much better than me since it’s reminding me of her favorite perfume though warmer, deeper.

 

Verdict: well I was really hoping to love this one since I’m a huge fan of Vampire Theory but even part way through the experience I got the hint that The Brides and I did not perfectly match. I’m going to use it though to scent some homemade bath products for my mom since I think this might really suit her. It would probably smell almost lickable on her (and given that she is still actively dating I, um, wish her well with it since I love she’s out having a great social life but dang do I not want to think about my mom having a romantic social life). This just smells too traditionally “perfumey” on me so I’ll see what I can do with it since it’s still a pretty scent.

 

Rating: 3/5

 

Throw: low. It sticks quite close to the skin but I don’t have to have my nose plastered to my wrist to smell it either which is a very good thing.

Edited October 7, 2007 by Lunaratu

[thecaitycat]

In the bottle: Honey is the most prominent note at play. It's tempered by some florals, almost on the verge of going powdery.

 

Wet on skin: Still very much a honey-based scent on me; my skin tends to amp it up, and this is to my advantage! I can't pick out any florals in particular, but they are light.

 

Dry on skin: It's going ever-so-slightly powdery on dry-down, but this actually works out to be a good thing. It's still very much a honey scent with light florals in there - I can smell plum blossom and lily.

 

Verdict: This is malevolent and beautiful without being overpowering and heavy. It also gets GREAT throw. I fell in love with my imp and had to get myself a bottle of it.

[cinderfallen]

I get honey and lily, definitely, with some soft amber giving the scent some weight. Reminds me of an expensive department store perfume, really.

 

On another test, it's a lovely floral. The skin musk is played up to every advantage, but I still don't get much of the spices. It's a very gentle, balanced scent that's almost creamy in its loveliness.

Edited August 31, 2007 by cinderfallen

[ariansdreams]

Brides of Dracula:

 

First Sniff: Honeyed Flowers.

 

Wet on Skin: I get the sweet, sweet honey note that is prevalent in O, with some flowers and musk too. This is a really lovely, playful, feminine scent.

 

Dry: This dried down to something a little too feminine and sweet on me. I agree with a previous poster who commented that it smells a little like expensive department-store perfume. I smell clean and girly, which is nice, but I like a little more sexiness to my scents. Will be swapping this.

[The Perfumed Ferret]

At first it's sharp and alien...I can't place any notes only a general floral scent with a sharp undertone.

 

After about 15 minutes it softens into a thick and musky perfume with thick honey and pale floral notes.

 

 

It eventually softens out into a well rounded floral scent with just a hint of dry woods to balance it out.

 

 

Nice, but it's too non-descript on me.

[luna65]

Thanks to Sidonie for the decant.

 

Vial: Very high-toned, sweet and flowery. I get that sense of "unearthly beauty" in that this is very feminine, almost prototypically so.

 

Skin: As others have noted, the florals are prominent in the initial application, with the lily especially on me (as with other BPALs containing that accord).

 

Drydown: I'm a bit disappointed that this ended up all floral on me, although it's a very nice floral, but again (like Mata Hari) just a little too feminine for my tastes; though it embodies what it means to entirely. . .though I would have expected a little malice around the edges, as it were.

[dreago]

Brides of Dracula:

 

In the vial: Drunken Honey

On the wrist: Mmmmmm, spicy flowers and honey. Just a hint of sandalwood. Nice.

Dry down: Disappointing. Up close the dry down blend is perfect- just like "on the wrist." But when it dries, the throw is superficially all top note. It is smothering honey. Like you're lying in bed and someone is trying to choke you with their warm, perfumed pillow. Not as pleasant as it sounds. Powdery. Le Sign. I may make a room spray, perhaps.

[emzebel]

Sweet and spicy, with just a hint of florals. This fades pretty quickly on me, so I will need to slather, but it is lovely while it lasts!

[edenssixthday]

The Brides of Dracula - This is a nice, unassuming woody-floral. It’s very gentle, feminine and softly fragrant. I don’t smell the honey in this blend at all, nor the plum blossom. The calla lily and skin musk are the dominant notes, and it’s only just the tiniest hint spicy, but not a sharp, biting spice, more of a mild spice. It’s very pretty, but incredibly light on my skin. Even “slathering” it doesn’t increase the level of throw. It’s ultra-subtle and soft. It’s pretty, but too soft for my taste. After 30 minutes, I can’t smell it at all.

[lady_pandora]

Right out of the vial I get the scent of honey and something citrusy. Orange, I think. Don't see what in the notes is creating the orange impression, but it's there.

 

This settles down on my skin into a lovely, feminine floral with just a hint of fruitiness in the background. The musk and the honey are barely discernible, but I think they're there, because I'm reminded vaguely of Les Bijoux, which contains both skin musk and honey.

 

But while Les Bijoux is definitely a fruity scent on me, Brides of Dracula is dominated by the floral. The floral note is something I recognize but can't name. Maybe this is the osmanthus and/or the lily? At any rate, it's very pretty, very delicate, and very fresh-smelling. It makes me want a lacy dress and sausage curls.

 

The only thing that remains to be seen is whether it will induce headaches if I slather it, which sometimes happens with sandalwood. I suspect it'll be fine, because as far as I can tell I can't even smell the sandalwood.

Edited January 10, 2007 by lady_pandora

[alliekat13]

In the bottle: smells like a sour floral.

On my skin: smells like sour potpourri.

The presence of plum or plum blossom always turns fragrances sour for me and end up smelling like bad jelly. I get a teensy bit of honey, a little bit of sandalwood, and none of the spices. Just sour flowers. BOO Plum!!!

[Naamah_Darling]

Very light florals in the bottle, heavy on the lily. The osmanthus lends it a very perfumey scent, along with what I think is the musk.

 

On, yes, the musk comes out, not a dark musk, but a light one. The plum and lily are next, with a faint draft of incense. This is already soapy on me, so I don't think it's going to work, but it is certainly pretty!

 

It dries not quite as offensive as I was afraid. Florals just hate me, and I was hoping that all the other lovely notes here would pummel the flowers enough to make it wearable, but alas, that's not to be. There is a persistent undertone of incense, but it's not really smoky so much as simply crystalline, and there's no trace of honey, which should have pasted down the flowers enough to make them play nice. I'm not getting the spice at all, which is a shame.

 

The florals here are rich and fleshy. That must be the lily: heavy, wet, and faintly sour to my nose, like pickles. This is why I don't like florals. Pickles, baby powder, stripper makeup, it always goes wrong somehow. There's something very funereal about this scent as well. Probably the lilies again.

 

Overall, a light musky floral with overtones of incense. Ideal for someone who likes their florals traditional but with a bit of depth.

[tinyvulture]

warm skin, reminiscent of O or la petit mort. it’s really close to O because it also has those sweet honey and powdery amber notes. however, the calla lily is the strongest on my skin, and makes it into an extremely floral scent overall. i can’t smell the spices. it’s pretty, but too floral for me...so i think i’ll stick with my bottle of O.

[LadyMedb]

I like the honey note and the creamy aspect to this scent, but the plum and the lilies and the spices all go to soap on me, and overpower the rest of the composition. It's a crying shame, but I'm going to swap this decant.

[lapillus]

In bottle: sweetly floral

 

Wet: Still sweetly floral over light musks. Very pretty and feminine.

 

Dry: Some honey and amber and spices come out to play as well. Still lovely.

 

Later: Becomes very unified and I think that there is some sandalwood drying the whole blend out in a very nice way.

 

Summary: Too bad this was a LE – it’s a scent I could easily wear a lot when I want to feel pretty. (Not HOT, not girly, but pretty in a way that knows the world and still remains restrained.)

[lightgatherer]

Some florals work on me, and some don't. This one, unfortunately, is one of the ones that doesn't. I get the barest hint of the honey, musk, amber, and spices, but mostly this is all chemical department store perfume florals. I was hoping to really like this one, but it's off to the swaps.

[Lit Chick]

Mmm mmmm mmmm

 

Skin musk, florals, and spices. Sexy but not too crazy with it - I have a few BPALs that cannot be worn in polite company. This one can... it behaves enough.

 

For me, this is a more standard perfume smelling BPAL. Not in a bad way at all. It's accessible, without being generic.

 

The more it heats up on me, the better it gets. I am being completely seduced by this one.

 

In the very very last gasp of the dry down, right before it dies, it reminds me of lipstick I wore (ack) 8 years ago - Mac Diva. It had a powdery little scent to it, and it was violently deeply bloody red, and it got me a lot of attention. I am happily married, but I want to put that stuff on again, with this perfume, and do some damage. Ahem. Perhaps it's for the best that I only have an imp of this....

Edited March 13, 2007 by Lit Chick

[hackess]

Imp: Some small flowers, like lilacs or lily of the valley. I have hope!

Wet: Ack, no. The beautiful florals have instantly gone sour on me. I can't tell if it's a new floral coming out (osthmandus?) or the musk and honey that's turning rancid, but it's like decaying flower beds on my wrist. This has to come off now.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Floral, bubblegum resin. Almost reminds me of Lady Macbeth but sweeter.

 

First on: It definitely reminds me of Lady M, but with a resinous tone instead of the wine. The floral berry scent is very similar though. It's very heady and seductive. This is definitely the oil of a seductive villainess.

 

Drydown: The resinous tone has calmed down and it's a more balanced sweet floral with a bit of dust. Very sophisticated and still seductive.

 

Overall: Anyone want to sell me a bottle?

[Nia]

either my sense of smell is broken this morning, or this is mislabelled, as what I smell is a very gentle, pleasant floral. This is like a field of flowers with a very naughty demon lying lazily on them, soaking up the sun!

 

Wet, it smells of jasmine (!), or more precisely of Eos. The musk is very subtle (my skin loves bpal musk, it makes things blend better), and I can detect honey, flowers (must be the lillies), and warm spices. The balance goes more towards the flowers. My skin turns some lillies into soap, so this blend was good in order to isolate calla lily, which isn't doing anything nasty.

[sedona]

In the imp - Sweeter than I'd have thought, very white floral.

 

Wet - The flowers are tramping all over each other in a battle for supremacy, very fierce floral!

 

Drydown - A sweetness comes through after about ten minutes as the florals soften but I get absolutely no amber or plum blossom Also there's a definite metallic edge which could be my skin chemistry this week

 

This is a strong oil, one application lasted all day.

 

Leaves a skin scent of honey.

 

I'll try again and hope for more plum.

[alicia_stardust]

My skin interprets this scent as skin musk, honey, and amber. After that it pretends that no other notes are present. I was hoping for more of the notes and complexity, but as it is I really like this scent. It has a naked, sensual quality to it with a hint of malevolence.