Dragon's Heart

[catalyst]

A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant.

Holy cow. This reminds me of my older brother's cologne. I think it's the musk, fig and dragon's blood. Whatever it is, it's some kind of deep memory trigger, and I'm putting this on my bottle wish list.

This is like sex. It starts out fast and exciting, almost sharp, and mellows into an "animal attraction" sweet musk afterglow. Absolutely buying this at some point.

PS, I read back to what other people are saying, and I'm surprised to see that people talk about things like flowers, soap and bubble gum. I'm not getting that at all. I suspect a body chemistry thing is at play here, because I'd call this at least unisex, leaning toward masculine.

It reminds me of an expensive night club: Warm, dark and full of pheremones.

[SkySamuelle]

In the imp - I can quite get because this would be a scent of vitality and strenght. It comes out as strong and firey and humming with vivacity.

Wet on skin- musks! fruity notes are nowhere to be smelled.
Dry - florals comes out and then resins slowly take over. I was told I smell incensey from across the room. This is quite strong and a little drop goes a long way.

Verdict - this goes on my swap pile, right away.

[bellumed]

This is incensey and sexy and delicious, but there’s something in this that I just don’t love. It smells kind of like cherry, but I’m not sure whether it’s the dragon’s blood or the black currant, seeing as it’s my first blend with either. I do want to like it otherwise, but cherry totally ruins a perfume for me. A bit frustrating, tbh. The cherry does eventually fade out, but I think I’d rather just find some other resinous blends that I enjoy. Too bad.

[Monster]

Yeow! Dragons Blood and red musk...I'm not detecting any currents. This is a simple two note blend to my nose. The color of this oil is a gorgeous dark red. I really wish Dragons Blood worked for me because I know I could love it however, DB and I simply weren't meant to be.

[undream]

Ohmygod, this is gorgeous; sensual, rich, warm & sweet, a beautiful soft incense with, as a prior reviewer noted, a powdery, pleasant drydown. I couldn't keep my nose away from my own wrists. Lovelovelove.

[Wren12]

Dragons Heart, my third in the AD series, further cements my love of dragons blood.

 

In the bottle: The sharp, bright, red scent of the dragons blood sets the stage, some wisps of tartness waft up, hinting of dark burgundy berries.

 

On Wet: Yup, my skin loves dragons blood. Its sweetness is predominant, with the tart touch of currant playing counterpoint and balancing it out from being overwhelming. I am not getting a lot of the musks yet, but I am new at picking out notes, so that is probably why...

 

(Ok, after smelling some Scherezade I have more of an idea of the musk tones, and I can absolutely see some of those here)

 

Dry The whole scent softens from its aggressively sweet/tart combination. I think the fig comes through here more, and tempers the sweetness of the dragons blood.

 

For me, this one is a keeper. Apparently I have a thing for dragons blood...who know...

[sisi33]

In the Bottle: Holy crud! That's an "alive" smelly, if I've ever smelled on!Sure is pulsing with life! Musk, currant, and underneath, dragon's blood.

Wet: Black mush, then dragon's blood, then currant. Not much fig, sadly. Sweet, and with a slightly 'damp" feeling.

Drydown: Currants are coming to the fore. Fig is also coming out more, but it's still hanging in back of the dragon's blood. The blood is also drowning out the musks, yet it still has a very low throw. I really don't know what to think of this.

 

2.5/5

[Quillifer]

This was one of my first BPAL disappointments - a few months ago now, but I thought others might find my view helpful. I LOVE dragon's blood, and red musk too, but this scent kind of drags at the back of my nose/throat. I think it's the berries in it. A sort of acid feeling. Loads of people love berry scents so this would be good for them, but if you suspect you dislike them, keep it in mind about this.

[madscientistdh]

A deep red oil, my imp was a bit difficult to open and I ended up splattering it as my application for this

 

in imp: sharp dragon's blood, almost like gasoline but... juicy? hmm!

 

on skin: angry lilac, musky spice with a mouthwatering juicy black currant background. Almost cherry-like.

 

drydown: oooh this is the dragon's blood I was hoping Dragon's Blood would be! Warm, soft, pulsing, musky.

 

Verdict: The addition of the other oils to this really improved on my experience of dragon's blood as an oil. This is almost reminding me of the warm musky sweetness I get from Fenris Wolf, which is a PLUS PLUS PLUS. Intensely passionate scent, right here. I like.

[sonderland]

In the imp:

 

It’s a sort of slightly woody/smoky cherry scent. I might be smelling the currant but, as I am unfamiliar with how that smells, it smells like cherry to me.

 

First time on:

 

I’m still getting the cherry and the woody smoke, but there’s a deeper muskiness to it. It’s not exactly sweet, but it’s close.

 

After a while:

 

This reminds me a lot of Red Queen, which smelled like cherry cola spilled over an antique desk. Dragon’s Heart smells less syrupy, but it still has that cherries-and-wood smell.

 

Overall review:

 

I was surprised by this one. I like it a lot more than I expected to, given the fact that the description doesn’t really talk about the notes in the dragon’s blood resin itself. I don’t know if I’d get a full bottle of this, but I’m keeping the imp.

[Atrous]

Love dragon's blood scents and dragon's blood loves my skin but Dragon's Heart is a disappointment.

 

In the bottle: Pure dragon's blood.

 

Wet on the skin: Dragon's blood and musk.

 

Dry-down: The musk fades away and I never do get currant or fig. All I get is dragon's blood (which I like the smell of) so, I'll stick with my bottle of Dragon's Blood when that's what I want to smell like. I was really hoping for a musky dragon's blood w/ fruity notes scent. Maybe I'll try this in a scent locket and see if the other notes come out to play.

Edited March 28, 2013 by Atrous

[ResinManiac]

Warm and spicy, which is nice for cold winter nights. The fruit present here makes this more varied than Dragon's Musk, but I still can't decide which is my favorite. More experimentation needed...

[JuliskaMarie]

I did a double review of this with my husband, since most of the Ars Draconis scents seem very unisex.

In the imp:
Me: Warm, smoked berries over dragon's blood resin. Almost like a type of port or other sweet red wine.
Him: Sweet, smoky, hint of bark.

Wet on skin:
Me: Minty & cold, but slightly smoky. Like a cold, recently-extinguished outdoor firepit in winter.
Him: Chemicals. Specifically cleaning chemicals.

Dry on skin:
Me: Warm, smoky berry port, but with an icy edge somehow (like you're outside in the cold, but the drink is warm).
Him: Gross cleaning chemicals, like carpet steam cleaning.

After a few hours:
Me: Faded. More resiny & musky now, but still a smoky, berry port.
Him: Faded, but still chemicals.

Verdict:
Me: Not something I'd wear frequently, but still really nice! It's very warm & comforting - something I can see myself wearing on lazy-days, when it's cold & wet outside & I'm snuggled up indoors. Reading over the lab's notes, I think the fig is what's giving me the "sweet wine/port" scent & the black musk must be the smokiness I keep getting.
Him: Absolutely would not wear this. (Me: This smells really gross on him! First scent we've tried on him that's actually gone bad!)

[sunqist]

Oh man. Oh no. This smells exactly like the perfume/lotion/candle aisle of the dollar store in my neighborhood. I'm sorry, Beth. I don't have a lot of experience with dragon's blood, but I suspect that its the magic ingredient that, combined with musks and aggressive fruit, is turning this into the signature scent for the young ladies in my neighborhood who don't dress appropriately for winter weather.

 

That said, if I didn't have the negative connotation, its quite lovely. Its warm without being spicy, and I would probably wear it quite a bit if it didn't make me feel like I was in a crazy eyebrow drawing contest with teenagers. Maybe I can start wearing it when I move.

[vanilla323]

This scent was a learning experience for me. I tried it after Blood Amber (not good) and Dragon's Milk (love) hoping I'd love it but...nope. The musks were too much I guess and overpowered everything. The fruit wasn't even that strong and I love the scent of currants so that was disapointing. It didn't have much throw or staying power either. A lot of the GC scents seem to be that way on me. And what I learned was so far only Dragon's Milk was the dragon's blood resin scent for me.

[Veronica]

This is all currant and red musk over dragon's blood. Sweet, syrupy and strong. Too much for me.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: An elegant, grown-up take on a sweet fruity scent - the musks and dragon's blood resin in the base really help to anchor it. However, I amp fruit like nobody's business, so here's hoping it stays like this instead of going way over the top!

 

Wet: Uh-oh. It's still sweet, but instead of the rampaging I AM FRUIT, HEAR ME ROAR!!! that I had feared, it's a synthetic, chemical sort of sweetness. It smells "perfumey", but not necessarily in a good way - like it's an alcohol-based perfume instead of an oil.

 

Dry: A fairly generic perfume, like something your mother-in-law would wear, or like you would find in an office. Inoffensive (sweet without being cloying, grown-up, spicy edge), but nothing too interesting, either. I think I'll either age it to see if it develops in an interesting direction, or keep it on hand when I need to smell professional and competent, but unobtrusive.

[tallan]

This is the Ars Draconis blend I've been interested in for the longest time, and I'm slightly scared to try it now because I've committed to Dragon's Milk (I own a bottle and another is on its way), and I'm not sure I have room for more than one AD scent in my heart. But, well. It's on now.

Wet: oh, this is pretty. Strong dragon's blood, with noticeable fruits. The musks take a while longer to show up, but round out the scent beautifully once they do. Annnd the fruits immediately hasten to leave the spotlight when that happens, leaving this a primarily DB and musk blend.

Dry: Yep, DB and musk. It's stronger and spicier than Dragon's Musk, though, without actually being spicy. Sharper is maybe a better word. It's good, I like it a lot, but it doesn't measure up to Dragon's Milk (what a relief), and isn't distinct enough to get to stay around anyway.

...I think.

...Okay, maybe-pile it is.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Dragon's blood and musk. The dragon's blood note is very strong.

 

Wet: Same. Dragon's blood dominates the blend, followed by the red musk note. I am not particularly fond of red musk, and was hoping to get more of the black musk out of this one. I can smell a bit of the fig and black currant notes, but they are not the main players in this one.

 

Dry: I prefer this stage of the scent. I'm getting more of the black musk now, and I get more of the fig now, but the red musk note is still too prominent for my liking, and I don't really like the combination of the dragon's blood and red musk.

 

Verdict: If you like dragon's blood and red musk, give this one a whirl. But I vastly prefer Dragon's Musk over this scent.

[radiantfracture]

A frimp from the lab. Thanks lab!

 

A deep orange oil that looked like iodine when I put it on.

 

This is a dry resin and red musk scent on me. I haven't tried dragon's blood before. I don't get the fruity or floral elements of the resin -- I get something very dry and powdery, with maybe just a very faint hint of the cherry scent around the edges. I love black currant and I like fig, but neither of those surface.

 

Wet, there were intimations of smoke and spice, but in drydown this goes from red musk tempered by black musk, to just sweet red musk, to a final state of metallic red musk, which doesn't work at all on me. My trouble is that I amp red musk, which, with my chemistry, makes me smell like a makeup counter. (Not a perfume counter, but the smell of lipstick and suchlike.)

[Edited to correct my impatience to make final determinations before full unfolding of the scent.]

Edited February 13, 2016 by radiantfracture

[LizziesLuck]

I tried this 10 years or so ago when I first started collecting BPAL. After testing it, I thought I hated Dragon's Blood (I wrote in my notes "Eeeeew Dragon!!") and avoided it ever since. I've begun retesting some things, and I've found I don't actually hate Dragon's Blood, so I am retesting this too, since the Lab frimped it to me.

 

Wet: Wow that's strong. Sweet, spicy,a bit fruity, a bit musky. I am actually really loving it. It fades in intensity really quickly though.

 

Dry: I quite like this. It's musk forward on me, the black and red blending together seamlessly. The DB is still evident as well, along with hints of fruitiness. I may need more of this. I love both red and black musk, and I think this is my favourite blend combining both.

[freyasfae]

Maybe its the musk, but this isn't as fruity on me as I anticipated, Dragon's blood tends to smell like violets on me, so it has a certain clean quality that surprisingly works well with the musks and fruit. Dragon's blood resin isn't my thing, but this is probably one i like more than most of the dragon's blood based scents that I have tried.

[Casablanca]

This goes on me as a punch of dry-cherry-ish dragon’s blood and red and black musks (about in that order of strength). Underneath, I pick up black currant and a somewhat Fig-Newtony fig.

 

As this starts to dry, incense rolls out, amping on me as it tends to in drydown. Not being a fan of the lab’s red musk, I like this phase better -- although the incense that rolls over the red musk also dulls most of the other notes. A little black musk hangs in with it, and just the softest fig-and-black currant mingling. The dragon’s blood rears up again once this has fully dried, and hangs out with the incense and musk.

 

The lab’s red musk doesn’t work with my chemistry and usually turns to a BO smell after a while, but I think the other notes are stronger this time, and I never get that. Still, I have other incense blends I enjoy more.

[Coldfire]

Imp: definitely dragon's blood and dark musk alrighty
Wet on Me: now the wee faint whisp of fig adds to the mix.
Drying Down: definitely the red and black musks and the ghost of fig.
Dry: the musks kept the dragon's blood from going all bug spray on me. pretty nice.

[Lucchesa]

I have to be in the right mood for dragon's blood. It's so strong and distinctive, and at times strikes me as cloying. The musks are a really nice addition, and the black musk stayed in line and didn't get all ugly on me, though it might have kept me from appreciating any fig or blackcurrant. I already find dragon's blood kind of fruity, so I think they just added to that sensation. I still like Dragon's Milk better, but this will be a nice choice on days when I want to feel powerful.

 

Where I would wear it: to the gym. On a hard hike or bike ride. To a meeting where I needed a little extra courage.