Blood Amber

[purrbox]

Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin.

i could've sworn i already reviewed this... but i couldn't find it when i looked just now. maybe i am losing my mind? well if you see me here twice i apologize.

this smells like plain old amber to me. it's the smell of amber essential oil i use for scenting candles. i don't get any dragon's blood. it's nice, but it's very heavy, and not anything i want to wear in the summer. it becomes very cloying in the heat. for winter though, it's a good amber blend, but it does get a little powdery after an hour or so.

[Court Analyst/Strategist]

Nearly pure dragon's blood, from application onward. A bit of warmth from the amber rising underneath the dragon's blood note, but not enough for me. One of the good points however is that Blood Amber does last longer at a slightly stronger throw on my skin chemistry (for whatever reason that is) than the plain old Dragon's Blood blend so I will keep the imp.

 

6/10 (rating). I like dragon's blood, but generally prefer it mixed with several other notes....although if the amber had actually cooperated and stuck around this would probably be a 7.5/10.

 

Court

Edited June 27, 2006 by Court Analyst/Strategist

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Dragon's Blood and Amber

 

On me: Surprisingly light and sweet! I did NOT expect this! I was really thinking this scent would be dark and a bit overpowering on me, but it's fantastic. It appears that the amber has kept the dragon's blood from amping up too much on my skin.

 

It's a sweet scent on me, but the amber warms it considerably. It's just lovely!

 

Verdict: I really like this a lot. I'll have to give it a few more tries before I put it on my bottle wishlist, but it's really great.

 

Rating: 5/5

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i *heart* Dragon's Blood...

but for some reason the lab's Dragon's Blood and my skin just.... don't get along.

the Dragon's Milk is okay, so... i try this one.

 

and this is beautiful. the amber doesn't go all baby powder, instead smells more like how amber really actually smells, and the Dragon's Blood smells more like the resin i'm used to.

 

i've had this imp for months, and i can't believe i waited this long to try it!

this seems like it would be good for an everyday sort of scent, for days when smelling like dirt or coffins or miscellaneous odd things might not be the best.

 

i may or may not get a bottle, but i'll certainly get another imp when this one starts lookin' a little puny.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This is quite apt--I can smell both the dragon's blood and the amber resin.

 

Wet: This becomes very metallic on me; the slightly sharp turn of the dragon's blood makes me think of what Dragon's Hide (leather and dragon's blood) would have been without warming notes. Given that amber is a warm note, I'm surprised by this particlar reaction.

 

Drydown and wear: This just disappeared after approximately 15 minutes. Simply vanished...if the test spot on my arm wasn't red (this oil is like Dragon's Milk in that it is a bit viscous and takes some time to sink in) I don't think I would have been able to find it. What I can detect is very faint dragon's blood. I'm afraid this one is off to swaps.

Edited June 29, 2006 by The_Merf

[theseagrows]

this is the first dragon's blood scent that i like thus far. i really only went for this one because i love amber, and want to try anything with prominent amber in it. luckily, the amber takes over and smells lovely, and there is just a slight smoky-sweetness in the background of dragon's blood.

[Eunice]

Yummy amber! There is something crisp and bright in this this that keeps the amber from being too overwhelming. Maybe a white flower since those seem to be lighter and cleaner and lighter. Blood Amber is not what I expected and better than I had imagined.

[sofiaviolet]

I had high hopes for Blood Amber, but I was yet again foiled by amber. It always becomes very faint on my skin, and all the other notes with it. I simply can't give this an objective review because I can barely smell it.

[lilfaerywingz]

In the bottle: pretty much smells like amber and a bit musky

 

Wet on skin: the amber scent turns more into something that reminds me of incense

 

Dry down: Plain and simple: my skin made it turn to powder

[urbanruralferal]

I don't know what happened with this oil, it's almost like it an entirely different oil on me, nothing at all like the descriptions here. Perhaps I haven't tried many of the Dragon's Blood blends....

 

I couold barely smell the amber in this. In fact, I don't know what exactly I was smelling, but almost as soon as this went on, it started amping and accelerating in a most jasmine-y way. It had the same edge that jasmine has on my skin, and the same ultimately soapy quality, and boy did it ever last! I could still smell it clearly on my wrist after 14 hours!

And I tell you, only for about 15 minutes (maybe an hour into the test) could I smell the amber. Skin chemistry is so weird.

 

This did not turn out to be the ultimate amber that I was hoping for, but you know, as always, I am glad to try!

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Smells like Dragon's Blood and Amber all right.

 

On the wrist: The amber definitely tempers the Dragon's Blood in this blend.

 

Final Analysis: I am not a fan of Dragon's Blood, so I am not entirely sure what I was thinking when I put this on my wishlist. Great smell if you are a fan, but not for me. Off to the swaps.

[finecurvedhips]

first whiff - so THAT's what dragon's blood smells like? oh, and a hint of amber-ish-ness, too.

 

on me - oh my, this is nice. not too sweet, not too sharp or complex. this makes me feel mysterious, like people might get a whiff of me as i walk by and ponder who i am and what i'm up to.

 

i think i'm smitten.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - The sharp metallic take of dragon's blood resin.

 

Wet on me - The floral tinge dragon's blood resin sometimes has, backed by something thicker, which I guess is the amber.

 

Dry on me - The slightly metallic tang of the dragon's blood resin is warmed and made golden by the amber, drying to a sweet golden syrup.

 

Overall - I love the final dry down, but in general I find the dragon's blood resin overpowering.

[forspecial_plate]

Blood Amber is a shifter on me. First of all let me say that Dragon's Blood doesn't last long on me. My skin seems to suck it right up. Blood Amber, well, it's pretty simple really. To me it smells just like dragon's blood resin and amber. Starting out it's dragon's blood and sharp amber. To me, amber has a kind of medical smell before it warms up. It's sort of like cinnamon or clove. Anyway, in Blood Amber, at first the amber is dominant. Then there is a brief period where the amber warms up and blends nicely with the dragon's blood. After a short while the dragon's blood fades a whole lot, as predicted. So what's left is amber that is sort of flavored with DBR. It's a nice smell, and I'll hold onto the imp just to experiment some more and see if I can play with it, mix it with moisturizer, make it last longer, or just make the DBR last longer.

[ND¢]

In the bottle: Flowery and sharply sweet.

 

On me: Sickly sweet jasminey smell that keeps getting sharper and sweeter the longer I wear it. Oh, dear.

[Dinerdulcinea]

Meh.

 

imp: fruity sweet amber

wet: same, but I am afraid it will go baby powder on me...

dry: after several hours, it never really changes, just gets softer. It doesn't ever become the "dreaded baby powder," but it never really becomes gorgeous either. It is OK, but nothing for me to scream about. I'll reserve that for other blends.

 

Swaps.

[PilotKitten]

Hrm... this one is one of the seemingly rare amber scents that don't turn to powder on me. With the blood note I guess I was expecting a more coppery note but this is definitely more reminiscent of dragon's blood. Tempered and toned down though, not as fiery as it normally is in BPAL blends. Perfectly captured and held in check by the smooth golden amber. A wonderful scent for amber lovers who sometimes get tired of all the bright and happy amber scents... this one isn't all depressing and moody, but definitely more "darker" than an amber usually is.

[gypsifire]

i absolutely love this scent. amber usually becomes very cloying to me, but the dragons blood has toned it down to make it absolutely wearable. does fade slightly.

[Dinerdulcinea]

imp: I smell a sweet mildly spicy fruity-ness.

 

wet:same, but I think it will turn to baby powder on me.

 

dry: OK...it's been several hours and it never turned to baby powder on me as I feared it might...but it never really changed. It's kind of...meh. Not bad, not great...meh.

[cinderfallen]

This scent turned me in a marble.

 

...a round, resinous, yet slightly juicy. marble.

 

It was disconcerting, and so I swapped it away.

[MoonlightGdess]

I *love* the smell of this scent. I'm still unfamiliar with notes, but I'm fairly certain it's the amber that comes out in here. Reminds me a bit of hunger, oddly enough.

 

However, dry=powder, and I'm very upset over that. It doesn't stay sweet or spicy long enough, just powder. But, as Scylla put it:

 

 

I am not kidding -- on drydown I smell like the car of an old man who chainsmokes cigars!

 

I had to quote this... because I tested it on my boyfriend while I was reading the forums, and it smelled NOTHING like it did on me, and when he saw this line he pointed at the screen and said, "Yes! That's what I smell like!" and washed it off.

 

So that's 0 for 2...

Edited November 11, 2006 by MoonlightGdess

[sterlingspider]

drydown: Surprisingly spicy and resinous with a sweet cherry overtone, extremely potent

 

Dryer: strong rich amber with a sweet undertone.

 

I really was not expecting to do so well with the dragon's blood, but ultimately this was not for me. I just know I'm not going to wear it, and so it will circulate onwards.

[Antaria]

Okay, I read the description of Blood Amber and decided that I never ever want this scent. Well ... one good BPAL-fairy placed it in my package anyway. I ignored the imp for months.

 

Yesterday I felt brave and tried it out - and fell in love!

 

What a beautiful warm, golden-red scent! I felt comfortable all the day and my colleagues may think I'm crazy because I was sniffing at my wrists every 2 minutes. Had only one disadvantage: I wanted to eat cake all the day! Somehow this warm scent made me think that cake would be appropiate ...

 

Did you reade "The perfum" written by Patrick Sueskind? It's about a man who wants to create the most perfect parfum (unfortunatly he has to kill young women for that) from which you only need one drop to be adored and loved by everyone. (By the way: I think this isn't a goood book ... the story is sooooo boring and from my point of view it isn't even technically well written - but there will be a lot of people who disagree with me - there is even a movie made based on this book and there was a pretty big hype for this book and movie) But what I wanted to say: While reading the book I got a certain idea of what this parfum would smell like - and found it in Blood Amber.

 

So - a scent I never wanted and a book I'd never read again brought me to my biggest 5ml wish: Blood Amber!

[Christine Daae]

Frimp from the lab! (I got a million with my most recent order.)

 

In the bottle: Sweet, slightly...floral? I haven't tried a whole lot with Dragon's Blood or amber, so you'll have to forgive me.

 

Wet: Ohhh, that must be the amber. Very warm and sultry, with that little bit of floral sweetness underneath. I swear, floral. I don't know why.

 

Drydown: This is less floral, more warm and yummy on the drydown. Very golden-red, as people have noted. This is almost honeyed to me. I like. But then it goes almost fruity on me, and fruit + me (in general) = ew, so...I don't know.

 

Verdict: I'm not sure if I like this enough to hang on to it. I wanted to like amber more, but it's not doing much for me!

[supremegoddessofall]

Dragon's blood and amber and oh so pretty! I wish I had a bath product that smelled like this. Lightly spicy, but not overwhelming.