Dracul

[hecate_jones]

Named in honor of Vlad III, Tepes, of the Order of the Dragon. Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom.

Very ah, 'Christmas tree' in the bottle, to me. Since I got this as a frimp with an order and sort of casually sniffed, my first thought was "oooh, just right for the season".
My thoughts on the matter changed the day day when my husband came in, stuck and arm under my nose and I wanted to bite him. I asked "What in the world is that? It's fantastic."

*Not* so Christmas-tree on, at all. I immediately ran off to try it, and it's not quite as nice on me, but it's lovely. I can't identify any real single notes when it's on skin, they all blend so nicely. It's a citrus-y, evergreen wood sort of smell, with lovely, warm, dark undertones that for some reason almost makes me hungry. Go figure.

Reminds me a bit of Mad Hatter, but darker and warmer. Not quite as much staying power, either, but lasted strongly for about 9 hours. Definitely getting a 5ml of this one.

[Browneyes]

This is a really cool, no-nonsense smell on me. Masculine and confident. I can imaginge wearing it to complement a white button down shirt, black tailored trousers, brogues... it's the anti-thesis of coquette, red nail polish and heels.

 

Dry this settles down to a sweet-ish orange blossom kept in check by the fir-tree, tobacco, musk and spices notes.

(I sometimes omit the different stages, because I'm still quite new at this: uneducated nosie. anyways, Dracul didn't seem to morph much either)

 

Not much throw, so I may eventually want a bottle to slather with

[eanewsom]

Wet, I get the heavy musk and a hint of cumin and orange blossom. No clove. On and dry, it fades into a solemn, pine incense sort of scent. I love it, but it's not something I'd wear regularly, it's just too ritual-smelling for daily wear for me. I still have to pin down the chappie and see what it does on him.

[juniperus]

Bottle: fir, sweetened, but no other notes prominent

Wet: I can catch the mint, and the orange blossom, in addition to the evergreeniness.

Dry: the clove has stepped up to join the fray, and the musk beneath. very interesting.

Later: the tobaccois doing on me what it tends to do on me, but I have liked it up to this point so I'll be trying it on Brian to see if he can wear it without amping the baccy.

[impadua@aol.com]

Dead Sexy! (sorry for the pun ) Very Masculine, classy but a little dangerous. I could sniff this all day. Definitely a man's scent, and I would definitely put the bite on the man wearing it! (Oh, Stop it already!)

 

Makes me feisty too, apparently....

[forspecial_plate]

What I mostly get from Dracul is very spicy orange blossom. Strangely, I smell a strong hint of cayenne pepper, which I guess could be the clove and cumin playing tricks on my nose. The rest of the notes give little brief hints of themselves, for the most part...the mint, fir, black musk, and tobacco...it's all there. Something about the scent is a little stale or dusty on me, a problem that I'm finding with more and more scents. In this case I feel like it's the tobacco that's causing the problem. It's not horrible, just not a scent that's working well with my skin. It doesn't change or morph much at all, except the spiciness fades a little and the sweetness of the orange blossom gets stronger with time.

 

edit: Hmm, later on..like more than an hour later...all the notes finally come together into something that I do really like. The scent hasn't changed, really, it just finally decided to cooperate with my skin. It's still spicy orange-y with musk. I like it enough now to hold onto maybe, and try again at least once or twice.

 

edit again: This is yet another scent that I've grown to really enjoy. I will be getting a whole bottle at some point. : )

Edited August 10, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[anowyn]

I'm reviewing for my boyfriend; I bought this scent for him as an early V-day present.

 

IN BOTTLE: Overwhelming mint! It sneaks into my nose and creeps into my throat and lingers there. I almost imagine it like a ghostly hand wrapping around my neck, squeezing with its minty strength.

 

FIRST APPLIED: Minty again, and pine's starting to seep in. My boyfriend says it's very dark compared to Jolly Roger on the other wrist.

 

DRY-DOWN: "It smells like Christmas!" he says. "One wrist is Florida, the other is Christmas." No cumin in sight (or smell) fortunately.

 

Dracul smells like a burning coffin, or a castle in the forest on fire. Something like that. "Fire" is what I think of, though it doesn't really have any fire in it. The mint has subdued nicely and the pines, tobacco, and musk are coming out to play. I'm glad he likes it Definately a manly scent.

[Ciircee]

I smell like somebody who has been smoking in the kitchen when I wear it. Mr. Circe smells like a gentleman who's been out for an evening stroll. Needless to say, I find this to be a masculine scent!

[Medici]

In the imp: Clove, balsam and *gurglegurglegurgle* pornographic content.

 

Wet: Very woodsy, smoked-out, sultry and decidedly masculine.

 

Drydown: Wonderfully spiced, warm and commanding - a touch of citrus peeks out, though I can't for the life of me find any mint in this. It's definitely woodsy, with a hint of spice and just the right amount of allure to make this blend dead sexy.

 

5/5 on Medici's Scale o' Lurrve

[mspixieears]

Almost masculine, balsam-fir beginning with something like sandalwood and even a touch of sweet cinnamon (that must be the clove). There isn't actually sandalwood listed in the notes for this fragrance so it could be the black musk I'm picking up? The notes mingle very well together. Because it was so strong, I only applied once on each wrist in case later it threatened to be overpowering. This would do well as a unisex fragrance, and might even be suited to men more. It fades down to a nice, sandalwood-powder type scent - nice but not as amazing as some similar such scents I've tried thus far.

[kisha]

This is my first review, and although I have no idea what most of the notes smell like on their own, I'm gonna tell it like I smell it!

 

I recieved this as a freebie from an ebay win...

*First sniff - I can definitely smell something kind of like pine (guessing the fir??? Correct me if I'm wrong.) and slightly orangy and minty. I can smell other notes, but I have no idea what they are, but they're good! (Man do I love first sniffs!)

 

I put just a touch of this on dh. WHOA BOY!!! Those unknown notes come flying to the front while the minty orange takes a back seat. I like! It has a VERY strong throw on him and lasts forever. I'm trying it on me for the first time today and we must have similar chemistry. (I made the imp into a cologne for him with perfumers alcohol and it didn't change a thing.) Actually I think it's stronger on me than him! I'm going to have to get a bottle of this!

 

I'm going to give this one an A-

[Rock Geisha]

In bottle: This is a very green scent--all pine and mint.

Wet: Still that fir and balsam smell, with a hint of citrus. A little tobacco.

Drydown: It dries down to a scent that reminds me of Old Spice but brighter and more open.

 

Overall, this is a pleasant scent but it's a little too manly for me.

[hipslike___cinderella]

I am writing this review in regards to sniffing off of my boyfriend... but I'm beginning to think I have s special thing for black musk, and might steal this one for myself.

 

Black musk bases this blend, with middle notes of balsam, orange blossom, and tobacco, and delicious top swirls of clove and mint. With my boyfriend's chemistry, it's an equal, musky muddle of black musk and orange blossom; the clove rings wonderfully in the beginning, drops to the background, and is only hinted at in the fade-out stages. In my opinion, this is both sexual and gender neutral. In the end, orange blossom reigns supreme, but it is dark and murky... an evil orange blossom, if you will. This is lovely, although I'm sad to see the cloves and spices evaporate. I ought to try this one on myself, as my boyfriend's skin simply EATS UP oils right away; plus, I can't help thinking of this as a spicy and slightly flirtatious cousin of Minotaur... and that makes me very happy.

[taramarie]

Dracul is definitely the kind of scent that I never would have bought on my own (the idea of black musk and tobacco together was a definite turn off and I've been burnt by clove before), so I'm glad the Lab gifted me with an imp.

 

In the imp, I smelled mostly the tobacco. On my skin, sure enough, the clove burned, but not much and certainly not enough to make me wash it off. The sensation went away once Dracul dried. Now, I smell fir, maybe a little tobacco, and the musk. I like it but it's very masculine and not really me. I'll pass Dracul on but I'm glad he came my way first.

[Miseraya]

In the imp: Masculine, foresty. Fir. Something reminiscent of Hurricane, an ozone note? Mint?

 

On the wrist: Sharp and clear scent. Definitely getting a mint note. Mint, mint and fir. Possibly a little mint. Oh and a hint of...musk. (Ha, you thought I was going to say mint!)

 

Dry: Getting the musk now, and the tobacco as well. It's mellowed out quite a bit, it's no longer so crisp and clear. But the fir and the mint (oh, the mint!) are still very present. This is a very masculine and aggressive scent to my nose. It's also a very evocative scent, makes me think of wet forest nights. I didn't get any of the cumin, clove or orange blossom in this. Not bad, but not me and definitely not the boy. To the swaps.

[batsy]

In the vial: Yeah, that's a complex mix. Musk, fir, mint. It's kinda spicey.

 

On the skin: It reminds me of Jabberwocky actually. All fir and mint. As it dries down, the orange blossom begins to pop heavy, mixed with the black musk before I suddenly smell Fruit Loops. What is with everything smelling like Fruit Loops on me?! Yup, orange Fruit Loops. Argh. It's honestly a male-y scent, if you get past the Fruit Loops. I actually like it, contrary to the five minutes of smelling like kiddie cereal before moving into another phase. I'd keep it.

[Styx]

Dracul

dark orange oil

 

Imp: Smells cool and green, like being in a forest, and bitter.

 

Skin: Not bitter, but sweet. The mint is not sharp but glowing. Its quite a refreshing scent, very clear.

Its a fir forest in a bottle, with all the other notes there to accessorize the fir.

As it dries the spices come up more, I especially get the clove.

After half a day, the mint fades and a musky, spicy, woody scent remains.

 

I like the way the mint works in this one, its just right. Cool and breezy.

Its a guys scent, in a sporty way.Smells like someone who would play golf.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Shollin

[zankoku_zen]

In the imp: Menthol and clove

 

On Skin: Menthol, perfume and spicy. I can definitely smell the clove.

 

On Skin on Him: Upon immediate application, it smells mostly like camphor (probably the menthol) and cloves. After a few minutes, it morphs to what he describes as either a mixture of Old Spice and CK or an old lady that is wearing Avon's Black Suede

 

On Drydown: Very much more perfumey, slightly bitter, and I get the same note of fir that I get from Hexennacht.

 

On Drydown on Him: He said it smelled like Old Spice on a lady, slightly feminine.

 

Verdict: I didn't get this blend for me, but for him. This is definitely not something he fancies wearing and I'm not sure I fancy him wearing it either. It doesn't work with either of our skin chemistries. Ah, off to swaps with you!

[aine]

I adore Dracul - it's a Top Ten GC for me and an oil I wear regularly. The notes are blended so seamlessly it has a real sense of chocolatey smoothness even though it is not chocolatey in the slightest.

 

The black musk, tobacco and balsam of peru provide a delicious warm roundness on which the clove, mint and orange stand and attract attention. Nothing sharp or dominating in this blend, even the clove is smooth.

 

It's like standing close enough to a gorgeous man in a nightclub to realise that he smells clean, sexy and warm. Mmmmmm.....

[Ceasg]

This is touted as a masculine scent, so I chained my husband do-- err, asked him nicely to try it on for me.

 

In the imp: very fresh, the fir and a resinous scent are the most prominent notes.

 

On him, the fir and resin remains but the sweet clove takes the front seat and a faint citrus tang develops. It sweetens up his skin very nicely and freshens him up for hours. He seems to like it alright too, but he tends to be noncommittal when it comes to perfumes. I can appreciate it though, and the only reason I wouldn't wear it on myself is because I'm not a huge fan of piney scents. Maybe for him if he doesn't have any qualms about it.

[funkmoppet]

I am SO ready to love Dracul. Musk, balsam, orange blossom, clove - sounds like a good time!

 

And god it so almost is. In the imp, it's musky balsam. Yum! Straight on the skin is gorgeous orange blossom. More yum!

 

Then WHOOSH! The mint amps faster than I can sniff and just hangs around like a jerk at a party. The mint in this is quite maddening. Underneath, there's man sex. I can SMELL it. There's a perfect mix of all those aforementioned notes, all smoothing out into a breathy masculine waft that's SO good... but the goddamn mint is there bouncing about in front obscuring my view.

 

The mint is ruining this for me. It's like Mr Sexy Dracul has just brushed his teeth and is standing in his jim-jams all tuckered out after a hot mug of Horlicks.

 

[jsn]

Smells alot like spiced rum (capt morgan!! not the cheap stuff), Mint, and dirt all mixed together. Undead royalty for sure. This is very very nice. Dark, regal, and respectable all at the same time. The throw could be be alot better. 1-10 i'd say an 8. My fav so far next to white chapel.

[poisons_sanity]

To me this smells like a dark warm musky mint.

[aquazoo]

Chocolatey goodness! It’s chocolate with maybe a shade of mint and lots of sugar.

[Christine Daae]

I open the imp and my mind goes "Christmas !" I take a closer sniff and I get "orangey Christmas!"

 

Wet on, the pine jumps out first, with the mint close behind. This, I fear, will be far too masculine for me.

 

As it dries, I get a bit more sweetness underneath, with the clove coming up a little bit more. Eventually it turns into one of those little green pine air fresheners shaped like trees that you hang in your car. But nicer, obviously. My chemistry obviously just doesn't agree with this one.

 

Will put it up for sale or swaps, eventually!