Dracul

[starfish327]

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.

frimped to me as part of a lovely swap gift

in the imp: this promising. it's...moody. i don't know how else to describe this. this is all the dark notes that are listed- the musk, the fir, the tobacco, a hint of cumin. (i've never worn the lab's cumin note and it really does smell cumin-y. i don't know why that surprises me).

wet: the same as in the imp, and my nose is trying to tell me that this is erich zhan. this is a very good thing since zahn is one of my holy grail scents and of course it's been dc'd (the story of my life in bpal lol). this has mint where zahn has vetiver though.

dry: yep. this is erich zahn on my skin just without that heavy smoke element. i don't get any orange blossom (at least with this application). it does start fading into the incense feel that people have been talking about but that's truly not a bad thing.

ding ding ding we may have another contender in my hunt to replace erich zahn!

[Redillon]

In the imp: A cologne that has a slight whiff of mint and citrus, but a cologne none the less. I like it.

 

On the skin: CUMIN! Blah. Cumin and my skin do not mix. It smells a bit sour, like it wants to really turn to a funky cat-pee smell. I get some fir but not much. It's wrestling with the cumin and the cumin is winning!

 

Dry Down: The sourness is GONE, thank god, but it's starting to turn waxy smelling on me like a lot of scents do. I'm glad I tried it, but it's not for me. I'm sure someone will love this little imp!

[SophieCedar]

Intriguing! This starts out as menthol woodiness in the imp and when applied. I can see that this would deter some right away...

 

Ultra morpher! The wood starts to come out and sweeten. Then the orange blossom and clove took over! I can detect a bit of cumin but it's getting clouded. Overall pretty nice!

[lunchboxmonkey]

This is definitely a dark, spicy scent. Tobacco, sweetened by clove, and a slight minty bite. I'm not getting any cumin, just a dark, sweet, sticky scent. Perfect for the namesake, I'm certain-sure holding on to this imp

[ModderRhu]

Dracul

This is...Christmasy. o_O
It really is. It's nice though! Pine, orange, and clove dominate in the imp and wet on my skin. After a while, the tobacco comes out to join them. Hours after drydown it is still very strong with a VERY heavy throw. Spicy oranges are quite pronounced through all the stages. A very masculine scent.

4 out of 5

*This was frimped to me from the Lab! Edited April 12, 2010 by ModderRhu

[mari4212]

On wet: Oh, gross. The tobacco note is dominant, with a bit of pine and mint underneath. I really don't do well with tobacco, and right now it smells like nasty cigarettes. Luckily the scent isn't wafting much, I can keep my wrists down and see if the drydown improves anything. Antikytheria Mechanism drys down into something nice and wearable, so there's hope for the tobacco note not completely killing this blend on me.

 

Five minutes into drydown: Well, the tobacco note is gone, at least. Unfortunately, what's left is pine, mint, orange, and a hint of random "perfumey" note. And it's, well, have you ever brushed your teeth with a mint toothpaste and then taken a sip of orange juice too soon afterwards? That utterly foul taste combination that just makes you gag? Yeah, that's what's hitting my nose. Erg. At least it's still not wafting much. I'll scrub it off when I go and do dishes.

 

Swaps box material.

[hkhm]

imp: musk, basam of peru and fir.

 

wet: minty pine over musk. i rather like this.

 

dry: this dries to a very rich musk scent. there is pine but it is really a supporting scent here.

[mymymai]

In the Bottle: Very heavy fir, some mint, and a faint spice.

Wet: Fir, mint, musk, balsam and a little clove. My husband likes it, so that's a huge plus.

Dry Down: I'm starting to get tobacco and cumin mixed with fir and mint. It's very sultry.

Dry: Tobacco mixed perfectly with fir, mint, and spice. It's deliciously dark and I think I will need a bottle of this!

[Dark Alice]

So out of curiousity I pulled this out of my swap box and tried it. All I can say is that this is pretty damn amazing. This is what Dracul would smell like.

 

I imagine that this is what Eric would smell like before he was turned Definitely better on a man. The fir, mint, and black musk blend together to give it a chilly earthy smell. Pretty damn amazing this is indeed.

[mxtine]

This was frimped from the Lab, otherwise I would have never tried it from reading the notes. It smelled a little like root beer in the imp, kind of like Antikythera Mechanism. On my skin, I smelled teak which is not listed in the notes..could that be the balsam and orange blossom? I get an orangey tang smell from this just like I with with Antikythera, but it's less masculine with a balanced spice cookie sweetness from the clove. I love this imp, and may need a bottle because the name is so cool.

[calivianya]

In the imp, this smells mostly of pine.

 

Wet: I'm getting the pine, clove, and mint, mostly. A couple other things I can't pick out very well.

 

Dry: Much the same as when wet; this doesn't morph on me.

 

This is indeed a very masculine blend, and it's definitely something to try out on the boyfriend whenever he lets me. It's so funny - my initial reaction was that I absolutely couldn't stand it, bu I think my nose was broken that day. Today, however, I do enjoy it as I think about smelling it on someone else. It is not something I will ever wear again, though. It's just not me.

[symbiosis]

Just have a few things to say about Dracul. Tried this one out on my boyfriend as it goes rather flat on me. (Just a slightly sweet incense smell.)

 

It smells AMAZING on him - like bury-your-nose-deep-in-the-crook-of-his-neck-and-inhale-and-this-is-how-you-will-remember-him.

 

This is definitely a favorite for him - his first BPAL scent ever too! I know I didn't get mine right on the first try, but he seems to have a knack for that

[dicyfer]

When I first smelled this in the imp, I thought, "meh." It was very complex, but nothing stood out to me.

Then I actually tried it a few weeks later and whoa! This is actually very nice. I love the combination of the tobacco, musk, and mint. Everything complements each other. I'm a little concerned that everyone is saying this is a masculine sent--I could definitely see myself wearing this a lot. I like the bit of metallic vibe I'm getting. Over all, I could go for a bottle!

[ljaylh]

Hmm.. I was expecting something dark and sinister but seductive with Dracul - but instead, when this first hits my skin I get minty orange disinfectant. Where's the black musk, the clove, the tobacco, fir and balsam? Who knows!!

 

OK.. ten minutes in, and things improve. The mint dried off surprisingly quickly, which allowed the orange blossom to come out nicely. So now I've got a pretty tasty orange-y clove-y thing going on, and the black musk is starting to creep in.

 

Alas.. a few minutes after I was just starting to like Dracul, the mint comes back! And now I can really smell the fir.. but it's gone back to that kind of 'disinfectant' smell. And it stays like that pretty much from this point forward. This really just isn't working on my skin at all

 

Three hours later, I can barely smell where I applied the oil. I'm left with a very very faint musk on my skin, but there's really no fragrance - it's just a dry generic muskiness. So unfortunately Dracul will be going to live with someone else.

[Ella LaRose]

I like this for my husband. The first thing I smelled was the pine, sweet earthy pine tree. and it was strong too. This is a scenbt that mnakes me want to nuzzel and relax on him, and one that he likes, he thinks it smells earthen, foresty and clean, which suits him.

[rhetoricians]

Pine and mint!? Two of my favorite smells - I don't know why I hadn't heard of it until now! I am in BPAL love - Pine amps on my skin very well without being too much, and the mint just adds enough to be interesting. When dry it smells almost vanilla - that must be the black musk? I want to put it on my boyfriend, but I want to wear it myself more! Mmmm, I want to roll up in this smell and go to sleep.

Edited May 6, 2011 by rhetoricians

[KittyHawk]

Imp: Pine and clove! Very warm and inviting.

 

Wet: Every listed note is noticeable on my skin; this could be the perfect masculine/neutral. I get a thatched wooden cottage deep in the winter woods with a pie baking in the oven and a swirl of pipe smoke in the air.

 

Dry: This is one of the only fragrances I've ever tried that doesn't morph upon drydown. This is so evocative of my childhood it's bringing a tear to my eye.

 

This is such a fantastically complex fragrance; it reminds me of walking through the woods in the winter with my dad. Actually, this reminds me of my dad at Christmas. It's surprisingly comforting--the tobacco, fir, clove and light floral are a perfect combination, but certainly not for summer. I really enjoy wearing this myself, but I think this may warrant a bottle purchase as a gift for him. I never expected to LOVE this, but I do!

[jkfagtongpun]

In the imp: very interesting - very excited about having ordered this one!

 

Wet on skin: one very fleeting moment of musk then FIR. All fir.

 

About an hour later: some of the other notes started coming through but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was I was smelling but it reminded me of something mixed with FIR.

 

Then I realised, it reminds me of the way my dad's car smelled on the inside when I was a kid. I blame him for it not working on me! Damn it dad!

[Teaotter]

Wet: Spicy musk

 

Drydown: The spice resolves itself to clove, and a smoky note comes out. Some tobacco, but I would have sworn there was khus in here, too.

 

Dry: I keep huffing my wrists, I love this sooooo much! This is definitely dark and musky, but the spice and the tobacco keep it just sweet enough, and the hint of mint reminds me of the chocolate mint note in WILF, which is one of my favorites. I don't really get anything floral out of this, just that bit of sweetness that blends into the rest of it.

 

Absolutely one of my favorite GC blends!

[achromance]

Clove and I are mortal enemies, but the other notes tempted me to try Dracul. Maybe it won't be so overpowering this time. Fingers crossed?

 

In the vial: So far so good. I'm picking up a hefty fir with some musk and spices.

On my wrist: How weird; this is turning soapy on me. My skin only tends to secrete the lackluster powdery scent with florals, saffron and amber, so I'm not sure what's going on here. The balsam of peru and orange blossom, perhaps? It doesn't help that the clove is giving me a mean kick in the esophagus. Oh Dracul, I really wanted to like you! Maybe this is a sign to start snubbing clove completely.

[KindKit]

In the imp: I don't get much, just musk and an almost-citrusy topnote. Wet on my wrist, the cloves pop out like crazy, but other notes emerge too: the fir and balsam and an occasional sweet hint of the orange blossoms. It's complex and great. After about 10-15 minutes the fir and balsam fade somewhat and the cloves are very dominant, with the tobacco emerging in the background. It gets a little sweeter as it dries, but keeps the complexity. I never did smell the mint or cumin, though. It's possible the mint merged with the piney notes and the cumin with the darker notes. I'm still very new to this and am only just learning to distinguish particular notes; also, I'm not sure of the age of the decant I have, and if it's older some of the more fragile notes may have disappeared. I do like it a lot, and at some point I may order a fresh imp direct from the Lab to see if there's any difference.

[Viridian]

In the imp and wet on skin this smells syrupy, edible, and a little musky.

 

Almost immediately I get the mint, but still that dark syrupy feel underneath - maybe the tobacco and the orange giving that impression. It's yummy at this stage, and there's something reminiscent of Death on a Pale Horse, to me - something about the mint-citrus-musk. It's like Death's darker sibling.

 

The mint doesn't last at all, nor the orange blossom. It becomes musk and something woody. Still warm and kind of comforting, but a little more masculine. I'd probably enjoy this on my husband. The clove is just an undertone on me - I get a hint of a pleasant spice (I love clove!) underneath, which might also be contributing to the initial semi-foody sense I get from this scent.

 

Verdict: if I can't get my husband to like it, maybe I'll use the rest of my imp as a linen scent for my sheets; it's somehow really comforting. I want to snuggle under a fluffy blanket with this scent.

[ShannonElisabethJones]

The tobacco just doesn't agree with me. It turns the orange blossom into this weird root-beer-y mess. I thought maybe my BF would like it but no luck. Off to swaps!

[karykeion]

It's not like I didn't love this at first, but it's growing on me more now. It's very nice, but it felt as if it didn't really fit me. Now, though? Hell yes, I smell like the sexiest, most comfortable spice cabinet.

 

In the imp: Warm, slightly sweet (I guess that's the orange blossom), piney, and spicy. Yes please.

 

On me, wet: OOH. Dark, spicy, I can smell the clove and cumin and I swear to god it smells like SEXY SPICE CABINET, which is great because "spice cabinet" is right up there with petrichor on the list of things I would love to smell like. I don't smell the mint, really, either on me or in the imp, but I do get the fir and I recognize balsam of Peru from 93 Engine. This is amazing. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing perfume, really; I feel like some unbelievable adventure took me through the forest and into the arms of a dashingly attractive but slightly sinister character, and then I made an amazing dinner and now this is what I smell like as a result.

 

On me, dry: Yep. Perfect. I basically smell like spicy sweet wood and also darkness, and I want to go engage in a battle of wits with a secret agent and then kill a bunch of zombies or something.

 

Oh! Best Friend says it smells "like Renfaire without the dust and sweat". I may get a bottle now!

Edited January 17, 2012 by karykeion

[stellamaris]

My true love, black musk, I find you here with Pine, also one of my amours, and minty mint. I love you...

This one is really good, and doesn't smell too boy. It's nice and fresh piney, but with other things running around so it's not a single note forest.