Mars

[fiddledragon]

Dynamic Energy - Lust - Enthusiasm - Resolution - Courage - Physical Strength - Mental Acuity - Comraderie - Engineering - Any Work With Metals - Victory - Conquest - War - Power - Domination - Military Matters - Daring Deeds

another from the implet planetary set sent me by the good zenvodunista.

The motto of this Mars is obviously "Make Love, Not War", which comes as a great surprise--but I love it. Mars and I have had a long, long love hate relationship (Aries Moon, 12th house Cancer Mars)--I am settling into adoration now.

This is Mars with flowers in his hair. This is Mars who is lolling about Venus's bedchamber, looking very muscular and all that--but really, far more into action in the bedchamber than in tromping off to slay enemies.

It's a version of Mars I enjoy a lot; Mars with a sense of humor, Mars with a sly grin and bedroom eyes.

...

Mars wafts distractingly. He'd have me in an instant.

This review utterly made my day!

On to my actual review...

Anyway, on me this is strong dragon's blood and musk. (It is, for the record, the '06 blend) The musk is very...I want to say animalistic, but that usually connotes sweat and wild fur and such. This musk, plus a slight metallic note, gives an almost blood-like overtone, which is highly appropriate, but here not at all offputting (unlike, say, Centzon Totochtin which smelled *exactly* like blood and hot stone on me and made me want to go scrub my hands from the inside). The dragon's blood is sweet without being cloying, and the musk is blended with it so beautifully that it's hard to tell them apart. The musk certainly doesn't go crazy on me like some do. There may very well be sandalwood in this, but I can't actually pick it out as a separate note. Now that it's fully dry I'm picking up a whiff of cinnamon and cloves, but again they don't go crazy like they often do.

I don't know how much it connotes Mars for me, but the notes in general are of a grounding, strengthening sort. It doesn't feel at all masculine...I may have to ambush my boyfriend at some point and see what it does on him. Given that I have a strong afinity for Athena, it's probably a good thing that this doesn't seem evocative enough of Mars to use it in any sort of ritual/meditative setting, as the two are not generally depicted as getting along well.

This blend is a lineup of all the notes that go crazy-strong on my skin, yet somehow they tame each other and produce this beautifully unified scent. That said, it's not something that I'm in love with enough on *me* to wear it every day, but it's certainly quite lovely. I'll probably decant off a couple imps for swappage to share the love, and keep the rest of the bottle.

[supremegoddessofall]

Smells like an Indian marketplace. Mostly spicy, with a hint of foody. Smells like cinnamon is in there somewhere, and probably dragon's blood, too.

[metaldog32]

Ahhh….Mars..how I wanted to love you so!!!

 

What can I say???? I am a water sign that finds fire signs and their attributes attractive. The planet of war..Mars..has always struck my fancy…after the Moon of course….because ot its promise of power, domination, courage and daring deeds…all the qualities that I find sexy. I had to have this celestial. SO…I scoured Ebay..and finally…I won a bottle..I was gleeful BEYOND belief. This was before it was re-released by the way.

 

The idea of it gave me goosebumps…to finally smell what VICTORY smelled like…POWER…DOMINATION…bring it ON baby!!!! Bring me to my knees!!!

 

Well…it did..just not in the way I had imagined.

 

Initial sniff from bottle: Trust me..I smelled this PLENTY of times..just to make sure I was sure about what I was smelling. It sort of reminded me of cinnamon…or maybe it’s dragon blood resin…whatever it is..it is kind of strong..kind of plant like..and not in a green grass sort of way…and it kind of reminds me of Blood Moon…which made me queasy….DARN. It smells hot…and as much as I want to love it…I can’t. I…I almost reject it..but I am stubborn..and decide to forge on.

 

Applied wet on skin: Not very happy right now..it’s overwhelmingly that note that makes me queasy…whatever it is..with hot metal…and ummm..is it cinnamon?? Spicy dragon’s blood??? This is really strong on me. I don’t get ANYTHING floral from this at all..which is amazing because BPAL’s Dragon Blood is all floral on me…am I missing something???

 

Couple of minutes on skin: I think on the tail end I register some sort of light floral…but up close it’s spicy notes still..and yes..I still have my queasy stomach to deal with..I wish I knew what it was..but whatever it is..it’s in Blood Moon as well. I don’t know if it is clove..but I usually play nice with cloves..if so..this clove doesn’t like me..it’s kind of herbal….and a bit dry…

 

Ughhh..maybe this has vetiver in it??? Vetiver doesn’t like me AT all..and I suspect that might be the culprit along with maybe cinnamon??? Argh…

 

Drying on skin: Hot/dry mélange of the above notes..and boy does this NOT let up.

 

Drydown: Still that aggressive duo of the cinnamon/spicy dragon’s blood and what I am assuming is vetiver. Softened but definitely still making its presence known.

 

Lasting power is 6+ hours with throw soft to moderate.

 

Bottom Line: Mars is one aggressive fragrance that I wanted to love but could not. It runs similarly to Blood Moon so if that worked for you this will make your toes curl. I hope to pass it on to someone who can love it the way it deserves to be..I myself cannot.

[asciident]

Wet: Fruit and spice.

 

First on: Dragon's blood and cinnamon, maybe something peppery. But something's softening the whole thing as well.

 

Dry: Cloves, dusty cinnamon (instead of red-hot kick-you-in-the-pants cinnamon), dragon's blood, which always gives me the smell of sweet, spicy cherries. Maybe something like sandalwood to smooth the whole thing out. Powerful, with a big throw, but not overwhelming. I'm glad I have a partial bottle!

[tinyvulture]

cinnamon, anise, and a very dry, dusty wood. sandalwood, maybe. and dragon’s blood too, judging from the bold red of the oil in the vial. its sweet spiciness pulls the other notes together. and i think there’s something dank and earthy and mossy, as well. it’s an undertone i can’t put my finger on. i don’t really get a ‘mood’ from this. that is, it’s not really evoking any particular images or feelings. it is what it is. it’s neat, but i’m not big on cinnamon.

[Trish]

The dragon's blood in this is dryer and more subdued than it normally is on me, with a rather nice peppery kick to it. There is some cinnamon and cloves, but it seems to be pepper which is the dominant spice to my nose. There's also a fair bit of dust, which I like. It reminds me of Aries 07, but without the honeysuckle and ginger, and quite a bit dryer. In fact I prefer this to Aries.

 

This barely changes on my skin at all, just the spices subdue over time. It lasts a fair while, although not as long as the Ars Draconis blends, and has average throw. I like this quite a bit and I'm very glad I got hold of a bottle!

[Nia]

Dragon's blood can go really bad or really good on me, depending on the rest of the ingredients. I feel a teensy bit of Cinnamon, serious loads of clove, and some Dragon's Blood: The Dragon from Mars. It smells like something very grand that died two or three thousands of years ago, like ruins in the desert.

[suki]

in the bottle: a hint of spice and a hint of Dragon's Blood. this is not an over-powering sort of scent.

 

wet on skin: more of the same, the two notes doing a fabulous dance across my skin, neither getting dominion over the other.

 

dry down: yep, it stays true. low throw, this keeps close to the skin.

 

in all: i was expecting something loud and bellowing from Mars, but it seems to be playing more with the sexy-fiery-yang energy-aggressor aspect. which suits me *just* fine!

 

 

[Sweetie666]

In the bottle - Clove, a little cinnamon, wood smoke

 

Wet - Woah Clove!!

 

Dry - Clove and maybe something a little floral...like violet.

 

Overall - Yummy but not a lot of throw. Not sure if this is a keeper.

[zankoku_zen]

Ah... Mars. You definitely have dragon's blood resin since that is all I can smell the spicy sweetness. And yet, you must also have some musk as you remind me to the Dragon's Musk I tried recently. And yes, perhaps a touch of cinnamon?

 

Alas, you are too much like the Ars Draconis blends to sway the heart and skin chemistry of someone like me.

[zombiewench]

I just managed to snag a bottle of this!

 

Spicy, a bit of cinnamon, a bit of clove, a bit of wood, and something...sweet? Powdery? I'm not sure yet. I like this one - but a little goes a very long way!

 

What I wasn't expecting was how I felt soon after I put this on - my sinuses cleared up, my senses felt clearer, I wanted to smile for no real reason, I felt relaxed, and my skin just felt alive. SO great after a very rough 2 weeks. I love it when I react to blends like that, it's always such a fun surprise!

[aphrodite]

In the bottle this was all dragon's blood resin, so I was hopeful. I received a decant of this in a bulk purchase from eBay, so when I applied it I wasn't actually aware of the properties it was said to contain. But I have been super up and bouncy today, which is in direct contrast to my state lately and even in contrast to how I woke up. This turned into a floral on me - there's a flower that I amp unpleasantly, I have yet to nail down which one, but that's what this turned into - but when I went to review it and saw how well the properties match my mood today, I decided I'll be keeping my decant. Maybe I'll hide it under something honey-scented next time, as I amp honey but in a gorgeous way and it might be a proper complement to this.

[TorchedEarth]

I love the red color of this oil.

I pretty much get cinnamon, clove, & carnation. The carnation is mostly in the bottle, it goes away on the initial dry down & then comes back later as the dominant note