Opening the bottle gets me straight pine pitch, and applying to some paper lets it breathe and become a more complicated scent with the dragon's blood. The clove starts to peek out and the dragon's blood isn't quite distinguishable as a separate scent, but it does add some depth to the pine pitch scent. It's very aggressive but I do like it, and it does a great job being a spicy conifer scent without remotely evoking Christmas. The clove starts to creep up a little but it's most detectable when you put your face right to it. That said, it does tend to burn my sense of smell out pretty fast.
Applied to my skin, the pine pitch vanishes in under 30 seconds, and the clove amps overwhelmingly. The dragon's blood isn't detectable and it smells exactly like clove candy for a couple hours, after which it smells remarkably like a Hot Topic store circa 2005 (could still smell like that, but I haven't been in one for ages). That might be the dragon's blood coming back to the surface after the clove starts to wear down but it's hard to say.
Having worked in a bakery for years, edible scents are an absolute no-go for me, as I associate smelling like food to mean I desperately need a shower. I've found that applying some Zum dragon's blood body oil first is a good backstop, then going extremely light on the Torch can get me something I like. Adding a little Thanatopsis over the top helps restore some of the balance too, but if I go too heavy on the Torch I have to wash it off and start over.
Honestly, I think I need to find another use for it than applying it to skin and it seems like it might be too strong to use much indoors. I'll let it rest for a while and see if it mellows into something I can wear.
