Wrath

[Em-]

A scent aflame with rage, swirling in the red haze of hatred: dragon's blood spiked with black pepper, clove, and cinnamon.

 

Reading the description, I really expected to love this one, as I have liked every Dragon's Blood blend I've tried and I love the other noted.

 

Reading th reviews, I would expect to love this one.

 

Alas, starting in the vial, Wrath smells...off to me, sort of plastic, but sharp in an unpleasant way. I cannot smell the Dragon's Blood or any thing other than plasticy red hots.

 

On my skin, burning red hots (which someone else used to describe this) is very accurate, exept imagine that the candy coating actually is plastic...burning, cinnamon plastic. Not so good.

 

Ah well...

[The_Merf]

In the imp: It smelled like candied cinnamon. I imagine that the dragon's blood amplified the sweetness of the cinnamon.

 

Wet: The sweetness of the dragon's blood was actually more prominent than the cinnamon when I put this on wet. However, I knew the cinnamon was there because I felt my skin tingle a little bit. Despite the tingle, there was no negative reaction with my skin.

 

Dry-down and Wear: The cinnamon started to come out as the oil dried down. It was the sweet cinnamon that I had smelled in the bottle, and unfortunately, it turned to "Big Red chewing gum" on my arm. It did not seem wrathful at all--the pepper never made its appearance, either in the imp or on my skin. A shame that this was not for me, but I have a feeling my sister will like it.

[dcmo]

This was a gift the lovely lab included in my last order. I never thought I would like something with black pepper in it because I can't stand it normally, in my food or even the smell of it. But in this blend, wow I'm in love. Dragon's blood gives it the sweetness, and the cinnamon and black pepper give it some oomph..there's the fire. I can't stop sniffing my arm. Love it, Love it!

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Dragon's Blood with a big kick of pepper

 

On me:

This is everything is promises to be - Dragon's Blood, pepper, cinnamon and a tiny hint of clove. It's interesting to expect a more fiery scent (I was expecting more cinnamon to be honest) and to not get it, and yet still feel that this is a perfect representation of a fiery scent without being so obviously so. I have to say that the pepper threw me off at first, it wasn't mingling well with the other scents. But after a while it settles down and this is really more Dragon's Blood than anything. Which, I should mention that Dragon's Blood DOES have a tendency to smell kind of lilac-y I've noticed. Not that I'm complaining, I love that smell. I can definitely see where people are making comparisons to Big Red chewing gum, because it does sort of come off that way. However, the longer it settles, the less like that it becomes, and the more it starts to come off like a spicey floral.

 

Final note:

This is a hard to describe scent, and yet, it's exactly what the description says it is. It's a unique combonation of notes, and though I don't like it enough to get a full bottle, I'll definitely be keeping my imp.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Heavy cinnamon and slight dragon's blood. Although the color of the oil is a fierce, angry red the scent itself is more watery than I anticipated.

 

On me: This is a gorgeous spicy scent, heavy on the cinnamon but the clove and pepper add a extra flash of pizzazz. The dragon's blood in this blend, oddly enough, does lend a bit of a plastic undertone to the scent, which keeps it from being heavenly and I think will keep me from adding this imp to my permanant collection.

[tinyvulture]

i had an instant aversion to this. i’m not vengeful, so maybe i wasn’t getting into the spirit of it

 

it's just that i don’t much care for dragon’s blood, and its floral-ness mixed with the cinnamon and clove made for a weird combination that didn’t agree with my chemistry at all.

 

the description is quite accurate. the cinnamon definitely adds heat. and although i can’t smell the black pepper, i can tell there is something else there giving additional heat.

 

i have to go wash it off now, because it’s giving me a headache it's off to the swaps pile!

[jewelbug]

Bottle: Sweet and cinnamon like Big Red gum, or Close-Up toothpaste? I don't think so, but hubby says that it reminds him of cherry cough syrup.

 

On skin, Wet:

Me: Yup, big red gum, strange, but it seems a hint minty. Starts to take on a tinge of clove as it dries. I adore cloves.

Him: Still very big red, but more dragon's blood notes. Oh him it does not go to clove at all.

On skin, Dry:

Me: Early the dragons blood comes out and it gets to be a bit less like big red-- this is good. Still sticky sweet, like candy, but not in a bad way. The dragon's blood tempers the spicy sweetness wonderfully.

Him: Weird, but it almost makes us think of marigold. It's still spicy big red, though, and the dragon's blood actually fades out on his skin. This turns into red hots in the end.

 

Wonderfully intriguing blend. Spicy and fun, and it smells great. I'm very glad I tried it, but I just don't think it’s a "me" scent. To the swaps.

[Little Bird]

I've been very curious about Wrath because it has three of my favorite scents in it (black pepper, clove, and cinnamon) and one of my most hated scents (dragon's blood). I'm hoping that the dragon's blood will be overpowered by other scents.

 

Wet on my skin... dragon's blood and leather. This is very cool smelling and I'm hating it. I'm praying to God and all that is holy that this morphs into a different scent rather quickly. I hate the smell of dragon's blood, but my skin seems to adore it.

 

Cinnamon is slowly building in intensity and taking over the blend. The dragon's blood is lingering in the background. Still hoping for some clove or pepper to come out.

 

10 minutes later. The dragon's blood is dominating again. It smells odd and is reminding me of a harsh chemical. The cinnamon seems to have exploded and disappeared within a few minutes.

 

A little over an hour later this is still just dragon's blood on me. Dragon's blood is just so horrible on my skin. Like a sickeningly sweet chemical and rotting wildflowers. It makes my stomach lurch when I smell it. The cinnamon only lasted a minute or so and the pepper/cloves never bothered to show up at all. I'm so disappointed

[Tess]

Dragon's blood. Please, oh please let this be one that works with me. The other notes sound absolutely wonderful! *prays*

 

In the vial - Oh dear, it's lilac all the way. I'm so very, very afraid.

 

Wet - Ayup, lilac. I think I can grab a hint of pepper back there, but goodness is it a floral wash. =/

 

Drying - ...ooo! The black pepper, cinnamin and CLOVE are coming out and mixing with the lilac in the most bizarre ways. It's becoming a super spice floral WHAM! which I don't completely disapprove of. It's STRANGE, but not altogether bad.

 

Dry (1 hour) - And we're back to straight lilac with just a touch of pepper. *sighs* Too bad the drying stage didn't stick around longer.

 

Overall - This had so much promise and it just didn't deliver for me. I know that dragon's blood is touch and go on my skin, but I was just hoping against hope this would work...

[slave1]

In Bottle: Minty Dragon’s Blood.

 

On Skin: Dragon’s blood, and the color also gives that away. The clove and cinnamon sweeten it a bit and the pepper makes it extra hot and spicy. After a few minutes, I realize what it reminds me of. The smell of the glue when you lick envelopes... maybe after you had been eating Red Hots. Not good…

[zombie_striptease]

This scent isn't for me, but my mother loves it. Hmm, maybe she'll come into the BPAL fold...

 

In the imp: Spicy, with a sort of dirty/chemical smell that makes me wary. The oil itself looks fairly noxious, tinting the imp's lid red, wand and all. Should I really put this on my skin?

 

Wet on: Slightly bitter at first, the spices are too overpowering to single out. That dirty smell is still there, and my memory is starting to kick around, trying to place it.

 

Dry down: It settled down a bit upon drying, I can actually smell each of the spice notes, none stronger than the other, and I've finally sort of identified the other smell as a dirty floral smell, a scent shared by several flowers I don't much care for. Maybe a lily of some sort? I eventually wandered over to my mother and waved my arm in front of her nose, warning her it wasn't as nice as the Jack I'd waved before her earlier. To my surprise, she immediately perked up.

 

"Mmm," she said,"I like that. Gardenia."

 

I started to explain that no, there isn't any gardenia in there (that I know of), just cinnamon and clove and pepper and such, but even as I say it I recognize that she's right. It does smell exactly like a spicy gardenia. Which is one of my most reviled flowers and one of her favorites. Is this what dragon's blood will always smell like on me? Crap. Maybe I'd better revise my wishlist.

 

Conclusion: Not for me, even though it actually balances quite nicely on my skin. I think it must be some great joke of the universe that scents I don't like blend really well with my chemistry . On the bright side, my mother has been craving her old White Shoulders perfume lately and now has something even better . I guess it all evens out in the end.

Edited August 30, 2005 by zombie_striptease

[Ajila]

Wet on me this is very strong cinnamon, with a background of bubblegum, it's quite a sour cinnamon rather than the sweet scent I normally associate with cinnamon. Dry on me it's pure clove and whilst I like clove I think I need something to calm it down.

[maewitch]

This is strange. Wet, I get a strong floral, red, sweet and a little spicy, but not quite carnation - something deeper and muskier, somehow. Completely unexpected, since I was imagining pure cinnamon and pepper in my head. I think it must be the dragon's blood, though since this is my first time wearing it I'm not sure. There's a suggestion of the cinnamon, clove and pepper, which deepens upon drydown, but I can't pick the individual notes apart at all.

 

I am completely turned around by this blend. And greatly intruiged by dragon's blood. I now must hunt up some more oils with this component to verify this spicy-floral note.

[theseagrows]

i like the spiciness, but the scent of dragon's blood continues to turn my stomach and give me a headache, regardless of what other notes are involved.

 

off to the swap pile with ye, wrath!

[spanishviolet]

Spicy and delicious!

 

This combines the slightly-floral dragon's blood sweetness I loved in Dragon's Milk with the spiciness I crave, and leaves me smelling fantastic. It doesn't suggest anger to me so much as warmth & zestiness - I imagine it'll be extra welcome once the weather gets chillier. There'll definitely be a big bottle of Wrath in my next order!

[Savannah]

I wasn't familiar with dragon's blood before I tried this, but I figured it would be whatever wasn't the cinnamon, clove and pepper. :-P It's not at all what I expected. From the "resin" and the dark red color I expected something rich and deep, but this is an odd floral-y scent, indeed a bit sharp. The cinnamon is strong and the pepper is definitely there sharpening everything up-- the clove isn't really the kind of clove I like, it gives the blend a bit of a medicinal feel. I offered my wrist to my friend and she said, "Smells like those cinnamon flavored syrups they put in coffee at Starbucks." Sort of spicy and artificially sweet. I kind of like it-- definitely keeping the imp-- but don't think I need a bottle.

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: Dragon's blood! I can smell the pepper peeking through a little bit, wouldn't have been able to tell if I hadn't read the list of ingredients.

Wet: Dragon's blood's top note making way to clove. Out comes the clove and the cinnamon.

Dry: Taking a deep breath is almost painful because the dbr is so fruity, but the clove and cinnamon make me want to cough.

Overall: I like it, but Dragon's Heart is my dbr scent for now

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Cinnamon.

 

On, wet: Cinnamon.

 

Later: Cinnamon candy. But this is fine by me. Mm. Just have to be careful not to get my nose TOO close when I sniff. That could be painful. o.O

[Miss Lynx]

Yet more evidence that dragon's blood is really not my friend. It's ironic, because I really like the smell of actual dragon's blood resin, especially as incense. But the oil has this cloyingly sweet, maraschino-cherry-ish scent to it, which is nothing like the resin and which I really don't like. There are a few blends with dragon's blood in them that I do like, but that seems to be more the exception than the rule.

 

I do like the spiciness of this one, but spices over cloying sweetness don't really work for me. Wrath is basically Serpent's Kiss without the vetiver, or Blood without the myrrh (or cherry), and in both those scents, the earthiness of the heavier notes is part of what makes them work for me.

 

I did find that once Wrath dried down for a while -- like an hour or more -- it started smelling quite nice on me, a spicy incensey smell that is probably more like what others get from it. That's actually what happened with Dragon's Heart and some of the other DB blends I've tried to, so I guess my skin eventually does make peace with DB, but it takes longer than I'm usually willing to wait. The eventual result may be nice, but I can smell like spicy incense right away if I just reach for the Chimera instead, so there's really no point in suffering through an hour of smelling like something you'd top a sundae with to get there.

 

Grade: C

[Footnotegirl]

This is a /very/ nice warm scent (bright orange in color). It's warm, but not what I would consider 'earthy'. More like warm and airy. Contrary to the description, the black pepper and clove are not top notes, though the cinnamon is very much there especially in the bottle. Applied to the skin it's got floral top notes, but they're sort of thick, earthy floral rather than light, girly floral.. think honeysuckle, maybe some antique rose. There's definately a sort of 'ozone' sent to things that lifts the scents up to make them airy rather than earthy. It's not bad ozone though.. hard to explain. The scent is not overpowering, but I do catch whiff's of it on occasion when I turn my head.

[niter]

Imp

Hmm. Hot like the color. The black pepper is firey with an afterbreath of cinnamon. This might be to saucy for me!

 

Wet

My nose is still singed from sniffing the imp. I cannot smell anything! After two heavy breaths in the coffee bag (I keep coffee beans with my imps to clear my nose!) I pick up a faint plasticky note. And something firey simmering beneath.

 

After a few minutes I can pick up cinnamon gum (take your pick which brand). There is a soft edge; hubby says he only smells spring flowers. Interesting.

 

Dry

I am not sure if I really made it this far....see, I hate cinnamon gum, fireballs, redhots, cinnamon red hearts, etc. (yet I love cinnamon and cloves). So smelling like one is not really for me. I will say, though, that this has to be the prettiest fireball I have smelt to date.

[Caltha]

Wrath

 

Got this in a swap with ladymissspyder.

 

Wrath has a strange hay/grass/herbal note on me - an extremely perfumey note. It is also sort of cinnamony, peppery and woody, a dry and warm scent. It's not sweet, but it's sort of sickly as if it was sweet. Almost floral, or just perfumey. I suspect it's the dragon's blood, I'll keep away from dragon's blood in the future.

[melrose]

I approached this one not knowing what to think, as it contains two scents I love (cinnamon and pepper) and one that usually gives me trouble (clove).

 

In the imp and wet on skin: Yum - cinnamon and pepper with a little bit of something sweet.

 

Upon drydown: the cinnamon and pepper quickly departed, leaving me with clove and dragon's blood. These 2 combine on my skin to smell like dead flowers and sour milk - good to know.

 

Needless to say, I won't re-purchase.

[brownbear]

Oh yes there is dragon's blood in here. I like the way dragon's blood smells, but I don't usually like it on my skin. It just never works with my chemistry it appears. So this starts out heavy with the dragon's blood, then the cinnamon comes out pretty strong. It gets better at this stage. I only smell the clove faintly and a couple hours after putting it on. Not bad, but the dragon's blood on my skin ruins it for me. oh well

[PeshaRocha]

Oddly, this smells not the least bit angry, hot, or spicey on me. Instead, it smells like an icky-sweet mixture of cheap bubblegum and too-flowery soap: not a felicitous combo.

 

I'm guessing that the sticky sweetness is the dragon's blood, and the "artificial flavor" uckiness may arise from the pepper. I can't detect any cinnamon or clove, which is a shame. I've never tried dragon's blood before, and if this is an example of what it does, I definitely don't get along well with it.

 

I was hoping for dry and spicy, but all I'm getting is chemical, soap, powder, and way-too-sweet. It's odd that I hate the sweetness in this so much, because I usually like sweet food or fruit scents, but this doesn't even approximate food, fruit, or anything desirable to me.

 

This is definitely going back into the swap pile.