Ladon

[GypsyRoseRed]

The hundred-headed dragon that guards the garden of the Hesperides: dragon’s blood resin, golden apple, apple blossom, white musk and hyacinth.

Usually Dragon's Blood is a little much on me, but Ladon is almost all apple and apple blossom to me. There's a strong resemblance to The Hesperides, but this is softer, prettier and I can definitely pick out the white musk (it doesn't have the wood note that Hesperides has, and maybe that's what stops it from having that biting, slightly sour edge I get in the drydown with TH)... I don't get the hyacinth at all, but I'm not the best with individual notes. In any case, this is the perfect apple scent I've been looking for! Edited September 15, 2007 by Shollin

[tindome]

imp: not sure what I'm smelling it is almost bitter. I think it is the hyacinth that saves it from being bitter.

 

wet: Still that slightly bitter smell only more pronounced. I think it is the smell of apple peelings. Not the fruity sweet smell just the peel.

 

drydown: This is my first blend with dragons blood in it and I think maybe the dragons blood is what is turning my apples bitter.

 

dry: This mellowed out and the hyacinth came into play but it still remind me of apple peels but dumped next to a hyacinth bush.

 

I think that this one is not for me. It is interesting to smell but not to smell like.

Edited September 1, 2006 by tindome

[LiberAmoris]

Ladon is my new favorite Ars Draconis blend! I think it's the apple and apple blossom that really put this one over the top for me--I love apple blossom ever since falling hard for The Perfumed Garden, and so Ladon was an easy sell. The white musk and hyacinth really round it out and give it good staying power.

 

The dragon's blood in Ladon suffuses it with such a warm red glow and the florals are calibrated to hold that resinous warmth in tension. This is the first blend that comes close to capturing the same feel as one of my all-time BPAL faves, The Living Flame.

 

Love this, and am considering a bottle.

[saralaughs]

Oh the beauty!

 

Ladon, to me, is a combination of two of my fav Bpal blends ever.

 

The Hesperides and Pele. Oh my. Think of the light, tropical florals of Pele mingling ever so well and lovingly with the crisp apples of TH. Just lovely.

 

*on the bottle list*

[cuervosueno]

I was really looking forward to my imp of this when I got my CD order, and I am not disappointed!

 

On me, this smells exactly like a fresh cut apple. Think of the sweet-tartness of a McKintosh just picked, and you've got it. It is crisp and lovely. In the beginning, I get nothing but apple, but after it has been on for awhile (more than an hour) the apple softens and the sweet slightly spicy scent of the dragon's blood kicks in. Its just a little sweeter and differently foral that DB usually is on me, so i suspect I'm smelling the hyacinth/apple blossom as well. And I get just a touch of white musk.

 

Its very lovely, though since I'm not a slatherer, I imagine this imp will last me awhile.

 

This is a great addition to the series, and if its not quite as good for me as my favorite--Dragon's Milk--it is still very lovely.

[hologhost]

Apple - not just any apple. Red Delicious, with that faint bitter tang of apple skin. Crunchy with a hint of hyacinth. Wow! I couldn't find a BPAL apple I liked to save my life and suddenly they're everywhere.

[filigree_shadow]

In the imp, it smells like dragon's blood and apples.

 

On, it smells like dragon's blood with a tiny little sliver of crisp apple and a big bunch of hyacinth. As it's drying, the apple gets stronger, but the floral note definitely sticks around.

 

When I got this imp, I took one look at it and thought, "Uh-oh." Dragon's blood is one of my favorite notes, and usually, the redder the oil, the better. Ladon is a very pale peach color in the imp, so I assumed that the dragon's blood wouldn't be very strong in it. Turns out I was wrong.

 

The dragon's blood is very noticeable in this blend. It seems to be mostly dragon's blood and hyacinth to me, with the apple just giving it a sweet crispness. Wish I hadn't been so wary of the apple note in this (I didn't particularly like The Hesperides)... I could probably use a 5ml of it.

[wyldeflower]

The Hesperides is one of my most prized scents, I love it dearly. I nearly wept with joy when I saw that Beth had created a scent for the Guardian of the Garden of Hesperides! I was a little concerned about the Dragon's blood though, because usually Dragon's blood and I do not get along. I decided I had to try it regardless, and I'm so glad I did!

 

Upon application, Ladon smells almost just like The Hesperides...I can smell the apples and woods, but then a little spice starts coming through. You can tell that this blend deserves the recognition of being the guardian, almost like the soft spices are telling you so.

 

After a while, the soft spices recede, and I can't stop sniffing my wrist. At first I couldn't figure out why...and then it hit me! This smells like a blend of The Hesperides and High John the Conqueror, another scent that is very dear to me.

 

This is definately bottle worthy!!

[gaai]

A beautiful, beautiful smell

I absolutely love this ! At first it's all fresh, crisp apples and then......after it dries the dragon's blood and florals blend in with it en leave this wonderful, slightly sweet scent on my skin.....

 

This definitely goes on my 'bottles to buy' list!

[AliBabble]

very realistic yellow-green apples. juicy, slightly pear-like as well. it's mostly crisp apple on me at first, but as it dries, the hyacinth comes out more, as well as the white musk. very pretty! i have to say, the more it dries and wears on me, it gets a bit soapy - still quite light, pretty and feminine, but it begins to remind me more of a pretty-smelling soap than a perfume oil. as to the dragon's blood - it's there, but not at all overpowering. this is a very pretty oil, and one that i'll wear when i'm in the mood for something light and feminine.

[edenssixthday]

Ladon - This is an interesting scent. It doesn’t morph on me at all from the bottle to my skin to drydown or any point thereafter. It’s predominantly dragon’s blood with the sweet fruity scent of apple underneath and the strong, heavy floral of apple blossom. Apple usually turns rancid on me, but this is one of the few apple blends where the apple serves to really compliment the lilac-scented dragon’s blood. It’s very pretty and different from any of the other Ars Draconis blends. The throw is very strong for the first 30-40 minutes, but softens a bit after that, and becomes a lovely skin scent with light throw, although its staying power is above-average on me (which I attribute to the dragon’s blood and apple blossom notes, which always last on me). It’s a lovely blend and I can see it being a an appropriate warm scent for Autumn wear.

[Katinka]

Oh, the pretty...

 

I have mixed luck with dragon's blood -- it often does this musty Dr. Pepper thing on my skin -- but Ladon is absolutely lovely. It's all sweet, juicy apples and hyacinths on me. I'm in love.

[Little Bird]

Dragon's blood usually doesn't work so well on me. So far, the only Ars Draconis blend that I've actually liked has been Dragon's Milk. I am kinda hopeful for Ladon though, because I love BPAL's apple and apple blossom notes.

 

Sniffing this in the vial, I immediately thought of fall harvest festivals. This is crisp and apple cider-like.

 

On me... this is the same smooth, delicately sweet, golden apple note that I get from Les Bijoux. Apple with a background of clean white musk. I don't detect any dragon's blood at all, which is a good thing in my case.

 

In the drydown, this is still just a wonderfully sweet, crisp apple scent. Simple and pleasant. It sweetens up quite a bit on me after a while and makes me think of candy apples.

 

Wonderful. I might get a 5 ml of this one in the future.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Apple

 

On Skin: The dragon’s blood resin in this blend is very, very light. This scent is primarily apple and hyacinth on me. The apple is yellow or a Granny Smith maybe and it provides a sweet, crisp note, and the apple blossom and hyacinth are nice soft florals. The white musk is also light and seems like a gorgeous thin layer of silk that the apples and blossoms have fallen onto in the fall weather. I do get a light hint of “The Hesperides” in this as well, “Ladon” is just more feminine and pretty. This scent is very white with a touch of Autumn yellow/gold. I wouldn’t even consider it a Dragon’s Blood blend since the resin is so in the background that you can hardly notice it. I think it’s a beautiful scent, I do wish there was a little more Dragon’s Blood in it though… I may try layering it with a drop of the plain Dragon’s Blood blend. Very light throw and average wearlength.

[crescentwench]

in the imp it's all sweet and tart apples.

 

on, wet it goes all flowery. blargh.

 

and now it's getting soapy. the flowers hate me as much as i hate them. horray.

 

sadly this will not be one of my loves. it's surprisingly light compared to some of the other draconis scents,though.

[maijasu]

I was really excited to try Ladon, and it did not disappoint! Wet on my skin, I smell fresh, juicy apples and sweet apple blossoms. When it dries down, a lot of the apple disappears and the scent becomes more floral, but not offensively so. I can't really pick out the dragon's blood in this one. It's very pretty and happy. I'm not sure whether I'll get a bottle of this or not, but only because I like The Hesperides (more apples) and Xanthe (more apple blossoms) too.

[deleahrium]

In the bottle, it's all apples and non-flowery flowers. Like the floweryness in Roadhouse. Immediately I thought of this as a kinder, sweeter Roadhouse. Really nice!

 

On the skin and as it dries it goes all powder and perfumey floral, and then soap. Bleh.

[cecelle]

In the imp: Mostly apple.

 

On the skin, the apple quickly faded to just a hint, making room for the dragon's blood and the floral. It's a rich, warm scent that on me had incredible staying power - I put it on in the morning, and it was still going strong by the time I went to bed.

 

A definite keeper for me.

[PurringPulsar]

Ladon

 

In the imp: crisp sweet apple and dragon’s blood.

Wet on skin: green apples, hyacinth, and a lilac-like dragon’s blood note.

Dry: this is very pretty! There’s a gorgeous apple note here, a crisp green apple, not too sweet but not too tart and cider-y either. The hyacinth is there as well, adding it’s springlike feel. The dragon’s blood makes the scent smell a little bit like lilacs, but it also has its telltale red resinous clarity. The dragon’s blood is surprisingly strong, actually. This scent is very springy to me.

After a while: eventually the white musk comes out and starts to soften the scent. the apple now smells like apple blossom, the dragon’s blood isn’t as strong, and now I smell a gorgeous hyacinth note wrapped up in soft white musk with hints of apple and DB still hanging around. It’s a very unusual scent but I quite like it.

Verdict: this is the springtime equivalent of the Hesperides (which is apt) which smelt quite autumnal to me, this one is more floral and smells like spring, but with the dark bite of dragon’s blood, adding it’s red touch to the scent. There’s a lovely apple note here, with notes of hyacinth and lilac dancing through, all reddened by the DB. This is reminiscent of the softer Dragon scents, like Dragon’s Eye and Dragon’s Tears, softly floral and not too intense, not dark at all. The drydown is an unusual mix of creamed apple and white musk, with a gorgeous hyacinth note and DB…a strange but oddly pleasant scent. I like this but it’s not my favourite dragon’s blood scents-that position still goes to Dragon’s Musk. But this is a very unique and interesting fragrance, as are most DB scents.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Not sure.

If you like this, try: The Hesperides, Dragon’s Eye, Dragon’s Tears

[tarotgirl99]

I LOVE LADON!

 

And I never would have tried it, except my friend MoonArcana sent me an imp...as a non-Dragon's Blood person, I was very hesitant...but its sweet-but-not-cloying, apple-y warmth makes it the perfect autumn scent on me.

 

It lasts and lasts and has good-to-medium throw. When I opened it a few days ago, I spilled some on my canvas bag and I still get the occasional whiff of enticing Ladon. And it always puts a smile on my face.

[PilotKitten]

On wet, I can definitely tell that this *should* be apple, but something else (maybe the musk? hyacinth?) is making it seem slightly sour. Or it could just be the type of apple note... Golden apples usually aren't quite *this* sour to me though. Waiting it out to see what happens on the drydown.... After the drydown it settles a bit into a light er musky fragrance with just a touch of fruity sweetness. It's definitely a unisex blend but I feel like it's leaning a bit more towards the masculine side for me. Perhaps I'll have Brian try this one out.

[empi girl]

When wet, this is dragon's blood, but softened. Still, it's dragon's blood, and it doesn't generally work on me. But the thought of apple really tempted me, and I kept it on. And the DB does go away after about 15 minutes, and what is left is, unbelievably, a golden delicious apple. And I'd forgotten it was a golden apple in the note list. I sniffed my wrist, thought "golden delicious, how incredible". It's a true scent, not overly sweet. Very nice, with a little extra brightness from the musk. The apple stage is wonderful, the dragon's blood is not (for me).

[Thaleia]

I have never been able to wear dragon's blood resin in large amounts, because it sweetens every blend that’s in it way too much for me. This blend is primarily the golden apples of the Hesperides, sweetened with DB, white musk, and hyacinth. I can definitely tell that the DB is there, because this is sweeter than other apple blends (Creepy, Punkie Night) that I love, but for a scent that contains DB, it’s really nice. I thought that Beth’s apple was completely lost to me after The Hesperides went all wrong on me, but it turns out that maybe it was just everything else in TH because I’m doing fine with apple blends now.

 

Drydown: it smells like sweet apple juice – not quite apple cider, because it’s not spicy enough, but more like the apple juice I used to drink as a kid.

 

I’m definitely keeping the imp, and am debating a bottle, but I’m not sure yet.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie:

 

Pre-review thoughts: I love every listed note save hyacinth, so wanting to try this was a given.

 

In the imp: Dragon's blood, apple, and musk. I must say, dragon's blood and apple make for a... strange combination.

 

On skin, wet: How unusual! The dragon's blood-apple combination is so strange, but impossibly intriguing. A "I can't stop sniffing" kind of scent. The apple is tart, almost sour, and the dragon's blood is uncharacteristically light. DB, on me, has always been a very deep, warm, spicy, "red" kind of scent, and never flowery. Here, it is a bit flowery, cooler, not nearly as spicy, and closer to orange than red.

 

On skin, dry: Dry, it becomes much sourer, and the hyacinth appears, and it doesn't mingle with the dragon's blood very well on my skin. Something about it seems a little... off. Nothing specific, and nothing I can place, but I can't get past it.

 

Conclusion/Notes: Much too floral and sour for me. I can't figure out exactly what went wrong, but I'm pointing the finger at hyacinth, since the other notes usually love me.

[supremegoddessofall]

Ars draconis = dragon's blood = I should love it. And I love the other notes. So I predict this will be 5 stars all the way. *sniff* Strongly dragon's blood, and the apple here is very sharp. Little bit of floral in the background. This is actually not one of my favorite Ars Draconis scents, although I do like it. It's a bit too sharp and resinous for me to absolutely adore. Not super musky, although the musk is warming it up a bit.