Ladon

[Dinerdulcinea]

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

imp: apple blossom and hyacinth.

wet: strange...same flowers but with an odd undertone.

dry: this goes through several changes, not all completely pleasant, but some
very much so, before it finally lands on hyacinth. Just plain hyacinth. It is a touch like almost wilted hyacinth too. Nah. Though I like the way hyacinth smells, I don't want to smell LIKE hyacinth.

[jasmine]

Evil apples! I’m instantly in love. It’s tart, sweet, crisp apple... with dragon’s blood resin. Ooo!

 

There’s something floral under the apples and the dragon’s blood resin, but without the scent list, I can’t figure out what it is. Looking back, I conclude that it’s hyacinth. The apple smells more like a Gala than a golden apple to me, but this may be because Galas are my favorite apple ever.

 

I love this scent so good. I want to hug it and snuggle it and possibly have its hundred-headed children, as long as they started out non-scaly and possibly compacted into comfy eggs first. (Eggs seem so much more sensibly shaped than infants for coming out of orifices.) Reading back over this paragraph, I swear Ladon is making me giddy.

 

SEXY EVIL APPLES.

 

...I’m going to let it dry a bit and see if I’m still this crazed with enthusiasm.

 

The answer: it lasts, it has good throw, and, while it didn’t maintain the intense crispness from the beginning, it went into a lovely perfumey state that I also adore -- the musk came out, and it gives it this slightly hollow, pale note under the apple and dragon’s blood.

 

Ladon, I adore you. As soon as the imp runs out, this is bottle time.

[cameroncrazed]

In the imp: mmm, apple blossom

 

Wet on skin: Biting into a ripe Red Delicious and letting the sweet juice run down your arm.

 

Dry on skin: Invitingly seductive deep apple. I think it's the hyacinth giving it that sweet scent and the dragon's blood making it take on that darkness.

 

Overall: 9/10. I can't stop sniffing my arm. Reminds me a lot of The Hesperides and Punkie Night. The dragon's blood alternates between smelling so good with the apple vs. making it smell like I've rolled around in apple-scented plastic. I would not refer to this as a "foody" apple, unlike the Hesperides (caramel apples) or Punkie Night (cranberry apple). This is going on my list for a bottle.

 

 

Additional Thoughts: If The Hesperides is the sweet childhood romance apple saying "stay with me, be my love!" and Punkie Night is the playful crisp apple saying "let's go out and play, I love autumn!", then Ladon is a cross between the seductive Mrs. Robinson apple saying "why don't you come up and see me sometime? " and the tough punk saying "who are you calling an apple?" Seductive and sexy and evil all rolled into one. Definitely agree with the above review that refered to Ladon as "Sexy Evil Apples".

[Emma2403]

I've been waiting for this one for a looong time. I was dreaming of bright green, fresh apple, spiced by some dragon's blood. Let's see.

 

In the bottle: oooh, lovely, very green apple. And some bubblegum!

 

On my skin: apple and apple blossom. Strong, ripe, juicy. I love this!

 

After a couple of hours: it gets a little more floral and musky.

 

Verdict: quite nice. I'm not sure I need a bottle but the juicy apple I got at first was one of the best scents ever. It's a pity it has to morph into something more floral.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Granny Smiths with the sharp floral of the hyacinth.

 

Wet on me - Close to the skin the florals dominate, but the waft smells of cider.

 

Dry on me - Sharp hyacinth, powdery apple blossom and a hint of musk.

 

Overall - For me this is a sweet floral, but I was hoping for more from the apple.

[maribouquet]

This is such a pretty, sweet golden apple, which I love. I'm sorry to say that the dragon's blood peeks out with the weird camphor-like note it tends to give me, and makes Ladon not work the way I want it too.

[jiggahava]

Not too much Dragon's blood in this. Bah, who cares, when you've got APPLES and HYACINTHS?! OMFG, this is gorgeous. Shame it doesn't have more throw. I smell fresh crisp apple peels and apple blossoms, then after a while, glorious hyacinths. I've been looking for the perfect hyacinth scent, and it's so rarely in any blends, I feel so grateful to have stumbled upon it. It feels so refreshing on my skin. This is a beautiful blend, suitible for either fall or spring. After this little guy gets used up, I'm getting a bottle and then it's slather time.

[Voleuse]

Usually, apple blossom turns herbal and faint on me, but I think the dragon's blood resin and the musk have amplified it. On application, this is a bright mix of apples and musk, sweet and airy and delicious. Over time, the throw fades, but the scent itself doesn't morph at all. Beautiful, and definitely something apple fans will want to try.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Apple, very fresh apple!

 

Wet: Golden apple, indeed, a very realistic scent and for the time being, pretty much a single note. There's a slightly woody note in there too, very nice.

 

Drydown: Aha, the apple blossom comes out, adding a nice floral note to the golden apple and wood. I think I also get the hyacinth, but it's quite discreet. The dragon's blood also makes an appearance.

 

Overall: It dries down to hyacinth and apple, and a very gentle apple blossom. It's more of a floral blend than a fruity one, very soft with the musk, in fact. As much as I like the golden apple from the beginning, I'm not a huge fan of apple blossom and musk, it's too gentle for me. It's a very pretty blend, though, and a very nice evocation of Ladon. Its apple part is actually reminiscent of The Hesperides, like a sister-scent.

[cinderfallen]

At first, Ladon is pure apple, but I don't think I like the Lab's apple very much. It's the type of apple used in cider, and not the tart, super-sweet ones that I love.

 

On drydown, there's a tiniest hint of dragon's blood that is more implicit than anything, and what must be the apple blossom and hyacinth toning down the scent to a fruity floral rather than sheer fruit. It's a mellow sweetness that strikes me as a little flat.

Edited January 13, 2007 by cinderfallen

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is fresh apples!!

 

once applied the apples swirl with hyacinth and the perfect amount of

dragon's blood and white musk....this has an excellent throw...

a really pretty scent that is perfect for a springtime day

[PixieSkull]

Vial: Golden apple, fresh and sweet and juicy... GORGEOUS! I'm not an apple scent fan but I'm changing my mind with this scent. The rest of the notes add to the sweetness and juiciness of this scent.

 

On: This morphs from the juciest apple to a dark, moist swamp-type dragon scent. It's very very pleasant.

 

Overall: I didn't read the description before I tried this frimp, and I'm glad I didn't. It was an unexpected instant love and wow is it a strong love. I didn't like Hesperides but I love the dragon guarding the garden.

 

ETA: My changed skin chemistry (interesting!) makes me smell this as soggy apples. Not a favorite, but a solid like.

Edited September 1, 2012 by PixieSkull

[Shollin]

First sniff: Wait until the absolute peak of harvest. Come to the Yakima Valley in central Washington. Find yourself an apple orchard (it ain’t hard, come visit me and there are at least two within walking distance of my apartment). Grab the sweetest, most amazingly crisp Fuji the farmer can find, yank it right off the branch, and sit in the sun while you take that first perfect bite. Do you hear that sound? That’s what Ladon smells like.

 

Wearing: As in the vial, plus a hint of dragon’s blood in the background. This is wonderful.

[Rouge]

I'm not normally one for Dragon's Blood, so I thought I'd start my exploration of this area of the BPAL catalogue with something that sounded light and gentle.

 

In the bottle - Juicy and sweet. I think Ladon the dragon has been eating the apples he's meant to be protecting!

 

Wet on the skin - Absolutely delicious juicy red apples. The apple blossom isn't delicate - they're full, bright white flowers that show no sign of drooping or falling from the tree. Behind it all there's the gritty, sharp scent of Ladon's scales. This is definitely a red scent to me, rather than a golden one.

 

Dry down - The blossom note has mellowed considerably, leaving a warm and rounded scent.

 

This is a wonderfully fruity springtime scent, perfect for days when you feel like something a little more assertive than Titania but sweeter than Baobhan Sith.

[TrinitySydney]

Ok! I got Ladon as a frimp today. I must say that the description turned me off as I'm not fond of apples in any way unless they're in a pie.

BUT, that said, I'm really pleasantly surprised at Ladon. At first it's a bit sharp...but it mellows out nicely into a mild green apple smell with a bit of ...it must be the hyacinth. I think I also smell smoke in a very mild, light way. It grounds it nicely.

I don't think this is one I'll wear regularly, but it's definitely not one that makes me gag, and maybe it will be a good one for when I'm writing. Always looking for mood-setters.

Edited March 6, 2007 by TrinitySydney

[alliekat13]

In the Imp: Mmmm! Sweet, crisp, juicy apple!

 

On skin: juicy sweet apple tempered by dragon's blood. There is a bit of floweriness with the hyacinth, but mostly the apple and dragons blood. This scent is wonderful, crisp, clean and fresh and I will definitely be ordering a bottle.

[Em-]

Just yesterday, I was trying another Dragon's Blood blend and thinking, ooh, a DB blend with apple would be lovely for spring. Then I remembered that I had an imp of Ladon sitting on my dresser waiting to be tried. Of course Beth and Brian had thought of this - and a lovely combination it is - this is fruity and sweet, with the rich smoky redness of the DB to make it a rich counterpart to more typical apple blends. I adore this.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

apple

 

On me:

Like many others, Ladon is almost all apple on me. Strangely enough, Beth's apple note tends to go wierd on me (it doesn't smell bad, but it doesn't smell like apple either). But her apple blossom tends to smell like a soft, sweet light red apple scent. In Ladon, I must mostly be getting the apple blossom because there is nothing going off about this scent.

 

The dragon's blood and hyacinth are very faint and working well together since I find that the two smell similar. Dragon's blood never fails to smell like lilacs on me, so the two together smell like soft, spring flowers.

 

Together they work well and end up smelling airy, slightly sweet and light - it's definitely a Spring time scent.

 

Final note:

This is pleasant - definitely the kind of scent I would wear in the Spring. It doesn't particularly stand out to me though - possibly because I've already tried two other lightly fruity, soft scents today (51 and Croquet) - I like it, but I'm not sure I really need more than the imp.

[modernsaints]

In the imp: Aww soft, apple-y floral.

 

On me it goes pure hyacinth. And it's lovely and sweet and I don't mind smelling like it at all! Unfortunately, I'm really more of an apple and resin girl, so this will stay an imp for me.

 

ETA: The more I wear this, the more I adore it. The hyacinth just softens and softens, and lets the dragon's blood put in an extra sweet kick, and it's fresh and beautiful.

Edited May 29, 2007 by modernsaints

[QueenFae]

This is crisp, light, fruity, and wonderful! The dragon's blood in this blend takes a back seat to a gloriously golden apple note. It is tart, fresh, and lovely; I always love apple blends from BPAL! There is a pale, enticing, innocent white hyacinth note in the background which makes Ladon a bit feminine. Here ya go, apple lovers, this blend is for you!!

 

I can't think of a lovelier combination of notes! This is great!

[Nia]

A few bpal blends with different notes had gone soapy on me. Dragon's hide was the worst, but I had tried no other Ars Draconis blend, so I thought this one would help me figure out if the problem was the dragon's blood.

 

Wet, in the imp: perfect red apples. It smells very real and very fresh. So far it's the bpal oil that most smells like a thing, not like a perfume.

 

Wet, on skin: it does funny things. It cannot make up its mind. The apples become sweet, then there is a tiny hint of a soapy undertone.

 

Skin, ten minutes later: this has settled to a lovely mix of flower and apple.

[ouch!]

Ladon

 

This is the first Dragon's Blood scent that I've tried that hasn't been completley taken over by the Dragon's Blood.

 

It's mainly the apple blossom, and apple that I can smell with a tiny hint of Dragon's Blood. It's actually really pleasant and very light and fresh. I can't detect White Musk at all, thank god because I just think it would ruin the blend for me

 

It's a shame this Imp leaked everywhere and I only got to try it once But hey, I'm happy to have tried it at all......

[Extispex]

Oooo yum, lovely. In the bottle this is almost entirely apple, crisp, tart delicious apple.

 

Wet on my skin its much sweeter. The apple is still there but sweetened by the florals, and thankfully the florals don't go soapy on me.

 

The dry-down sees the dragon's blood rising up to dominate, with the fruity floral notes lingering in the background, growing lighter and lighter until there's little left but pure dragons blood. I like dragons blood, but I want something more complex from my BPAL.

 

Its lovely while it lasts but unfortunately, the supporting notes evaporate too quickly on my skin.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Dragon's blood & hyacinth.

 

First on: A gorgeous mix of the florals, apple, and dragon's blood. It all blends so nicely, but I am a bit worried about a soapy scent that seems to be hiding.

 

Drydown: It hasn't changed at all. That soapy part is still there a bit, but the rest of it is gorgeous!

 

Overall: I'll use the imp and see if the soapy part goes away on me.

[stellans]

Imp: Apple! Apple with flowers! Lovely, lovely apples! My absolute favorite fruit scent, when it's done right and by right, I mean real -- no fake apple scents.

 

Wet: Just as wonderful on me as it was in the imp. Holy FSM, how great this smells! And here I've been thinking the rose blends were the best thing about BPAL...nope, I was so wrong -- it's the apple scents!

 

Dry: This smells just as good on the dry-down as it does wet! I love dragon's blood resin, and mixed with apple, apple blossom and hyacinth...well, it's absolutely heavenly. Believe it or not, it has almost a rose-like note...

 

Verdict: I want a bottle, a big bottle. I want more than just one big bottle! This has lots of throw, plus it lasted for almost 4 hours without renewing. I put some in my White Rabbit scent locket, and it smelled just as good there as on my skin. This is a masterpiece of perfume-making, and an interesting thing about it is the lack of morphing (much) from imp to skin to dry. I don't how she did it, but again, Beth has created a masterpiece.

Edited May 2, 2008 by stellans