The Bloody Sword

[metaldog32]

A distillation of force, conquest, power and fury: dragon’s blood, myrrh, black pepper, labdanum, benzoin, leather, fire, and steel.

You know..I had to get this when the OoTD was live…because I loved the imagery of the bloody sword; it’s power and fury…overcoming one’s enemy through lusty battle. I figured I had a fighting chance with the myrrh, benzoin and steel. I love the smell of cold metal..so I was hopeful that maybe I could find my perfect metallic scent. Dragon’s blood is iffy on me at best and leather can be downright awful. I figured..what did I have to lose??? So..I took the plunge…

Initial sniff from bottle: Dragon’s blood..a bit seething..with the pepper and a bit of myrrh..I do get a metallic twang in the back..I am hopeful.

Applied wet on skin: This smells an awful like Wrath and Aries on me..but it’s surprisingly working somewhat..right now it’s the pepper that is the strongest note..with the pulsing right behind it. This leather seems to work on me.

Couple of minutes on skin:Pepper has backed off a bit..and I am getting a bit of the benzoin with the leather..and a little sweetness..a wisp of something that could be construed as “cologne-like”..really wispy though and then..at the very very tail end..the light touch of the metallic/steel..come back come BACK!!! So far..so good.

Again..this seems to share qualities with other DB and pepper blended scents like Aries, Mars, Wrath…

Ten minutes later:Softened again the pepper…and I get that steel note a bit more pronounced..but it’s tempered with something a tad sweet..I really like this.

YBNB said this runs along the same lines as Tintagel/Mars/Wrath..to name a few. Those three were awful on me..but maybe this one and Aries will be the two DB and pepper scents I can wear. This one I just might edge over to first choice because of the amazing and elusive metallic note that Beth has been able to forge into this fragrance..really intriguing.

Thirty minutes later: Wow..this has almost become invisible..save for the occasional subtle waft of the pepper softened and sweetened by something..and as always..the tinge of the steel bringing up the back. This is a unisex fragrance for sure.

Sometimes when I take a whiff of my wrist it’s almost sweetly aquatic; other times..it’s the pepper and steel sweetened…fascinating really.

Drydown:Same as above

Lasting power 5+hours with throw soft.

Bottom Line: I love the concept of this fragrance and am pleased that it translates into a scent I can wear…FINALLY…dragons blood, pepper, and leather combine into a fragrance that I can pull off. It’s definitely unisex..and I think it would work well during the fall/winter. Keeper.

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: Dragon's Blood, sweet and fiery. I am already in love.

 

Wet: Ooh, I am picking up myrrh now- this is really interesting.

 

Dry: Now black pepper is in the foreground, with a fiery sweetness right behind it.

 

This is a warm and lovely scent.

[jewelbug]

Imp: Black pepper cologne.

 

Wet: Masculine cologne scent, but its spicy and metallic and a little sweet. I get a hint of a powdery scent that I usually associate with black musk, but that's not listed here. Maybe it's the leather?

 

Drying: The pepper seems to back off, so that it's a gentle background spice under a metallic cologne, with a sort of ozone to it. The resins add a bit of powdery sweetness, and some smoky leather pops up and grows stronger as it sits on my skin.

 

Dry: Leather really steals the show on my skin once this dries. Semi-smoked leather, with a tobacco-like sweetness, a pretty good handful of powdery musk or resin, and just a dash of pepper. Very late into the drydown (8-10 hrs later, in fact, when its still going strong), this is a warm enveloping kinda powdery resin/leather, very nice.

 

Overall: Not my usual fare, but a really powerful and unique blend, nevertheless. I'd like to smell this on a man, but my DH isn't a fan of this one, and I'm sure he doesn't want me slathering sexy on other men...so...swaps!

Edited October 8, 2008 by jewelbug

[stillalive]

metallicky, leather, blood.... interesting! It's not my favorite, but my friend likes it and I'm highly intrigued. It's definitely a complex scent.

[zankoku_zen]

I agree with jewelbug in that this is a black pepper cologne. I get huge wafts of leather. This is MANLY, sexy, domineering. A little spicy, just enough sweetness to entice. Overall, very appealing.

 

Black pepper is a death note on mr. zee_zee, and I have to agree with jewelbug, he wouldn't like me slathering sexy on some other guy.

 

Which means this most excellent blend has to find a new home...

[tragedy]

In the bottle I can really smell the blood tinged steel scent, with a hint of pepper so I was hoping that this would work well on me.

 

On my skin however it turned to the most overpowering manly cologne smell...

Drydown... a LONG drydown brought out the pepper and it doesnt smell as overpowering, but vaguely familiar, like a retail scent I've had before.

 

this isnt a summer scent... holding off till winter!

[milo]

This smells dirty, like a battleground kind of dirty with blood. I smell metal, rust, and a strong musky odor. I don't really get any DBR. Quite a masculine scent, but it is really making me feel quite ill, so me or the guy will not be wearing it.

[donnatron]

Bottle: Herbal dragon's blood and leather. Hint of... something? It's either the fire or the steel. Reminds me a lot of Dragon's Hide but less kinky.

 

Wet: Strong, rich dragon's blood and benzoin. Actually pretty soft on my skin--not with little throw but with fewer harder edges than I expected. The leather is soft and musky and lovely. Touch of spice from myrrh and pepper.

 

Dry: Huh. This is a good "huh." It's not what I was expecting because I was actually expecting this to be one of those "Almost, but not quite" scents like most of my in-search-of-the-holy-grail scents have been. This is somewhere between flashing a cute stranger a pretty smile and crossing your legs to draw attention to yourself and pinning said stranger to the counter and having rushed, intense sex before dispatching that stranger because you're actually an assassin. You know. Things that happen all the time. The dragon's blood dominates with an undercurrent of leather and a bit of steel and sort of singing smokiness from the leather. The benzoin smoothes the whole thing out. It's like a pretty floral resin over... body armour. Really interesting and sexy without being incredibly intense or inappropriate for the office. There's also a faint, salty undercurrent of... um... sex. Nothing outrageous and it sort of adds a rumpled allure to the overall scent. But definitely something that kind of signals, "Guess what? I got laid!" And while I don't like other people knowing my business, it kind of works in this scent. Odd and appropriate and a little demure and also wild, dangerous and completely unpredictable. Huh, indeed.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: I'm very pleased that I found this. It's an interesting scent and has a lot more layers than I initially anticipated. Incredibly sensual without necessarily being sleazy. It more indicates that you know when to turn the sleaze on and when to turn it off. This is a power scent and the sort of thing I would wear to indicate that I am in control of the situation and yes, I smell damn good.

[rayvn1]

Strong blast of manly leather right from the get-go My skin hates dragon's blood with a fiery passion, so I was worries it would swamp the notes that work for me as it usually does. Now that it's drying it's still strong leather, but now with a sweet and sweaty layer too it (rawr ). Every other note in here I love - myrrh, steel, benzoin, etc. Awesome. It's like Tristan's ancestor went to battle and what he'd smell like afterwads (double rawr) Please dear god, don't turn to dragon's blood powder of doom later on!

[Invidiana]

Yesss, the berry spiciness of dragon's blood is here to play with me again. Bloody Sword is spicier than Head of Holofernes, and also has a more masculine edge with the addiiton of the more prominent leather, fire and steel notes. The fire is a viciously beautiful complement to the dragon's blood and spices, and bitter labdanum heightens the sinister feel The leather and steel are a well-tempered backdrop that may evoke a sword and sheath but don't overpower the other notes; there is no I-just-walked-into-Wilson's-leather or extreme metallic tang. I love *bares fangs*

[hmelt004]

I bought a partial of this unsniffed and am sooooo glad I did. I don't get any dragon's blood, thank God. This is all freshly cracked black pepper and worn, metal-studded leather. Sexy and dangerous. I like it on me, but I would work as a masculine scent as well.

[fairnymph]

Deep orange oil, definitely can tell there's dragon's blood. Sharp and floral; lots and lots of dragon's blood, the sharp tang of irony steel, the sharp chemically powdery De Sade style leather, some sharp and spicy black pepper that blends with loads of dusty, bitter, incensey myrrh. Not getting labdanum or benzoin.

 

Dragon's blood galore, super soapy and makes my face itch, that evil slightly sweet air freshener. Way more leather, too, super strong and sharp and powdery. Almost as much leather as dragon's blood. The myrrh and pepper are a bit overwhelmed by this, though I get a mildly greenness that's almost aquatic and sort of refreshing from the labdnanum and a touch of sweetness that must be the benzoin. The steel note is bright and gorgeous and true, less irony, more chromey.

 

The leather is completely taking over. This is De Sade with dragon's blood and steel, essentially. Other stuff is definitely there if I sniff more closely - the black pepper and myrrh are still pretty strong, but the resins are very faint - it seems they just briefly appeared and then mostly just vanished. The leather actually tempers much of the horrible soapiness of the dragon's blood, but it's a note I hate only minorly less, so this is still just dreadful on me in every way. Definitely fits the concept, though! Good throw and longevity.