The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun

[Aredhel]

Daemonorops, vanilla, Indian sandalwood, Mexican copal, hyssop, muguet, sweet pea, amber, hazelwood, galbanum, hiba wood, and orchid.

Rating (on skin): 4/5
Summarised in a few words/smilie: Intriguing.

Pre-Review Thoughts: I love daemonorops/dragon's blood, copal, amber, and vanilla, but I'm a bit wary of orchid (which can either be fantastic or horrible), and sandalwood, and sweet pea never ends well.

In the imp: Sweet, vanillic dragon's blood and a hint of something toasty and warm.

On skin, wet: Very sweet, but very heavy on the orchid and sweet pea. The dragon's blood holds its own — for now.

On skin, dry: Sweet, woody, and spicy. While predominately a floral scent, the spicy nuttiness is intriguing, and strangely pleasant. The orchid's a bit tart, but not altogether unpleasantly so.

Conclusion: Overall, a bit too floral for me. It has a very powdery quality to it, that, while not necessarily a bad thing, is not a quality I usually look for in scents. It's certainly one of those "can't stop sniffing because it's so interesting" scents, if not one I'd wear regularly.

[theseagrows]

this is a pretty woody-floral scent. when i first try it on there is a strange nutty-almond scent to it, but i can't figure out which note it is...maybe hte hazelwood? i mostly get the orchid and sweet pea with vanilla and copal supporting in the background. it reminds me slightly of dia de los muertos, but is softer and not quite as sweet. i may have to get a big bottle of this one!

[jiggahava]

At first sniff, this is weirdly almond and metallic at first. I don't like it, but wait it out to see if it'll morph. And it does, it smells like sweet woods and floral. The dragon's blood has lost it's metallic edge and sweetened up the blend, like it usually does for me. It smells even better with my nose away from my wrist, although I'm not sure why. This scent feels very red to me, like a ancient mahogany color. It feels grand, somehow. I like it, but my imp will be enough for me.

[herbhealer]

I eagerly waited to receive this, I enjoy many of the Salon scents. When first applied, I got a warm, nutty essence - sweet and almost edible. Then it became more light and ethereal and golden. After a few hours, it dried down to a sweet floral, but so light it's almost a skin scent. At this stage, I think I can pick out the orchid and sweet pea. Very pleasant, but I like the opening the best. I will try it a few more times before deciding if I want to invest in a bottle.

[Deanalouise]

When I first applied this wet, I said mmmm chocolate. I looked up the notes and there is no chocolate in this blend. I think it is the vanilla and sandalwood blending together that I inhaled. As it is drying down, it is strong vanilla - beautiful and powdery. I can actually smell each note of this blend. Great job Beth!!

 

Drydown on me: Vanilla and dry woods.

[Trish]

In the imp it's sweet and almost foody. Something nutty. On my skin it softens, and although it retains that nuttiness there's also warm resins and vanilla, and a touch of floral. As it dries the nuttiness fades and fleetingly becomes this wonderful warm sweet resin and vanilla scent. I say fleetingly because once again amber spoils the party and turns it all to powder. Admittedly it's a rather nice smelling powder but still... *sulks*

 

I think I'll give this a go in my scent locket.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Smells like Grog

 

On me:

Immediately I get a sort of sweet, earthy hazelnut smell (I always get this smell with scents like Grog or Gluttony). Behind that is a light, pinkish floral - something Spring-like and and not too heady and not too sweet. I get a little woody quality as well from the sandalwood. It all comes together to make something very unique - and hard to describe. It is a little foody, in the same way that Grog is foody on me. Sort of foody/resin/floral if that makes any sense lol.

 

Final note:

Can't shake that hazelnut smell - this is unique - as I'm finding all the Salon scents to be. And therefore really hard to describe. I like this one for being so different, and yet I'm not sure I'd reach for it that often.

[Miss Lynx]

I was happy to be able to try this at the most recent Toronto meet'n'sniff, because even though it sounded too floral for me, I like the name, and I'm a big fan of William Blake in general (though more his poetry than his paintings). But I was quite prepared for it not to work on me -- my skin amps florals like crazy. Sweet pea and orchid in particular are usually bad news on me, though muguet (a.k.a. lily of the valley) is not too bad.

 

But to my surprise, it was really pretty nice. The florals are not so strong in the mix as to completely dominate it, even on my skin. The vanilla actually stood out most to me, and did not go all Play-Doh-y the way it sometimes can on me. The rest seemed fairly evenly balanced between the incensey notes and the florals, with neither one predominating.

 

So overall, not bad at all. Not necessarily a case of instant love the way a couple of others from Exhibition II were for me (Three Gorgons and Lot And His Daughters), but definitely some like, anyway. I'm not about to spring for a bottle, but I wouldn't say no to an imp if I happened to come across one.

 

Grade: B

[storme]

In the imp: nutty warm vanilla and sweet florals.

 

On me, wet: warm vanilla and sweet florals - this is a heavy floral scent.

 

On me, dry: still that warm vanilla, with strong heady muggy florals. Hmm.

 

Verdict: this is enough like jasmine to make my nose itch. Pass.

[fiddlefox]

This is very interesting.... and confusing. I thought i smelled foody when i first put it o too, buttery and nutty with florals. But the drydown is just too soapy . Fun trying it anyway...

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Strongly vanilla, with a buttery note (or combo of notes).

 

Wet: Immediately, the woods and resins dominate.

 

Drydown: Then the florals come up and fight it out a bit, but then things quickly retreat to a buttery blend -- probably assisted here by the amber. The throw is only moderate on me, but after the sweet pea burns off, I return to something I truly love: O HAI. I CAN HAS DRAGONZ BLUD.

 

Verdict: This has that lovely complexity associated with the Salons in general, and really is becoming one of my favorites of that group, along with Smiling Spider. I will be seeking more of this, oh yes.

[The_Merf]

This blend is as complex as the note list would indicate. In the decant (dated to 2006, so this has aged some), I get the pulpy tea-like dragon's blood of Dragon Moon, but when I put it on there are a ton of warm notes--vanilla, hazelwood, some amber that work against the DB at some level to provide a very interesting contrast. These warm notes really dominate the blend, which surprises me (I guess since the scent title has 'Dragon' in it, I'm just trained to think that DB will be the leading note). Unfortunately, as warm notes sometimes do, there's a bit of "burnt"-ness to this scent as it goes through its main middle stage. This stage is occasionally interrupted by a burst of DB (which is so fresh here that it nearly reminds me of pear). Amber/vanilla, with a dash of pulpy DB really starts to take this one over in the end. There is not scent of floral on my skin, and the woods are not prominent either.

[hkhm]

imp: the sweet pea is strongest but there are lots of sweet woods as well.

 

wet: this is more woody once applied. there is a very sweet, soft feel to these woods.

 

dry: this ends up like a sweet aged wood, like an old heirloom chest. it's soft and lovely.

 

(edited for spelling)

Edited December 6, 2007 by hkhm

[zankoku_zen]

Oddly enough, I also get the sweet hazelnut smell that everyone else does. This is a sweet and spicy wood scent, with a light white floral overtone to it.

 

This is pretty, but not me. I am not a fan of the artwork that inspired it and everytime I smell this, which is pretty, I still think of the painting.

 

*sigh* I'm such a weirdo sometimes.

[cassandrakfreaq]

this is a sharp floral at first on me. It definitely reminds me of a commercial perfume instead of a bpal blend. when it settles it's sweet and powdery which a vanilla and sandalwood combo tends to do for me. It is nice but not my type of smellie

[savage_rose]

In the imp, it smells like bread. And as it dries...fried food. Chinese takeout? Then it disappears. Very strange!

[soonyi]

wet, i get this foody vanilla-rice note that i didnt like in Oval Portrait. everything else sits in the background to this gross note. (sorry i am not a foody person)

 

dry, as this dries, the vanilla-rice note is less prominent but still there that its all i smell. not for me.

[taramarie]

On me, The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun is floral, a hint of vanilla, and a hint of woods. I can't pick out any individual floral notes, but I'm not complaining -- this scent is gorgeous.

[greenranger]

Sweet woody floral. I think I smell the muguet and the hazelwood at the forefront. Like most of the salon scents, it's fairly complex. It's interesting...and has possibilities.

 

Drying, the scent is softer, and almost buttery. It's softer on me than I thought it would be with all the woods and vanilla. It seems to be lasting fine, but, it's a more...refined...quiet scent than I thought they'd add up to? I could wear this to work or for an interview and not think twice. It also is a bit more standard perfume scented. That is, I don't think anyone is going to ask me, "Ooh, what is that scent?"

[lothien]

This was definitely an "Oh wow!" scent for me (over and over). I was prepared for the dragon's blood part to head to cherry-Sucrets-land and ruin it all, but that didn't happen at all with this one.

 

In the imp and wet I get vanilla and hazelnut (does hazelwood smell nutty? this sure smells like filberts...) and something slightly candied, which is probably the DB. It's not what I was expecting at all. It smells like an exotic dessert.

As it becomes more dry I get wafts of the sandalwood but if I sniff up close I still get vanilla and nuts. Interesting, and doesn't last very long.

A little while later I get a brief, curious whiff of something like buckwheat pancakes that's gone as quick as it came, and then the foody quality is entirely gone...

...and what's left now is clean and woodsy and green with a very soft, appealing floral and amber, and some woods and such that I can't pick out but I really love.

 

I will definitely have to try this one out a few more times and see how consistent the morph is and how long the dry scent lasts, but I have a feeling I may have to find more. It's really a curious and lovely experience.

[hellomoonglow]

Remember when you were a kid with lunch packed neatly into a lunch box? When you opened the lid, that smell? That's what this oil smells like on my skin. Exactly like a lunchbox packed w/ peanut butter sandwiches, juice box, baggie of chips. I don't know why. It's really weird!

 

:(

[JenM]

In the imp: vanilla and cocoa. Yes, nothing says cocoa in the ingredients list. But it smells like cocoa. In fact, almost exactly like Boots' vanilla and chocolate body butter

 

On the wrist: vanilla, hazelnut (which may be the hazelwood) and sandalwood. And, of course, cocoa. I get the vaguest hint of orchid on my right wrist. THe left is much foodier.

 

I like this scent (much time has elapsed--I am at work). It goes from foody to spicy and rather reminiscent of Sacred Whore of Babylon. It's a very nice morph. High marks!

Edited July 23, 2009 by CrazyDiamond

[surf-tormented]

It goes on wet very buttery and foody. Just when I didn't think I would like it, it settles into a nice woody/resin blend. It's warm and there seems to be a honey note in it or something making it smell like honey on me and that is the only thing slightly unpleasant about it. That could be the nut note.

 

I understand what another reviews said about bread and Chinese take-out. It does smell like those things on me!! Like Chinese food with a sweet but dark sauce with a roll on the side. Sort of brown sugary but not. Hard to really say what notes are coming out on me in this blend.

 

It's bizarre, but not bottle worthy. I would recommend trying it for the sheer novelty.

[Venneh]

In the decant, I'm getting daemenodrops, vanilla, and the sandalwood, copal, and amber, I think. Very interesting scent. On my skin, I'm getting the damenodrops, sandalwood, and copal, a very darkly spicy scent. Hrm. We'll see where this goes.

[SophieCedar]

Ok, I'm really bummed this was discontinued. I like it the most out of the whole Salon II pack.. he-goat runs close second.

 

Wet: definitely my kinda blend.. dragons blood, sandalwood, copal, vanilla are some of my favorites. These run the forefront. Sweet pea, hyssop, and muguet are in the background brightening and lifting the blend. Brilliant. It's warm, sweet, and the florals tread very carefully, carried along by the deeper resinous notes. Color impression is golden yellow, flashes of red and burnt umber.

 

Drydown: Same but with a touch of orchid, which is amazing. The woods come out, fostering the blend after the heavy copal dissipates. It's like getting a gourmet entree with brilliant garnishes and swirls and swoops of precious sauces.. you're not quite sure which makes you happier...the meal or the accouterments. The overall effect is ecstatic over-stimulation, which on the outside looks similar to a malfunctioning robot ready to blow. My senses are screaming with joy.

Edited November 25, 2010 by SophieCedar