Dragon's Heart

[BlueStar]

A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant.

Mmm fig infused blood. Tasty blood feast!

I loved this scent. It didn't love me. So I kicked it to the curb. It went to my friend Ben who gets everything that doesn't work on me. Everything I have given him has always worked. He is the devil. I loathe him.

Anyway in the bottle this scmells very swimmy and dreamy like a really upscale head shop. Cinnamon and dragon's blood inscence. Yum!

Drydown in the drydown somewhere this turned powdery on me. Smells great on Ben though because he is the devil. Edited December 13, 2005 by Shollin

[SeaMonkey]

This is mostly dragons blood. There's a tiny bit of resin and I'm getting the red musks, so thankfully not the red musk that went wrong on me in Dragon's Musk. I think I'll stick with straight dragon's blood or dragon's milk

[mayhap]

In the imp: Dark and earthy, with something a little fruity.

 

Drydown: Something in this is turning powdery and unpleasant on me, and I think it might be the dragon's blood. I can tell that this would smell nice on someone who's not me, though.

[desu]

In the bottle: This is a sweeter version of Dragon's Hide to my nose. Dragon's Hide smelled like J&J baby shampoo, so it'll be interesting to see where this one goes. The components are different, so I'm hoping it won't turn to shampoo on my skin like it did with Dragon's Hide.

 

On my skin: This one's turned into sweet baby shampoo on me. :|

 

Later on: What I'm guessing is the fig is Last Man Standing on my skin. The shampoo smell is gone leaving behind juicy fruit.

[olympia301]

Until now, all of the dragon's blood scents just stay as dragon's blood on my skin. Nothing at all comes out beside...dragon's blood. I swear, if Beth mixed tear gas with dragon's blood, it would smell entirely of dragon's blood on me.

 

However, of all the dragon's blood mixtures this one has the best chance of being more than (guess what) on my skin. That is due to the blessed mixture of red musk along with the dragon's blood. Perhaps red musk is the St. George of dragon's blood additives but it combines beautifully with DB and takes it to new and comforting heights. I can smell a tiny bit of fig in here, too. I am very glad that the Lab sent me this imp of Dragon's Heart, it is my favorite of all the DB scents and is more than just DB...Beth got that strong, nice, but obdurate scent to roll over and do a few tricks. That takes real talent, and Dragon's Heart shows what a bit of skill, creativity, and persistence can do. Nice blend!

 

The icon is a desecration of a fabulous St. George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello, one of the greatest and least appreciated painters of the Italian Renaissance.

Edited December 16, 2005 by olympia301

[AngellicMystique]

This is wet, and full to the point of bursting. This scent throbs and undulates. It's fruity, then musky, but never faint.

[melange]

Imp: warm/unfamiliar.

 

Wet: the same, but dry, a hint of wood even though it's not in the notes.

 

Drydown: good throw, at first reminded of a particular "deep-fried with a sauce" Chinese dish that a group of us used to hang out and eat back in the day, though not hot-and-sour, the fig and currant give it just enough sweetness.

 

Worn: I just had to refresh because I wanted more, and then I had to rub my wrists into my hair. It's sensual and I want to roll around with it. It's strengthening rather than overpowering, and for once I don't so much want to sniff my wrists directly as just... put it on. It lasts for a good long while, too.

 

Conclusion: I never thought I liked musk, but with Beth's, they work out great. I'm guessing the dragon's blood is a big contributor here too, and I'm going to have to try a few more of the dragon's blood varieties (I've only had Eye and Heart before) before I decide which is my favorite and which needs a bottle. While I always really appreciate the frimps, this is one that I'm especially wowed by.

[mandragora]

Frimp luvin' from Atropos

 

Another winner! At first sniff, Dragon's Heart is a warm, sweet yet gentle scent. Dark, rich plum-ey goodness, fig? On the drydown, spicy and musky notes come out. I see a 5ml bottle in the future.

Edited February 4, 2006 by mandragora

[kakiphony]

In the imp: The sweet smell of dragon's blood (which always smells like a fruit to me) is overlaid with very sharp musk. This smells like a more traditional perfume scent than a lot of the other bpals I've tried. There's something very 70's about it to my nose. It's quite pungent and a touch bug-sprayish from the aggressive musks.

 

Wet: This is much less pungent on my skin than in the imp. The dragon's blood is dominant, and the musks add a combination powder/salty sweat note in the background. There's just a suggestion of pink bathroom soap in there as well.

 

Early dry down: After about fifteen minutes, the musk has receded and I've entirely lost the sharp-sweaty smell and the soapy odor. What's left is a sweet, rich, grape-like scent which reminds me of cream sherry. It's obviously the dragon's blood since that almost always turns into fruit of some variety on me. (Dragon's Hide was skittles-powder and Tintagel is Grape Nehi.) There's just a hint of something spicy under the sweet. Maybe cinnamon? If it's not cinnamon, then it's some other warm baking or cooking spice. It's very subtle so far, without a lot of throw. It's another wrist to the nose variety on me.

 

Late dry down: After one hour, this has continued to fade into a sweet, syrupy scent with just a hint of musk under it. It reminds me a lot of Tintagel with the grape/fruit note, but whereas that faded into a spicy, resinous grape, this has faded to warm, thick grape. I'd almost swear that there was honey in there, but it must just be how dragon's blood and musk combine on my skin. It makes me feel sticky, as if I'd spilled my pancakes in my lap! There is, however, a powdery finish to the scent.

 

Conclusion: This is a nice scent, but I'm not sure I need it and Tintagel. I think this might be another one of those scents that's more appropriate for a young teenager or someone more traditionally feminine than me. I don't know whether this will go in the swap/gift box or if I'll keep it around to give it another try. Right now, I could go either way.

[Imptress]

I love the fruitiness of the dragon's blood, fig and black currant in this... and the musks were an added bonus! I especially love Beth's red musk. This was so sweet and rich, but hubby told me I smelled "too old lady-ish" when I was wearing it. I didn't get that at all, but I do have a tendency to slather. I'm going to try this again with a much more restrained application and see what sort of reaction it gets.

[Amberfishy]

Dragon's Heart is lovely and earthy and RED, it's warm and full of life and I don't mind snuggling right into it, it's like the resin oozing out of an ancient tree.

 

As it dries down it leaves a nice creamy and spicey scent that still has a faint musky kick. Quite a satisfying scent.

[angharad]

Very musky, very sweet, faintly spicy. Dragon's blood (so far) tends to go cherry on me, so that's mainly the sweetness I get. I really like Dragon's Blood; all the notes go so well together and don't overpower or throw off the other notes. Unfortunately, it fades completely within about half an hour. It has good throw, and I have received compliments on it right after application, but it just fades too damn fast for me to really want to wear it because I do not have time during the day to keep reapplying the oil. Bad skin! Why must you do this to me?

[chapatti]

First whiff: sweet, dark, slightly fruity. Very well blended - the dragon's blood is detectable, but not overwhelming at all. I can also smell the red musk.

 

Drydown: it keeps on dark and syrupy without getting cloying. The fig (it smells like dry, candied fig) and black currant waft around, it's very pleasant. Strangely enough, the scent doesn't really feel "strong" or "vital" whatsoever to me, on the contrary - it feels mellow and... languid? That's what sloth would smell like to me, actually.

As it goes, the fig and current gain in intensity, on a soft, slightly resiny note.

 

Verdict: quite nice. I don't know how often I'd actually wear it, but it's a very pleasant scent.

 

7.5/10

[fiddlehead]

This is the first of the Ars Draconis I've tried. I love Blood Amber and Red Phoenix, though.

 

As soon as I put it on it reminds me strongly of something very familiar. I can smell the DB, and some of the musks when I concentrate. I keep thinking I smell something like vanilla. Then it hit me. This reminds me of Johnsons Baby Oil, which we used to slather all over ourselves in the Summer in order to bake in the sun. This was back in the 60's before we had sunblock That smell was always soooo yummy to me. Reminds me of summer, and slathering it all over the BF as well as myself

 

Another winner! I'll be interested to see how it wears over a whole day.

 

 

ETA It lasted until the next morning and was still quite strong. Wow!

Edited February 5, 2006 by fiddlehead

[grrrlennyl]

at first: dark musks and sweet dragon's blood.

on: dragon's blood, lots of musk, and a hint of black currant. lovely.

1.5 hours later: much warmer and muskier. not as sweet.

3 hours later: an odd sharpness plus musk.

overall: this is nice, but not something i would reach for very often.

[Sycorax]

I swear, that when I first smelled this in the vial it was almost exactly like fig and dragon's blood mixed with... nail polish remover? Nail polish remover! I was stunned. BPAL goes bad on my skin sometimes, but I've never disliked any of Beth's scents right from the get-go.

 

After I put Dragon's Heart on it became sweeter and more full-bodied. Yet that strange note never truly left. I think perhaps it might be that the musk is too agressive for me? I don't have a lot of experience with musks.

 

Edit: ... after a few hours, the nailpolish remover smell turns to... furniture polish. Um. I think I'll wash this off now.

Edited February 8, 2006 by Sycorax

[seamor]

First on: OMG!!! I love dragon’s blood resin, and this blend is AMAZING!!! INSTANTLY No. 1 on my favorites list!

 

I think I’m smelling a little of the black currant and fig, rounding out the resin scent and making it deeper and juicier. I can’t pick out other individual notes, and maybe I’m only imagining I smell the currant – this is so beautifully blended that nothing sticks out. It has a lovely, sweet throw – almost like flowers (lilies? ripe mango?), but with that beautiful resin as well. I am perfectly delighted.

 

An hour later: Very stable - a wonderful musky resin on the wrist, still with that round, sweet throw. This is simply gorgeous. It seems like it will last for a while, too.

 

This is the first time I’ve encountered a scent that actually makes me want to roll in it. Happy, happy, happy....

 

Update: A few hours later the Dragon's Heart seems to be fading, so I layer some Aglaea over it. The combination reminds me of Imp, but uh... better? Hard to believe. Oh dear - now I will have to get more Dragon's Heart and more Aglaea, mix them together, and ... bathe in it.

Edited February 13, 2006 by celtimor

[Wyndi]

Dragon's Heart is somewhere between a rose/cherry/red spice scent without being overwhelming or cloying. There's also a hint of the outdoors to it. Like hiking along a crooked path overhung with berry-laden bushes, wet moss, and surrounded by ominous, craggy cliffs. It's smooth, creamy, smoky, earthy, undeniably sensual, exotic, and sexy. Yes, that's a bit of a mouthful but that's really the only way to describe it.

 

This is a scent that would serve well as olfactory therapy if you're having a bad day. Deep, red spice through and through and man, oh man, does it ever linger! It doesn't go through much scent evolution on me as time wears on, though I'd have to say the only noticeable change is that the spice is what really stays with me.

[GemmaCat]

In the imp: fruity and rich, with an almost medicinal undertone.

 

On my skin, initial: heady, resinous, deep and throbbing scent.

 

Drydown: much the same, but it fades relatively quickly.

 

I had a hard time placing the individual notes in this one, so I've ordered an imp of Dragon's blood itself for assistance.

 

Overall, this is a beautiful scent. A possible future bottle.

[Missmoonlight]

I thought that the "heart" would have been "pink", a "love heart", Hello Kitty style....no, this isn't a pink heart, this is a pulsating heart from he underground, the centre of the earth...

Thi is more resin to me, more wood. Dragon's blood reminds me of magenta juicy fruits, Dragon's heart is when those fruits have become old and dried and they're covered with incense, resin and pepper. A strange description, I know! Not the right perfume for me

[VenusFlyTrap]

There is something very special about this scent.

 

It is quite personal and soft yet complex and deep.

 

I love the combination of dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant. It is actually quite a complex and mysterious fragrance and is aptly named for the heart. Because that is where it touches you.

 

[Caltha]

Dragon's Heart

A freebie I would never have picked for myself since I can't stand dragon's blood. It's such a nauseating, generic, fake, almost floral sort of perfumey scent on me. Warm and spicy, but in all the wrong ways. Red as in red plastic.

Dragon's Heart is pretty much the same: spicy, perfumey, warm, sugary sweet, artificial, cinnamony, nauseating, floral...

[fiddledragon]

Scent in bottle: Dragon's blood and musk. It smells a lot like Dragon's Musk in the bottle. I might be able to get just a hint of fruit, but the resin smells sweet as it is, so it's hard to tell.

 

Scent on me:

Wet -- Warm, deep musk and dragon's blood. The sweetness vanishes on my skin...it'll be back when it dries if the others are any indication.

Dry -- My skin absolutely eats this. It's faded to a faint musk-resin-fruit smell that I really, really like.

 

Conclusion: Mine. I don't think I need both bottles of this and Dragon's Musk, though, and I like DM better. Keeping the imp.

[Poenari]

This was a generous frimp from the lab, and on first applying it, I am hooked! MUST. HAVE. MORE.

 

On skin: musky, resin, spicy dragon's blood. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. Want to slather this one all over. Seems to have a decent enough lasting ability on me- the max I have been able to get out of any BPAL before reapplying is about 3 hours, and this one has hit that mark, so I consider it a success.

[septima_pica]

All powdery, resinous roses. Bleah. I can't even smell the fruit.

 

After half an hour there's a suggestion of berries, but still no fig -- dammit, I wanted figs.

 

Oh hell, there they are! Nearly an hour after I first applied it, it turned into something I can actually wear. Really, I think I should just avoid dragon's blood, except for Dragon's Bone which inexplicably works. Oh, but it's so nice now!I wonder what scent could do this for me without the looooong interval of nasty-ass powdery plastic roses?