Blood Amber

[Coldfire]

Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin.

Imp: mmmmm yum. Amber and blood. Dark and slightly sharp
Wet on Me: The dragon’s blood I get from this is slight, the amber is not too
powdery so it’s a nice dark balance on my skin.
Drying Down: soft…but warm and oooooo I’m wearing a sweater and this
feels like a sweater wearing scent to me.
Dry: WOW! Lurve. This dried down sooo well on me. I may have to get a bottle of this.

[PinkoCommie]

Play-doh and spicy baby powder. Not as reekingly unpleasant as that sounds ... but not for me, either.

[toomuch]

Delicious. This is warm and rich. Between it and Dragon's Heart I think I'll get the bottle of Heart. I'll definitely use this imp and perhaps, when fortune favors my wallet, I can get a bottle of Blood Amber as well.

[jehrichardson]

Dragon's blood always makes me think of Shalimar, by Guerlain, and this is no exception. It must be that Guerlain's extravagant use of vanilla and the extreme sweetness of dragon's blood resonate.

 

I have a hard time, like with jasmine and BPAL butter (as in all the pumpkin scents), smelling past dragon's blood to the other notes. In this case, amber may be so complementary that to try to do so is an exercise in futility.

 

This is just soft, sweet, rich, velvety, delicious dragon's blood. There's a tiny and refreshing bite of bitterness in there now (amber?).

 

All in all, simply outstanding. I'm not sure I need a whole bottle of this, but I'm inspired to pull together all of my dragon's blood fragrances and do a little sniff test to see if I can learn to smell around the major scent. Hmmm...

[hkhm]

imp: rich, sweet dragon's blood.

 

wet: this is pure dragon's blood on me, sweet and bright, sort of lilac-y.

 

dry: this just stays dragon's blood on me, i don't smell anything approaching amber and i usually amp it.

[diamondstars]

I have no idea what Dragon's blood smells like but I do know I like this very much and will be needing a 5ml.

[zankoku_zen]

Okay, this is basically dragon's blood resin and amber on me. It's a sweet, spicy amber blend. Unfortunately the amber goes powdery on me after about an hour.

[PersephonesChild]

I once tried Blood, which was an utter disaster. I later was given some Rage, another dragon's blood blend, and it also failed miserably. So upon finding this frimped in my last lab order, I was slightly less enthusiastic than usual (although I'm still utterly grateful to the lab for the practice of frimping!)

 

But I have a policy of trying everything, so I did eventually put this on my skin.

 

It doesn't go off on my skin, the way previous blood scents have. At worst, my skin is making the amber kind of powdery. It's mostly powdery amber, with a tiny tang of dragon's blood underneath, and a bare hint of cherry-- err, cherry candy, not real cherry. I suppose it's not awful, (after all, Blood smelled like greasy, mangy, unwashed hair on me!) but it's not something I'd ever wear.

[Allumina]

This was such a bad choice for my chemistry. Dragon's blood smells like cheap cherry soap on me. Amber smells like ass. Together, they are not pleasant. That said, this was warm, and girly, and vaguely perfumed, just a combination of notes that don't work at all on me.

[Caerphilly]

In the Imp: Sweet, Sweet, Sweet resin! Sweet! I really don't like Dragon's Blood, but I love Amber. Mixed together, it's interesting...

 

Wet: Definitely resinous. It's not typical Dragon's Blood, though. Not as heavy, and overpowering and hippy shopish. It's sweet though, as it should be.

 

Dry: Oh, Amber!! Now this is what I like! Heay sweet, golden and slightly powdery. I love it! Very good blend, very good drydown. Has good throw still. And it's very feminine, a bit like O. Very sexy.

 

Overall: I want a bottle. Sweet and powdery and has good throw and doesn't give me a headache. Finally, Dragon's Blood that I like!

[riflmom]

Smooooth.....

 

The Dragon's Blood Resin is just barely sweet on me in this blend, and the amber is only the slightest bit powdery.

It's warm and cozy and yet makes me feel powerful all at the same time.

 

This goes right up there with Dragon's Heart and Blood Kiss (so far my two favorite blood scents) - another winner!

[Argentwolf]

Pretty much as advertised -- dragon's blood and amber. The dragon's blood gives it sweetness, while the amber gives it warmth, and the feeling of a nice, round, polished edge to one's nose. Very pleasant. It has modest throw and decent staying power. Recommended to anyone who's a fan of these two components.

[redderz]

I was frimped this and was slightly dubious, having never really thought much of the sound of 'Dragon's Blood'. I just opened the imp up to take a sniff and wow, did I get a shock - it smells just like how my man smells. So I applied it and have proceeded to huff the scent of him for the past 10 minutes.

 

Now that I'm biased, I will say this is a lovely scent. It does however, smell rather soapy on me on drydown, but upon first application I could definitely smell the amber. It may encourage me to try other Dragon's Blood blends though, to see if I can find one I really like!

[sarajane]

I smell that vague lilac-y smell that smells like Dragon's Blood to me. The dragon's bllod completely overpowers the amber. This is a pretty scent, but ultimately not for me.

[aquazoo]

Starts with that warm spicy blood note. Then the amber comes up. This is really pretty. It gets very slightly soapy, but not too bad for such a nice scent.

[rayvn1]

When will I ever learn that blood. doesn't. work on me. EVER! Rrrrrr... I love amber and was really crossing my fingers on these one (for pete's sake though, it's got blood in the fricking title.) What was I thinking? Not good to say the least. Sickly sweet and oddly floral like the blood note always is on me

[voodoocatwoman]

Dragon's blood + amber = sweet love

 

The only problem with this is that I need to reduce the application by about half. It is very powerful and is so strong, it is making me slightly woozy. I think a bottle is in order and it'll probably last the rest of my natural life.

[cleske]

Surprise hit from the frimp camp! This is lovely, and I'm so glad I've found a dragon's blood blend that's light enough to wear to work and doesn't inspire my usual dragon's blood reaction. The dragon's blood is light, as I've said, and the amber is warm and enveloping... I love this, it's so warm and pretty, and it lasts!

[Scarah]

Love love love.

 

Freshly applied: Spicy, resiny, interesting.

 

Dry: This is one of those "smells like me, but better and more interesting" things for me. But it doesn't stay half an inch from my skin and actually has throw!

 

In conclusion: I think this was kinda everything I expected out of Snake Oil, but didn't get. I will have to experiment further as I would hate to be wearing this and have it be TOO strong. A little really goes a long way on me, moreso than other BPAL. And it lasts and lasts.

[saralaughs]

Not being a huge fan of Dragon's Blood in the first place puts a damper on my even liking this scent. I get a lot of the Blood and it amps to high hell on me, giving it this medicinal cherry smell. Ugh. SCRUBBED off.

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: The oil separates into a medium yellow oil with a layer of red grit. When gently mixed, the suspended particles turn the oil to a dark or reddish orange. Smells like sweet incense.

 

Wet on Skin: I think this is Too Much. Overwhelming.

 

While Drying: Not bad, but maybe a bit too sweet.

 

After a Little While: I like the random whiffs I get when I am not paying attention better than the scent that sticks close to my skin.

 

Later: Scent stays forever - lasted through a shower (I like the lingering scent); I liked it enough later on to reapply before bed - stays through the night; I like the scent it left on my jacket.

 

Final Thoughts: I loaned the imp to a friend, but when I get it back, I will be interested in testing this alongside the straight DB and see if I can tease out the differences. This one ended up being a happy surprise as time passed.

Blood Amber earns a 3.5/5

[MCS4096]

Juicy amber, not at all dry. I prefer the drier and spicier variety a la The Lion.. but this isn't too bad

[lilwhiterabbit]

Another one that doesn't last very long on me, unfortunately. There are no surprises here, it's amber and dragon's blood resin and pretty well-balanced with both. It smells exactly same in the imp as it does on me, though on my boyfriend it's super spicy and slightly fruity--vaguely like red hots, for some reason.

[glitterlips]

Tried this morning, it smells GREAT in the tube (I have an imp), but when I put it on it instantly turned into an "old lady perfume" smell.

 

I immediately walked over to my case of resin amber and dabbed that on top and it smells better.

 

Unfortunately the Blood Amber alone is not for me.

 

-Mel

[fairnymph]

Deep orange-reddish amber. Heavy, intense DRAGON'S BLOOD with a little warm, indeed golden, soft amber. I am rather terrified.

 

Super lilacy dragon's blood, headily floral with a soapy edge. But I get much less of the fake cherry and intense soap that I typically do - it's almost just straight lilac. The amber is soft, and pretty overwhelmed - but it's actually quite nice, with a faintly but not unpleasantly powdery edge. There's some sweetness here too that I can't attribute to either of the listed notes.

 

Lilac amping, in fact, this is one of the most strongly LILAC blends I've tested. Very heady. Still not sure of the mystery sweetness's source - though it does strike me as something fruity, maybe citrusy, like pink grapefruit? There's a tart edge. There's a deep warmth that permeates the blend and a little bit of baby powder from the amber.

 

Definitely grapefruit, but it goes rather bitter, like I'm getting mostly pith and peel - it also reminds a little of the 'evil grapefruit' note from R'lyeh, but it doesn't really have that rotten aspect. It's not a bad grapefruit note, it just clashes oddly with the heavy lilac. The amber has faded, and it was never strong - it's just a very mildly powdery gentle golden warmth. The dragon's blood is only a bit soapy, since it's comprised almost entirely of lilac.

 

So - LILAC with a little pink grapefruit, a bit of dragon's blood soap, and faint warm, slightly baby-powderish amber. Interesting, but it doesn't work on my skin and it's not something I'd wear. Great throw and longevity.