Blood Amber

[Ina Garten Davita]

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

I've been begging for this and the Lab so graciously indulged me by throwing this in with my order.

First Impression: Wet this is all dragon's blood in all it's thick, juicy perfection.

Second Impression: As it dries it warms and sweetens with glorious golden amber. This scent is truly burnished red and deep gold like the leaves in the height of the fall season.

Final Analysis: This is everything that I had hoped it would be; balanced, warm, sweet. I am eternally grateful.

EDIT: Moved thread from Up-and-Coming and added new site category --Shollin Edited September 13, 2007 by clover

[hypothermya]

First Impression

 

This smells like sweet, juicy dragon's blood, but lighter than any other dragon's blood blend I've tried. The amber cuts through it, and makes it seem golden almost. Like this gold red color. It kinda reminds me of Bon Vivant, but with more oomph and more spirit.

 

Wearing It

 

Drat -- my skin never did play well with amber. When I first put this on, the dragon's blood is all I can smell, but within minutes it's faded. And the amber, which on any other person should smell just beautiful, smells faint and not very noticeable. So what's left is this slight cherry spice with just the faintest touch of amber.

 

...I do wish that amber actually boldened up on me. On the other hand, my boyfriend's skin chemistry is brilliant with amber, so I'm going to try this one out on him and see how he likes it.

[pkwench]

Blood Amber

 

Woohoo! Up and coming! And one with both amber AND dragon's blood. Oh, but I am the happy wench now. And, wow, that's one full vial!

 

Vial: First whiff is the dragon's blood, as with seemingly all dragon's blood scents. But, when I sniffed again, there was that warm glow of amber. And that's when I realized that it wasn't as sweet as a lot of dragon's blood scents. Which is nifty. Sometimes I find them nice, but overpoweringly sweet. I could just be in some serious love here.

 

Wet: A lovely blend of amber and db resin. Right now, it's like a contest is being waged upon my flesh. Do we go sweet? Or do we go warm and resiny?

 

After 10: It's dragon's blood with amber. It's not as bang-your-head sweet as most dbr scents. I think the amber might just stand up and take control here.

 

After 20: You know, it's really about the most perfect blend of amber and dragon's blood. The blood sweetens the amber and the amber tempers the blood and warms it up. It's a lush, warm, and sweet scent. I'm enjoying it!

 

And having had this on one hand and Aureus on the other, I have to say that the two layered would be positively drool-worthy.

[Mandarin]

I was delighted to see an imp of Blood Amber in the order that came today.

 

In The Vial It's dragon's blood and just a hint of something faintly citric. Delicious. I'm going to hyperventilate, sniffing away to try to figure out what it is. Orange? Lemon? It's beautifully balanced.

 

On Wet Wow..dragon's blood fruitiness, and that little kick of citrus is hanging around just *teasing* me, damn it. Now a hint of some gentle floral presence. Not obtrusive, not 'loud'..there's nothing about this scent that 'shouts' to me. It's warm and sweet, and slightly reminiscent of..honey? Honeysuckle? Something flowery, but it's subtle. There's something about this that reminds me of an amber bracelet I once had, where the amber was shaded clear and opaque. Nine pieces of amber, each slightly different, and I loved to watch the sun play through each one. This scent is like that..the first ray of sun hitting a clear amber rectangle, and shining like poured honey.

 

Drying Is that *peony* that I smell? The flowery presence that reminds me a little of Old Amsterdam? Now the warmth of the amber is coming up, and a hint of something a little sharper, animalistic, like vetiver or even civet. There's a buttery hint to this too, something smoothing, and comforting.

 

Dry My skin drinks this one up so fast you'd think I was a camel not a human being. There's always a wonderful complexity about BPAL's scents, but this is the first time I've been so puzzled and pleased by what was in the scent. Now it's settled down to smell slightly spicy, ambery, like honey and amber with a hint of cherries in the background. It's very pretty, very feminine, but to me there's absolutely nothing 'girly' here. Blood Amber knows who she is and what she's doing. She doesn't take any crap from anyone and she doesn't excuse or apologize. I like this. I like it a lot.

 

I want to try this scent again, to make sure it's not my skin chemistry doing the wacky, but I can already tell that I like this scent. I don't know if I'll like it well enough to buy it. I need to think about it, but I definitely will make this imp last for as long as I possibly can.

 

Note: It is now an ungodly hour of the morning. And from my skin there's the faintest, sweetest warmth. Blood Amber, making her presence known with that ladylike ease. This is a big bottle. A BIG bottle. Just back the truck up, baby.

Edited September 14, 2004 by Mandarin

[Nepthys]

I can't pick out either the dragon's blood or the amber - they're blended together too smoothly. Instead it smells just like one warm, autumnal golden note, sweetened by something floral (?) that so far has lasted on me for hours. I love both amber and dragon's blood individually so it's not a surprise that this totally works for me. This is very pretty and very new to me - I haven't found anything similar yet in BPAL.

[TheDarkMother]

After Blood Lotus, I am really excited about Blood Amber. Let's see if it lives up to my expectations.

 

In the Bottle: A lighter cherry smell than Blood Lotus, and a warmish glow to the bottle as well. I guess that must be the amber.

 

On Me: This has a "rain" quality to it, a soft aquatic scent. The amber is a lot sharper than I imagined, giving the oil a spicy scent as well. But its a whisper, a light scent. And it fades fast.

 

I love the scent. I wish it would linger more, although it does take some time to play peek-a-boo before leaving entirely.

[sarahmarie]

I love this scent, and I haven't even worn it myself. My husband put some on when it came in my most recent order, and it smells wonderful on him. I want him to bathe in it. It's such an inviting scent. I hope this becomes available for purchase in a bigger bottle soon, because I want to get more for him as soon as possible.

 

In the meantime, maybe I should try it on myself. But I had to post this review preemptively anyway, because I love it so much.

[Rheliwen]

I received this as a sample with my latest order, and again a sample has become my favorite of the bunch.

 

This smelled so sweet and juicy in the bottle that I actually wore it to bed and sniffed my wrists all night under the covers. I've had mixed feelings about dragon's blood resin because it tends to smell really cherryish on me, and I'm not really into food scents. This one surprised me though and is making me rethink my opinion of dragon's blood

 

This one has had fairly good staying power. I wore Jolly Roger yesterday and was sad that it has worn off by 5pm. It's about 5pm now and Blood Amber is still very noticable on my wrist.

 

Verdict: I think the combination is perfect. I would wear this scent everyday! It reminds me of Snake Oil a little, but instead of the sugary coating, you get a cinnamon one.

Edited September 17, 2004 by Rheliwen

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I sqeeee'd like mad when I found this as a gift with my latest order. I've been so excited about this one, and it's just what I expected--pure dragon's blood and amber, perfectly balanced. Because my mind is pretty random, I immediately thought of the novel Dragonfly in Amber, by Diana Gabaldon (historical romance), which always struck me as a cool title and a cool image--and now a great fragrance; warm and strong.

[pekeana]

I swapped with pkwench for this one -- and boy, am I glad I did!

 

In the vial: Blood Amber is dragon's blood, thick and heady, spicy and floral with an undercurrent of soft, sweet base amber.

 

On me: the dragon's blood goes very spicy, almost like a hint of spice has been thrown into the mix -- but that's what dragon's blood tends to do on me. The amber comes up beneath it and makes a soft base that keeps the dragon's blood from going too floral or too spicy on me. The amber doesn't go powdery [finally!!], and the dragon's blood makes it stick around for hours of gloriousness.

 

Right before it disappeared, there was just the faintest hint of nutty amber and spicy dragon's blood resin. So yummy I can't believe it!

[xoe]

Warm and wellblended. Amber didn't take over like it usually does on me. Really warming. Like a gorgeous sunset.

[leslie260]

Blood Amber is gorgeous! The exact notes are eluding me, but overall the scent is warm, sweet and rich. It smells expensive, if that makes any sense.... I will definitely be getting a larger bottle of this one.

[esgaroth]

I was a bit hesitant about the 'blood' part as I had no equivalent scent in mind that would give me any idea of what to expect.

 

WOO HOO! I love this fragrance!! Amber is my favorite ingredient, so to put this on was to put on a glowing ember. It warmed my skin as if I had brushed up against a dragon's foot and the amber was the golden scent I carried with me when I left its' lair.

[Faerykin]

Blood Amber

 

This was thrown in as an extra with my hubby’s last order, and he loves it. So, I figured I’d give it a try.

 

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone … and a little in the cleavage.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): This goes on sweet. The dragon’s blood and amber blend perfectly.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): There is something almost-floral, almost-fruity here. How odd. It is certainly a warm scent – golden-red, like a sunset.

 

Throughout the Day (10am-on): This is a very pleasant scent – it has staying power (still here as I leave for home) and it helped center me when I got frustrated today. It is good to see a scent that works well for both myself and my hubby … there may have to be a big bottle in the future.

[ChupaChup]

I got Blood Amber as a generous extra in an order, thank you lab angels! I also have another imp coming in a swap . Dragon's blood has been a little iffy for me, I love it in Dragon's Milk but in some other blends, it can amp up notes I don't like, even though dragon's blood by itself is fine. Well, in Blood Amber, it's glorious. It jumps right out on my skin, in almost a floral way, then the amber reins it back in. Amber always goes kind of golden sugary on me, sort of like crystallized honey. Add that to the dragon's blood and it's perfection. I only wished it lasted a little longer, it's pretty much gone in an hour, but I'll put up with reapplication for something this nice

[Scylla]

 

This smells lovely in the vial, but my body chemistry has ruined Blood Amber!

 

I am not kidding -- on drydown I smell like the car of an old man who chainsmokes cigars!

Edited October 3, 2004 by Scylla

[Northernminx]

Originally I wasn't planning on keeping this because it's just so resonant and second-skin a blend on me that it kind of turns into this golden red glow on my skin. That said, that is exactly why I'm keeping it. A second sniff and this is a gorgeous resin and amber filled concoction that just sings with warmth. It never powders out, never turns stale. Just mmmm mmm perfect. big bottle!

[violetblue]

A sweetie from the Lush forum sent me this one!

At first sniff, I was surprised - it wasn't what I was expecting, and quite strong!

After I put it on, it was still strong, but in a soft way if that makes sense. The amber and dragon's blood seem to share the spotlight and take turns showing off their pretty scents, before they blend into one. So glad I ordered a 10ml of this unsniffed, and can't wait to get it!

[feline.by.design]

Blood Amber seems like a building block for one of my favourite scents, Hollywood Babylon, which I believe also has amber in it. In the vial, it looks like there was one single drop of blood that turned the liquid a light red. Cooooool...

 

The fragrance held up well on me, though I think I detected a note of cinnamon or something spicy, but I think I'm just mad. I really like the fragrance.

 

Blood Amber.... I don't think I will buy a bottle of it, but I will likely order imps of it in the future to wear alone or layer with scents like Hollywood Babylon or Lampades. Or maybe Red Moon. I think this is also a good one to share with some of my friends, so I may be buying some imp ears for them, too.

 

-doreen

[supasonicsage]

Wow.

 

In the bottle: I smell dragon's blood resin and not much else. Granted it is Beth's really great dragon's blood, so that isn't really a bad thing.

 

Wet: The dragon's blood and the amber mix perfectly. It does have a sort of tang while wet... not really citrus, but sort of sour (not smelling, but tasting, if that makes any sort of sense).

 

Dry Down: After a half an hour the amber warms up and Blood Amber turns into this perfect spicy, subtle, warm sexy scent. I am truely amazed at how beautiful this smells. I really think that if I were to have a signature scent (which I just can't bring myself to do, since there are too many blends of Beth's that I just love) this would be it.

 

I really can't say enough about this one.

[danuv]

I got this as a freebie in my last order which is great because I never would have considered ordering it and I really love it. I thought I didn't care for Dragon's Blood and I was scared of amber thinking it might have been what I really didn't like in O but this is a gorgeous scent.

It is definitely RED. Very very very red. Makes me think of Russian women for some odd reason. On me this scent sinks into my skin and lasts nicely. I tend to change perfumes a lot throughout the day and this one took hours and hours to fade to the point where I'd want to put something else on but it is so easy to layer other things on top of. It seems an incredibly versatile oil.

It is on my big bottle list.

[DukTape]

Oh gods.

 

This is my favorite so far, and it was a freebie in my order.

 

1500 ml bottle.

 

Oh gods.

[summer]

This is beautiful. Warm, pulsating, rich, and slightly sweet. It's one of those scents that melts into the skin and smells like part of your natural scent, only BETTER. This is the kind of scent that has you sticking your head in your shirt for a sniff. Divine.

 

I don't usually wear scents this heady, and so this won't be a daily perfume for me, but I love putting it on when I get home in the evenings.

[AnnetteL]

This is very nice! It's halfway between O and Dragon's Milk on me (the amber from O and the dragon's blood resin from Dragon's Milk), but I like it better than either of those. It's a little less sweet than them, and really blends into my skin. It's what I would smell like naturally, if I naturally smelled great Warm and golden and welcoming, not "perfumey" at all.

 

I'm extremely tempted to buy a bottle of it, but I want to try Le Petit Mort first just to make sure I'm getting my favourite scent from this family...

[Koumori]

Well, hmm. The Lab keeps throwing in freebies for me from the Dragon's Blood group. I think they're trying to convince me that I really do like Dragon's Blood after all! Unfortunately, no, I still don't, but I do love amber, so this is certainly the most successful of the Dragon's Blood lot. It's that warm, resiny amber scent that I love, tempered with the DB, which gives it a bit of a fruity edge on me. Mellows quickly into a very soft and subtle scent.