NVL1

[fairnymph]

Light peachy-pink oil. Dirt, dragon's blood, and loads of white mint. Not like any other BPAL I've smelled, but a rather outdoorsy take on DB - and definitely recommended for fans of Ars Draconis. A simple blend of notes that work well together - or as well as DB can ever work, considering it's a note I personally can't stand.

[zankoku_zen]

Dragon's blood, dirt and something else. DB ends up like a spicy, sweet floral. This one is a touch powdery. It might even have a bit of sandalwood to it.

[crebbsgirl]

Dragon's blood and something minty (but it may be eucalyptus). It's an odd combination on my skin and the two don't seem to be blending well on me. Sharp and a little medicinal, it's just not doing it for me.

[edenssixthday]

NVL1 - Lots and lots and lots of dirt, and then more dirt, and then another big ol' pile of dirt. There's also something very faintly medicinal. Very far in the background is the dragon's blood, but the dirt note is so loud on me that if I hadn't read the other reviews, I'd have never identified the dragon's blood on my own. I have a couple friends who would probably love this, but I never wear dirt scents, so this one's just not for me.

[panavatar]

Wow, all these comments about dirt make me feel like I must have a rogue bottle of NVL1!

 

To me, it smells like soap and spices and a bit of fruit. Very warm. I feel like it smells distinctly like some familiar scent...but I can't place what that is! It definitely doesn't smell like many other BPALs.

[myth]

Something perfumey and something sour-funky… almost burning rubber… I've smelled this before, but I have no idea what it is. A faint edge of something metallic. And other weirdness. Ok, looking at other reviews, maybe some of that weirdness is eucalyptus, because I get that instead of mint, although I'm not sure I'd have picked it out without looking at reviews. I don't know that I get dirt, exactly, but something does smell kind of dirty. Maybe there's a really funky vetiver in here, because that might cover both the dirt and the burning. I think the eucalyptus is making me think of metal. Also it makes me think of Christmas for some reason. I have no idea; I think it's because I used to shop at places like Pier One and Bombay Company during the holidays and they always have those eucalyptus wreaths. It's getting a little better as it dries, but not much.

 

The overall impression of this one is WTF and EW. Baffling, and definitely one of the more weirdly unpleasant scents I've ever smelled.

[bheansidhe]

Imagine those Ricola herbal honey throat drops, plus tons of minty wintergreen. My sinuses cleared when I sniffed the vial. On my skin, it swapped ends several times (MINT! Dirt! Leather! Bright hot honey! Something orange! MINT!). I definitely got honey, but the note wasn't behaving at all like the lab's honey notes usually do. Meanwhile, I could feel the minty astringency working through my tearducts, but it's not a green herbal mint; I see how people guessed eucalyptus - I'm going with camphor.

 

That warm orange-honey note kept baffling me, though - and then it dawned: smells like the cubeb in Crib Girls!

 

So. Cubeb, camphor, and herbal throat drops. I don't get dragon's blood, but I don't try it that often, so I may have forgotten what it smells like.

 

 

 

[Little Bird]

I wish that I got the dirt note that others have mentioned. I also can't really pick out the dragon's blood, and that's usually a strong note on my skin. I find this scent very medicinal (a little menthol, a little minty, and a little honeyed cough drop-esque). In the drydown, there's something a bit sour and something spicy underneath the medicinal qualities, but I can't place what they remind me of. All in all, this isn't something that I'd wear, and I wound up scrubbing the oil off after about a half hour...