A Witch Riding on a Dragon

[Dark Alice]

Jan de Bisschop
Blackened tonka, patchouli, dragon's blood resin, and scorched oak.

This is absolutely beautiful. The light sweet powdery of tonka calms the patchouli of the dragon and the oak just rounds it out beautifully.
This scent is so well blended that I can't believe the notes listed. I just adore it! So, so glad I bought it.

[HerbGirl]

This IS beautiful! I think the above review is spot on - gorgeous sweetness added to the patchouli and dragon's blood and the oak is present. VERY very nice.

 

ETA - this is aging beautifully! More depth to the dragon's blood, less astringent oak. very nice!

Edited December 4, 2015 by Herb Girl

[LiberAmoris]

I love the blackened and scorched notes in A Witch Riding on a Dragon. They're most prominent on me when wet, but are never overwhelming...they just make this blend more atmospheric and it's a great counter to the tonka and dragon's blood. The tonka and dragon's blood are stronger than the patchouli on my skin, and I don't always love the oak note, but here it works really well to ground everything. There is sweetness and soft char and resins in abundance here. I got this for my husband, but am glad I got to try it first.

[Mechanical Death]

I was so exited for this one after reading reviews, it sounded just so gorgeous. Sadly on me this turns into burning menthol plastic when it hits my skin :[

I can only hope that giving it a few months to mature in the bottle will change this aspect and let it shine.

[Roogna]

the mix of tonka and dragon's blood turns sickly sweet (sort of a cherry-almond-db) amid pencil shavings that are very blackened

 

to top it off, it turns soapy on me *sigh*

Edited November 11, 2015 by Roogna

[nathanielhebert]

I wonder if there's some batch variance with A Witch Riding on a Dragon—I'm sometimes averse to sweet scents, and with tonka and dragon's blood, I knew I was taking a gamble when I ordered this bottle. Luckily, they're rather dry in this with both notes tempered by smokiness and a lovely wooden oak scent. It calls to mind every occult shop I've stepped into with dragon's blood resin smouldering in a censer—appropriate for a witch themed bottle!

[strahlend]

First sniff – dragon's blood and patchouli are what I smell first. I like it very much.

Testing – I would think that there was a drop of ginger in here? I get a bit of the scorched oak, but just a hint to darken it up a bit, not overwhelming. Mostly a dark dirty patch and the dragon's blood that smells like it has a snap of ginger in it. Dries down to a nice sweet, if somewhat powdery, dragon's blood.

[village alchemist]

in the bottle, i smelled mostly the sweet notes with a hint of smokey scorched oak.

 

wet, it was all sweet. not cloying, but definitely strong.

 

as it's dried down, the scorched oak and patchouli have gotten significantly stronger, mingling very nicely with the sweetness.

 

overall: i love this scent!! it shifts so much, and is incredibly appealing no matter what phase of scent it's in.

[zankoku_zen]

Blackened sweet notes of tonka over smoky oak and a touch of patchouli. This is sexy in a FIRE way. Ugh, so good.

 

Good throw, good wear length.

[sprout]

In vitro- smoky DBR, vanilla like tonka

 

Wet- DBR is smoky incense, tonka is a sweet, soft counterpoint and there's a hint of woodsmoke. Oak is presumed, from the notes, I don't think I'd have identified it otherwise.

 

Drying - tonka predominantly with DBR adding a smoky incense quality. DBR can go either powdery, as it does here, or sweet, syrup like and floral. The oak note is a lovely wood base, the tonka fuzzy like a baby blanket. The patchouli is present, woody rather than dirty, but subdued.

 

Final thoughts- Fuzzy, incense, cuddly and slightly sweet without being foody or burnt. Not quite my jam, I prefer my incense sweeter or with spice, woodier or earthier. This is too airy and pure, but I'll bet it has it's admirers.

Edited November 30, 2015 by sprout

[Atrous]

My main reaction is powdery and smoky.

the notes are so well blended its hard to detect individual notes.

I have to literally touch my nose to my wrist to detect the patch, oak, and dragon's blood but they smell distant if that makes sense.

Lovely blend and surprisingly delicate.

[MtMoonKitty]

This is turning out to be one of my lab favorites and I've been arguing with myself about buying a back up. It is a beautiful scent. I don't pick up on the patchouli at all, but the dragon's blood is lovely with what I suspect is tonka. Dragon's Blood can be a love it or hate it component for me and I love it in A Witch Riding a Dragon.

[oneiromantics]

This is such a BPAL scent to me, and I love it for that. The feeling it gives me is similar to when you open your box of imps and go "ahhhh, BPAL." The scorched oak is what stands out the most on my skin, rounded out with a bit of sweetness. Dragon's blood blends are not usually in my wheelhouse, but it's playing nicely here. It feels a bit like the Antikythera Mechanism's smokier cousin. In my opinion, it's smack in the middle of masculine and feminine. Definitely looking forward to seeing how it ages!

[brilliantcat]

I am so, so disappointed. All of these notes should have been perfect on me but instead as soon as it hits my skin, I get slightly sweet powder. No morphing over time either. The oak and patch ran off to be amazing and deep and smoky together leaving me with powder. NUTS. To swaps with ye!

[Little Bird]

Powdery, honeyed tonka, a watery, soapy, floral smelling dragon's blood, and a charred, ashy wood smell. Dries down to blackened, ashy wood, powder and a hint of soap. This one isn't working on me.

[Lucchesa]

I can smell the lovely blackened woods notes in the imp, but on my skin everything gets drowned out by the cloying sweetness of the dragon's blood. DBR does that on me, all too often, but the other notes sounded so lovely that I had to take a chance. I think this would be gorgeous on someone who can wear dragon's blood.

[artisjok]

A Witch Riding on a Dragon is a scent that I waver on how much I enjoy. It’s powdery and smoky like the remnants of a charred tree, and it’s sweetened and incensed by the dragon’s blood. I don’t get an obvious patchouli, and I do get the woodsy note of oak. Maybe it’s a combo of the two.
The combo of sweet/powdery sometimes turns my stomach, yet other times I feel sexy cozy. 
The concept connects to a personal imagery that I hold close, so I doubt I will ever choose to destash. I feel a throb of power emitting from me when I’m slathered in the scent, and sometimes power is a bitch to wield. 

[Poenari]

My bottle is from the original release in 2015, but I never reviewed it. It's chilly and rainy outside and I needed something dark and atmospheric to wear this evening. This has aged so beautifully. My skin always amps dragon's blood, which I don't mind, and it does do with this blend too. But the patchouli is melded with the DB, and the tonka and oak give it a dark sweetness. After about an hour, this is all blended into one dark smoky sweet blend and I can't stop sniffing my arm. 

[VetchVesper]

I think this one has improved with age, and I'm beginning to suspect dragon's blood ripens well.  (My decant of SN Stageblood has also aged to delectability.  ) 

When I first got my decant of Witch Riding a Dragon, the dragon's blood was not the obvious note to me.  Now, it's taken a front seat, which for me, is great.    It comes across as syrupy and a bit incensey.  I don't get powdery, but that might be the aging at work.  The charred notes supporting it strengthen the burning incense vibe and grow stronger as it wears so that there's almost a briquette thing going on in behind the sweetness.  I wouldn't categorize this as woody though, and I don't get much patchouli either.  I could see this fitting in with the Crimson Peak line; it's got that kind of vibe.  it last 8+ hours on me.  I'm a fan, but you probably have to enjoy DB to enjoy this one.  But hey, it is a witch riding a DRAGON.   

Edited October 26, 2020 by VetchVesper