The Blood Must Flow

[Nagi Mahe]

"It is only a gesture," he said, turning back to Shadow. "But gestures mean everything. The death of one dog symbolizes the death of all dogs. Nine men they gave to me, but they stood for all the men, all the blood, all the power. It just wasn't enough. One day, the blood stopped flowing. Belief without blood only takes us so far. The blood must flow."

"I saw you die," said Shadow.

"In the god business," said the figure-and now Shadow was certain it was Wednesday, nobody else had that rasp, that deep cynical joy in words, "it's not the death that matters. It's the opportunity for resurrection. And when the blood flows . . ."

Three days on the tree, three days in the underworld, three days to find your way back: ash, oak, and elm; vetiver, dragon's blood resin, and cypress; frankincense, copal, and chamomile.

This is a very well blended scent. Very hard to pick out notes from the bottle. It has a 'sweetish brown' smell.

 

On the skin i get a mixture of woods and incense. Still on the sweeter side. Medium throw and lasts a fair amount of time. It is a very comfy smell.

[zankoku_zen]

Ash, oak, dragon's blood, incense, and smoke. This one smells kinda bloody, very incensey, woodsy and slightly smoky. Again, this one is such an atmospheric blend. It smells primeval, like hunting or fighting with your hands. It's masculine, bloody, and powerful. Good throw and wear length.

[LizziesLuck]

The scene that this scent represents is one of my favourite parts of the book, so I think I would have needed to try this no matter what the notes were. As it is, these notes are pretty iffy on me, though I love oak.

 

 

Wet: Hmm! That's not what I was expecting! Tough to describe, but I have never smelled a scent like this before. At this stage in the game, I find few scents that are really unique - this is. There's something bright and sharp about it (in a pleasant way - like citrus but not citrus?) and it's both smoky and ashy, but again in a really pleasant way. There's sweetness and incense and wood also. I don't get the DB at all (and I usually amp it) unless it's the tiny hints of spice I am picking up. This is sooo interesting! Very atmospheric. Unisex. Neat.

 

Dry: The dry down has that sour/sweet ashy scent at the forefront. Interesting, and not unpleasant at all, but not really something I want to wear. Very atmospheric, but not a perfume I want to wear. I'm going to keep it though and see how it ages - it is really neat and I am glad I tried it.

[Little Bird]

I put this on and get... burnt coffee and sweet lemon candy? Kind of a sweet incense, maybe, in the background. This doesn't have much throw on me for a blend with vetiver and dragon's blood, but I can't really smell either of those (unless the vetiver is doing the burnt coffee thing). The oil is a pale, almost clear yellow, so it doesn't have the usual red or dark brown color of those oils. Maybe that sweet, lemony tang is the frankincense and chamomile.

Faint, lemon candy with hints of burnt coffee, wood and sweet incense. I can't get over that super-sweet lemon sorbet scent. It kind of reminds me of Gobo. Really strange.

[SeroSpu]

In the bottle: Well-blended, smoldering wood with faint chamomile.

Wet: Primarily woods and resins, the chamomile and DB have come forward just a little bit more.

Dry: Strong, resinous woods with tendrils of chamomile and smoke.

 

I really love how much this smells like damp, burning wood. It's very slightly sweet, but overall it's woody and quite unisex. 

[Rane.]

Obtained a bottle in 2019. I love the slightly coppery smell this creates. I had a bad moment with a "blood note" oil from another company, so this was redeeming to me. I can definitely smell the woods, dragon's blood, & chamomile first hand. Chamomile, vetivert, & the cypress give it a slight spice & evil effect. The frankincense balances everything nicely. An impressive, masculine scent to me. But there is nothing comforting about it. It's unnerving, imposing, & that's a cool experience to get with a perfume, if you like that. Makes the heart race.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Rane.
*typos & added stuff

[groovyrooby]

Still making my way through the AG scents, and nabbed a full size of this after trying. I was really scared at first - it's got a musty, tangy, coppery vibe when wet. The kind of blood note I do not enjoy. But on me, it dries into this rich, deep, gorgeous resinous smell. Husband picked out the woods right away. I don't really get them on me. But slightly smoky, copal up close, wafting a little incense, anchored by deep, glowing, red/brown resin.

I'm wearing it to work today, on a day needing empowerment via confidence, steadfastness, patience, and resolve, but not complacency.