The Sun in Anger Swore

[vikingpixie]

And the moon in haste eclipsed her,
and the Sun in anger swore
He would curl his wick within him
and give light to you no more.

– Aristophanese, Chorus of Clouds

A withdrawn, seething red amber spiked with dragon’s blood resin, black pepper, red musk, and red oudh.

The descriptions for all of The Great American Eclipse scents have been spot on, and this blend is no exception. All of the reds come on strong; amber, musk and oudh pulsing with a deep, bloody tang. The dragon's blood is a light floral soapy note, balancing out the very present black pepper. This reminds me a LOT of the Deluge of Blood from The Song of Creation, but more bloody and less sweet (which is a great thing, imo). This scent is angry, red, not spicy per say, and absolutely perfect. If I already didn't have 3 bottles of Deluge, I'd be picking up several backups of this (and may anyway)!

 

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

In two words: softer Tintagel.

 

In more detail: this is not an "angry" scent on me, nor is it a strong one; my skin eats it up pretty quickly, although it has good throw when first applied. It's a good fall scent if you want something spicy but not the obvious pumpkin or apple. Rich, warm dragon's blood with bit of extra spice and a hint of amber. It reminds me of beloved Tintagel, but less strong.

[fenharel]

Not as spicy, more sweet, than I expected, but no less lovely. I get a bit of Snake Oil from it - that sweet, full richness. I have a hard time believing there's no vanilla in it. Patchouli too - there is the characteristic herbal sharpness when wet, that gives way to something so deep and earthy. This isn't a scent that's on fire - it's a scent that has burned to ashes, the ghost of smoke in the air. It's very incensey, but complex. Beautiful throw and lasting power. I'll be purchasing a backup.

[DiesMali]

In the bottle: RED. Spicy, red, bloody musk and amber.

 

Wet on my skin: This goes on very similar to The Deluge of Blood. The musky, earthy, spicy blood has an almost cave-air like quality at first, and the dragon's blood is definitely not the sweet, floral sort.

 

Dry: I bought this because of the previous review comparing it to The Deluge of Blood, and I am not at all disappointed. It's in the same scent family as that, Ketkrokur, and Ill Omen. Dark, spicy, resinous, earthy, and bloody-musky sweetness that is at once sensual and just a little bit disturbing, in the same sort of way that a vampire sucking on a freshly-bitten, utterly-willing neck is both sexy and taboo in polite society. If you like DARK resins and spice, this is a blend for you. The dragon's blood is neither overwhelming, nor of the floral sort, and it plays quite nicely with the other notes tempering it. It softens after some time (2-3 hours), with all the notes still present and in play, but now they're like like the fuzzy, waning red of a late sunset instead of THE WALLS ARE BLEEDING.

 

I am so glad to have a bottle of this. It's SO good.

[JazzieCazzie]

IN THE IMP: Smells like perfection. Seriously. It reminds me of Scherezade, one of my Top 5 all-time scents.

 

WET: OMGYESOMGYES. NO words but "perfect" come to mind. This was the scent I had the highest hopes for, with the concern that the oudh might be a dealbreaker. But wet this is the perfect resin/musk/amber with no byproducts.

 

INITIAL DRYDOWN: So as it dries down I get a little less Scherezade and a little more sweetishness (which I think is the oudh).

 

FINAL DRYDOWN: The sad mouse's tail. This is SOOOOO close to being Scherezade's twin sister with dragon's blood thrown in for good measure (and i love DB). I thought it would be a two-bottle buy. I really did. Then as it dried down more I thought, okay, maybe one bottle. But sadly, the more it dried down, the more it just went "sweetish" on me.

 

There are a few scents that are SOOOOO perfect when wet but then just don't quite work when dry on me, that I KNOW KNOW KNOW would be AMAZEBALLS on me as a bath oil. This is one of them (the other, you ask? ENVY). I'd be ecstatic if this was released as a bath oil and would probably buy two bottles but as it is I'll just stick with my two decants and not purchase any more until I can figure out a way to turn it into bath oil! (For whatever reason, the notes that don't work on me as a long-lasting perfume stay true in bath oil form).

[roseus]

In the imp: woody and scorched. I think a combo of oud and black pepper.

 

Wet: Getting a some red musk and amber, but it is still very dry and scorched.

 

Dry: absolutely nothing sweet about this blend on me. Arid and stifling. Primarily red musk, oudh, and black pepper.

[zankoku_zen]

Scorched reds: woods, amber, pepper, and a whiff of oudh. This is very red, very woodsy, and smells like it was at some point on fire. Good throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

Red musk and I have a problematic relationship. I like her, really I do, but does it have to be all about her, all the time?

 

In the imp, I smell red musk, no surprise, but also the amber and dragon's blood and, shockingly, the black pepper. I am usually anosmic to the Lab's pepper notes. But as soon as it hits my skin, the red musk gets louder and louder until it's drowning out everyone else. Seriously, red musk, could you just shut up once in a while?

 

It takes about an hour for the red musk to calm down enough to let the other notes join the conversation. The pepper has stuck around throughout, but the dragon's blood and amber reemerge. (The oudh seems to have left the room entirely, though.) Dragon's blood can be almost cloying on me, but I get only the tiniest whiff of sweetness in this blend. I really like it at this stage, but I don't think I need more than one imp.

[milo]

A frimp, Yay! I never ordered any of this series, so I feel lucky to try one of them out! This is an aggressive amber, there is a spiciness to it, and kind of a foul, dirty quality, though that quite isn't the right description, I just can't find the right word. "Herbal and scorched", above a few posts fits it a bit better, like burnt herbs. In spite of being an amber whore, this isn't something I'd wear, but it's nice to try.

[VetchVesper]

First off, I love red musk and it loves me, so... it's pretty hard for any blend where it's featured prominently to be bad on me.  I'm also a fan of dragon's blood.  This smells like a solid blend between the two with a bit of nose twitching black pepper thrown in.  It's nice.  I'd wear it.  But it doesn't really stand out from several of the other red musk blends they dropped in the year or two surrounding this one.  Deluge of Blood (Which I own and love.  I find TSIAS sweeter though), Starstruck Aries, Ketkrokkur, Four Grave Robbers Awaken - off the top of my head.  I've smelled variations of this before, and I think other versions were better, but it's a perfectly good, red musky incense blend if you re looking for one.  

Edited February 12, 2019 by VetchVesper