A Flaming Sword

[Ina Garten Davita]

Fiery red amber and sweet oudh, flickers of honeyed patchouli and red musk, pale white coconut flecks,

and crushed peppercorn.

 

 

[Teamama]

Caveat:  Hello, my name is Teamama, & I amp red musk.  A Flaming Sword contains 5 notes that are fantastic for me, and my nemesis, red musk.  I got my decant hoping against hope that I could wear this blend, yet prepared for everything excellent to be buried under the red musk when applied my skin. 

 

In the decant: resin heaven. The amber & sweet oudh are so lovely, with musk to ground them & coconut to sweeten. Sweet oudh is magical--it's as though golden fantasy bees sucked tree sap instead of nectar, to produce a honey that's actually a resin. Hints of green combine with the gold.  Musk combines with oudh to take things in a discreetly sexy direction.  Not a lot of patchouli or peppercorn on me, but that will probably change with age. 

 

Verdict: This is EXCELLENT.  Unless you share my red musk amping problem, you can stop reading the review right here.

 

And now the sad trombone: after 5 minutes, my skin has amped the red musk, & wrecked the balance of notes.  It's now red musk, with faint hints of everything else.  I will wear the decant in my scent locket, jealous of everbody who gets to rock A Flaming Sword.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Teamama
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[zankoku_zen]

Red amber, red musk, whiffs of everything else. I am surprised that the oudh is behaving itself because it RARELY does that on my skin. It's mainly a red amber-musk blend with whiffs of everything else. Average throw, great wear length.

[Lucchesa]

A Flaming Sword is really nice.  Red musk does sometimes take over on my skin too, but it stays in line here.  There is nothing fecal about this oudh, just a kind of bittersweet depth behind the musky amber.  Coconut contributes sweetness, and I'm getting a little honey as well though not much patch.  I tend to be anosmic to the peppercorn note, and that holds true here.  A gender-neutral red blend to keep you warm in desert wastes while fending off lions.

 

ETA Tried this again a few months later and it went all red musk on me.  RED MUSK, sweet oudh, RED MUSK, amber, and that was about it.  Great throw, though.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Lucchesa

[AprilB]

I love this scent. It's one of my favorite BPAL scents. It's peppery-spicy, resinously sweet, and warm. It's a comforting, strengthening sort of scent. This is very well blended; I don't have any issues with the red musk, patchouli, or Oudh overwhelming the other notes; they all seem to lift one another, or add depth and nuance. It's bright, sweet, and bracing, all at once. I'm sure why, but the notes together almost make me think of red cedar. This is a bottle I reach for when I need a scent that strengthens and comforts me. If I had to defend my thesis again tomorrow, I'd do it wearing A Flaming Sword.

[Permanent.Black.Ink.]

I had a complex relationship with this scent.  I loved the way it smelled in the bottle; all the notes were just perfectly blended and every time I opened it up it was so damn inviting.

UNFORTUNATELY, the "fiery red amber" bit is no joke.  If you amp amber notes, I recommend trying to snag a decant before blind buying a bottle. It was ok in a diffuser, but I ended up not being able to wear it, and re-homed the bottle.

[VetchVesper]

Weirdly fruity? I think it's the interplay of sweet honey with the other notes.  Maybe the red musk? It's very different from what I expected, but it reminds me a bit of Fire For Thy Stepsisters. I like this better though. It's got more punch and bite and really does smell fiery somehow. There's a crackly, smoky, scratchy quality going on. 

 

Red musk is lurking but never steals center stage. The resins get darker and pop more after the initial burst of bright sweetness, like fire sparked to life, then dwindling to smoldering coals. There still plenty of heat though.

 

I don't need a bottle of this, but it would be nice to have a decant. It's moody and unusual and I think it would be a great character scent for cos play or a fiery personality.  

 

Leans feminine to my nose, because of the sweetness. I kinda want to try it mixed with War. 

Edited August 7, 2021 by VetchVesper