A Torch Steeped in Blood

[Seajewel]

Pine pitch and clove-tinged dragon's blood resin.

[elissamay]

Fiery. OOB, it's pure pine pitch. (One drop filled my room with the sharpness of pine pitch!)

 

On the skin, the dragon's blood and clove takes over, and the sharpness of the pine pitch smooths out. Very long lasting, and I can imagine that the throw would be incredible with a normal application of oil. (I only tested a drop for this go-around!).

 

If you like these notes, you will like this blend. It evokes fire, and I'd say anger, but because it's so potent, it almost feels like wearing a force field against the bullshit we're living through.

[starbrow]

This is so strong, it makes my eyes water. The sting of it reminds me of the infamous Osculum Inflame from the Spiritus Arcanum release. I am transported to some kind of harshly chemical, heavy-duty cleaner loaded up with scented pine and abrasive surfectants. I am also reminded of cars, for some reason. Maybe windshield wiper fluid? I do believe that is it. Combined with the scent of lovebugs smeared across the windshield.

 

Thankfully, the initial hellscape dies down, and dragon's blood peeks out, a thick dark burgundy floral resin that is indeed soaked in a clovey residue. I think you have to be a big fan of dragon's blood to survive the drive down Scary Pine Line to get there, or a big pine fan that can get along with dragon's blood. This is such a dark and pungent blend, it will have a niche audience I am sure, but I would recommend trying this one in stages; a wee sniff at first, and another; a tiny dab; maybe even a q-tip, until you're sure you are ready for her Fury.

 

It is very much not for me, but this would make a good spooky option if you're into these notes!

[batling]

two impressions! 1. fresh out of the mail & 2. 24 hr rested.

 

1. this one did not come to play. the pine pitch is kind of green and bitter and camphorous, like it has that same menthol like quality when it tickles the back of your throat when you smell it? i can get whiffs of clove and something else, but in the vial and wet on the skin, its just a pine pitch party in my nostrils. the dry down.. is still mostly pine pitch. jfc. pine pitch PLEASE, i wanna smell the other notes! after a little, the clove becomes more noticeable to my nose and i'm getting whispery little hints of powdery dragons blood. i mean, in the end the pine pitch does chill out but unfortunately, the dry down isn't worthwhile for me atm.

 

update: the drydown isnt bad! i like that its.. spicy dragons blood, but the opening made me contemplate my life choices. do i want to sit through that for the drydown??? i don't know! i dig the experience even if it mollywhopped me.

 

2. in the vial, the pine pitch isn't as aggressive or acrid as it was the other day. wet on the skin, i still get that bitter green quality but i think its actually mellowed out quite a bit thanks to the warmth of the clove here. clove can be biting and it works well at telling the pine pitch to calm the fuck down a little maybe? i get some whiffs of the dragons blood as it wears longer and the pine pitch is now marrying and seamlessly blending in with the clove. the dry down is intense dragons blood which is leaning a little bit powdery on me but not as powdery as other dragons blood fragrances i've tried. i think this will be a polarizing scent for a lot of people but right now, i'm somewhere in the middle. it makes me curious about what this will age into.

 

update: the dragons blood isn't as powdery as it initially was which i'm thankful for. the warm clove has some lovely staying power which i'm vibing with. my only issue is that the dragons blood is doing that thing where it becomes overwhelming to the senses when i sniff too deeply, giving me a minor headache. i'm not sure how to feel on this, but i'm going to hold onto my decant and see what happens.
 

update #2: i tried this again and i.. really enjoy it now? perhaps its the power of suggestion, i'm not sure, but a friend said it smelled like "resin cola". i /love/ cola fragrances so curiously, i retested my decant. and.. yes, i get it. i actually get it.

 

the pine pitch isn't nearly as assertive as the first two times i tried it. the pine pitch and the clove, interestingly, give it an effervescent, kind of bubbly quality which gives me that quintessential "cola" vibe. the dragons blood gives it that sweetness, a touch powdery, on the dry down. its more floral than fruity to my nose. i cannot stop myself from sniffing my wrists, which i think says a lot.

 

i can see this aging into something spectacular, and right now, its certainly a very unique fragrance. i think this is an upsize for me.

Edited August 16, 2022 by batling
review update

[MamaMoth]

fyi,  i'm a weirdo who's here for the pine pitch. 

 

initially,  i am very gratified.   straight from the bottle the pine pitch SLAYS.   she's stout.   sweetened by dragon’s blood and clove-spiced. 

 

almost immediately,  the pine pitch starts giving way to the dragon's blood, which goes super sweet and fruity-floral on me as per usual.   for a while,  the pitch plays a nice supporting role,  sharpening and roughing up the overly-sweet db a little.   there's just a hint of clove.  while it's not what i'd hoped for,  i quite like this stage. 

 

eventually,  it's mostly dragon’s blood on me. i still like it,  but i miss the complexity.   undecided about a bottle as of yet,  we'll see how this decant ages. 

[Casablanca]

Torch opens with a blare of black cloves and pine pitch ready to take paint off a car. I'm just here appreciating.

 

This smells like late-night pines come to life to light smoky fires and dance and perform secret sap rituals. For those brave enough to sniff it up close, the cloves offer a delicious little dark sweetness. The dragon's blood is another sort of sweetness underneath: red, resinous, and slightly spiced. 

 

This blend smells delightfully and dreadfully devil-Yule to me. Respect.

 

Wear this to your next midnight Krampus parade.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Casablanca

[tinyvulture]

Fantastical, fun. I’m calling it Eddie Munson cologne The sharpness of pine pitch offsets the rich, resinous dragon’s blood. I’m not getting any clove but I do sense some red musk, maybe. A powerful magical scent, like for a wizard. Love it. Oh wait 10 minutes later there’s the clove! Want a bottle.

[saralaughs]

Immediately on: menthol.

 

This dissipates quickly and is replaced by a clove soaked in red musk and resins.

 

I can see the pop references but I'd go a bit further; it smells like someone chewing clove gum, drinking a cola and then breathing in your face.

[Lunautilus]

Opening the bottle gets me straight pine pitch, and applying to some paper lets it breathe and become a more complicated scent with the dragon's blood.  The clove starts to peek out and the dragon's blood isn't quite distinguishable as a separate scent, but it does add some depth to the pine pitch scent.  It's very aggressive but I do like it, and it does a great job being a spicy conifer scent without remotely evoking Christmas.  The clove starts to creep up a little but it's most detectable when you put your face right to it.  That said, it does tend to burn my sense of smell out pretty fast.

 

Applied to my skin, the pine pitch vanishes in under 30 seconds, and the clove amps overwhelmingly.  The dragon's blood isn't detectable and it smells exactly like clove candy for a couple hours, after which it smells remarkably like a Hot Topic store circa 2005 (could still smell like that, but I haven't been in one for ages). That might be the dragon's blood coming back to the surface after the clove starts to wear down but it's hard to say.

 

Having worked in a bakery for years, edible scents are an absolute no-go for me, as I associate smelling like food to mean I desperately need a shower.  I've found that applying some Zum dragon's blood body oil first is a good backstop, then going extremely light on the Torch can get me something I like.  Adding a little Thanatopsis over the top helps restore some of the balance too, but if I go too heavy on the Torch I have to wash it off and start over.

 

Honestly, I think I need to find another use for it than applying it to skin  and it seems like it might be too strong to use much indoors.  I'll let it rest for a while and see if it mellows into something I can wear.

[HerbGirl]

I wouldn't say clove 'tinged', but more clove hinged. There is a lot of clove here!

I can smell dragon's blood (the resiny one, not the fruity Ars Draconis one), clove and pine pitch and all three seem pretty well balanced on my skin. It took about 20 minutes for the clove to calm down. There's a witchy scent that this reminds me of but I can't remember the name. I would say this is not a unique scent, nothing new here, but it was for a heck of a cause and it does smell nice.

[Tamarinda]

In the bottle: PINE. Some dragon's blood. But no clove.

 

Wet: I get lots of pine needle smell and a thick resinous dragon's blood. It is sweet and heavy. Still no clove.

 

Dry: This doesn't change a whole lot. Like clotting dragon's blood in an autumn forest full of pines where the bleeding dragon has stomped all over a bunch of pine branches. The clove note is faint and fades in short order, maybe after an hour or two.

 

Between this and the faintess of the clove in Final Girl, I'm starting to wonder if my skin hungers for clove. Hmmm. Will have to continue testing clove scents.

 

Anywho, A Torch Steeped in Blood reminds me of Ginny from the Pretty Deadly collection. They don't share scent notes but they have the same attitude. And the dragon's blood in here is reminiscent of the one in Bloodlust, another love of mine. This perfume feels very appropriate for the cause and I love its dark simplicity. Hoping the clove keeps coming out as time goes on.

[zankoku_zen]

Clove and pine musk. This smell clovey, piney and like blood musk. Medium throw and wear length.

[quantquill]

Wowza! I love how this smells in the bottle. It's so clovey spicey! It goes on with a strong blast of Pine-Sol, but I'm not going to be scared away. I want to get past that and see how it settles. 

 

Fast forward about 3 minutes and it's starting to calm down.  Give it another 2 minutes and... It's fading fast. I can get the clove now, under a pine-forward but mild scent. Darn you skin chemistry!  Don't take my cloves away!!!

 

I'm going to slather this when my nose isn't saturated and I'm not putting it on top of faded layers of other scents. This bottle will NOT defeat me. 

Edited July 11 by quantquill