[themerrybaker]

Cardinal fire: the essence of identity.
Black pepper, honeysuckle, opoponax, dragon's blood, and wild ginger.

I have the revisited version which seems to be heavy on dragon's blood. As a perfume, Aries is rather bitter and resinous. I think the essence of this one's identity could best be realized in an oil burner.

[loverstreet]

In the bottle: Mostly Dragon's Blood

Wet: WOW! Lots of rich honeysuckle, with just a whiff of pepper in the background.

Dry: For the first hour or so, this is such a lovely honeysuckle, with the pepper just giving it a bit of sharpness - then it morphs into straight Dragon's Blood - all the way, baby! I didn't get any ginger, but the pepper gives it that nice spicy-itch-in-the-back-of-your-throat feel. DB tends to turn plasticy on me, but this one is behaving itself.

This has enormous throw on me, and is still going strong after 5 hours. :P

[Tempest]

At first all I get from Aries is black pepper. It smells like I ground up a peppercorn and smeared it all over my wrist. It doesn't make me sneeze though.

Hours later, and I mean at least five hours later I can detect the honeysuckle faintly.

I don't know if it's my body chemistry or what, but I will be swapping this one. It's not bad, it's just so peppery.

[klavierbarrette]

very peppery :/ i got it 'cause it's my sign...but i will hold onto it. after awhile it mellows into dragon's blood honeysuckle but i think the pepper is just a little too strong to hold out for that scent

[RaTheCat]

In the bottle: Dragon's blood and black pepper

Wet: All about the black pepper

Dry: Still all about the black pepper, with the addition of a bitter note. I love the artwork on the bottle, but I'll still be swapping this one.

[Edens Sixth Day]

Aries 2007 - In the bottle, this smells like pepper and dragon's blood. As soon as I apply it, I'm practically blasted out of the room by the strength of the pepper. There is no mistaking the power of the pepper! </cheese> Anyway, right below the pepper is the scent of really pungent and spicy red ginger, but I'm really surprised that it never really comes to the surface. The ginger fades quickly, followed not long after by the pepper itself, leaving behind a honeysuckle scent that gets stronger and stronger the more the pepper fades. Upon full drydown, the ginger and pepper are completely gone, and I smell honeysuckle wafting over a faint trace of dragon's blood. At this point, the scent reminds me strongly of the scent of the Deep South and New Orleans, in particular. The scent is really at its peak at about the 30-45 minute point, after which it begins to fade into a skin scent, but at the two-hour point, I can still smell the honeysuckle (but no dragon's blood) when I sniff my skin up close. I really like the dry-down, but that initial blast of pepper and ginger may be too much for me. I'll have to give this another test run or two before I make any final decisions about it.

[Anna D.]

Okay, I have to admit that in the bottle I think this smells TERRIBLE. All I get is a harsh, pungent pepper and something that smells a little bit like - yuk - burning tires??

Thankfully, it's much better once it goes on. Initially, as others have said, there is a blast of pepper (but not so much the tires, hooray). As it dries, the pepper backs down so it's just a hint rather than overwhelming. I can smell the underlying sweetness of honeysuckle, and also of dragon's blood (which tends to go lily-lilac on me), but what I primarily get is the ginger, which smells to me just like the ginger in Sudha Segara (without the milk, of course). Unfortunately, I'm not fond of this kind of ginger - it has a weird soapy tang to me. But if you like that ginger, you should like this. It definitely captures its description of "cardinal fire" - it's extremely fiery! (Without being burning or at all irritating like cinnamon or cassia can be.) The longer it's on, the more the ginger and sweet underlying scents mingle, and it's really very intriguing. Sadly, that ginger's just not for me.

[emzebel]

Very rich and red and peppery - this is a hot, firy blend. I like the spicyness of this one, and since Dragon's Blood tends toward sweet on me, it is a nice combination. I can get whiffs of the honeysuckle and the ginger and a vanilla which I think is coming from the opoponax. I like this a lot.

[nikkoblue]

bottle: Pepper and dragon's blood.
On Me:
Pepper, but not a painful pepper. THis initial blast subsides within a minute or two and I'm left with a mildly spiced dragon's blood. I get the honeysuckle, but it's mild, and I think might be being tamed by the ginger (which is not of the cassia or gingerbread variety)

This is really nice! I bought 2 bottles just in case I liked it and I think I'll be hanging on to both of them....it'll be interesting to see if it changes over time.

[Inanna9]

This smells like a match dipped in dragon's blood. And then lit. I love it!

Okay, it gets a little more subtle than that - it's actually quite gorgeous. I was pretty worried about the pepper and ginger, but they are spot-on perfect and very well-behaved. When wet, the pepper is a bit strong at first, but that's so appropriate, don't you think? I'm floored how well Beth has interpreted the essence of a fire sign like Aries. I can't wait to smell Sagittarius. In fact, I think I'll be collecting the whole series.

Brava!

This post has been edited by Inanna9: 19 March 2007 - 06:39 PM

[goddessrobyn]

OMG... I'm jealous of you who get the pepper... on me... this is a slightly spicy honeysuckle... very nice and I'll definately be wearing this one A LOT... (which is strange as it's not my sign) but I was hoping for more ginger :P

ah well... the search for the perfect ginger goes on...

[The_Merf]

Curse you, ginger, take II:

In the bottle: OK, my first sniff of Aries '07 was a very sweet dragon's blood/honeysuckle with a whiff of pepper. I forgot there was even ginger in this blend until I smelled it again and went "oh gawd."

Wet: This is Saw-Scaled Viper's little brother here...horrid, rancid wild ginger, combined with pepper. This doesn't make me sick to my stomach, but it does sort of make me want ot sneeze. :P

Drydown and wear: This one does settle down much quicker and the ginger goes away, leaving the pepper to blend with the floral notes, which are not present when the oil is wet. I don't mind this stage (though there is a hint of gingery unpleasantness), but I don't think I'll be able to deal with the wet stage of the oil. Major curses...:D

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: pepper,ginger, and faint florals.

wet: ginger pepper., not a cookie type ginger, more like fresh ginger root. more pepper then ginger

as it dries this becomes a softer blend, somewhat floral, i definitely can smell the dragon's blood, but not when my hand is up to my nose, just in teh waft when my hand moves around. this is perfectly done, dragon's blood w/ pepper and ginger. i am an aries, and i very much love this scent, it is spicey, a bit hot, and just a tidbit of sweet.

[filigree_shadow]

This oil apparently doesn't morph at all on me. It smells the same wet as dry, and it never changes. The dragon's blood is apparent but not as strong as in some other DB blends, and the pepper and ginger are prominent but subdued by the opoponax. It's spicy in an aromatic way rather than a hot fiery way (which is good -- I'm not a fan of fiery hot scents). The honeysuckle... hm, I'm having a hard time picking it out. I think dragon's blood and honeysuckle is a particularly good combination because the DB tamps down the honeysuckle so it doesn't become overbearing, but the honeysuckle makes the dragon's blood smell more floral rather than resinous -- pretty rather than sticky.

I like the scent and I know this is a keeper, but I also know it's not one that I'm going to wear often. I have to be in a certain mood for pepper and ginger, although I'm basically always in the mood for opoponax.

[phedre]

In bottle: pepper and ginger. Holy. The back of my throat is itchy and my eyes are watering this is so strong!

On skin: calmer, much calmer. Still that smell of fresh cracked black pepper, but not nearly as potently eye-watering.

Drydown: The opoponax is finally allowed to come out. As is the sweet honeysuckle. Hrmm... this is getting interesting. At first I thought I'd hate this, but now it's turning into something creamy and spicy.

I'm very happy with this so far, and well, it IS my sign! It's not something I'll wear often, but I will wear it.

This post has been edited by phedre: 20 March 2007 - 11:05 PM

[Keslynn]

In the bottle, Aries is honeysuckle and pepper with a slight whiff of ginger in the background.

On my skin, it's almost all honeysuckle with a slight background of pepper, enough to give the honeysuckle depth. I don't really smell the ginger anymore, and I'm not sure what opoponax smells like so I won't venture to say whether it's there. Mostly, it's a slightly spicy honeysuckle, and it stays that way until it fades.

Verdict: Yummy! I love honeysuckle, and this one stays delicious and true on my skin. It's not my sign, but I think I'll end up wearing it a lot anyway. It's a lovely spring scent!

Plus, the bottle art rocks.

[heartbreakangel]

In the bottle: It smells like ginger. I get nothing aside from soaked ginger. Not that this is bad, just a little unnerving at first, since I'm not a gigantic ginger fan on a whole.

Wet on skin: Oooh, there's the pepper. I can still get the ginger, but it's mostly all pepper.

Dry on skin: Within about five minutes, this had become a rather complex scent on my skin. The ginger? Totally gone. I have no idea where it went, but godspeed to it. The dragon's blood has come up and kicked me in the face, along with a faint hint of the pepper. Amid this somewhere is the honeysuckle, with a faint hint of something vanilla-ish behind it that doesn't hang around long. Just comes and goes as it pleases.

Overall impression: Oh. My. God. I need more of this.

[bella_delirante]

Stupid skin chemistry!

In the bottle I can smell the pepper and the sweetness of the honeysuckle with the ginger wafting through the background, tickling my nose. It makes a really unique combination. I've never smelled anything like it before.

On my skin it just goes wrong. BAD WRONG. It starts out very peppery while it's wet, with an aftertaste of sweetness from the honeysuckle I suppose. After it's dry it smells like celery. Salty, peppery celery. :P What is wrong with me? I'll have to give this a third try in a week or so, just to make sure. As it stands now, it's off to swaps.

[Lari]

Oh, this is nice.

It goes on as a spicy floral -- peppery and spicy but not too hot. There's a nice floral sense, but it's not a very up front LOOK I AM A FLOWER floral, just something that's quietly there. I like this... it's got a nice combination of feminine and exotic and not girly. A winner!

[Browneyes]

Bottle: *cough cough* ahem. Musty pepper. But sweet at the same time. In Denmark you can get strong peppered liquorice that tastes like this smells.
Wet: Dragon's Blood and pepper, and some sweet honeysuckle. I don't detect any ginger.
Dry: Spicy, fiery, warm and sweet - I like this one alot! It's quite feminine and very unique-smelling :P And no allergic skin reactions either. Woohoo!

I got this for my sis who is an Aries, and I have a feeling/worry that this might not be her kind of scent... So far she seems to like soft, pretty and light things, and this is not. But I will give it to her anyway, and it is quite nice on me, so hopefully it will also work on her. If not she can give it back to me :D

ETA: my sis likes it alot! It's very spicy/peppery on her but with a sweetness underneath from the DB/resin and honeysuckle. Yay!

This post has been edited by Browneyes: 09 April 2007 - 12:26 PM

[QueenFae]

When I first put this on, I got a very weird, burnt plastic scent. This is a sharp red scent, slightly spicy and rather strong. When this settles on my skin, it begins to smell a little better. The dragon's blood is on top, and I really love dragon's blood blends, but the black pepper throws everything off for me. The pepper ends up as an ashy, burned up black undertone, with a strange spicy aspect to it. All in all, not working very well on my skin. The good news is, the hubbie tried this on and it smells fantastically sexy on him. I'm sure he will claim my bottle for his own.

[maijasu]

On me, this morphs from black pepper to SN dragon's blood, with no other notes to be found. It doesn't smell bad, but I'm not particularly fond of it, either.

[requieminblack]

Wow! Aries is like no other Bpal I have smelled before. And what a morpher!

Out of the bottle it is like POW A very strong musty black pepper. As I slather it on my hand it is a strong slap in the face of gritty strong black pepper just like if you grind up black pepper corns, but also a slight tang of sweet honeysuckle. I get no ginger from this at all, but probably because it is blended so well with the pepper. (And that ginger smell all you ginger haters hate so much? It's my favorite note. I had my hopes up that this would be Saw Scaled Vipery, but it wasn't to my nose at all.)

The honeysuckle goes away on me almost as soon as I notice it, and becomes something like the smell of rubber or latex clothing. (Erm...which I really like the smell of :P ) The pepper/rubber smell sticks for a long time. (Muhahahaha!)

After about an hour all of a sudden I realized I could smell something very incensey, so sniffed my Aries hand again and low and behold, it had morphed into a gorgeous true dragons blood resin scent. Yummy! Aries, I like you a lot. In fact I think I need another bottle of you because once you are gone I will miss your rubber and black pepperness muchly. :D

ETA- I wore this again today and for some reason it smelled totally different than it did when I reviewed it last night. Today it was all honeysuckle and a little dragons blood but with no pepper or ginger. :D Very strange indee

ETA again- Wore it again two days later and it is still all honeysuckle. I think I must have used up all the yummy black pepper/ginger spicyness on the first day I wore this because now it is just a floral on me. :)

This post has been edited by requieminblack: 30 March 2007 - 05:43 AM

[Nidaba]

One of the few scents that make me instantly nauseous. =x It is that same awful sickly sweet smell that I got from the ecstasy of True Love.
I'm afraid to sniff closer and see what it is, but I think it is the honeysuckle. I don't think it is the Dragon's Blood as my favorite scent is Dragon's Milk and I love Blood Kiss. Wow, definitely not a keeper, and I am really glad that I only bought a decant of this.

Okay, I just read the components in True Love, and it must be the honeysuckle. Apparently honeysuckle is my least favorite scent! lol

ETA: I let this sit a bit longer before washing it off and it calmed down quite a bit. I can't sit through that first stage though, so to the swap pile this goes!

This post has been edited by Nidaba: 28 March 2007 - 05:27 PM

[Salsa Shark]

I absolutely adore the lab's pepper notes, so having read the reviews I couldn't wait for this to arrive - so I imagine my horror when I sniffed it in the bottle and got nothing but musty, burnt ginger.

On my skin, though, it changed completely. It morphed so much in those first few minutes from sweet, peppery ginger to a warm, spicy honeysuckle, then finally settle into a sweet spicy dragon's blood. DB's one of those notes where it can either be completely wonderful or absolutely horrific, epending on the other notes in the blend, an I have to say this is the most successful DB blend I've tried yet. I was worried the floral notes would tip the balance but the ginger and pepper stop it from even threatening to soap out on me.

Not the scent I was expecting at all, but I love it anyway. :P