Soupy Twist

Linen and lime in the bottle. Goes on as lime with machine oil, which dries to metal — not a bad scent, definitely a "well-cared-for gun." It continues to a cloth/tweed note, and then it's back to the lime aftershave. It's not a real lime, but a "lime-scented" product. There's a bit of something smoky in the back of the throat, and it finishes as that lime aftershave. Not terrible, but not something I'd wear again.

I coveted this for six months, and I can hardly express how disappointed I am. Apparently dragon's blood does not work on my skin at all, which is really a bummer because I have been a dragon fan in general for 20-odd years.

Sweet in the bottle. Goes on as incense and soon becomes a bad stiff-leather smell — like when all you can smell is the tanning chemicals. Then I get the smoke, but it's more of a burnt cigar, which eventually becomes a cigar of incense.

Another frimp — not something I'd have chosen, but I may wind up getting a bottle! Really nice.

Cucumber in the bottle. Goes on as sweet fresh cucumber, sweetening into a floral, and drying down to a juicy grass. Very reminiscent of Aracana Soap's Avalon minus the apples. I like this a lot.

This was a frimp, and thank you SO much for this because it totally made up for the disappointing dragon's blood imps I actually bought.

Lemon in the bottle. Opens as lemon Pledge which becomes something much less artificial and sweet, and dries to a nice tea. Doesn't last long and not very complex, but a nice scent. (When I saw the name I was like, "really? a formaldehyde perfume?" and then I read the description and tried it and thought "WOW, that is probably the least apt name possible for something so pretty." )

This was a frimp — I definitely don't care for oakmoss, and this just underscored that opinion.

Smells fresh in the bottle. The description is "a negatively-charged scent," and somehow it's exactly that.

There's a weird mint and moss note, which changes to something sort of like ozone. I get a hint of something almost antiseptic which puts me in mind of a dentist's office, in a bad way, and then there's oakmoss. Scrubber.

Quite possibly the strangest perfume I've ever smelled. Almost defies description.

Sweet in the bottle. The opening is a sweet kind of resin, maybe? There are hints of cloves, almost like a sweet antiseptic. If cinnamon was a fruit, this would be the juice of that fruit.

Then it becomes kind of candy-like, but not "cinnamon red-hots." Finishes as too sweet. Not wrathful at all. Online research says the "dragon's blood" ingredient is a form of amber incense, which is kind of the last base note.

Apparently dragon's blood doesn't work with me at all, because I coveted this and Dragon's Hide quite literally for six months before I finally placed the order, and wow, I was so disappointed with both of them.

Juniper and pine in the bottle.

Goes on as a cypress pine with some eucalyptus notes. Not a complex scent, but a nice one; it's like walking through a very crowded Christmas tree farm.

Finishes as more of a juniper. Doesn't have the roundness or sweetness of some other pine fragrances, but it's not harsh or too bitter.

Doesn't have lots of longevity or throw, but I liked it enough to reapply it at midday. Will probably pick up a bottle.