Blood Countess

[VioletChaos]

... Corrupted black plum, smoky opium and crumbling dead roses covered by a deceptive veil of Hungarian lilac, white gardenia and wild berry.

in the bottle: sweet berry, dried roses and that sweet scent of rot and decay

wet on skin: berry, dead roses.

dry down: a spicy note has entered the fray, making this far more complex than a berry-heavy scent like Bloody Mary. the berry is kept in check by the spice, and the dried/dead roses are really extraordinary.

in all: a total keeper, and a supreme goth girl scent for all those winter days spent walking the moors!

[Lamia]

This is quite fruity (and as I love Beth's fruity notes, this is a Good Thing). I'd thought that there was dragon's blood resin in here because there is a dusty pasty background note, but apparently that is a blend of the opium and lilac. Husband says he likes it better than the "Pez" (his term) of Pirate Moon.

 

The most amusing part of this scent is that everyone at the Meet & Sniff said EW THIS SMELLS LIKE DIRTY DIAPERS but I loved it. Weird, huh?

Edited September 26, 2008 by Lamia

[angelicruin]

Imp: Definitely picking up the fruit notes and some floral

 

Wet: berry and gardenia predominantly

 

Dry: floral turns more to rose note, develops a musky quality

[eyeska]

“Oh my god, I just put gardenia on my skin. AGAIN.” Those who have seen my posts might remember that gardenia Seems To Have A Problem with me.

 

In the longer run, it's not nearly so bad, the flowers are coming out and not making me smell like quite so like bananas. (Probably shouldn't be testing Brimstone on the same arm, though.) Pleasant.

 

FINAL VERDICT: A couple of minor skin chem changes and this could be awesome on me. I can definitely see why someone else would love it. It's turning into a berry-ish, slightly floral, womanly sort of scent.

[hkhm]

imp: plum and berries with some undefined florals in the background.

 

wet: i'm getting tremendous berries, some plum and a bit of gardenia.

 

dry: this dries to mostly gardenia with a sweetish fruit scent in the background.

[goblinshark]

On me this smelled like a melted crayon plus flowers; I got this really werid, waxy, plasticky smell that I didn't find too pleasant. Luckily it has already found its way to a better home.

[desertwaya]

first off im not fond of florals they drive my allergies crazy!

out of the bottle-total florals but nice.

on wet-ooooo very pretty,i smell the roses the most (which is my fav flower). i had my husband sniff me and he liked it too.

dry down-i can smell the plum and berrys now. still very nice.

 

conc-id deff buy a bigger bottle of this for when im feeling girly n feminine.

[femmefatale]

Wow. This one is a morpher. At first it was very very perfumey, I almost gave up on it right then. Luckily I decided to stick it out.

It does go through a very brief screaming gardenia phase, but once that calms down the berry and plum come out along with a just a bit of the smokey opium. The florals are still there, but no longer overpowering everything else. Surprisingly, the rose is very quiet in this.

I'm so glad I got to try this. If I hadn't been frimped, I probably never would have. I've learned that trying things outside my comfort zone can definitely be a good thing.

[Kimbernunk]

Wet: Very sweet, very tart, slightly berry. So, it's a pink SweetTart.

 

Dry: Sweet plum/berry combo. No rose. Maybe a hint of lilac and gardenia, but (for once) not overpowering. No opium at all on my skin. It's nice and bright and fun, and not at all the sinister blend I would have thought more fitting for the name. However, it's fun and I'll enjoy the imp.

 

Average throw, above average wear time.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

[Gwydion]

In bottle: They aren’t kidding about the flowers. If you like rose blends, this is a lovely one, the three flowers blending together beautifully. Wet: Faint chemical edge. The flowers grow more individual, yet still work together nicely, blending with the emerging plum, to make something rich and ripe. Dry: retains it’s pleasant miox, though the rose stands out rather.

[magikalbrownies]

this one smelled very floral'y and the scent was richer when i wet it, a little more subdued but beautifully made. though, i have to say the plum, berry, and rose are pefectly blended the rose sneeks up on you when its been on your skin for a while. i smelled myself a few minutes after putting it on and it just seemed to develop into a very different scent. im imagining, this has a lot to do with your own physiology but...

 

definately one of those scents thats good anytime of year. my opinion, i like it - i have a few more bottles i need to get but this is on the list.

[asciident]

Wet: Floral and ... dragon's blood? Maybe that's the wild berry.

 

First on: It smells a lot like dragon's blood, which is weird.

 

Dry: Still mainly dragon's blood. Baffling.

[thelaurenator]

My god, this is gorgeous AND complex. The florals (most prominent are lilac and rose) temper the evil sweetness of the black plum, usually a death note for me. However, here this is lovely. The plum and berries are delicious, and the smoky opium is one of my favorite notes, too. Here it just lends the blend a spicy kick. Lovely. I want a bottle of this!

[msbcozad]

Blood Countess

 

I love the plum and berries in this. The florals are extremely sweet, almost tooth-achingly so. I'm definitely amping the rose and, like another reviewer said, I can almost smell dragon's blood. What is that??

[crebbsgirl]

GAH!! FLOWERS!!! And FRUIT!!! Not my friends. I thought this might be tempered by the opium, but the other notes were just too powerful. Too sweet and cloying for me.

[Argentwolf]

The first time I wore this, I knew that I was smelling the plum pretty predominantly; it had a sort of rich, dark fruity tone to it without being too terribly juicy.

 

Now, as I retest it, I'm given the impression of a rich lady sampling plums in between sips of champagne; it's fruity, yes, but there's also a very rich, perfumey smell that is almost alcoholic in its headiness.

 

A co-worker of mine recently received a rose that smelled a lot like this -- a sweetness so fruity that it was hard to believe it was coming from a rose! So I can believe that there is rose in here...though in this case the sweetness is surely from the fruits mixing with all the various florals.

 

It tends to hug close to the skin; this is a scent that's pretty much reserved for your own pleasure, and that of anyone you invite into very close company.

 

Recommended for fans of plum and fruit scents, and even for those who normally hate rose (of which I am one). This is a sexy one.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Argentwolf

[thewondersmith]

In the imp, it's berries and something lush and... not quite green. I don't know how to describe it. It smells like rotting vegetation, but somehow clean? I don't know. It's rather nice though. Very, very womanly, and as it dries, the florals start amping (especially the gardenia, which makes a nice change from OMGROSEROSEROSE. Don't get me wrong, I love rose, but I amp it like mad in almost every floral blend I've tried). A very sensual, mature scent, but I don't think I'm NEARLY grown up enough to get away with it

[devilot]

In the Vial: Sharp yet fruity. Not a happy bright colored fruit, something darker. (Ah, looking at the notes, I think I smell the rose as being sharp and probably the other florals, too. And the black plum and wild berry being darker fruit.)

 

Wet: More of the fruit comes out on the skin versus in the vial, which I prefer. Still floral. Oddly enough, it smells almost grapey to me.

 

Drydown: The fruit brightens and gets sharper. The florals mellow a bit and blend together more. The blend overall gets less sharp, which I'm grateful for. Ooh, the berry comes out a bit more and it lends a sweetness that the blend really needed. About fifteen minutes later, the rose is more noticeable as its own note now.

 

Verdict: All together, quite nice. No 5ml for me, and I'm not even sure I'll hang onto the imp. It's turning a bit craft-store potpourri on me now. Quite rough in the vial and wet, but the drydown is softer and blends together more. Those afraid of the more perfumey florals will want to steer clear!

[sylvanusurban]

 

In bottle: A weird, hard-to-describe floral. Not very promising.

 

On me, wet: Weird, invasive floral. It’s giving me a headache. I was hoping the plum and berry scents would be prominent, but I can’t smell them.

On me, drying: I am smelling the lilac now. Lilac smells great when it’s gusting off of a freshly blossoming lilac bush, but I can’t wholeheartedly endorse it when it’s in a bottle.

 

Verdict: Not a keeper.

 

[Banyangirl]

When I first tested this, all I could smell was the opium, so I decided that my skin chemistry was out of whack and re-tested. Gosh, I'm glad I did. This is just gorgeous. It's by far the strongest and most traditionally perfumey blend I've tried, maybe even a little too mature for 21 year old me, but it's good. There's the heady floral aspect, but it's tempered and darkened by the plum and berry notes, and the opium is almost headache-inducing, but stops just short of doing that. This is sophisticated and powerful.

[Gin]

Blood Countess

 

Mmmm... plum... and berries. Smells almost like wine. Oh, and there's the opium, too. This is a really good plummy scent, but not my favorite of the lot.

[phantomphoenix3]

This is absolutely gorgeous. The black plum and opium play together wonderfully on my skin. The opium makes it smell almost like Maenad to me. It's fruity yet spicy, and the berries come out in the background. It's also very sexy, almost smelling like wine, but better. This is definitely big bottle worthy!

[batsy]

In the vial: Lilac, berries, and gardenia. A good mix.

 

On the skin: Holy cow, my skin just amped the gardenia to 11! I'm not getting anything else. Okay, as it dried down, I'm not sure what happened but it wasn't good. Again, strange memories associated with scents happened. Dang. Oh well, it's a good gardenia scent!

Edited September 3, 2009 by bat

[rayvn1]

I sure get the plum in this one - and it's a Bensiabel/Prunella plum, not a Bordello plum, thank god! Berries and a great deal of opium to boot. Lush, purple scent. This is what I was thinking of when I heard there was a bpal called "Brides of Dracula". It's wild and sexy and unabashedly violent. After several hours it's become very pale and smells like weak fruit juice, but for a while there this was quite a scent! Keeper, I think.

[loubric]

In the bottle it smells lovely - all berries and rose and candy sweetness.

Unfortuantly on my skin florals and especially roses don't do well on me, I tend to end up smelling like an old lady.

 

This one started out ok on me (was nice and rosey and clean) but as the time went on it blended into a baby powdery floral rose mess

 

 

Actually now that I've waitied a few more minutesit's not too bad, now I smell like dried roses almost potpurri which is nice, plus I can smell hints of plum!!