Dragon’s Blood

[ScentimentallyYours]

Has anyone been testing/comparing dragons blood from various sources lately? I’m too late to the party to sample @cmzaha’s fabled DB stash. (Cmzaha, have you thought about sending a small sample bottle to a fragrance house like Atlantis Aromatics or Lebermuth for them to analyze and duplicate?)

I previously loved the DB from Nurture, and the latest bottle I ordered still smells nice, but it seems to have more cinnamon and does not discolor to such a deep brown as before, so I suspect the formula is different, not as rich. Maybe suppliers and the fragrance houses they buy from are changing formulas after the latest IFRA safe usage rates? It’s interesting to see that Dragon’s Blood fragrance notes have differing descriptions on websites. Anyway, I am looking for a good DB recommendation that doesn’t smell like cinnamon. Advice please!

 

[TheGecko]

Has anyone been testing/comparing dragons blood from various sources lately?

It was Dragon's Blood that taught me that not all scents are equal. I had purchased someone's FO stash and it had a small bottle (0.5 oz) of Dragon's Blood from Wellington Fragrance Co and I loved it. When I finally got around to ordering it, they were no longer carrying it so I bought it from another supplier, but it didn't smell the same. So began my quest for Dragon's Blood from a lot of different suppliers and I made a lot of test soaps until I got ahold of @cmzaha Dragon's Blood.

With that said, Wellington is selling DB again...you can get a 1/2 oz for $2.00. But as with all their FOs, and the reason I was hesitant to purchase from them when starting out is because the next size is 8 oz. Now that I am making larger batches and buying more in 'bulk', I will take a serious look at their products since they are reasonably priced.

 

[glendam]

I have only used and bought the one from New Direction aromatics, which with the new IFRA rules had to be reformulated and the price has gone up quite a bit. I have not purchased the new one though. I had someone reach out to me to see if I had more soap with that fragrance, he had bought a bar at a Christmas show and purchased four more recently because he really liked it. Told me he would contact me when he run out. It discolors a lot even as you are making the soap.

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

Holy cow @glendam, New Directions is $20 for 3.3 ounces? It would have to be very strong to justify the usage rates. I’m almost curious enough to try it just to see if there is that big of a difference from other Dragons Blood fragrances.

I have ordered from Wellington a number of times, @TheGecko. I had to do a search to turn up their Dragon’s Blood, and found it by searching for the word dragon. I will add it on my next order as a test to soap with for my small mold.

I’ve been going through all of my fragrances and checking the IFRA safe useage rates after having a bad allergy reaction to a Fragrance. I’m feeling most comfortable with anything that can be used at over 8%, preferably over 10%.

I have many many fragrance oils from the last 25 years in my basement. I’m thinking that for soap, I’m not using anything that isn’t current with the latest IFRA rates. If there are some, I really like, I will have to go back to using them in candles. I haven’t made candles in years. Maybe my friends daughter would like to have them for her new candlemaking business? Anyway, no essential oils or fragrance oils will be used in soap unless they are current and not oxidized.

I appreciate your feedback on Dragon’s Blood!

 

[glendam]

@ScentimentallyYours I know! I was shocked myself. When I bought it in 2021, I paid $8.76 for the 3.3 oz bottle.
From what I understand cinnamon was used to make a note similar to vanilla. And that is why many fragrances usage rates dropped. My only guess is that they may have substituted that with the real vanillin? Who knows…