Le Baiser du Dragon (2003)
by Cartier

Absolute proof that you should always try before you buy and I'm glad I did. The opening is just unbearable because it is so overpowering. It's not subtle, it's not friendly but it's a hammer against your head. It's like hypnotic poison in a very concentrated form that spilled on you.

I'm used to strong and loud fragrances( 5 sprays of aoud rose petals works nicely for me) and when I read the reviews I figured it couldn't be that bad but the opening is so powerful it actually gave me a headache.

When it settles down it becomes nicer but the opening makes it unwearable for me. Spray and dab with caution if you own this one or else you'll qualify as a environmental hazard.

EDP review:

Great concept, beautiful bottle, and loved and worn by both men and women – I thought I couldn’t go wrong with this one. Unfortunately, it’s probably one of the most irritating fragrances I ever had the misfortune to wear. I really don’t know what it is (the saffron?) but, after a short period of time, I get a sour medicine-like note that completely ruins it for me.

A major disappointment.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

Another Cartier fragrance I like -- what's going on? I think I like this because it's a complete mess structurally, but it works. I'm thinking that some of middle notes should be in the bottom or at the top, some of the bottom notes should be in the middle, etc and I could do without that rotten iris. The patchouli and amber notes are really nice at the bottom -- I actually find the middle to be quite feminine not the almondy top. Anyway, it's confusing, but lovely (don't over-analyse)

The Cartier name, as usual, signifies quality and sophistication if not innovation. Cartier’s Le Baiser du Dragon opens powerfully enough to be off-putting, but in five minutes it settles down to something sophisticated. To my nose, the almond takes prominence in a bitter almond / sweet accord. The bitterness skillfully counterbalances the sweetness of the opening. The notes aren’t subtle, but the balance of notes IS subtle – a subtlety that often fools me because I miss some of the refined background movements that are so important to this complex fragrance. The bitter almond / somewhat sweet accord holds the center, with the florals, patchouli, and liquornote in the background. As in most Cartier fragrances, the movements between levels are remarkably smooth. The top seamlessly moves to a rose / coniferous / patchouli heart accord. The patchouli and the rose partner to provide a sensual earthiness that is so good it’s disarming… possibly even disorienting. The cedar is a trickster – its relationship to the rose is minimal but it combines with the patchouli and the vetiver from the base to provide an almost incense note. This middle accord is completely beautiful as far as I’m concerned. (If I were the perfumer, this is where I would have ended it, because it would have been a fantastic unisex fragrance.) With the base, a strong and attractive feminine element is incorporated into the movement. Iris is brought into the picture – a very powdery iris. Concurrent with the powder abundancy, the sensuous patchouli makes its move toward prominence. The background patchouli had been apparent from the start, but now it eases into the foreground with its earthy sensuousness in full bloom. The result is a patchouli / vetiver / benzoin / amber base which provides a long lasting sensual, almost skanky, but close-to-the-skin drydown. This is an intriguing fragrance. (Edit of April 26, 2006 review. Changed from neutral.)

Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon

You know how you buy a book for the cover? The paperback with spaceships in battle, swarthy lotharios, sandaled warriors with big...ahem..swords? Every once in awhile I try a scent because of the name. The nice thing about most scents is you get to try without buying, unlike the paperback that ends up half-finished collecting duston a bedside table. Le Baiser du Dragon was created in 2003 by Alberto Morillas, by some accounts it was supposed to be a feminine vetiver. If that was the goal he failed. Instead Sr. Morillas has created a powerful woody oriental which seems much more apt to be named after a dragon that any feminine vetiver could have been. The top is a beautiful syrupy almond accord paired with neroli. The lighter aspect of neroli balances out what could be a very heavy almond accord. There is a little bite of green in here as well which the note list would make me think is gardenia but this is a gardenia that never comes into full bloom on my skin. The heart is all clean cedar in its straight-edged glory. There is a little musk present to muss up the staid cedar but not enough to make it uncomfortable. The base of this is a really lovely patchouli and amber mix; as in the heart the amber is there just to keep the patchouli from being all that you smell. It is in the base that there is supposed to be some vetiver but I've worn this scent many times in many different temperatures and have yet to encounter this vetiver, perhaps the dragon ate it for lunch. I might have bought Le Baiser du Dragon for the title but unlike those dust gathering paperbacks I look forward to picking this one back up.

This is a strange one. Kind of a weird cacophany of notes in the beginning and a little more floral than I would like. However, this starts to come together for me in the middle where I'm getting a note that's like a spicy and peppery carnation. At this point it reminds me of the opening of Caron's Bellodgia and the patchouli then becomes the perfect counterpoint to balance it out. LBdD starts out almost too feminine, then takes a turn into a place that has a slightly more masculine edge. Overall, I prefer the latter stages and if the men can wait until the top notes pass, I think they would love this scent. I have both the EDT and the EDP and find the latter to be much richer. Dont waste your time on the EDT.