Queen of Clubs

[Macha]

A modern incarnation of the Queen of Pentacles, or Disks, the Queen of the Thrones of Earth. Nurturing, warm and kind, she is practical, quiet and domesticated, and yet still ambitious, and possessed of the sensual lushness of Mother Earth. Soft, deep earth notes with myrrh, amber, pomegranate, dark incense, red currant, rose and vanilla.

This is a complicated blend, and a bit difficult to describe. In the bottle, Queen of Clubs seems to me to be warm, fruity, even a little boozy. It's womanly and sweet. I am struck by similarities to Hunter Moon, even a little something that reminds me of elements of Dia de Los Muertos (although without the cocoa and wine notes of the latter.)

On my skin, it turns soft and faintly floral (and heh, the rose doesn't try to conquer everything else on me for once...yay!!!) with a creaminess from the amber and vanilla that's truely lovely. This is a VERY sophisticated fragrance -- confident, gentle, and yes, earthy. The incense starts to shine, but it's faint and whispy, the lingering traces clinging to a woman who spends a lot of time burning incense, rather than the smell of the incense itself. The current and pomegranite continues to lend an appealing sweetness that I don't find at all cloying or overworked. It's really not even "fruity." The whole thing is balanced so skillfully that I'm really having to concentrate to pick out notes. What I really want to do is just glue my nose to my wrist, breathe deeply and sigh happily.

This is a deep, rich, lush scent and very elegant. Queen of Clubs lasted a good long while on me, with very good throw and a lovely vanilla and amber dry down that I found even more enjoyable than the wet stage. Mmmmm....lovely....mmmm....

[laochodia]

In the bottle- Deep. Pomegranate, myrrh and...something. Roses and vanilla? I smell my grandma (good grandma smell, not creepy old lady smell. My grandma could break you in half by looking at you. Tough little old lady.)

Wet- This scent is making me cry, because all I get is my grandma. A woman who is graceful, beautiful, confident and will love and accept you without reservations and destroy anyone who tries to hurt you is who this scent evokes in my mind. A gorgeous scent- I do get Earth, but not dirt. A slight sweet/tart note I'm guessing is the red currant, the kind of incense that both clears your mind but fills the room with its scent for weeks, a very soft and lush vanilla, a few roses which adds to the earth feeling, and a few notes that are there but hard to seperate.

Dry- This is a warm, loving scent. Very deep, memory evoking (at least for me) and sophisticated. Very hard to pick out individual notes because everything is blended together seamlessly. Like Macha said, all I want to do is glue my nose to my wrist, inhale and sigh happily.

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

sweet fig?

 

On

slurp

I can't get over how different this is (and the King of Clubs as well). How does she do it? It's got an earthy dark brown , dark green and dark puprle vibe to it. It smells earthy and fruity in a fig way, and it's got these two little bright rose and vanilla scents wafting above the earthiness of it all. Very odd but very effective.

As it dries it gets more vanillery, more floral too (ugh) and more tobacco/resiny.

 

30 minutes

Still nice. The tobacco-y smells has gone. It's a rose vanilla creaminess alongside a darkly earthy floral.

It makes for an interesting and nice combo.

 

Throw:

more than average

 

Scent category:

earthy/floral/fruity/incense

 

Summary

Very earthy (of course), it's almost half innocent young girl and wiser, sensual and comforting woman. It turns more floral on me as it dries but the vanilla keeps my nose coming back for more.

 

Purchase again?

I believe I would. Great for working with the earth element, wow.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4

[Thorne]

After going on a spree with my Chaos Theory blends and the Ace of Hearts, I showered and put the King of Clubs on one arm, and the Queen on the other.

 

In the bottle, the Queen is sharp myrrh. Yikes! Then I could smell the red current and something like fruits soaked in alcohol. I was scared, but I soldiered on. The Queen rewarded my faithfulness by becoming a spicy sweet dream of a perfume, blending in absoultely magically with the King on my other wrist.

 

After an hour or two, the sharp spices faded out and the soft incense note appeared. Faint hints of the pomegranate and vanilla warmed the scent. It started to feel like my own smell, only better, more grounded and confident. I think that being an Air girl (Gemini sun, Libra Moon), this really balanced me, which I hadn't expected. This is a keeper, for sure.

 

Like I said in the review for the King, this is a perfect match of scents. I plan on wearing both the King and Queen, together and seperately. The Queen could also be worn by a man who likes a little sweetness in his scent.

[scarlet]

Oh, my... think deep red. That is the color of this Queen.

 

In the bottle: Boozy myrrh and a whiff of pomegranate? Hmm, I'm not sure about this one, it seems too boozy for me... but I'll give it a go.

Wet on the skin: Earthy is the only way to describe this stage. A slight touch of soil mingles with the myrrh, amber, and various red scents.

Dry: A glorious, deep rose emerges. I've never been big on roses, but this one is gorgeous.

10 minutes: Lush, deep rose. Very red and fruity. I'm starting to smell the red currant more clearly, and the vanilla is peeking through.

30 minutes: The vanilla is coming out more and more. I'm so happy I got two bottles that I could cry. It's reminding me off the rose flavored rahat loukoum treats, although it doesn't smell exactly like them. Vanilla-myrrh-rose goodness, I love you.

[sarada]

When I first open the bottle, I get a breath of fresh earth, like Graveyard Dirt, but soaked in deep, rich red berry juice with a dash of sweetness and rose. This....is heaven.

 

Rich earth in the shade of a tree, thick and ripe with red fruit or deep purple berries -- the fallen fruit mingles with the soil and the sun's golden warmth melds the two in a sweet, earthen cocktail.

 

Deep, ruby red and moist, gritty dark brown earth sparkling with amber crystals glinting in the sunlight. A hint of smoke, of soil warmed after the rain -- a sweet, familiar, motherly embrace. Some time later, the roses bloom in the shade.

 

This is one of the most exquisite things I've ever smelled -- I don't even know what to do. I wish I could photocopy it or save it to disk so I could enjoy it forever. This is the perfect blend of earth and fruit, and I wish I could just go on smelling it forever.

[Muppetk]

Bottle: rich fruit & floral

 

Wet on me: Rich red fruit with a hint of floral and boozy? and ... macaroon?? where did that last come from?? (maybe the "earth" smell that others have spoken of)

 

Drying: Oooooh. That's starting to be interesting. Booze & macaroon are gone. The fruit is fading (as usual on me), but the pomegranate is still quite noticable and sweet, and the rose is starting to come to the foreground a bit, but there's something interesting behind it, I'm guessing the myrrh & incense?

 

Dry 5-10 min: Sigh. My skin ate the pomegranate. But what's left is mixing nicely with the rose. Except there's a hint of bitter, I think from the currant.

 

Dry @ 1hr: Aren't myrrh & vanilla supposed to stick around longer, even on my skin? (My skin is the evil oil-eating skin!!!) All I have at this point is a pale pale slightly sharp rose-red fruit blend. Gotta try this one again in a week, maybe today is a bad chemistry day. (Except probably not as my CT2 -- which didn't work *wah*-- is still there on me two hours later, though faded.)

 

EDIT: melodrama removed, spelling corrected.

Edited July 1, 2005 by Muppetk

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: yes earth notes, warm fresh earthy.i also detect the red currant, rose, and hint of vanilla

 

wet: a very sweet fruity earthy blend.

 

drydown: this is much lighter then i expected the earth is blending in well w/ the other notes, it is a menegerie of the fruits, incense, amber, and vanilla, it is so well blended and beautiful, definitely royal. i love it they will have a place of honor next to my other royal pairs

[olympia301]

 

The bottle is amazing, such a wonderful image of the Queen on cobalt blue glass. I was in wonder that I could possess her. But I have to try her, too.

 

Wet in the bottle she smells like earth, and I can smell nothing else. On my skin wet, roses and vanilla, perhaps amber and other sweet things come out behind the earth scent, then it dries down to a grouping which included a plummy or grape scent weaving its way around the other lucious smells. But over it all is the scent of the Earth which always holds sway over this blend. If you loved Zombi or Graveyard Dirt or any of the fresh tilled soil scents, you will fall in love with the Queen of Clubs.

Edited July 1, 2005 by olympia301

[nineveh]

When I discovered BPAL in April, I didn't want to even look at any of the LE's that were available. I thought that ordering a bottle untried was too risky and I didn't want to chance upon finding the best scent ever only to never be able to get more. But then Queen of Clubs came, and the list of notes was just too good to pass up. So it became my first LE, and what a way to start.

 

I ordered this before I knew my chemistry as well as I do now. Several of the notes have given me problems in other blends. Sometimes myrrh and vanilla smell burnt, somestimes rose goes sour, and sometimes berries smell dusty on me.

 

They all work perfectly in Queen of Clubs.

 

When I first apply, all that I can smell is the Lab's earth note, like what's in Nosferatu and Nocnitsa. It doesn't smell like real dirt to me like Graveyard Dirt does. It's more like an artistic impression of earth and moss that I prefer to an actual dirt scent.

 

When it starts to dry, a dark red fruit scent comes out which is neither tart nor sweet, just juicy. I can't tell if it's the pomegranate, currant, or both.

 

After a bit more time, the amber becomes noticeable. It doesn't go powdery or overwhelm the other notes; it just provides a dark thickness, along with the myrrh.

 

Finally, the rose appears, and it's the perfect floral element for this blend: dark, rich, and elegant.

 

As for the vanilla, I can't pick it out individually, but I'm pretty sure that I can detect it as an overall "flavoring" here, if that makes sense.

 

Overall, this is a deep, calm, warm, beautiful scent. I'm so glad that I was tempted into ordering this.

 

Now I'll go hoard my bottle and punch myself for not ordering the King too.

 

edit: It's about four hours later and now the scent is mostly gone. I only have a residual scent of amber and berry.

Edited July 1, 2005 by nineveh

[lorajc]

This goes so well with the King that you could probably wear them together if you wanted to and create a new scent. While this smells nothing like I really expected, I do like it very much. I had it pictured as being heavier on the rose and vanilla but on myself, those notes are barely detectable until the very end of the drydown and then it's just a hint. Most promiment on me is the amber, pomegranate and just a touch of the red currant. I cannot smell the rose.....which is a good thing, as I'm not really big on rose. This is very well blended and even though I stated above that the pomegranate is strongest on me, it doesn't really overpower. It is, however, not the same pomegranate I have smelled in persephone and if it is, it smells different because of the different notes it's blended with. This is quickly growing on me and I'm liking it more and more. The pomegranate is more tart than sweet. It is not artificial at all. This is a lovely scent and it's okay to wear on a humid day also.....not too strong....just right.

[Reinaluna]

Queen of Clubs: A very beautiful and sexy blend! When first applied I get a lot of the myrrh, amber, currant and vanilla. This almost smells like it has fig in it. It is a very nice dark incensy aroma without being too strong. Another tantilizing exotic member of the playing card series and I love it!!

Edited July 1, 2005 by Reinaluna

[joseybird]

Let me begin by saying that I've been looking for an "earth mother-y" blend for some time--something warm and earthy yet very womanly and alluring/sexy. I'm the geek who just *had* to start a thread about oils for rpg and original characters, and I admit that I mostly become rabid over oils that that I think really fit one of my character concepts.

 

This is THE perfect sensual earthy blend.

 

In the bottle, Queen of Clubs smells very much like Graveyard Dirt, but I can also detect a deep, tart pomegranate and a sweet, lush rose that reminds me of Rose Red without the chilliness I admit that when I first saw the Queen's description, I was terrified that the rose would be the infamous (at least, to me) "dryer sheet rose" that's in Lucy's Kiss, Moon Rose, Persephone, and many other rose blends. But it turns out that's not the case! I'm reminded a little bit of Zombie, but the rose in Queen of Clubs is sweeter and lusher.

 

On my skin, the earthy note (like moist soil, without the ashy note I detected in Graveyard Dirt) moves to the background and grounds the entire blend, preventing the rose or pomegranate from becoming too sweet. The rose is truly glorious--a warmer Rose Red, without the sharpness. The vanilla comes out, a creamy *vanilla bean* that lends a warmth and smoothness without turning anything to candy. I detect a light dusting of incense, but it's extremely subtle, and I get no smokiness at all.

 

Ahah!!! THERE'S the amber! Warm, luscious amber emerges later in the drydown, giving the blend a luminous glow.

 

My god this may be the most beautiful thing I've ever smelled.

[LunaSea]

In the bottle, Queen of Clubs smells divine! The first note I smell is the almond, with that memory of cherry to it. It is a rich, deep blend.

 

Wet on the skin the almond is there, joined by a wonderful, elegant incense. It is a very complex fragrance: elegant, rich, a bit sweet and fruity. Lovely. And the rose isn't betraying me - wonderful.

 

But, le sigh - I really shouldn't get my hopes up for any blend with rose. After 10 minutes or so, here comes the powder. Why oh why does my skin hate rose? I want to hang on to this oil and try it as a room fragrance, because I really was falling in love with it.

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

wow, another strong tobacco blend for me today, it's POWERFUL!

 

On me:

Hmm... so far, this isn't quite what I was expecting. The tobacco smell is quite strong on me and it's about toe to toe with the rose. Which is funny, because I didn't think there was going to be tobacco in here, but here it is, I'm sure of it. Not that I mind, I like tobacco, but this is a bit strong for me. I am waiting for some of that pomegranate to show up or vanilla.

After a while, it is clear to me that those are not gonna show up on me I wish that this wasn't such an overwhelming tobacco on me, but it is and that in combonation with the rose means this scent just isn't for me.

 

Final note:

Not really what I was expecting, but I'm sure other people will love it, especially if they love rose After it dries for a good long while, the vanilla shows up a tiny bit, but it's so faint, that this still doesn't really work on me.

Edited July 2, 2005 by Brianne

[sihaya09]

Oh wow. So earthy and nice in the bottle. I smell rich, fertile earth and juicy pomegranate. On my skin, I get some berryish goodness and lots of currant. I would like to say I got to the ambery stage, but alas, this one faded quite quickly on me. It's a shame, though, as I really do like it. I'll decant some out so others may try it, and keep the rest for ritual purposes. It'll be amazing to get in touch with the Earth element-- I can use it in an oil diffuser.

[Imbrium]

In the bottle: Very dark and mysterious - this one's hard for me to pin down.

 

On: Wet, the Queen smells very, very earthy on me, with a hint of sweet fruit in the background. I like the presence of the fruity notes, as it makes this more wearable for me than a straight earth scent like Graveyard Dirt would have been.

 

As this dries, the earth notes fade, and lo, The Queen, she be a morpher. I get predominately pomegranate and currant, followed by more mellow fruits with a touch of something warm - amber? - followed by predominately amber, with a fruity base. Then, out of nowhere, there's the creamy presence of vanilla. There's never any rose on me, nor do I get the myrrh and dark incense notes.

 

Overall: Complex, and very interesting, and somehow, not too heavy for warm weather. Absolutely fabulous, and I'm so glad I took a chance on this one.

[pensive]

Bottle: Adorable!

First smells: Unlike Nosferatu, Queen of Clubs doesn't depress me from the first whiff. It's sweet and earthy.

On me: Earthy amber, with a touch of currant.

Verdict: Not an every day scent. But it has this grounded, comforting feel to it I want to keep and reach for.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Bright red and round. Slightly syrupy.

 

After Wearing It:

Wet, the pomegranate and red currant notes really jump out of this one. Very sweet, strong and juicy. After it dries on my skin, notes of fresh turned soil pop up as well, and oddly enough they smell quite good meshed with the red fruit notes. There's a bit of booziness to it too which I think might be the myrrh but I'm not sure. Overall though it doesn't smell as smooky as I would have thought from the description. Just a very odd yet pleasing mix of juicy/earthy.

 

As time goes on, this Queen keeps confusing me. After an hour and a half and for the rest of the fragrance I keep smelling chocolate. Not cheapy chocolate, or even the nice chocolate notes I've experienced in other lab blends before. It smells like gourmet chocolate filled with cherry cordial. It's very sweet, yet dark and dense. I keep thinking I smell a bit of german chocolate cake thrown in there too, or at least that what it feels like as the last of the soil notes from the opening stage of the fragrance leave their last impression. There's just a texture I associate with cake crumbs, that I smell here. It's very strange, in that it was completely not what I was expecting from the description or the reviews. And I've worn it three times just to make sure I wasn't just having a weird day, but I had the same experience each time. But it's yummy, so I wont complain. There are worse things to smell of, especially since I do like foody scents! And I can't smell a drop of rose during any stage of Queen of Clubs so that makes me even more grateful for how things turned out.

 

Final Thoughts:

Very nice! Completely not what I was expecting, but what does that matter? It's a nice rich red scent that would be perfect for fall. I'm keeping my bottle of QoC!

[darkling]

The first time I tried this scent, it was strongly reminiscent of Graveyard Dirt and Zombi. The Queen was rich dirt with a faint hint of fruit sweetness underneath.

 

The second time I tried this scent, I shook up the bottle first. This time the Queen still had a base of earth but the fruit notes were more prominent. The promegranate and currant melded into a delicious sweetness heightened by a hint of vanilla. The richness of the earth was emphasized by the dark myrrh.

 

The Queen of Clubs is a lovely scent and different enough from Zombi (one of my favorites) that I plan to keep it.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - whereas Queen of Spades smells purplish, this smells red. In the bottle and first on, it's all juicy, red fruit, with a tiny bit of dirt.

 

Dry - the overwhelming fruitiness has calmed down a bit, but it's still the primary note. The main scent seems to be cherry, which I know isn't in here; perhaps that's the red currant? I got a bit of myrrh when it first dried-down, but now, nothing. No myrrh, no amber, no incense, no rose and no vanilla. Even the trace of earth I got in the beginning has gone away. I will try this a second time, but if fruit is all I get, it will be off to the swap pile. Sigh, and I had such high hopes for this one.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.

[chopchica]

I think the word for this blend is "complex". I can't even identify all of the notes involved, but they come together to form a deep and mysterious blend full of strong earthy tones.

 

It's a little too fruity for my tastes, but I'm so impressed with it that I keep putting it on over and over to sniff. I'll probably swap out a few imps and keep half of the bottle for wearing. This is a blend that everybody should get a chance to try.

[tart]

A review for Queen of Clubs, via BPAL chat.

 

DragonGrl: smell smell!

DragonGrl: (:

tart: i'll dab

tart: smells like soil a little? with pomegranate on top

DragonGrl: mmm

tart: i dunno, it smells like outside

tart: almost like being next to a lake

DragonGrl: Hm.

DragonGrl: Is this in the bottle or on you?

tart: on the backs of my hands

tart: there's something decided aquatic about this. maybe it's the pomegranate mixing with something else

tart: it's like water on top of dirt

tart: okay i think that the aquaticness is wearing off

tart: i don't like aquatics.

tart: i didn't really plan on getting QoC because it had amber in it. it's warming up now, more just pomegranate than aquatic, with something underneath it that is almost like a cooking smell

tart: i think QoC reminds me of something but I don't know what

DragonGrl: Oh, I hate that feeeling.

tart: i dunno if i'm going to keep this or not

tart: It's basically like soft amber with earth. So long as the amber doesn't turn into dirrty sex on me, I'll be okay. Actually, it's like Snake Oil Ultra Lite to me. Snake Oil reduced by 1000.

 

Ahh, so perhaps Queen of Clubs will be the first wearable amber scent for me. Who knows, maybe it'll turn on me later. I like it a lot once it dries, but I don't know if I can get hip to the sharp smell in the beginning.

[Tess]

I'm so excited to get some more earthy scents to try out! I think the lack of Earth in my horoscope really gives me that need for it other ways.

 

In the vial - Damp earth and rotting herbs, with just a touch of booze underneath. Ack, don't know if I like this, despite my love of Graveyard Dirt's wet soil scent.

 

Wet - Now I get some rotting florals, too. Not sure what they are...

 

Drying - Sooo faint. I have to press my nose almost to my wrist to smell this. I'm getting growing florals in rich dirt now, though, which is a VAST improvement. The rose is light and I can smell the sweetness of the pomegranate.

 

Dry (15 minutes later) - Gah, my sinuses are freaking out from something in this; it's like I'm having hay-fever, I'm stuffed up with watering eyes and sneezing. *sighs* I guess it's not so bad, seeing as the sense of "rot" has sprung up again. I'll give this a bit more time before I wash it off, though.

 

Overall - This only hurt my sinuses/gave me a headache for 30 minutes or so before drying to a insensey smelling rose that was very faint with no throw. *sighs* None of the stages worked with me, sadly. Time to throw this one up for trades.

[Chas]

In the bottle, this was sweet and fruity, and chocolately? Am I the only one who smells cocoa in the bottle? My husband sniffed and said it smelled like bubble gum. A dab on the wrist, and I couldn't tell it was the same frangrance as in the bottle, because it immediately morphed into something warm and ambery.

 

It doesn't smell earthy to me, but it's a very warm, sophisticated scent.

 

Edit to add: It's morphing again, and becoming very sexy. I think this might be the myrhh. I suddenly feel the need to go home and have my wicked way with my husband.

Edited July 8, 2005 by Chas