Queen of Clubs

[magikfanfic]

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.

In the bottle: Fruity. The pomegrante and the deeper red currant. Sweet and fruity and a little bit flirty. Oh, I hope I don't fall in love with this one. I have no idea where I'd get a bottle of it now.

Wet: Wow. Red currant and dirt. Well, now I don't need it nearly as much, that's for sure. That currant is right there though and it makes me sad for the red currant tea I used to drink in England. But it's mostly red currant with a little bit of incense and dirt in the background of it. Not nearly as lovely as the inital fruit smell but not bad.

Dry down: Red currant and incense still with the dirt notes. This is comforting and nice, but a little thick for me. These Club scents strike me as being brown, golden brown but warm and thick just the same. Heavy in an old way rather than in a cloying way. On me, this is just mostly the currant amped up by all the other scents beneath it. And it cracks my heart a little as I remember the tea parties we had. But beneath the currant is the incense and the amber and the myrrh, three notes that I do not get along with but don't seem as distressing in this blend. It's got a little sharp kick to it, though. The tart of the currant mixing with the dirt. And now there's the rose, lingering and floating and moving through the rest of the scent.

Dry: Red currant. Tart and fresh but with a thicker earth note as well as some rose and incense behind it. It turns more earthy the longer I wear it, which saddens me. I think I'll keep it for the visceral memory kick the currant unfolds. It's a little way to remind me of Harlaxton, but I'm not sure that it's anything I'll be able to wear myself.

[Belladonnastrap]

First Sniff:

Ooh. Pomegranate? There's a dark fruity note in this that really smells good. A bit sweet, a bit tart. It smells a bit like Graveyard Dirt & Persephone had hot sticky sex.

 

Wet:

Augh. Dirt. That's all I'm getting. If I sniff the air I smell vanilla and pomegrante but if I sniff me I get dirt that makes me crinkle up my nose.

 

Drydown:

Ugh dirt. It's making my tummy turn actually

 

 

Aftermath:

*sigh* My body chemistry is just wacky. Not for me.

[quimerula]

It's odd that someone can like both Ace of Hearts and Queen of Clubs, but they are both sides of the same coin to me.

 

Queen of Clubs is a very complex, womanly feminine and strong scent.

 

It starts with soft earthy notes (the ones you can get in Zombi, Burial and Crossroads but smoother) and it goes like one of those desserts with layers of different things: a layer of fruits, a layer of vanilla-flavoured cream, a layer of flowers and a layer of resins at the very bottom.

Perfectly blended, you discover a new nuance each time that you smell it.

 

I am very glad I got a bottle of this, despite the vanilla and the earthy notes. Awesome!

[Undine]

Initially a bubblegummy scent, but the green and earthy scent quickly comes up as well as something fruity and spicy (the source of the bubblegum). The green/earthiness--reminds me of the "potting soil" description that many gave to Graveyard Dirt, whereas I only smelled horrible rotting mushrooms--always stays above the fruits and spices. It's a nice green dirt. I have a really hard time picking out any of the individual scents. But I really like it. 4 out of 5 on my scale.

[Blood onmy hands]

At first Queen of Clubs smells a bit like Centzon Totochtin to me. The same rich fruit and dark sweetness. They smell different, but they're in the same vein to my nose. Tart pomegranate and dirt. It has a very strong wet soil note to my nose as it dries down. Soil with a bit of rose and vanilla in the background.

 

An hour later is has dried down into a mostly perfumey rose and light incense scent. It still has an earthy scent to it. This is very pretty and the perfumey rose actually isn't bothering me or giving me a headache as florals often do.

 

I don't know if I'll wear this one a lot (I LOVE its companion, King of Clubs), but I'm definitely glad to have a bottle. I think that I'm going to try this one out on the boy as well... just because.

Edited August 31, 2005 by Blood onmy hands

[DameBecca]

I looooooove this scent.

 

Wet in the bottle it is this great fruity lollipop dipped in Graveyard Dirt scent. Ok, that sounds really gross, but really, it works.

 

On my skin, the dirt comes out really strong. It's exactly like Graveyard dirt; fresh clean soil that makes me think of a bright spring morning, planting the garden while there's still dew ont he ground......but there's a patch of berries nearby with a slight sweetness wafting over.

 

On drydown, the dirt note warms up a little and the sweetness mellows out to lend an overall pretty feel to the scent. It's gets just sliiiiiiightly floral, but you have to kinda "look" for that side of it.

 

Sadly, like Graveyard Dirt, my skin eats this one. I have to reapply at least every two hours to keep this one going.

[rhubarbbear]

let's see how to describe this one...incense and candy! yeah, that about sums it up for me...mostly incense in the imp, then the candy joins in on my skin. i can see how this would be a nice scent, but it doesn't work for me or on me.

[Barb25]

In the bottle - earthy fig?

 

On me, for the first hour or so, I get a lovely earthy dirt smell, and plus the fruit. Very nice, then, slowly slowly, the myrrh, amber, and vanilla come out. The vanilla strengthens, so that it becomes the dominate note, but the rest of the scents are still in the background. (Well, except for the rose, I never do smell that.) It lasts for a long time - 8 hours plus.

 

I absolutely love it. Bravo Beth!

[Monster]

I bought this lovley little bottle off of Penance ^^

 

First sniff I'm getting wet dirt and moss with a lot of incense and a sweet berry (or vanilla) peeking around the backround. Mm! I LOVE this already! ^^

 

On my skin it turns a bit more flowery, with the incense smell prominent in the foreground. The wet dirt smell only sticks around for a little while.

 

After a while it fades to a soft incense....with a bit of rose in the backround. It's not powdery on my skin at all, but really soft and pretty and slightly sweet.

 

I'm in love with this scent! I only wish it weren't a LE...I want a 10ml! ><

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: What a complicated blend. Deep earth notes and clouds of incense, indeed! There are hints of something almost nutty, but I absolutely can't detect any florals or fruit!

 

On me: Oooo, this is not good on my skin. Myrrh and deep dark mud overwhelm the other notes. Twisted pomegranate and red currant try to reach through the dirt but are lost in a landslide. This definitely is not a scent for me.

[emzebel]

Mmmmm...I regretted not buying this almost as soon as it went down, but I was too nervous and new to BPAL to feel comfortable taking chances at that point. But, thanks to the sales of the love Mmme. Belladonnastrap, I now have a whole lovely bottle to call my own!

 

In the bottle, Queen of Clubs is a very earthy scent. I can smell the full fruity sweetness that is common in my very favorite blends, but it is mixed with something more...sinister is not quite the word, but definitely something a little darker than I usually wear.

 

On my skin though, this is an absolutely lovely blend of fruit and vanilla, with just enough of the earthy, incensy notes to give it some kick and not smell like a bakery. In the beginning it was all pomegranite and current and what I would have sworn to be fig, and the vanilla is really kicking in now after a few hours.

 

I expect this might be a mighty morpher on me and that there might be yet another stage in store, in which case, I will update this review. In the meantime, consider me fully in the Queen's thrall.

[sookster]

this is Zombi's much younger sister for sure!!

lovely earthy rosey blend...although i have to admit i am more of a zombi lover as zombi morphs into something rather unique & far more complex with my chemistry....

Queen of Clubs is nice but not long lasting enough for my tastes...i might keep her around to layer with some of my other rosey/earthy scents though

[arabella]

First Impression: Resin, musk, herb - very earthy.

 

Dries down to: A deep, earthy scent.

 

Additional Comments: I get no fruit or floral notes, nor any vanilla, at all. Very unusual, because rose normally screams on me. I'm going to let this age a bit and try it down the road. Right now, it's just clods of earth on me.

 

Lasted: A few hours.

 

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

[cranberry]

I adore Queen of Clubs. Just adore it! Words cannot express...

 

When I first apply it, I get juicy dark red fruit - pomegranite and berries (must be the currant). The fruit has just dropped and I get the rich scent of moist fertile earth. The earth remains for a long time, with incense, musk and sweetness coming in. It combines into this earthy, rich scent that I just love. It closes with the darkness, richness and sensuality of musk.

 

Overall, this is an amazing scent and I'm so thrilled to have some. Thanks Beth for this marvelous gift!!

[zenvodunista]

through thinking i was going to lost an auction on ebay, and an overlapping forumite selling me hers, i actually have two bottles of QoC on their way to me. a little worrisome, as they were both uniffed!

 

i should not have worried. QoC is quite a lovely scent.

 

she starts off all earth and rose, straight from the home of Zombi, and moves into currant and earth, reminding me somewhat of Santa Muerte -- one of my favorites. after awhile the earth drops away and she begins to smell of coconut of all things! i am not a huge fan of coconut, and that stage lasts a short while, and she ends at a lovely combination of amber, vanilla, with a touch of berries and rose, all grounded by a faint background of earth.

 

beautiful! i can't wait to smell the King!

 

n.

[brownbear]

This one really changes a lot on me. It starts out smelling both earthy and foody. I think I was getting a lot of vanilla at first. It is such an interesting blend. It's a combination of earth, darkness, and fruity desserts. I'm surprised and relieved that my skin didn't amp up the rose a bunch. It just barely lingers in the background. Very nice.

[herdivineshadow]

This is certainly a dark, fruity scent, and somehow very dry smelling on my skin but at the same time there's undertones of damp earth and a slightly bitter tinge. I'm not getting any vanilla at all which is a shame. I think this is a bit to earthy and bitter for me.

[Voleuse]

In the bottle, the fruit is predominant, but once I applied the oil to skin, it became incense and amber. Warm and thoughtful, if that makes any sense. The currant is slightly evident, but it's mostly earth tones.

 

Sadly, this fades very quickly on me, and it stays faint incense and earth the entire time. I never get a hint of rose or vanilla. It's a pleasant, earthy scent, but not for me. I wish the fruit had stuck around longer, actually, because I love the way it smells in the bottle.

[Tramp]

A dirty boozy scent with some warm and spicy fruit. This makes me sneeze - but I really like it. It is like Harvest Moons older sister - who runs with the wrong crowd and has a biker boyfriend named Snake who recently got out of jail. Now QoC and Snake ride around on his Harley and knock over bars.

 

Rating (out of 5)

4

[foxroses]

dirt. dirt dirt earthy yucky dirt and fir.

 

i was dying for pomegranate and currant and vanilla and wonderful rich fruitiness, but no matter what i try, it smells like dirt :D

 

*cries*

[LyndaM]

I got a frimp of this from a generous soul in a swap.

 

Sniffing the imp, I initially smelled a dirt note, like in Zombi, but this seemed like moist earth instead of dry ick. I didn't care for Zombi, but I could smell other goodies lurking in the backround here, so I gave it a fair chance.

 

I'm so glad I tried this; as it dried, the most amazingly sweet and fruity scent began wafting up from my wrist. Amber doesn't normally work on me, but here it's very well balanced with the other notes and I don't mind it. Incense notes usually hate me as well, but they're kinda working here. I still got the dirt note when I snorfled my wrist, but the waft was really lovely. I don't get any rose, unfortunately.*

 

Overall I like it, the very first BPAL with incense that has agreed with me. I hate it when I like LEs! If it ever makes a reappearance, I'd buy a bottle.

 

* Maybe I'll layer it with some London...

Edited October 22, 2005 by LyndaM

[lookingglass]

Fruity sweetness, rose, and a fresh loam compete on my skin at first...Drying down the earthiness blends with my skin (thank you, Miss Amber), but a bite remains~I am thinking that this is the myrrh, as it is usually a sharp note on me. The rose is a bit cloying at first...rose is often this way on me. I like it though. It is like a femmed out, lightened Zombi.

[wingedcorset]

The description of this really excited me. I wasn't sure what myrrh smeled like, but the rest of the notes sounded yummy. Sadly, this smelled like dirty dirty dirt on me. Blech.

 

Interesting note, however: I have a decant imp of this, and it's separated into two distinct layers, a pale gold layer and a deeper amber layer.

Edited November 17, 2005 by wingedcorset

[ayelienne]

I am completely enamoured of Queen of Clubs and am grateful to have found a full bottle as this is probably my favorite thus far.

 

It's a beautifully complicated blend! earthy and warm, but creamy at the same time - vanilla, amber, a touch of incense and something sweet (fruity sweet?). It's inviting and cozy and sexy at the same time. This is one of those scents that I always vaguely wished for but could never find out in storebought perfumeland.

 

It's gorgeous

[ancilla_morte]

I was all set to review this when I got my decant , BUT when I put it on I was so confused... I didn't know what to think of it. I didn't know whether I liked it or not. I knew I didn't hate it. it was just SO DIFFERENT of a scent.

It's sharp, but in a dull earthy way. it smells like FRESH sweet earth. and it is so sweet. I can't put my finger on the sweetness. it reminds me of the sweetness in Hell's Belle.

 

but yeah now that I have tested it around three times, I've decided I love it. too bad its an LE and I only have a decant.