Queen of Clubs

[theseagrows]

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 warm and fruity. it smells like dirt and pomegranate/currant to me, and there's a little rose and vanilla in the background. ithe dirt/earth element adds a nice touch, and in fact i think i'd like it less without the dirt note. i think i'd like it a bit more if the rose/vanilla came out more and less fruit. not sure if i will swap or keep my decant, i may have to try it again. Edited January 21, 2007 by theseagrows

[dawndie]

In bottle: watery fruit

 

On skin: roses! Roses with a watery tinge, which the "dirt" notes sometimes translate into for me

 

Half-hour later: the dark fruit makes an appearance, lots of juicy pomegranate that balances the rose

 

In conclusion: this is a wonderful fruity rose scent -- I love the "clear water" note, I love the way the rose melds with the dark fruit and that one doesn't overpower the other. Beautiful!

[Quiara]

I have very few hard-and-fast rules when it comes to BPAL, but one of them is NO ROSES.

 

Except...

 

I love Queen of Clubs. Big hearts. Insane love. It's so . . . not a rose blend on me. I smell some rose, yes, but it doesn't amp up and tread over every other note like it usually does. It sits there and behaves. So what I get is a nice, soft, earthy, sweet, vaguely floral smell that gives me a total nosegasm. Big love.

[lightgatherer]

As expected, the vanilla, musk, amber, etc. notes are delicious on me as always. The fruit notes were faint but blended in gorgeously. As a happy surprise, this was a nice rose on me - it was subtle and added to the other notes rather than clobbering them all to death. As a sad surprise, the earth notes just do not work on me. I kept sniffing and thinking, "Mmm, yum, sweet, warm, love, OMG dirt! Get the dirt off!" I loved the rest of the notes in this, but the dirt stood out, sharp and jarring. The dirt fades after a while, but unfortunately, the scent has mostly faded by this time too. I might tolerate this in a GC, but I have a higher standard for LEs. This deserves to go to someone who will love it, so, sadly, off to swaps.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Earth, with red currant peeking through. It's Lady Macbeth's red currant, and that's not a good thing, for me.

 

Wet: Still red currant and earth, and unfortunately it's that currant smell that reminds me strongly of bubble gum. It smells really sickly, combined to earth. I can smell something a bit aquatic in there, too, maybe the pomegranate.

 

Drydown: As it dries down, the redcurrant also quietens, but the earth note stays strong, a good thing for me. Other things start to peek through, pomegranate is much more obvious now, and there's this airy scent of incense. The base of the scent is very gentle vanilla.

 

Overall: It's a surprising scent, because it has all these fruity, vanilla and generally foody and warm elements, and then the very glaringly different earth note. At times, I feel the earth note adds a very gloomy sense to the fruit - as if it's rotting. At other times it just feels like a warm fruity offering to an earth goddess. Definitely an interesting blend, but not one that I'd find myself wearing, the mix of earth and food is just a bit too jarring for me. But it's definitely a good representation of the Queen: domestic/abundant, and... earthy.

[CiCi]

Queen of Clubs was a refreshing delight and a surprising one. I thought it would be heavy judging from the description but it is soft and very sexy. It smells like a warm summer evening, starlit nights, and romance! I normally do not like rose scents, but the rose in this blend is in the background. It is a warm, fruity blend with a spicy scent that really goes well with my skin chemistry. Amber and vanilla just add the perfect touch to give this an all around well balanced elegance.

[wikkidraven]

my nose is so overwhelmed with dirt/earth i can't smell anything else!

 

while i can appreciate this sort of scent, it's not my personal preference. such a disappointment!

[ribcaged]

I Love this! I REALLY DO!

It smells like currants and moss on me. Someone please gimme another imp or a bottle? I'll do anything

[cvelis]

At first sniff all I could smell was roses and lil' bit of spice...and then, wow, wow!!! The amber and vanilla kick in, and I'm in love! It's a soft and mellow scent, very romantic and soothing. Wonderful! I'm so glad I got an imp.

[Naamah_Darling]

Sweet and dark, this is currant, pomegranate, and vanilla with a rich dose on incense bottoming it out. There's a touch of something nutty or coconutty, I really can't get a grip on it.

 

On, the amber and vanilla come out for a moment of rough resemblance to O, but this is almost entirely done in by the myrrh and the other incense notes, which quickly overwhelm the fruity notes. The sweetness is still there, but it's barely hanging on, mostly anchored by the vanilla. There's something terribly, terribly familiar about this scent. It's complicated, deep, and absolutely beautiful, and only the fact that it is just a hair sweet is preventing me from calling it one of my favorite scents ever.

 

It's very female, but not overly feminine or overpowering. It's strong, but not oppressive, and the throw is very present but polite. It's sexy, but in an offhand way, not in a way that's consciously trying to please.

[forspecial_plate]

I tested this today w/out reading the notes first. I found it to be light and airy, but regal at the same time. I don't know how to tell you what regal smells like but King of Clubs has that quality too. I did pick up a fruity note which I now see is the pomegranate. Other than that, I found it lightly sweet and a touch floral. I kept thinking there may be violet in it, but I see there is not, so I'm not sure what gave me that impression....just the combination of notes, I guess.

 

A nice light scent, IMO, that I will try once more and decide if I can actually wear it. After reading the notes I want to test it again to see if I can pick out more individual notes. I did find it slightly feminine and that would be the only thing keeping me from getting more use out of it. It smells good though.....I did keep pressing my arm up to my nose to sniff.

[LadyCrow]

The last time I was tempted to post a one-word review, I think it was for Lust, and the word would have been "Yes." Now, I'm tempted to post a one-emoticon review:

 

Some scents are so great that I'm just left at a loss for words. Q of C is like that. I really got all of the listed notes; this seems to be one of the roses that doesn't turn sour and horrible on my skin; and the red currant is fantastic in this, fruity yet tart -- this is sweet, yet kept from being foody by the earth, amber, myrrh, and all of the skin notes, but still the currant floats above everything and all of the notes hang together and balance each other. Winey, ripe, rich -- this is sort of reminiscent of Hymn to Proserpine, but really dressed up.

 

I have to agree that if "regal" had a smell, it would be in this. No wonder this scent is so sought after. I can only plead for a revival.

[delicate_fangs]

Alas, in the decant of this, all I can smell is spanish moss and dirt. When it's on, some florals come out over time, but mostly the earth scent is overpowering, with tones of decaying greenery that I can only blame on my skin chemistry's reaction to earth scents and some fruits. And then the spanish moss jumps in even harder, and makes me want to sneeze. Alas! But someone will love it, so off to swaps it goes.

[Browneyes]

Short review: Earthy, fruity, rosey!

 

In depth: Mm this is lovely on me. It really is warm, earthy and resinous at the base, but with a lovely blend of fruits (the red fruits in particular) and rose and vanilla on top. Very womanly, and delicious.

 

[metaldog32]

I had bought a partial bottle on Ebay because I was so intrigued by this particular queen. Queen of Spades had worked well for me and the reviews on this one made me believe that perhaps a scent with earth notes…aka dirt might work for me..especially since it also intertwined myrrh, amber and pomegranate.

 

Initial sniff from bottle: Deep earth notes indeed..they are here..but it’s kind of nice actually…smells like freshly upturned earth..rich soil maybe??? There is also a sweet/fruity note hanging around..perhaps that’s the pomegranate? It’s secondary though..it flits along the edges..with the rich earth dominating.

 

Applied wet on skin: Earth notes still dominate….I get a tinge of the pomegranate again..but I also register on the tail end something else…the incense/myrhh along with a wisp of sweetness again..that has to be either the vanilla or amber. Still a very rich earth driven fragrance. It’s not bad on me; not something I usually gravitate towards..but still..interesting.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:Freshly upturned earth still in the forefront..pomegranate has backed off…and I get an appearance of the rose..which here is is subdued and works nicely with the earth note..I can’t really say I still get the vanilla/amber/I think the myrrh is at the tail end.

Really a very quiet and meditative scent; doesn’t scream for attention at all but it’s not invisible..the throw is soft.

 

Ten minutes later:Earth notes are softened..but still leading..if I whiff deeply enough I get the rose and myrrh/incense somewhere behind it..and on the tail end I get a peek of sweetness..I am assuming it’s the vanilla.

 

Twenty minutes later:Still hovering close on my wrist…the earth notes are just not giving up any space…with a peek of rose..a peek of incense..a peek of sweetness.

 

Hour and twenty minutes later:My sister says this smells beautiful on me; earth notes have seamlessly melded with the floral and the incense myrrh although lending a supporting role give it a subtle depth.

 

Lasting power clocked in at about 5 hours with throw soft to average.

 

Bottom Line: Queen of Clubs didn’t disappoint; I never thought I would be able to wear a fragrance with such a prominent earth note but this just proves Beth’s genius in creating scent; this garnered positive feedback from my sister who is very picky with what she wears. I will definitely re-visit the Queen later this winter; I only wish I was fortunate enough to snag a full bottle. Keeper.

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this smells like dirt with just a hint of the incense.

 

On my skin, it honestly smells just like dirt - this is amazing!

 

Once it dries, it's dirt with myrrh and incense. This is a true piece of art, but not something I'd want to smell like.

[Lethran]

In Bottle: startling. Definitely an eye opener. It smells strongly of wet freshly turned earth. there is something very sharp in there. Is that the incense maybe? The rose is present, but not strong. Wet: Muddy fruit, trampled roses. Dry: Muddy trampled roses. Darn. I was really liking it at first. it was oddly refreshing.

[filigree_shadow]

The first time I tried this, it was before I was familiar with earth notes. I sniffed the oil in the bottle and thought it smelled pretty, so I put a bunch of it on my throat. And then for the next two hours I was confused because I smelled dirty and I didn't like it. Thus began my avoidance of earth/dirt notes.

 

I kept the bottle, though, and I'm trying it now again after about a year and a half. It's actually quite pretty with the currant and rose, and the earth note is the softest I think I've ever smelled it in any BPAL scent.

 

It's too bad that I don't get along with earth notes because this is the prettiest blend with earth notes that I've tried.

[agnusdei]

In the imp/wet, Queen of Clubs is prominently the ripest pomegranate ever, juicy and sweet with something darker and almost spicy underneath. The 'deep earth notes' are there, though what I'm getting is blended so well with the fruitiness that it doesn't have an edge like some of the other dirt notes I've smelled. Raw, but not intimidating. As everything settles this whole other part comes out - vanilla, rose, and red currant add a beautifully smooth and creamy touch to the pom that's unexpected but totally marvelous. I can now pick out the 'almost spicy' note from before as the incense, which adds a little fizz to the end of each sniff. The amber and myrrh are noticeable as well at the very heart of it all.

 

Queen of Clubs ended up rather different than it started, but I very much enjoyed experiencing all of the notes dominate in their own way before setting. It's now a soft and deeply resinous vanilla with fruit and floral tones and a touch of earth, definitely my favorite kind of blend because it has a little of everything I love but it's balanced perfectly.

[evanescence]

This one is just too much for me to review... I get the dirt like some others, then I get almost deep cherry/fruity cough syrup, and wet dark rotted roses like with Black Rose. It's definitely going to be an acquired taste, if I can just be patient enough to try it over the course of a whole day. So far, I haven't been willing to keep it on that long - it's just too strong.

[grashopper8]

G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!

 

I totally love BPAL myrrh, and this is certainly no exception. There is an earthiness about QoS, but it smells more like sweet soil than something pointedly "dirty." I am also getting a hint of incensey sweetness (aside from the myrrh), and it smells a touch like grape soda (kind of like Temple Viper, but just a hint of grape rather than a dominating force).

 

My favorite myrrh BPAL so far! It's honestly almost single note myrrh on me after it dries down for a few minutes - and it droooool fabulous! I'll treasure my decant. I only wish that I tried it when it was new and fresh, because I bet that through aging some of the supporting notes have faded and mellowed out.

 

4.7 out of 5

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, what a morpher! This one was very dirty, musky with a slight overlay of roses on wet. The dirt and roses basically evaporate into some sort of fruity, slightly musky amber. And then as it continued to dry, the fruity aspect disappears and I get some sort of complex ambery, slightly sweet incense.

 

Say it with me, OMGWTHBBQ. Seriously.

 

I mean, first off, not a huge fan of dirt or roses. Roses in particular tend to dominate a blend for me. And to find out that they virtually disappear, is kinda amazing.

 

The person I swapped for was very generous when she sent me some QoC, so I think I'll go spread the love. Yes, love.

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, fruity rose with vanilla.

 

Wet on the skin, I can smell the earth, myrrh, rose, vanilla, red currant, and pomegranate notes.

 

As it dries, I smell mostly incense, vanilla, faint rose, and fruit.

[Lyrical]

In the vial: my first impression is of other flowers and earth scents (which mostly smell slimy and rotten to me), but this is incredibly complex mix of sweet, fruity and perfumy notes, in which redcurrant and vanilla are the most prominent.

 

Wet on skin: still that BPAL earth note (which still smells of slimy vegetation to me - my nose is clearly broken when it comes to this note) with redcurrant and foody vanilla. It smells of gardening! By no means unpleasant, but a little weird.

 

Dry on skin: I like the redcurrant and vanilla, but the other notes feel a little odd. Rose starts to amp up after a while, which makes the scent more balanced and "normal". Nice, in fact! Further testing is required. Not much throw.

[Juushika]

In the vial: Deep fruit against a dark background. It's slightly tart, almost reminding me of plum; there's a faint floral component in the background.

 

On me: Rose usually steals the show on my skin, but thankfully it stays subdued here. And goodness, with obedient rose this is simply lovely. Slightly tart, full, red fruit (primarily pomegranate) just touched by velvety red rose, set against a shadowed background of resin and a touch of dirt. Full, rich, dark, tart, slightly sweet—and I am in love. It reminds me distinctly a more nuanced, complex itteration of Hymn to Proserpine. Scent color is shadowed and subdued burgundy. Throw is moderate, but wear length is very long.

 

Verdict: I've wanted to try Queen of Clubs for a while, though the rose and rarity made me hesitate. Receiving it as a gift has been a blessing—because it is lovely and has bowled me head over heels. When I need something more complex than Hymn to Proserpine, I'll reach for this treasured imp. Feminine, powerful, rich, fruit against darknessthis is everything the description implies, but more lovely than I had imagined.