Queen of Sheba

[greywind]

... Her scent is a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices.

In the imp: bitter, cloying almond extract

This was actually a trial to put on since I found the initial scent revolting. So many blends change so much on me, however, that I perservered.

Drying: the cyanotic almond dies down to a sweeter almond with a honey note and some pleasant spices emerge.

Dry: what happened? The loud, cloying almond is gone, and I can't smell any honey, either. Just wafting, sweet spices and my own skin. This stage is very subtle and very pleasant. I don't know if I can stomach the initial stages, but I'll keep this interesting frimp and see how it ages. If the spices get stronger and the almond looses it's potency this one has promise for me.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: Benzaldehyde!

Wet: Still benzaldehyde.

Dry: Honey roasted almonds. Alas, not for me.

[ariansdreams]

I wish I could review this one properly, but as soon as I put this on, my skin turned bright red and itched like crazy!

 

I had to wash it off and take some benadryl.

 

The first BPAL allergic reaction...somewhat expected (I have sensitive skin), but still sad. I ended up giving the imp to my mom.

 

Does anyone know what the "spices" are that are included? I *know* I'm not allergic to the "honeyed almonds" since I wear Dana O'Shee almost every day. Any ideas?

[tajana]

Almonds, almonds, almonds. I love almonds, but on me, this simply smells like almond extract. When it dries down it smells just like a drier, more powdery almond extract. I love almonds, but ideally a perfume would have more nuance than this! Queen of Sheba is best used for layering with something when I need a boost of almond power, I think.

Edited September 11, 2011 by findaghost

[septima_pica]

Oh, yuck. Someone spilt O all over my Bastet. Smelt good in the imp, but now it smells like bitter almonds mixed with stinky-ass buttermilk. My boy likes it, though; then again, he has little sense of smell...

Edited April 15, 2006 by septima_pica

[inkmonkeys]

Slathered directly on the skin: Didn't work - the spicy almonds were overwhelmed with something that turned nasty on me.

 

BUT. But but but.

 

Diluted with unscented lotion & slathered all over the body: YESSSSSsssss yesyesyesyes. Here are the gorgeous spicy-cinnamony almonds I was hoping for! Absolutely incredibly delicious. When worn as a lotion with a couple of tiny dabs of oil on the pulse points, this oil blossoms on my skin and makes me feel gorgeous.

 

Yay. One more lesson to me: experiment with different forms for some of these scents.

 

Try this one diluted a bit in a bath or in lotion if it smells off directly on your skin, folks.

[BrightRedScream]

When I opened up this imp - I got the scent of almonds...such strong delicious smelling almonds with a hint of spice...there's sweetness as well - I'm guessing that's honey?

Either way I'm a little torn about this in the vial...I like it, but I'm uneasy about the spice...

 

On my skin the smells all blend together beautifully..

It's spicey, but sweet..

It's warm...it's comforting..

It's beautiful.

 

After it dried down, a spicey floral type of scent..and I still love it

 

I want this in a 5ml please!

[Rouge]

A very rich, spicy, warm scent. I love this.

 

In the bottle - The first thing I notice is almonds; it smells like marzipan and frangipani blossoms. I'd go so far as to say that the almonds overpower every other scent; but not unpleasantly so.

 

Wet on skin - More almonds, but they're not as overpowering as they smelled in the bottle. Warm spices begin to emerge after a few minutes.

 

Dry down - Absolutely heavenly! The honey begins to make its presence felt and a sweet edge becomes more apparent as time goes on.

 

The perfect scent for long summer evenings when you're dressed in something golden and silken. Very highly recommended!

[Celestyna]

In the imp, it had a nutty liquor smell to it.

 

After 20 minutes, I smell like peanut butter.

[sissa125]

Bitter bitter almond, poisonous in its malice - is this the fragrance of Bilquis, known for her wisdom and levelheadedness?

 

Once the almond fades, the honey spice is lovely.

[gwyllgi]

The first time I tried this, it was so sharp out of the imp that I couldn't pick out any notes and it faded to nothing after about 10 seconds on my skin. I shrugged and wrote it off, figuring it was just a blend that didn't agree with my nose.

 

Trying it again, I have to wonder why I didn't pick this up before. It's almonds, dry, spicy almonds. I periodically make curry almonds for a pick-me-up or when I'm feeling ambitious in my snacking, and this is what it reminds me of: curried almonds, hot out of the oven.

 

My skin didn't devour it this time, either; it's still almost too strong, after I applied it a bit heavily to be able to pick up a scent on it. Now that I know, I can apply it a bit more sparingly in the future and still be able to enjoy the gorgeous smell.

 

Here I'd thought it was a good thing I didn't like it: it's one more bottle I don't have to buy. Alas and alack, onto my list it goes. (Such hardship, finding marvelous smelly things.)

[theseagrows]

this is one weird scent! first it starts of REALLY nutty, beyond just an 'almond-type' scent, it actually smells like nuts. then that fades a bit and the spices and florals(?) come through. the description doesn't say florals, but i sense some sort of floral. once the nuttiness calms down, there is a resulting sweetness that comes through. this is very interesting, but i'm not sure i'd wear it too much. it's basically a warm golden scent with lots of nuts.

[mirutai]

Sweet spices - cardamon, saffron, and a hint of cinnamon - over a rich honey-almond scent. It reminds me vaguely of baklava. It lasts well and has a nice throw (not too weak, not too suffocating). Warm and golden.

 

A nice scent, but too sweet for me personally. I prefer Morocco, which is in the same spicey category but without the sweetness and foody associations. Morocco is walking through an Eastern spice bazaar; Queen of Sheba is walking through an Eastern bakery.

[brownbear]

yum! I love this. Sweet, slightly spicy, honey and almond. It had a sweet, nutty, dessert smell at first. Then it went a little less foody.

[opaleyes]

In the vial- almonds and something quite sharp.

Wet- Almondy with incense-like spices

Drying- Honey! I'm amazed at how much this one changes on me.

Drying more- Honey's mostly gone. Now it's definitely pepper. Pepper with the barest hint of almond.

Some more hours later- Soft spices.

 

This one's really nice! The pepper stage is a bit strong for me, and at first I didn't like it. After a while though it grew on me.

[seamor]

In the bottle: VERY intense almond, with an edge - something like a buttery almond extract. This is definitely too much for me. I won't try it on my skin, but maybe in a bath.

 

In the bath: Ohhhhhh, my.... what a surprise! This is luscious! Soft, warm almond with just a little spice. And I know it's not listed but I'm sure I smell flowers! (Carnation?) This is wonderful! The warm almond note is always primary, with the spice and flowers very subtly phasing in and out.

 

The word that comes to mind for this one is "voluptuous".

 

Yummmmmmm.... Now I am sorry I put it all in the bath.

[bifemmefatale]

I love almonds and I've tried just about every BPAL with almonds in it. I thought Salome and Eclipse were my True Loves, but the Queen has grown on me. It's a softer almond than Eclipse, which is definitely bitter almonds. The touch of saffron is lovely, I adore saffron! After a while it becomes slightly soapy-powdery on me--I think the people who are guessing a bit of amber have it right. But what I love about the Queen is that it's the only almond scent I've tried so far where the almonds actually stick around--in the rest of them it's an all-too-fleeting top note and that's it. QoSheba reminds me of an almond hand lotion or something with its clean soapiness. At first I wasn't sure I loved it, but on me this is a subtle but lasting "skin scent". I think it's something I'll wear when I just want to feel fresh and content but not noticeably perfumed. This is probably going on the bottle list. Thanks, Kakiphony for swapping this to me!

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

almond/cherry

 

wet:

I still smell cherry, but it's not a sweet cherry, and spices!

 

dry:

spices now, hint of cherry but not much. Really nice!

 

overall:

really really nice. Like bottle nice!

 

rating: 9/10

[RavenVelith]

In the bottle: Whooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaa.......Almonds galore! And spices too. They're really an undertone though.

 

Wet: Creamy spicey almond. This is strangely nice. I say strangely because usually almond smells make me pukey.

 

Dry: The almond is barely there and it's just the spices now. It's nice. :3

[abejita]

I should like this one. The notes listed tell me that I should at least find it pleasant, if not like it a whole lot. I love honey, almond, and spice. In the imp, I found it harsh and medicinal. I like bitter almond, but something about this one just smelled off to me. I put it on my skin, sure it would mellow. The scent was still harsh and ragged to me. Almost a camphor/rubbing alcohol quality to it. Even long after it dried down, I got none of the honey sweetness. Just medicine.

 

1/10.

[strawberry_star]

In the imp: almonds!

 

I must mimic what someone else said and say this does smell exactly like the almonds selled at Ren. Faires. Made me hungry. I'm really not getting all that much spice from this. I'm just getting almonds, I'm not even getting honey because honey goes plastic on me usually.

 

It's now been 5 minutes since I put this on and it's quickly slipping away. I don't this is going to last much longer on me at all. So this might be getting swapped/sold out. Overall while it lasted though: Meh. I like almonds, but I think I prefer to smell more perfumed than this.

[edenssixthday]

Queen of Sheba - In the vial and on my skin, this is overwhelmingly sweet almond. However, unlike most almond scents, I don’t dislike this one. It’s not my favorite by far, but it’s one I think I’ll wear. As the scent dries, the sweet almond scent becomes more dry and nutty and much more palatable. This when I begin to pick up on the spices that are in it, but I’m having a difficult time identifying them. I don’t smell any cinnamon at all, but I can feel the slight tingle on my skin that only cinnamon leaves behind. The spices aren’t red spices, but more savory spices, like something you’d find in Middle Eastern food, but it doesn’t smell foody in the least. I can’t believe that a scent with this much almond is causing me to keep my nose stuck to my wrist! I really like this scent. It’s bold, enticing, exotic, sexy, and very regal. I wish it had better throw, but otherwise, I really dig it.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a word or two: Plastic almonds.

 

Preconceived notions: I'm hoping for a sweet, spicy almond scent.

 

In the imp: Hmm. Familiar somehow. Almond and honey.

 

On skin, wet: Ah! This smells a bit like Bengal. A similar spiced-honey. Very, very sweet, though. Almost too sweet.

 

On skin, dry: And this would be where it does, indeed, become too sweet, too cherry-esque. Spiced, but not spicy. The almond smells almost plastic, as almond tends to do.

 

Conclusion/Notes: Alas, not for me.

[kunoichi]

This reminds me a lot of the Voodoo blends where I detect a sort of nut-like smell, which in this case I think is the honeyed almonds... On my skin it is an almond smell, sticky with honey; the almonds are somewhat sweet but the honey eventually mellows it out, with spice peeking out from behind it all. The spices become more prevalent, before starting to fade... And after a few hours on my skin it still is back to being a sort of almondy smell, though it has become sweeter and gentler as it fades. (I do have a cold, so I might be missing some notes.)

Edited July 19, 2006 by kunoichi

[fairy]

It's very interesting to read reviews after you've already tried out an imp. I did smell some spiciness to this one (very slight) but the thing that I smelled, and smelled a lot of, wasn't even mentioned in the description...cherries! Maybe my nose is wonky but this smelled like cherries baking in a pot over a fire with sugar and a dab of vanilla cream. Mmmmmmm

Edited July 27, 2006 by maddi