Queen Gertrude

[milica]

Imperial violet softened by wisteria and chrysanthemum, but edged with the regal iciness of delphinium.

Started off like a nice floral, and in 5 minutes became all violet soapy, like some soaps that my grandma used to have 20 years ago in her closets. Big no, swap. Edited December 18, 2008 by milica

[Suu4LC]

Very nice violet scent in the imp. A more floral violet and less candied violet than some of the other bpal violets i've tried.

 

Oh yes, this is a beautiful, soft violet. Gorgeous! Sweet, but not sugary-very classy and not old grandma-ish to my nose at all!

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this blend. I'm not sure I would pick it up, but it is an excellent violet blend and I would recommend all violet lovers check it out!

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Pretty. Very dainty

 

Wet: Very purple-y. Wisteria is so soft and pretty, and with the violet it's a very fluffy, dainty scent

 

Dry: Classy. Still a soft, spring-y purple to me

 

Overall: I like it. A delicate and dainty scent like this is nice on the right day. I'm hanging on to the imp for now to see if it gets any love

[stellans]

This scent is rightfully named for a queen, and especially one of Shakespeare's tragic queens at that. The violet note in this blend is not the sweet sugarine violet of the Carnaval Diabolique Twins, nor the somnolent violet of Nocturne. This is the feminine violet of a powerful female. It's fantastic, and I'm finding the other notes listed for this blend are all subordinate to this power feminine violet...

 

I want to wear my <a href="http://stores.channeladvisor.com/Holyclothing/Items/h332700?sck=10557884&caSKU=h332700&caTitle=Alyssa%20Gothic%20Bell%20Sleeve%20Empire%20Butterfly%20Dress%203X" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">long purple Holy Clothing dress</a>, and my black boots so I can take long, powerful strides. I want to wear my large-brimmed purple hat, and my dark sunglasses. I want to stare down a rude sales associate, and laugh as I saunter away. Rawr.

Edited April 6, 2011 by stellans

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, it's violets.

 

On my skin, initially all violets. As it dries, I pick up more of the chrysanthemum and wisteria. A little too floral concentrated for my taste.

[Victory]

When I first saw the note list, I thought "grandmother." I don't know which of those notes made me think old lady, but that was my preconception. So I tested this oil with not a little apprehension, especially since I haven't had a fantastic experience with violet. As soon as I put the oil on, I smelled something that made me think of lilacs, but not lilacs themselves. I didn't have the note list with me, so I wandered around the day wondering what it was, since I only remembered delphinium and violet. I sniffed the delphinium I had bought my mother, but that had no scent. Just now I'm looking at the notes and it must be wisteria. (Now that I think of it, yes, I remember wisteria from Purple Phoenix.) The wisteria gives the scent a gray-purple feel. There's also something in there that has a real warmth, somehow almost an edible warmth. In the end, there is almost a powdered aspect. It doesn't smell like powder, maybe more like flowers that have dried and been broken into pieces. I was pleasantly surprised by the Queen.

[sarajane]

A beautiful violet. I would call this a "soft floral", but it's not really. It's a floral for a strong woman.

[Leopard403]

Usually I have a hard time with violets; they somehow turn slightly metallic and ozone-y on my skin. But Queen Gertrude is a pleasant surprise, in that it is soft, powdery violets on a background of white florals. Very wearable, but only when you want people to notice that you are wearing perfume. And a little dab will do ya; this stuff is strong!

[HKB]

There's a sweet watery floral in this that I like, the violet? But it's on a bed of generic powdery florals. Not very strong, and a bit boring to my nose.

[topazphoenix]

I like this one. Violet and wisteria is a good combination.

[redderz]

In the imp: Violets. Reminds me a lot of Purple Phoenix. It has two of the same notes.

 

Wet: Yes, this is still PP, but without the grapes. It's very violet!

 

Dry: I think I'll stick to PP, but it is quite nice. Floral and sweet.

[ouch!]

Thank you lab from the frimp of Queen Gertrude!

 

I'm not a lover of floral so..not a massive fan of this.

 

This is a translucent violet, very faint...very delicate. Would suit someone older (And not because of the whole..floral/granny thing) I just think of someone quite refined wearing it. I can smell the Chrysanthemum only a little bit and I'm not really sure what Delphinum smells like.

 

It's not an in your face floral at all, it's subtle and light.

 

Off to the swaps pile.

[voorishsign]

"O Hamlet, speak no more:

Thou turn'st my very eyes into my soul,

And there I see such black and grained spots

As will not leave their tinct."

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet

 

Got this as a frimp - it's too feminine for me to use, but I like to try all frimps I get out of general principle just to train my nose a little.

 

This is an interesting floral - it's very mature, refined and delicate, and not as sweet and playful as most florals, but rather authorative. It certainly fits a queen - it would probably do well in a professional environment since this is also a very understated, quiet and dry scent.

Edited September 27, 2009 by voorishsign

[Veronica]

Sweet, warm straight-out violet (maybe a hint of chrysanthemum that's adding to the warmth), pretty but just not for me.

[sirensea]

Very soft, pretty and feminine. It'd be the perfect scent for a summer wedding.

[hmelt004]

Queen G is my holy grail of florals. I usually hate florals, but I was going through all the Illyria oils because I'm obsessed with Shakespeare and I found...her.

 

Regal, icy, maybe. Soft and sweet and gorgeous, definitely. This oil began my love of violets. If you also love violets, but want something stronger and sweeter, try Violet Ray, in the Steamworks section.

[Venneh]

Definitely an initial violet, with a sharpness from the chrysanthemums, and the wisteria and delphinium lending a lighter edge to this. On my skin, it's seeming to be violets and chrysanthemums at first, we'll see if the wisteria and delphinium come out at all. Ends up being a nice, light floral, going to give it a further skin test.

 

On the full skin test, I'm getting an icy violet and wisteria, with chrysanthemums and delphinium supporting. Looking like another bottle. A nice, subtle, unusual floral, definitely going on my bottle list.

Edited March 31, 2010 by Venneh

[ModderRhu]

Queen Gertrude

This smells just like Violet Ray on me! It's a little fresher, but otherwise identical. Staying power is not as good as Violet Ray.
My skin amps the violet in this blend and I can't smell any of the other flowers. Oh well.
It's fresh and clean and has a decent throw.

3 out of 5

*This was frimped to me from the Lab!

[Reedsong]

Queen Gertrude is perfumey sweet and brings to mind a lovely meeting between C. Howard's violet candies and Crabtree & Evelyn's wisteria perfume. It's antique, faint like the breath from a flower garden, and dignified without seeming stuffy or decayed. This fragrance wafts pleasingly from my wrists every few minutes; it's strong enough to satisfy my senses, but light and fresh enough to suit a professional, solemn, or other kind of occasion in which a heavy or sexy oil wouldn't be appropriate. This is a must-try for flower lovers, especially if you like the fragrance of violet flowers but find (as I do) that many violet perfumes turn to soap or powder on your skin; the delphinium and wisteria in Queen Gertrude bring out the beautiful, subtle nuances of the violet and keep the soap smell away.

[raisin]

I love the way this one starts out, because I get very fresh violets. (Though it actually reminds me a lot of actual, still-on-the-bush lilacs as well.) If only this was the scent that stuck around, but unfortunately, after only a minute or two, this fades and softens into something a bit more powdery and traditionally floral. It's not bad, exactly (I don't get soap or old lady), but it's just really not my thing. Alas. I really wanted to like one of the Hamlet gals!

 

[Saya]

Fresh, light violets. I'm not getting much else from this blend. It's nice, but there are other violet scents I prefer. Pass.

[moon_lemming]

Oh, hai, laundry detergent! Not bad, as far as laundry detergent goes, but still not something I'll wear. I would totally buy Queen Gertrude-scented detergent, though. Or maybe dryer sheets.

 

(Sorry I can't be more specific, but I'm horrible with florals, especially the ones that run to detergent or soap.)

[Acushla]

Out of the bottle: Very perfumey, in a department-store kind of way. There's that sharp headacheyness lurking in the background that I know will come out if I sniff too much.

 

Upon application: This turns very "old" on me. It's comforting in the sense that it smells like something my mom would wear, but I'm afraid it's just too strong for my taste. Off into the swap pile.

[meredevachon]

Frimp from the Lab.

 

I don't generally wear a lot of florals, although I do okay with blends that include a floral or two (or three on rare occasions) along with other notes I like better. So I'm not very good at picking out specific floral notes.

 

In the imp: Floral. Yeah, that's as specific as I can get.

 

Wet: Cool, pale florals. Sweet but not cloying.

 

Dry: It smells like some floral lotion I got as a present from a relative who didn't know me all that well. Still cool and pale and floral, and so not me.

[Gin]

So violetty! I can't remember another BPAL that had such a strong violet note. In the back, there's a spicy note that could well be the mums, or it could just be more violet.