Pumpkin Queen

[alsatia]

The Glorious Grand Dame of the Pumpkin Patch! Regal Egyptian Amber, red ginger, orange peel, mandarin, cardamom, fig leaf and warm pumpkin.

Expectations: I'm afraid the pumpkin will be overwhelmed, especially by not one but two orange notes. The amber worries me a bit too.

In vial: Buttery pumpkin and fig.

On skin, wet: Buttery pumpkin, fig, and...ginger? Cardamom? Probably a blend of the two.

On skin, dry: The pumpkin is getting lost and being replaced by oranges. They actually smell pretty good with the rest of the mixture, but I didn't buy Orange Queen, I bought Pumpkin Queen. It reminds me of a tangerine kids' body spray I used to have.

After time: Virtually no throw, but it's super strong up close. This always puzzles me. After 30 minutes the oranges are fading and it's 1 part orange, 2 parts ginger, and 3 parts baby powder.

Conclusion: Still in search of my perfect pumpkin scent. This one's barely on the wearable side of the spectrum.

[goth_huntress]

A very rich scent. I liked it, but discovered that I preferred Jack.

[theauth]

This is my first taste (smell!) of BPAL!

 

In the Imp: Medicinal with a really sharp note. Pumpkin scent was present when I opened it up though.

 

Wet: still a little medicinal, for some reason I smell a minty smell. That must be my imagination Or some "minty" like note that I can't yet identify.

 

Dry: Really pumpkiny, all the sharpness is gone. This is so NOT a spring scent, but I can see it being really fitting in the fall. It made me think "October." I really don't like that it smells like a candle.

 

I liked it better when I reapplied it a few hours later (it was nearly gone) but I think I'll be waiting till cooler weather to wear this.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Dark straw coloured oil. Sweet foody butter, spicy ginger and cardamom, orange, a bit of herbal depth. Warm and golden and good enough to eat.

 

Wet: Buttery spice, less sweet, but still very foody. Ginger is the strongest; cardamom is faint, and I'm pretty sure there is cinnamon in here, maybe even clove. A toasty hot scent. Orange lighter, but still present; mingled with the spices it makes me think of mulled cider.

 

Dry: Strong hot spice. Amazingly, the amber doesn't really go powdery (it's just sort of warm and golden), and the butter fades to mild, barely foody sweetness, but this is just SO spicy-hot with ginger and cinnamon and a wee bit of cardamom, no orange at all. Strong throw, difficult to wash off.

 

Yeah wayyyyyyy too spicy and foody.

[brsis]

Initial thoughts: Unf. I want. I want so bad it's not even funny. I've got my fingers crossed for something between Bakeneko and Jack without the sickly sweet peach. There is not, as far as I can tell, a single note in there that should ruin it for me.

 

In the bottle: Pumpkin - a little sicklier than I expected - and cardamom, then the orange, then the ginger. This is as haughty and powerful as I've ever experienced baking.

 

On the wrist, wet: Hmm... having only ever smelt pumpkin in Jack, I always assumed the sickliness in that was the peach. Now I think the pumpkin may be a contributing factor. But this has oodles of spice - ginger and cardamom - and a little grounding earthiness with the fig leaf and the amber. Oh man. Oh man oh man.

 

Twenty minutes later: Dude. Srsly.

 

This is like Jack - VERY much like Jack - but BETTER. It's less sickly without the peach, slightly spicier, slightly earthier, haughtier, regal - this lives up to it's namesake. It's Pumpkin Queen for a reason and that's what I feel like wearing it - Hallowe'en royalty.

 

Verdict: Definately a keeper.

 

Tl;Dr: The mother of all pumpkin pies; a less sickly, spicier, earthier Jack.

[Kabooki]

It smells like rich Pumpkin Cheesecake!

 

An hour later: Wait Cheesecake come back! I have so much more love to give  why must you leave me?

 

Seriously though this really kinda disappears on me, I mean I can still smell it when I put my nose right up to my wrist, and sometimes when I swift my arm around, but other then that its not the nice strong cheesecake I once had 

[suki]

in the imp: pumpkin, orange, ginger

 

wet on skin: the orange is being a bit more forceful now, stronger than the peach in Jack, this is predominant.

 

dry down: the pumpkin, warm and nutty, has re-emerged, sharing an equal role with the orange. not sure where the ginger has gone off to, and i'm definitely NOT getting fig or anything else.

 

in all: not my favorite pumpkin blend, the orange note in this makes me think of a cough syrup i had to take as a child sadly, this one just didn't work out for me.

 

 

 

[Mimosatique]

Wet: Soft Amber, cardamon, orange peel and ripe pumpkin flesh!

 

Dry: Warm pumpkins, soft whisper of ginger(good, dont like Ka-Pow ginger) with hints of amber and warm spices.

 

Verdict: Sultry and warm pumpkin that actually smells like pumpkin & spices and nothing else. Reminds me of laying on piles of pumpkins around the hays inhaling cool crips air. So comforting!!! I will treasure my imp![/color]

[caitilarkin]

In the vial: Buttery pumpkin and spices--this smells like an unbaked pumpkin pie with a homemade, butter-based crust, just ready to be put into the oven

 

Wet on skin: Pumpkin (still very buttery) and florals

 

Dry on skin: This is a morpher; the spicy pumpkin backs off quite a bit and the florals and amber take over. I never do detect the mandarin and orange peel.

 

Pumpkin Queen is yummy in both its pumpkin phase and its floral phase, but I much prefer the earlier one. This is one for the scent locket.

[Schmoozy]

Spicy, buttery pumpkin with orange and amber to soften and give it dimension.

At first the spices of red ginger and cardamom with orange peel and mandarin, lend a hot toddy/chai/cider feel. When the warm pumpkin begins to blossom, Pumpkin Queen thakes a foody twist. Think pumpkin pie, instead of hot cider. Once the amber and orange begin to mingle this becomes a different scent.

 

Absolutely gorgeous.

Edited October 31, 2008 by Schmoozy

[angelicruin]

I purchased a bottle of this blindly based on the notes and reviews.

 

All I can say is money very well spent.

 

In the bottle, it's a spicy pumpkin scent. After applying to my skin, I get pumpkin, orange, and what I believe is the amber. It's a beautiful fall scent and has aged wonderfully.

 

As it dries, I can smell the orange note more and more. Wow, I just love this!

[yewberry]

In the vial: pure spicy, foodie, "p'kin pie".

 

Wet: almost instantly begins to morph into some thing rich, deep, and delicious. The spices (esp. the cardamom) roll around nekkid with the amber, neither truly succumbing to the other. The foodieness is tempered by the amber's perfumeyness, and vice versa.

 

Fading: all luscious amber.

 

A really gorgeous scent that (surprisingly) never goes "craft store" on me! Needs me a bottle o' this...

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Sweet fruity pumpkin, light and lovely.

Fresh on the skin: Oh, the fruit in this is magnificent. Sweetness and light on a base of creamy, sparkly pumpkin. Wow. My favorite of the pumpkin scents I've tried so far. Given the notes, I guess I'm not surprised -- I've discovered recently that I really like amber, I adore citrus when it's done well, and cardamom and ginger are two of my favorite spices.

5 minutes later: I think it must be the amber that's letting this adhere so perfectly to my skin. God, this is amazing.

10 minutes later: I am practically drunk on how much I love this scent. I can't stop sniffing my wrist! Oh, I'm all worried now about how hard it's going to be to find a bottle.

20 minutes later: I want to marry this scent. Though with Prop 8 passed that would be even more difficult than it would normally be.

1 hour later: Still warm and delicious. Maybe going a little smoked candle-y, but not too much. Fairly long throw, but in a totally non-offensive way. I really, really like this.

2.5 hours later: Warm and sweet and incredibly sexy.

4 hours later: The faint sweet smell of crayons.

6 hours later: Long gone.

 

Verdict: I could roll around in this in its early stages and be totally happy, I think. I don't love the (rather brief) linger, but the first few hours are lovely enough that it's probably still worth wearing, and tracking down more.

 

One phrase: fruity amber pumpkin.

[Lyrical]

In bottle: pumpkin hits my nose first. This is similar to Pumpkin V (07), yet not the same. I can make out fig and cardamom as well as orange and ginger. Yum!

 

Wet on skin: lighter than PV07- more perfume and less pie! It's very well blended, so I can't pick out the notes very well, but the overall impression is both warm and elegant. So far so good! Orange is perhaps the most prominent note, with ginger and fig leaf, There's not much pumpkin, which is a shame because I love the PIE quality of pumpkin, but not smelling of PIE does make the scent a whole lot more wearable!

 

Dry on skin: oh fig, I do love you so! Fig leaf is a little different from fig, but I love that too. The pumpkin/pastry is still there, but held nicely under control by the fruity notes. The ginger and cardamom add a slight edge without being obtrusive, and more importantly without leaving welts! It's warm and fruity and buttery and spicy and utterly beautiful! The sweet buttery note actually reminds me of Midway Resurrected!

 

It stays good right into the drydown, and lasted over 8 hours close to the skin. This is seriously my favourite BPAL ever!

[WidgetAlley]

Swap with the lovely jj_j!

 

Bottle: Warm, but stale, pumpkin bread. There is something about a lot of the Lab's pumpkin notes that just smells slightly wrong to me-- almost woody, like sawdust. Here it's balanced and made much nicer by the spices. I can smell orange and fig leaf too, creamy and sweet and ever-so-foody.

 

Wet: Squishy pumpkin and spice with distinct touches of sawdust. Damn, damn, damn. It's not as bad if my nose is right up close, but in the throw it smells like fruity, sugared playdough. It almost, almost smells like unbaked pie-crust, which would be delicious, but it's got that sourly dry note to it at as well.

 

Dry: Eventually the playdough vanishes and this dies down to a close, almost straight-up pumpkin with touches of warm spices. This is very, very pretty, but it doesn't wow me. I can't see picking this over, say, Queen Alice, for a fall scent. It's lovely but it's not me-- too simple, warm and sweet.

[mgrazulis]

Finally! This is what I wanted Jack to smell like! Ambery spiced pumpkin without the pumpkin candle or buttery pumpkin food aroma...the Queen is powerful, fleshy pumpkin, exerting her power with a wave of zest and citrus, held in queue with spiced amber. A bit drier than Jack, the court jester...the Queen dries down to a muted pumpkin blend. She is rich, golden and a bit exotic.

 

 

[rayvn1]

Pumpkin Warm, rich but not overwhelming like some of the pumpkin patch blends. I really, and I mean really amp pumpkin and it tends to swamp blends for me unless there's some strong leather or tobacco in it This isn't too bad, actaully. The amber is very nice and works with the pumpkin scent quite nicely. I don't know if I need to hang onto this, but it was a lot of fun to see what all the fuss was about!

[hkhm]

imp: ginger, orange and pumpkin over amber. i'm already in love.

 

wet: this is sweet, warm pumpkin and sharp, spicy ginger backed with orange (which smells tangy enough to be closer to oragne zest) while the amber ties it all together. i now understand why everybody loves this scent.

 

dry: this gets warmer and warmer, making it the epitome of a warm, spiced autumn drink. it's almost like fearful pleasure with pumpkin instead of apple. now i need to hunt down a bottle...

[topazphoenix]

I am so happy that due to a generous forum member I get to try this one. At first Pumpkin Queen is all rich pumpkin with something fruity beneath, but now that it's dry the pumpkin has receded and the fruit that has come out must be mandarin and orange peel - bright, a bit sour, not too sweet. The amber is only detectable enough to add a bit of that aged amber sparkle The spices come out after a bit and make it really more of an exotic desert spice/orange scent with a bit of pumpkin. I like it! It's too light for my tastes on what a pumpkin scent should be though. I prefer the richer Pumpkin V (07) for citrus pumpkin and aged Jack for the pumpkin to rule them all.

[Invidiana]

Wow. This is one sexy pumpkin. I was hunting it down for eternity and finally found it, and am I ever glad I did! Pumpkin Queen really does rank up there as one of my holy grails. It's the deepest, stickiest, warmest, just drop-dead sexiest pumpkin scent I've ever put my nose to. The amber just makes it oh-so-queenly, and the rest of the notes embellish it with jewels. If you're a pumpkinphile like I am, you must relentlessly hunt this one down. You WON'T be disappointed--I promise!

Edited November 3, 2009 by Invidiana

[heathercaley]

Once this hits my skin, I get a huge wiff of sexy spicy pumpkin and amber laced orange. I was scared of the pumpkin, but earlier reviews helped me to look past that bit of foody scariness. As it dries down, the orange and spices really pop out, and start to overshadow the butteryness of the pumpkin (which is fine with me!!!) It's just a little foody, but I think I can handle it, as the rest of the notes make this a bottle of sexy win!!

[ami226]

On the skin: Pumpkin with cardamom and amber. For some odd reason this pumpkin scent makes me feel kinda sick. After a short bit the pumpkin fades and the spicy scent left doesn't appeal to me at all.

 

Ah, well. I have found that Jack is a much better pumpkin scent on me than Pumpkin Queen. Yay!!

[doublehelix]

Wet on skin, I get the pumpkin, amber and some spices. It isn't a sweet pumpkin, but like a creamy pumpkin cake! On the dry down it gets much softer, but still smells like a pumpkin cake to me.

[Aldercy]

Sniffing this in the bottle, I prepared myself for disappointment. It smelled like an even richer, more buttery version of Jack. A thick, sluggish bakery scent. I like foody blends, but Pumpkin Queen seemed like it was going to be a case of overload.

 

On the skin, however, I much better understand why this one is popular. Pumpkin is still dominant, but it smooths down into a drier, darker, more spicy scent. I get the ginger and warm orange peel. It's not so foody that it seems out of place on a person. The amber gives it a more traditional perfume feel, I think. I concur with hkhm that it's similar to Fearful Pleasure with pumpkin in place of apple.

 

I think I will let this one hibernate until fall. I rarely have a problem wearing scents "out of season," but this one is just SO screamingly autumnal it feels downright silly in May.

[milo]

Mmm, spicy orange peel, spices and a bit of buttery pumpkin. Pretty much a non-morpher from wet to dry. Just a warm, buttery, comforting blend, probably more suited for fall/winter. WIN!!