The Knave of Hearts

[grashopper8]

Crushed roses and blackcurrant tarts.

Expecting a fruity rose floral.

Wet, I got a creamy, foody, baked-goods scent. ??? Re-reading the description, I see the word Tarts. Aha, there's the mystery of foodiness revealed.

Drying down, I get the berries and rose, but it's still in the midst of some flaky, sweet, buttery tart. Yummy pie goodness.

I frickin really like this combination. It's so unique! Roses that you want to eat? Huh?

It's like roses dipped in sweet syrupy goodness. I'll hold on to this little one....it deserves some more wear.

ETA: I wore this today in my scent locket and on my skin. It's delectable and unique, but there were moments where it was just a bit much. I really slathered in it, and the rose helps it stick around allll day. It's great because it's warm, juicy, berry pastry with a dollop of sweet cream, all on a bed of fresh rose petals. I really love the combination, but there were a few moments where I found myself wishing that the roses weren't there....

As a scent, it perfectly embodies what I would imagine as an Alice in Wonderland blend. Couldn't have dreamed up a more fitting interpretation if I had a million years.

As a perfume, I don't think I'll slather it on again because it was a little overwhelming at times. I may touch a bit on if I pick up AIW to read again someday, and I think I'll probably keep my frimp (thanks lab!), but I don't need a bottle. Edited November 28, 2007 by AEris

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

sniffed from the frimp: candied roses in a buttery pastry shell

on skin: candied roses

after about an hour, i can finally begin to get wafts of the blackcurrant and it blends nicely with the roses.

 

quick edit:

oh my goodness, how freaky! i wore this tonight because it smelled interesting. i'd completely forgotten i'd tried it before... but lookit, it was a year ago almost to the minute that i wrote this review!

 

freaky, that!

 

anyway, i re-tested what is probably the same imp i tried last year!

sniffed from the imp: cookies! and roses

on skin: roses and cookies

on skin after about an hour: sugared pomegranate.

Edited December 17, 2008 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[violetflower]

In the bottle: Cake!!

 

Wet on my skin: Cake!!

 

Dry: A sweetish rose now, the cake smell has gone, which may have saved this blend from being sent straight to swaps! I love sweet sugary, honey blends, but not foody as in cake, etc

 

It has suddenly gone very faint on me, if I press my nose to my wrist and inhale deeply I can smell it. This hasn't lasted very long on me.

 

EDIT: Oh, this has come back, and it is lovely! Sweet, fruity roses!! I keep getting wafts of it and thinking, oh that is lovely, and remembering that it is my perfume!!

 

Edited December 18, 2007 by violetflower

[fabricdragon]

The Knave of hearts.

When i ordered it i was hoping for roses, but wondering what the black current tart would add to it.

it smelled buttery and like baked goods when wet, with nary a rose in site. nor any berry. just baked pie crust and butter, which is fine although not what i expected. with a hint of caramel? brown sugar? something.

 

sadly this didn't like my body chemistry at all.

When it dried it smelled like burnt pie crust. scorched, burnt pie crust. my husband actively gagged when he smelled it. i washed it off as fast as i could.

 

the tarts may have been crushed, but i certainly was. ah well. body chemistry is weird.

[TereFaerie]

Yum! I love this in my scent locket! Wet this smells like butter and roses. On my skin, the butter and rose fade just enough to meld into a harmonious sweet pastry/rosewater scent, like that Indian dessert of rosewater dough balls, jamin golub? After a while, the rose gets a bit of that burning smell that I identify with rose geranium, and the buttery crust of the tart smells less sweet. The drydown on my skin is so-so, and that's why I prefer to put it in a scent locket as well as my skin and in my hair.

It is strongly evocative of the character in Alice, as well, which is another reason I like it.

 

edit, I have been keeping an imp of this on my nightstand; I just love to catch whiffs of it as I lay down to sleep.

I got an extra one as a frimp and used about half of it in the bath-- this would make a wondrous bath oil and satisfy both the foodies and the floral/rose lovers-- but I used it with some Lush stuff and had the best bath I'd had in a loooooong time.

In case you wanted to know what the bath was:

Half a Butterball with chunks of Amandapondo and The Comforter. Not an exact dupe of the scent, but once the oil went in, it was just lovely. The Butterball adds to that wonderful buttery crust scent and the Amandopondo actually makes the whole scent a bit brighter and clearer with the addition of lemon to the rose. Enjoy!

Edited January 30, 2008 by TereFaerie

[Leopard403]

This is way too rich for my blood. I think I need more cake and less currant.

[Salendire]

In the bottle: Ok, am i the ONLY person who only gets rose? I have no tart, no currant, no butter, no sweetness only rose.

 

Wet: Yup, still rose. With some powder.

 

Drying down: POWDER, very slightly rose scented baby powder.

 

Dry: Powder with two or three crumbs of pastry.

 

 

What the devil happened? I was SO expecting Tarts but got baby powder. Don't get me wrong, it's nice if you like powder but i wanted TARTS. Going to let this one sit and age for a bit to see if there is some improvement. This is the second scent in two days that has turned out nothing like the notes or reviews stated

[vintagedlust]

I was a little afraid to try this because of the rose but when I heard people saying that Crumpet Rebellion smelled slightly the same way I had to try it. I love Crumpet Rebellion but only have an imp of it. I'm so glad I did! The rose is soft and subtle and hangs in the background. Once again blackcurrant smells divine and the foodiness really comes out.

 

4.5/5

[tinyvulture]

i don’t notice the roses at first, just rich, buttery pastry. i’m not that familiar with blackcurrant, but on me it smells somewhat like figs or raisins. after a few minutes, i can smell the rose. it makes me think of a fancy dessert strewn with decorative rose petals. extremely foody and comforting, with just a hint of floral -- a lovely combination.

[diamondstars]

When I first got this I wasn't quite sure what I could smell, other than something sweet and cake-y. The more I tried it though, the more I noticed the rose notes in it.

 

When I wore this to work, however, EVERYONE complained I smelled of curry. A shame, as I do quite like this and wanted to carry on wearing it. It didn't stop there though..people complained that much that DISCIPLINARY ACTION was threatened against me. It wasn't until I went to my Union rep that the backed off a bit. I mean, how many people smell of cigarette smoke/body odour etc etc?? Nobody threatens disciplinary action against them do they..

 

Needless to say, I'm looking for a new job..

Edited March 22, 2008 by saracakes

[suki]

in the imp: butter, cake and currants.

 

wet on skin: this smells a LOT like Crumpet Rebellion-sugar, incense and cake- but with a rose undertone. unexpected, but nice

 

dry down: the cake aspect fades into the back ground, the rose comes up and the sugar stays the same.

 

in all: like a cross between Hope and Crumpet Rebellion- rose, currant, incense and sugar with a cake bit behind it all. unusual, but it works!

[coldandsleepy]

Trying to catch up on review today and getting tired of my standard form, so here's a looser interpretation of the Knave of Hearts:

 

My new friend the Knave of Hearts

Smells just like pie crust when he starts

 

But as the hours pass us by

He's less a crust and more a pie

 

And when the hours have all passed

He smells of rose petals at last

 

In short: this goes pie crust - berry pie - rose petals on me. Never overwhelming or cloying, never powdery or sour. Just yummy and loveable. He's a winner!

[rachel2205]

This is a crazy scent! That fits for the Mad Tea Party, though. My nose doesn't know what to make of it, but I'm pretty sure I like it! On wet, I ADORED it, because the first things to hit my nose were fruity jammy buttery notes. Now the rose has come out it's a bit more confusing. To me this smells a lot like Drink Me with rose overlaid. Imagine, if you will, a tea table laid with hot buttered toast that's been given a good dollop of jam (mixed fruit, I think; this doesn't smell particularly blackcurrant to me). On the table there is also a vase containing a large, plump rose, so when you sit down at the table you get a whiff of rose as you munch on your toast.

[savage_rose]

Whoa, pie crust! Hot, well-cooked pie crust. I can smell a touch of fruit, and a hint of sweet rose. As though tarts were brought on a breakfast tray with a single rose in a vase...

 

It looks like the last reviewer had similar thoughts, but on me the currant and rose are very light, and this is mostly just really strong pastry. But I am SO not complaining! It's still a really nice-smelling blend, even if it's not exactly as balanced as I'd hoped.

[Lanet]

Pretty much smells like Eat Me to me. If I concentrate I can smell a little rose in the background. Actually, if you give it a little time the rose is more noticeable which is unfortunate for me since I hate rose.

[Dracoo9]

I do loovvee the black currant from Eat me so I had to try this out, despite that my rose scents are kind of growing eek!

 

In imp: a mix of the roses and blackcurant.

 

On: the rose and the blackcurrant go back and forth before the blackcurrant eventually diminishes and it becomes a rose scent. This is one of the rose scents that are absolutly free of going powdery on me.

[ElinaMakropulos]

I'm not one for foody scents or a lot of roses so I was skeptical when, in the imp, this smelled of buttery, flakey pastry. However, a few minutes after application it dried into a really lovely buttery/rosey/currant-y whisper of scent. It was sweet but tempered by the sharpness of the rose. This one reminds me a lot of Annick Goutal's Eau de Charlotte but in a softer, more complex way.

Edited May 18, 2008 by ElinaMakropulos

[BelleAnge]

I love this scent. It's very foody on me. I don't smell the rose at all. On me this smells mainly like caramel.

[ErinZ]

This starts out as caramel and rose, but quickly turns to Yankee Candle and old lady's house.

 

I suspect my chemistry doesn't work well with foody scents, unfortunately

[loladae]

What a weird scent. So first all I could was saw dusty cookie/tarts and no roses and blackcurrants. But, I was very motivated to love this one so I tried it again and got a teeny rose then a buttery pastry (not very saw dusty though!) But NOW mmm...now I get roses blackcurrants and buttery pastry. This smells GOOD! I hope it continues to smell this way.

[Stephanie]

This is like Eat Me with a soft undercurrant of roses. I love it!

 

It's yummy and very pretty--like pastries with rose jelly.

[sprocket21]

In the imp: Pastry! Smells very similar to Eat Me.

 

On me, it continues to smell akin to Eat Me, except maybe a bit sweeter. Eat Me had a bit of an astringent quality to it on my skin.

 

Once it dries, I get the rose underneath the pastry. It's as others have described, where you can smell the fruit pastry AND the rose at the same time, and it's a bit strange. Not sure I'm a fan.

[JunkieCosmonaut]

This is such a lovely scent <3

 

I smell the roses and something warm, thick, buttery.. maybe syrupy? It's almost like being seated in the middle of a garden of roses with a fresh from the oven pound cake slathered in honey in front of you. <3 I wish I could point out the individual notes, but my nose is still very much inexperienced. :\

 

Unfortunately, this fades rather quickly on me, but, I'll probably be using it in my hair <3

Edited July 5, 2008 by JunkieCosmonaut

[TeaLeaf]

I want to love this one, it sounds so amazing but it just smells icky to me. When I first sniffed it in the imp I swore it had to be a mix up it smells nothing like the description to me I don't even know what notes I am picking up but they are wretched and it makes me really really sad. With my next purchase I think I will buy another imp to see if I got a wonky one or something because I am really in love with the description.

[ChloeKEvil]

Ohhhhmigosh.

 

Currants are quickly becoming one of my favourite notes. Considering how much I love tasting them (and how much I love You Snap The Whip body butter from Lush) this is not a great surprise. Masabakes, Eat Me, and now Knave of Hearts have all gained very highly-ranked places in my favourite smells.

 

The first time I put this on it was nearly pure caramel, with juicy rose peeking out after a while- I thought it was an interesting combination and loved it. I put it on again today and the caramel was much less strong, with the currants having a firmer presence, and the rose hanging out in the background. It's divine. I would eat this.

 

Compared to the other two currant scents I have, Knave of Hearts is more foody than Masabakes and sweeter than Eat Me. I'm more likely to wear it for a cold winter day curled up with fluffy fantasy books.