Queen Alice

[hlinspjalda]

Carnation, posies, and white amber with a hint of inky treacle, sandy cider, and wooly wine.

In the vial: Sweet like an apple pie: apples, something spicy, and light florals.

Wet: Still almost a foody scent, apples and sweetness and spicy. I like it, but it smells frivolous and girly (i.e., not me).

Twenty minutes: More floral now, and I notice some amber, but still fairly foody.

One hour: This just isn't me. Still floral apple, quite pleasant and a bit understated on me, but not at all in my zone.

Two and a half hours: Still not me, and it's very faint anyway.

[Mimosatique]

Wet: Cider/Wine with heady carnation

 

Dry: Not so "grainy" cider but carnation is still going strong.

 

Verdict: LOVE the "murky" ruby wine with a gorgeous, heady, but NOT sharp(isnt that oxymoron?) Carnation. It's so darn pretty with a mischievous kick. Very tickle my fancy!! ;D

[V294]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this as this is an all time favorite top 1-2 scent. It is just so lovely and a little sweet, a little juicy, a little heady, a little spicy. It is a complicated scent that's hard to pin down for a complicated women that's hard to pin down

[milica]

suprisingly, I like it very much!!!

wine notes don't do well with my skin, but in this scent they do! very much so!

and I love carnation and amber, I also get a little bit of fruit (cider?) and in first few minutes something floral peppery sharp wich I really like.

 

very complex to me, I will keep the imp and maybe think of a bottle.

[Andrea912]

imp: cider and wooly wine...

 

Wet: i dont smell the amber or floral notes...it's a spicy cider or mulled wine...

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Sweet-spicy and a bit fruity-floral, with definite treacle and apple cider notes and a little tang of red wine (though it comes off like hard cider or Apple Jack). There's a Harvest quality to it.

On, wet: Much more of the spicy carnation, but still with sweet treacle and fruity, boozy cider. And although it sounds crazy, there is a dark note here that makes me think of black ink.

Later: This is really surprisingly sophisticated. There's sweetness from the treacle, ripe fruitiness from the cider, spicy floral from the carnations, but the amber pulls it all together.

Overall: I like it, but I'm not sure that I love it. It definitely has an Autumn vibe to me, due to the spiciness of the carnation and the boozy cider/wine notes, but warm, spicy apple cider, while very enjoyable, is not so much my thing.

 

 

[WidgetAlley]

Frimp from the Lab. Somehow I missed that this one even existed, so I'm glad I get to try it!

 

Imp: NOM NOM hard cider, carnation and a sharp smell that really in all honesty does smell like black ink. Amazing! Very autumnal, pretty and fruity without being foody. Delicious!

 

Wet: Powdery, powdery amber, cider, sweet molasses (!!!!) at first. Then an almost gritty sweet-smell, like a really crumbly cake soaked in hard apple cider next to a bouquet of carnations. That slightly inky note is still in there. This is very complex and very unusual. The throw is all cider and molasses. It's kinda weird, like nothing else I've ever smelled, but I like it a lot. Spring, however, is not the correct time to be wearing this-- this is absolutely a fall scent.

 

Dry: Amber, carnation, cider, and sandy molasses cake, but fading fast. I think this would age very nicely. It reminds me a lot of Fairy Wine-- not in the scent, but in the unusual combination of notes. I like it very much but I'm not sure I'm so in love with it that I need a big bottle. We'll see. When fall rolls around, this may end going into heavy rotation.

[AnArtfuldodger]

I'm normally a total foodie. I have extreme trouble finding any floral that works for me. They all smell like dime store perfume to me, most of the time. So let me just say that Queen Alice is DIVINE. The wine is subtle and playful, but at the same time very grown-up, and the flowers are subtle enough that they don't overpower the wine. It's lovely and sophisticated, and like nothing I could find in stores!

Edited March 4, 2009 by AnArtfuldodger

[femmefatale]

hmmmm.....what an odd scent. At first I get a rush of apple, but then it sweetens and almost smells like a candied apple with....something else. Then the apple fades and out comes something like a berry wine with a hint of sweet flowers and just a bit of spice. Very fall smelling. But then it morphs again and the wine note fades and it's a beautiful blend of slightly spicy florals (but no soap! woohoo!) with a hint of fruit in the background. But once again it starts to change and takes an ever so slightly darker turn. mmmmm.....

 

Now I am not a floral person at all, but this is just wonderful. I wouldn't consider this a straight floral scent, nor is it foody. It is definitely complex and a morpher. I like it.

[emilynicole]

This starts out as spicy carnations. The spicyness fades somewhat rather soon after application, so I worried that Queen Alice might fade away to nothing much too quickly, but then the cider became apparent as rich apple. The apple is there for sure, but does not scream of fruitiness. After a few hours I smell a wonderful blend of spicy carnation, warm apple, a hint of molasses, and maybe some posy. The throw is light to moderate on me. After about 4 hours after application I smell a soft sweetness, akin to cake, along with a gentler version of the carnation, apple, and molasses. This is a winner!

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Wine and cider with carnation spice

 

Wet: Mmmm! Don't know how to describe it, but it sure smells good! Really blended.

 

Drydown: I love it! It's deep without being too dark. Carnation and posies give it a lovely sweet quality over the wine and sandy cider

 

Overall: Mmmm...And of course I just finished placing an order that didn't include this...It sweet and full. Fells very "little girl playing at being a lady" but it's by no means immature. This is awesome, but a full bottle will have to wait until the next order.

[Gin]

Queen Alice

 

Delightful! And morphy when wet! I get a varying mix of cider, wine, and carnations--something different every time I sniff! Dry, it's all carnation, wine, and amber.

[catattack]

Imp: Boozy and herbal

Wet: Spiced apple blossoms.

Drydown: Spicy apples. After a while, it went soapy/waxy.

Overall: I don't really care for the lab's apple notes, so I didn't have much faith that this would work. This scent just didn't do it for me.

[sarajane]

I definately smell the apples and the wine. Also the carnation. This reminds me of Agape a bit. I really like it, and I'm definately considering a full bottle!

[Banyangirl]

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! This was in my last imp pack and I rather love it, though I think I'll be getting more use out of it when autumn rolls around. On me it's cinammon and apples and mulled wine, with a hint of dark ink if I really snuffle. The carnations just turn to more spice on me so it's a very autumnal scent. I think this one will come in handy during NaNoWriMo in November!

[rayvn1]

This was a real surprise on me! I immediately got a good dose of carnation and amber. It was the shandy or cider note that captivated me though This is sort of the Fall effect I was hoping for with Fearful Pleasure or Samhain - a boozy apple cider scent with a rich background. Great oil!

[Aldercy]

Sandy cider FTW!

 

Actually, it smells more like pure, pulpy apple juice-- not particularly "mulled" or "spiced" in any way, to my nose-- but unimaginably beautiful. Much better than straight apple, which is sometimes a little sharp, fake and headache-inducing (if you have that problem with "apple" notes, try this, it's very different).

 

Apple juice with lovely brash carnation (there's a slightly gentler, more traditional floral as well, which is a bit like rosy plumeria, but it's pretty far in the background) and a hint of warm sugar-- kind of pastry-ish.

 

Queen Alice is exquisitely sophisticated and feminine, yet still totally unconventional.

[Suu4LC]

This is really gorgeous in the imp-kind of hard to describe-heady carnation, cider, a rich wine note, and a touch of spices. When I read the description and saw wooly wine, I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but sniffing it...that's what it smells like! Really interesting and unique!

 

On my skin it's a LOT more cidery-the wine kind of falls into the background-rich spiced cider and flowers. Yanno, I thought with Fearful Pleasure and Punkie Night, I didn't need more cider-y scents, but this one is just so different...it's not a typical fall cider...

 

As it dries down, the flowers come out a bit more, maybe a bit too strongly, though I do love carnation...this blend just seems to keep morphing with my skin chemistry.

 

I like this, but I don't loove it. It's definitely unique-though on full drydown it kind of turns back into meh cider again, and it's just not as unique as that fresh wet imp scent was-if I did get this, it would probably be a locket only scent, and I find that I just don't end up using scents that I need to locket. Such a great concept though! The wet scent is amazing!

[Caerphilly]

Here is my review of Alice:

 

In the imp: It's girly, light, sweet. Smells like a Barbie doll. Reminds me of Antique Lace, except instead of vanilla is the bergamont and carnation that's throwing me off.

 

Wet: Very sweet, but very light. It's already fading. It's still smells a bit like plastic, but I definitely smell the milk and tea. No honey.

 

Dry: It's preactically gone. This didn't last long at all.

 

Overall: I remember smelling an imp of this that my roommate had, and not liking it. I thought it was too sweet. But, I decided to try it again, because it is Alice after all! But, alas, it's mostly plastic on me, and it doesn't last long, at all. Now I'm sad.

 

This is the review I would give Queen Alice, except being girly perfume, It's girly perfume mixed with old lady perfume. It's alice with a soapiness underneath that just doesn't work with my skin chemistry. I was expecting to like this more than Alice, but it turned out to be the opposite!

 

[cleske]

The first time I tried this I didn't think much of it, so I just stuffed it in my '?' tin and forgot about it for a few weeks... then I tried it again. For some reason, this time I appreciate it. It's beautiful. Sandy cider, carnation and amber, which sort of melds together and reminds me of really good, fresh chamomile tea: full, golden buds of it. It's so warm and comforting and I am so, so glad I decided to give it a second chance, because I thoroughly underestimated it the first time. There's much to be said for letting things settle! I think I throw the word beautiful about thoughtlessly, but sometimes you come across something that really deserves it. Queen Alice deserves it.

[Violaine]

Thanks to tikva, I have just recently discovered that I adore carnation!

 

I never cared for the original Alice, but I wanted to give the Queen a shot. It's gorgeous, peppery, nose-tingly carnation to me, with gorgeous cider underneath! I can't pick out much else, but once it dries down on my skin, that sweet treacle comes out and threatens to make the entire blend tooth-rotting. It's so unusual and so perfumey, but I mean that in the best way possible. The carnation and cider continues to hang on and make up the body of the blend, but I'm still wary of the sweetness.

 

This could absolutely warrant a bottle.

[angelicruin]

Carnations, spice, and wine on my skin. On the drydown, the carnation fades and I'm left with spicy red wine.

[SophieCedar]

This is an unusual one. I can't say I've smelled anything similar besides for Alice of course.

 

In imp: sweet and carnation for sure.

 

Wet: the posies and amber open up and this is sweet, spicy and I get a definite wine impression.

 

Drydown: treacle and cider. The carnation faded into the background? This smells slightly different depending on the distance your nose is from the location of scent. Slightly stimulating scent for me because it keeps the mind active with the constantly changing top notes. There's definitely that little girl tea party trapped in a big girl world smell.

[Venneh]

I'm getting a combination of florals and wine, almost mulled wine. On my skin, it's a combination of carnations, posies, and amber, a lot sweeter than I expected. Ends up being a floral watered-down wine with apple cider. Going to restest this. And even after several retestings, I'm not entirely sure what to think of this. This is probably going to take several testings before I figure out what I want with it. The watered down quality stays, even about a month later, so I think I'm going to pass it on.

Edited February 25, 2010 by Venneh

[doublehelix]

In the bottle: soft florals, carnation, and a hint of spice

 

Wet on skin: much more spicey, almost like a warm, fresh baked apple pie! the floral notes are still there but are much more subtle.

 

Dry on skin: carnations are back and much stronger. the apple pie scent has faded and i'm left with the florals and a touch of spice.