Queen Alice

[naiade]

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

Queen Alice is a very beautiful and interesting scent, but kinda difficult to describe.

Dry, I get a floral (erm, posy, maybe?) and cider, with underlying bloom of boozy-wine-goodness and a breath of the white amber.

It makes me smile. Soft and sweet enough for daily use yet spicey and heady enough to be interesting. Would love to have a bottle! (Luckily I have TWO imps to get me by until then!) Edited October 5, 2008 by Shollin

[parasolfringe]

So good! There's a touch of sugary caramel and cider, but it's not sickly sweet--it's elegant and light with the flowers and just a little bit of wine. As it goes on, I can definitely smell the lovely carnation. It really is difficult to describe, though! I can't make out the notes very much, I'm reaching a bit, for it is really such a well blended scent. I love the treacle in the background! I wish more of the cider came through. I don't know if I need a bottle for I feel that Alice is a bit similar to this, but I certainly want one. I'll have to see how long it lasts!

[JenM]

In the imp: cakes and cider.

 

On the wrist: it’s syrupy, with something green in it. Reading the lab description, the syrup is treacle. There’s a tang of something I can’t quite smell but that feels like citrus. On drydown, the treacle is still the strongest smell, and it’s very similar to the three white cakes from Eat Me. There’s a lightness behind it which smells like some sort of leaf. A sort of green earth. No florals.

 

The wine is starting to come out now, but it’s sort of turning sour on my skin. Or maybe it’s supposed to be sour. I’m teetotal. I don’t do alcoholic-type stuff.

 

Two hours later: I’m getting amber and cider, and that’s all. It’s a very strong amber as well.

 

6/10; not long enough lasting for a 7.

[crimescenecleanup]

'drool'

 

I love this scent. It's funny to read all of the reviews and see how different this scent is on every person...

 

On me I get fresh-baked treacle tart, similar to the blackberry pie scent I get out of Knave of hearts only so much better, and with molasses instead of berries.

There's this rich, hard cider scent beneath it, perfectly spiced, and a smooth amber reminiscent of sandalwood.

The floral notes make up the background of this for me, with that rich carnation/damask rose scent I love so much in 'Maiden'. Mixed with this is something that can only be described as a hint of white wine and fresh black grapes.

 

The spiciness of this scent and the warm treacle and cider notes make it seem, I dunno. Old. Like something a woman would have worn five hundred years ago at some European court. Not a perfume so much as a sachet of rare spices tucked into her bodice, or something. It's a favorite of mine for SCA meets.

[funkmoppet]

At first, spicy carnation and soft cider and wine.

 

The carnation backs off a little after a while and it threatens to go a little powdery (eyes the amber warily). At this point it's still very pretty, very gentle but not wowing me.

 

Then after a little while longer I get a honey note coming up through the carnation. This is very close to the skin, and quite soft.

 

Overall, I'm not loving this as much as Alice. Possibly it's the amber realising whose skin it's on and rebelling.

 

Alas - the first stage was lovely! But not the dry.

[lainevierge]

In the middle of July when I got my first BPAL order I tried Queen Alice on first and went out for the night. All night I kept sniffing my arm and was sort of revolted by the cinnamon potpourri type smell that I was getting off of it. Luckily the rest of the imps I got with my order (The Jersey Devil, Pele, 51) were more suited to summer, and I didn't write BPAL off forever.

 

I hadn't touched this imp since, but after rereading the lab's explanation and getting ready to put my second order in, I sniffed it again.... and I fell in love! Now when I put it on I can't stop sniffing it. It's a wonderfully spicy/sweet mix that suits me perfectly, just as I thought it would when I ordered it. It makes me think of Christmas and cozy warm, wooly sweaters, not at all a summer scent. I'm so glad I gave it a second chance!

 

Now I put it on every night before bed and it makes me feel so calm. I've since ordered a bottle to get me through the winter.

[swilde]

Molasses, sweetened further by the apple wine and girly flowers turns into a kind of 'maple syrup drenched pancake' sticky scent on me. Dang.

[labeth]

A very spicy floral, and not flowery enough to turn me (a big foodie and generally a flower hater) off. Really great. This one could be an eventual bottle. I'll see how much of the imp I go through.

[waternight]

In the imp: Very cidery with a hint of treacle.

Wet: First on, wheee carnation! Delicious spicy floral, with hefty helpings of the cider and treacle. The wine adds a touch of boozy-ness.

Dry: Yuuummmm. This is like huffing cider-wine. I loves it.

[heathercaley]

Mmm Creamy carnation and something spicy. (probably the cardnation hehe)

 

This is wonderful. I smell the woods and flowers. To me this smells very "red" and candylike... It has that musky quality poking through. I like this a lot. At first I was kinda iffy, but once It dried down and I picked out the distinct notes, It grew on me. A deep sweet and soft floral with a bit of wood grounding it..

 

Beautiful!!

[ancilla_morte]

This is really beautiful. It reminds me of Antique Lace and Alice.

 

It smells like a room full of dried roses, linens, dust and carnations that hasn't been touched since 1903.

Spicy, this is like hiding in a soft old heirloom quilt on a snowy cold winter morning, when you don't have to go to school.

 

4/5

[suileach]

Queen Alice smells inexplicably like guava juice on me. I swear, carnation does the oddest things when combined with my chemistry.

[voodoocatwoman]

In bottle: Burnt sugar

 

Wet: BUG SPRAY!!! YUCK!!!

 

but since I was already on my way out, I did not have time to wash it off

which

is

good

because

 

Dry: Settled to spice and carnation with no hint of obnoxious at all, very heady and voluptuous fragrance, definitely a winter perfume.

[Lethran]

I admit to curiosity about treacle, having heard about it all my life and never tasted it. In bottle: Very soft carnation, hint of cider. Wet: Almost disappears on my skin. I think that faint touch of amber and cider is were I put it. I think. Maybe…. Yes. What’s there is quite pleasant. I can pick out the wine/cider/carnation combo if I put my nose close. I was expecting this to be cloying, but it’s oddly pleasing, but impossible on my skin. Dry: fades to nothing so fast there is no dry.

[Apple]

The spiciness of this scent and the warm treacle and cider notes make it seem, I dunno. Old. Like something a woman would have worn five hundred years ago at some European court. Not a perfume so much as a sachet of rare spices tucked into her bodice, or something. It's a favorite of mine for SCA meets.

 

I can see that... it definitely smells more like a spice sachet than a perfume.

 

On me, Queen Alice is very apple cider-y when wet, with something indefinably "not nice" lurking underneath. Thankfully that unpleasant under-smell burns off, and what remains is the scent of those spiced apple rings that have been dyed hideously red and come in cans/jars. When completely dry, Queen Alice smells very much like cinnamon potpourri.

 

And yet, I find it intriguing. It's not unpleasant, but not really how I want to smell.

[hkhm]

imp: florals and molasses. this is awesome!

 

wet: i know it's treacle and not molasses (even though they're quite similar) but it still smells like when i open the molasses jar. unusually beautiful.

 

dry: this is drying to the strongest sugar note i get from sugar skull with very light florals in the background.

[agnusdei]

When wet, Queen Alice is mostly spicy apple cider, bubbly and just a tad fizzy. There’s a hint of treacle and something floral peeking out, and the wooly wine makes a tiny appearance as well. It’s sweet but the cider has a crisp element to it that keeps the blend from feeling too heavily sugared. As it has time to settle the cider softens and makes way for the amber and florals. There’s still a spiced element to this scent but it’s now joined by a gentle and softly powdery amber and a bouquet of carnations & posies. The carnation note is definitely present but it’s quieter and more refined compared to the bold carnation found in Alice. It’s a little spicier too, thanks to the cider, which gives it a sort of cinnamon-like feel. I think Queen Alice has just the right amount of similarity to Alice; they share a youthful softness that makes them relatable, but Queen Alice is so delightfully strange and unique.

 

eta: After I wrote this I put on more of the Queen, went out for a while, and then proceeded to realize that hey, I really really freakin' love this. It dries to such an oddly whimsical mix of amber, carnation, and all the spiced elements from the cider, with magnificent throw to boot. To amend my previous review, I will most definitely be needing a bottle to add to the carnation fest that is my BPAL box.

Edited March 9, 2008 by agnusdei

[coldandsleepy]

Queen Alice smells more or less the same on me wet or dry: super spicy, a little sandy, and a little amber-y. I don't get cider (though I do get sand!) or wine (though it does smell a little wooly!), but otherwise, it smells more or less exactly as described on me.

 

Unfortunately, it turns out I don't really like the combination very much. It just smells kinda weird on me. Oh well! I've had such good luck with most of the Mad Tea Party that I guess it makes sense... can't win 'em all.

[aleciarivas]

Unfortunately Queen Alice didn't love me! Wah! I really do love carnation, but something in this blend turned sickly stickily sweet. And then turned into an almost pepto-bismol smell, then back to the sickly stickily sweet smell.

[savage_rose]

I really have no idea what I'm smelling here. There's only a hint of some kind of floral (it doesn't smell like carnation really, but okay), mostly it's an incensey resinous smell. And it smells a little like some kind of fried dessert, but not really in a good way! It's not a bad smell, but I can't quite place it, and it really doesn't smell like something I'd choose to smell like.

[naeelah]

I'm not sure how old my imps is, but this is almost all apple cider and carnation on me. The florals balance out the cider enough to keep it form being overly foody or autumnal, but there is a distinct spiced cider quality. I thought there was white musk in this. Perhaps it's the ink note (whatever that is) that's giving that crispness.

 

The more I sniff it, the more it smells more like lightly spiced florals with a hint of apple -- whereas initially, it was very strong on the apple. I can't really single out the florals, beyond the carnation. Some people have likened this to a potpourri sachet, and I think that's a good comparison. It reminds me of upscale but traditional home interior stores. But in a good way. This has a classic, complex, slightly dressy feel, but the hints of sweetness help keep it a hint of girliness. Definitely fitting of a higher class Alice.

Edited May 18, 2008 by naeelah

[inurbanus]

This one is hard for me to describe, as it manages to fall into several different scent categories -- it's floral, spicy, and foody. I like that it manages to stay focused, though. While it might have several disparate elements, they come together into something very unusual, but also cohesive and yummy.

 

This smells a lot like apple pie to me, but not in a literal way. It brings to mind the image of the pie sitting on a table on a deck, with the breeze wafting the smell of flowers around it. It's a very light scent, but I agree that it's reminiscent of a sachet. I would love to put this in my oil burner -- it would make my bedroom smell fabulous. Queen Alice is very comforting, and while I don't think I need a bottle of it, my imp of this will definitely be used.

 

4/5

[donnatron]

I ordered a bottle unsniffed because I'm crazy that way.

 

Bottle: Uh oh. This reminds me a lot of Drink Me, and Drink Me smelled horrific on my skin. I get a whiff of the treacle, which I think is what's making me think "Drink Me" and a touch of carnation, floral and that peculiar lack-of-scent I associate with amber.

 

Wet: HELLO TREACLE! This threatens to turn into the same satanic butter scent that Drink Me went. Then the amber puts its foot down and this morphs into a beautiful sweet floral.

 

Dry: It has a touch of molasses stickiness, but I like it. Very sweet and floral and sort of cozy and warm. Nice for fall and winter, it probably won't be seeing much action this summer (assuming, of course that it ever stops being cold and rainy here). Although warm, it's not a sunny scent, more of a cozy sweater and book by the fire scent.

 

Throw: Pretty average. Although it's not throwing very far, the scent itself is pretty thick and rich and I think it would be kind of gross to be walking around in a dense scent cloud of it.

 

Overall: Glad I got a bottle. I have a cozy sweater scent for fall.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Nearly colourless pale yellow oil. Sweet, light, spicy. A bit floral and fairly foody. Carnations, cinnamon, apple-cider, sugar.

 

Wet: Despite the spice, this has a soft, warm, creamy feel to it - the amber, perhaps, and maybe some vanilla. The carnations add both spice and floral notes; the posies smell a bit like violets to me, light and a touch powdery. Less sweet and foody, spicer.

 

Dry: This morphs quite quickly. A hint of that apple scent is more like dried fruit, now, and there's clove here too in addition to the cinnamon. And something's gone soapy - the posies or the amber. There's a strong plastic note, too.

 

Summary: Spicy cinnamon and carnation and sweet-hot clove, a plasticky, foody, sugary dried apple note, over faint floral posies and increasingly soapy amber. Feminine, and bizarrely jumbled on the whole. Fair throw and good lasting power.

 

Not my style at all.

[goblinshark]

This smells really foody in the bottle, almost currant-y I think? On me it smells like a carnation drenched in butter and booze. Not my thing at all but I can see how someone who liked food-inspired scents would be way into this, it's very rich and desserty