Queen Alice

[Heavenlyrabbit]

At this moment the door was flung open, and a shrill voice was heard singing:

'To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said
"I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head.
Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be
Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!"'
And hundreds of voices joined in the chorus:
'Then fill up the glasses as quick as you can,
And sprinkle the table with buttons and bran:
Put cats in the coffee, and mice in the tea --
And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three!'

Then followed a confused noise of cheering, and Alice thought to herself `Thirty times three makes ninety. I wonder if any one's counting?' In a minute there was silence again, and the same shrill voice sang another verse:

'"O Looking-Glass creatures," quoth Alice, "draw near!
'Tis an honour to see me, a favour to hear:
'Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea
Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!"'
Then came the chorus again:
'Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink,
Or anything else that is pleasant to drink:
Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine --
And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine!'

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

Spicy, creamy floral.

Carnations with cake and hard apple cider.

A more sophisticated and perfumey version of Harvest Moon.

No hint of plastic from the 'treacle'. The spicy carnation isn't turning into redhots. So this makes me very happy Edited September 16, 2007 by Shollin

[AliBabble]

this smells amazing in the imp - slightly boozy/wine-y and like burnt sugar - the treacle, i guess. on my skin, i'm still getting a good deal of treacle, but then - slowly - the spicy carnation emerges. i can't tell if i smell the posies at all, but i do smell a bit of amber, which really rounds out the scent, and gives a glistening quality to queen alice. the cider note, is really subtle, in the background. this is a really unusual, dreamy and somewhat dark scent - i have to say that the prominent notes on my skin are carnation and treacle, with a bit of something booze-like. queen alice definitely has a storybook/fairytale quality to it. carnations are always a bit weird on my skin, but i really like this anyway.

[little_galaxie]

This is a soft, creamy, spicy scent. It's not as regal as the name suggests, rather, I feel like I should be wrapped up in a warm fuzzy blanket when I wear it. Only, make no mistake, this isn't a kiddish scent at all. As the last posters suggested, it's quite sophisticated, mysterious, complex and grown up.

Edited March 17, 2007 by little_galaxie

[edenssixthday]

Queen Alice - This is a very soft, wispy scent. When first applied, predominantly the scent of cider with a hint of wine, and something foody-sweet below that. As it warms up on my skin, the wine starts to come out more and blends nicely with the cider. The spicy carnation also joins the party, and there’s a hint of very dry amber in the background. It’s a nice scent, but very light and not particularly distinctive. There is very little throw and the scent fades quickly.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: winey, cider, and something sweet, almost dessert like

 

wet: light, soft, cider w/ a hint of floral

 

after it dries this becomes a sweet, soft carnation and amber scent, simply gorgeous!

[Medici]

In the imp: Methinks this is not going to go well. The first thing that leaps out at me is a very sugary treacle, and me + sugar = burnt plastic. Woe of the woes.

 

Wet: Burning sugar burning sugar burning sugar PLASTIC and a hint of cider.

 

Drydown: Plastic. Damnit.

[xoe]

wet i get mainly the treacle, then the cider. like a mix of sugarskull and samhain. it dries and becomes a soft, warm scent. nice.

 

** about a year later, I'm wearing this again. now it is mainly carnation. but with some extra warm sweetness... still quite like it*

Edited March 25, 2008 by xoe

[slave1]

QUEEN ALICE

 

In Bottle: Floral wine

 

On Skin: Yum, I love the wine note in this. Very heady and adult for Alice. Mixed with the spicy cider it is quite juicy. The carnation adds to the spice and the posie give it just a bit of floral innocence. The amber is light and soft and gives a slightly white/golden tone to the scent. I loved the original Alice but the carnation ruined it for me… here it seems to be doing the same thing. I don’t like spices, and carnation is bitter yet spicy on me. Very light throw and short wearlength.

[filigree_shadow]

I think this is the softest carnation I've smelled in any BPAL oil. It's usually loud and kind of bitter on me, but here it's soft. It's like carnations and wine in the clouds.

 

I'm still not sure whether I can get along with carnation, but this is much prettier than I was expecting. I doubt I'd order a bottle, but I'm definitely keeping the imp.

[gaai]

At first I can smell the cider, but it quickly mellows into something sweet, spicy and warm.....almost foody, but not quite......

Then....after it has dried and the carnations become more evident, it's like a regal, grown-up version of Alice.

It's a lovely blend, but I like the regular Alice better than the regal one.

[tindome]

In the imp: Strong spicy floral

 

Wet: Wow this is nice. Spiced carnations with a bit of smoothness which is probably the cream. I don't smell very floral which is a good thing.

 

Dry down: Dang, its almost all carnation now with a hint of spice. I'm not really a carnation girl and this is too flowery now. The wine never came out at all. Perhaps I could wear this if I carry the imp around for frequent reapplications since the wet stage was really nice.

[Lucretia]

I get a huge whiff of wine and spice when I first put this on. It then morphs to the treacle and cider, with a hint of florals I guess. This smells warm and comforting to me. I'm not entirely crazy about the dry down as wine has a tendency to go crazy on me, but I really do enjoy this. It doesn't last more than 2 or 3 hours on me, so I'm glad I got a bottle to begin with.

[vegasblueblood]

I think I need a bottle of this!

 

This is everything Alice as queen should smell like. In the imp, it's this sticky sugary smell, somewhat boozy. As I apply it, all I can think is that it smells like an unlit clove cigarette. Yum! Then the spicy carnation emerges and adds a creamy floral note to it. As it dries, it briefly has the funny plastic smell people are talking about. I think treacle is a type of molasses and I'm definitely getting a spicy molasses type smell. This is really gorgeous and unfolds beautifully. After a few hours, I'm left with a very creamy spicy sweet carnation scent, very sophisticated yet delicate and embodies Alice.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very foody. Mostly cider and carnation, I think. Almost caramel-like.

[maijasu]

At first, nauseating sweet wine. Luckily, it dries down to something much nicer, a blend of foody and creamy and floral with a hint of apple. Still, the wine just doesn't agree with me.

[Blood onmy hands]

To date, I've gotten two different 'versions' of this scent. My original review is for the pale yellow colored version that I love, but lately I've been getting dark red colored imps that are more sour and almost citrussy and floral smelling with sharper spices.

 

Original review (for pale yellow colored oil):

Queen Alice is a strange little scent to pin down. I really like this though. It smells like a complex hard apple cider on me at first. The heavy sugar of the treacle paired with the boozy apple cider actually makes me think of apple fritters. Deep fried, slightly spicy apple cake. Very yum. This isn't a terribly sweet scent on my skin though, and it's (thankfully) not overpoweringly spicy either.

 

The carnation comes out in the drydown, and I am generally a fan of BPAL's carnation blends. These are slightly spicy, dry carnations... paired with a boozy apple cider & sweetness. Good stuff.

 

I was afraid that this would be too floral. It's not... it doesn't even strike me as a primarily floral blend. I was afraid the wine would go rancid like it usually does and be too boozy. It's not, it just adds a touch of complexity. I was afraid that the apple cider would be too spicy, and it's also not. The amber does go powdery on me, but it stays firmly in the background and the powdery touch is even pretty here.

 

Queen Alice is just very well put together for me. Hard cider, apple fritters, and dry carnations... and it somehow manages to not be too much of anything or too overpowering.

Edited December 21, 2012 by Little Bird

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: lots of cider and wine, and some caramel. I don't smell the flowers at all.

 

On my skin: amber and wine. It's okay. Not at all what I expected but not bad.

 

After a couple of hours: ah carnations, hello! Carnations and amber. I quite like this stage, I must say.

 

Verdict: mmm I might give it a second chance, even if it hasn't been love at first sight.

[theseagrows]

first off i smell the carnation and a cakey scent with the wine at the forefront. once it dries, the florals and amber come out more adding some spice to the wine scent. i know this has wine in it, but it smells young to me, not sophisticated as others have said. but maybe that's just me. i think i will keep my imp, but i dont need a bottle.

[empi girl]

This is a morpher! In the vial and on, I can't detect the carnation. Instead, I get the caramel and the wine, and the two go back and forth trying to decide which will win. Neither actually does (thankfully!), and instead the amber and posies come out for a while. Eventually, after about 1 hour, it settles into a lovely, creamy, sexy scent, with a hint of carnation in the background. A touch of amber is there too, lending a subtle warmnth. I am not getting distinct notes, but I can say that it is somewhat similar in feel to BCBG Sexy. I actually really like it, and might get a bottle. I don't like the beginning, but this stage now is so pretty, it could be worth it. I've been looking for a discreetly sexy scent-this might be it.

 

Also, for my money, it is not very similar to Alice (which I love, but which is totally different on me than this is).

[ilona]

Yum! This is nothing like Alice. This starts out super sweet, like Sugar Skull, with a touch of wine. I really like this stage, but it only lasts for a few minutes.

 

After this dries a bit I definitely get clove. It becomes the most lovely creamy slightly floral clove. I love.

[Ah Xia]

I love this one. On me it smells amazingly similar to Roadhouse, except with carnation instead of dandelion. I'm simply mad for anything with cider in it. Gorgeous and can't stop sniffing my arm...a definite bottle purchase.

[euterpe414]

I had to order a bottle of this unsniffed cause I am a little nutty about the mad tea party scents...although I was a bit worried about how this one would turn out on me. From the get go, Queen Alice is mainly carnation and hard cider. It is a very odd combination, if you ask me, but it works really really well! I do agree, this is a nose attached to wrist kind of scent. It's so unique and intriguing that I can't get enough. The only scent I can somewhat compare it to, although it smell absolutely nothing like it is Litha. Q.A. has the same summery wine feel to it, but with completely different notes. Yum!

[midnight_aeval]

This is what I envisioned Pink Moon 07 smelling like.. a sugared carnation.

 

I looked up "treacle" and found this interesting bit - As early as the end of the 17th century, treacle also meant 'the uncrystallized syrup produced in the process of refining sugar' or 'molasses'. As you know, "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," and treacle came to refer to the syrup that disguised the bad taste of medicine rather than to the medicine itself.

 

ahhh that would explain the sweetness.

 

I don't get much of the original Alice, which is much more of a spicy scent, in Queen Alice; it's in a league all of it's own.

 

The cider and wine add an interesting twist to the sugary carnation scent that first gripped me. I'm really loving this unique blend and will be getting a bottle!

[emzebel]

This starts out as a sweet floral, then I start to amp the sugary treacle, which on me smells like burnt caramel. This is a curse of my chemistry. On someone that can wear Beth's delighful sugary scents, this would make a gorgeous spiced addition.

[Donnababe]

It smells extremely vinegar like in the imp but knowing BPAL I tried it anyway. To be fair it is better on the skin but it's still an overpowering sweet ciderish vinegar smell. The carnation does come out and sweeten things after a while but this one's not for me. In fact, most of the new MTP additions have been a disaster