The Torture Queen

[satinworship]

White amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome.

 

In the bottle this smells like an astringent, clean scent of tea and soft gardenia. When I first apply there is a beautiful metallic floral scent with lot of throw. Unfortunately, this almost immediately goes old lady rose perfume. I would assume the vanilla musk and gardenia are reacting with my skin to create this "rose" note. My skin amps florals, rose in particular, so I'm not surprised this didn't work out for me.
I tried this also on my husband and it was a very metallic and soft scent which lasted for about 4 hours. The "chrome" smell is really beautiful and quite different on him.

[DJ Sin]

The Torture Queen lives up to her name. I had an allergic reaction to this. I had to wash it off immediately. I still smell like gardenias.....even though I have Hope and Fear Set Free and Sudden Invitation on. Not for me.

[LizziesLuck]

Love all these notes, except for the metal - and of course, that's what I get most of, sniffing it from the bottle.

 

 

Wet: Yep, all metal. Which has a cold, cologney vibe which I don't enjoy at all. Where's the vanilla, white musk, gardenia, ambergris, ANYTHING?? Lol. That's my luck.

 

 

Dry: Still all metal. *sigh*. I think I have to accept that I amp the crap out of that note. However, if this gets remade with the new acts of the Carnaval, I will likely try it again, so if the other notes can shine when fresh.

 

2017 version (I don't know why I keep doing this to myself, I need to give up on anything with metal in it ever working on me)

 

Wet: Metal. Though unlike the older version, I can at least also smell the gardenia and tea in this, which makes sense, as they are both notes that I amp as well. It's still mostly metal though, which I really don't are for.

 

Dry: The metal gets a lot softer, but it's still prominent, and it still smells like generic cologne to me, and I still don't like it. I need to accept that, lol.

Edited September 1, 2017 by LizziesLuck

[celestia]

♔ The Torture Queen

In the Bottle: Sweet, sugared citrusy commercial perfume.

Wet: This smells almost identical to a perfume I had when I was teen, and reminds me a little of Nina Ricci Les Belles de Ricci Liberty from my childhood. It has an astringent, yet sweet, green-citrussy fresh commercial-friendly fragrance, with a background of soft white florals. I don’t really think I can identify a specific ‘metallic’ note to represent the chrome, but I do get a gleaming kind of sheen from the green-citrus…which is probably the chrome now that I think about it, hahaha. The vanilla musk in this is really subtle and doesn’t really emphasise any creaminess or muskiness that is usually afforded with this note. Instead, it feels more so that the white tea and ambergris is what gives this scent its slightly crystalline and salty-sweet light musk character. The amber is soft and powdery, almost illustrious and sparkly.

Drydown: The white tea itself is quite faint and appears mores in the drydown, the same white tea I get from Fee. It’s really very pretty and light, almost airy and …fae. I definitely not would have picked that this was called Torture Queen, it kind of smells more like how I’d imagine a forest sunlight faerie to smell like. There is more of a creamy floral note present here in this phase than during the wet stage. It’s slightly powdery now, but in a very beautifully bright, fresh, and clean manner. This phase of the scent is almost transcendent…and if the citrus wasn’t so dominant in the wet stage, I would consider seeking out a bottle.

TL;DR: Sweet, crystalline, citrus-green tea, sparkly light amber and soft white florals.

[Elspethdixon]

Wet/in the imp – clean and perfume-y (I forgot until I came here to post that it had white tea in it, which is probably the source of the "clean" aspect)

Freshly applied – GARDENIA

Five/ten minutes in – The gardenia morphed very quickly into soapy ambergris with a hint of vanilla musk and something sharp/clean that might be the metal notes (eta: and the white tea). A couple inches out from my arm the throw is mostly a soft/light vanilla-floral, but up close/nose-to-wrist all I get is ambergris.

Thirty minutes in – primarily soapy ambergris with just a hint of the amber/vanilla/gardenia backing it up. Feminine aquatic.

One hour in – all soapy aquatic ambergris now. I had high hopes for the vanilla/gardenia/chrome combo in this, but the ambergris combined with my skin’s hatred for aquatics means the Torture Queen is sadly not for me.

At around the two hour mark the amber and vanilla tried to make a comeback, only to then go back to soap by hour four. The traces of skin scent that are all that's left over at the end of the workday are amber/vanilla again. I bet this is lovely on people who can wear ambergris.

[roseus]

I put this on and immediately loved it. The only notes I could remember were gardenia and chrome. This smelled light and glittering, vaguely floral but skin warm and musky as well. Looking at the notes now it all makes sense, ambergris is a beloved note and my skin loves it as well! For me this a heart of ambergris and white amber. The white tea and chrome gives a crisp, clean, glittering edge. The gardenia isn't very assertive but I think that the light headiness that wafts in and out is beautiful. I need a bottle but it could probably wait until spring rolls around again.

[BoneBone24]

(2017)

Expectation: Sexy Metallic Gardenia

First Sniff: It smells fancy. Clean, but sophisticated. Bright, but not sharp. I'm intrigued…

Wet: Sweet, warm, and clean. The ambergris mixes with the vanilla musk, creating a shimmering impression, like white flecked with gold and even brighter white.

Drydown: Beachy, sultry, fancy, and bright. I’m getting everything but the chrome, and the mix is glorious. It smells very expensive – wearing it makes me imagine that I’m some beautiful executive lounging near the ocean while sporting expensive sunglasses and a perfect manicure. The white tea and gardenia are partnered up, bringing the clean, almost lemony vibe, the amber is tucked in beneath that to provide an undeniable sexiness, while the ambergris and vanilla musk continue to work together to add a shimmery, sweet slightly-beachy quality.

Dry: More of the same, but stronger! Which is great, because my skin eats, or at least holds very close, most BPALs, so sometimes I want something that actually gets noticed. And this is a wonderful scent for getting noticed! It’s clean and inoffensive, yet alluring, delicious, and smart. A perfect first impression scent for damn-near any occasion.

9 out of 10 bones

[joopjoop]

Others have said it better than I can, but this scent is amazing. Clean, fresh, sophisticated, high-end.

 

Gardenia, vanilla musk and metallic, with just a hint of bracing tea. Like an tony beach club in a 1980s movie - ladies with big white hats and artfully draped white sarongs and lots of eyeliner and saxophones playing on the soundtrack - and I mean that as a compliment.

 

Def getting a bottle or two of this one.

Edited September 5, 2017 by joopjoop

[VetchVesper]

Astringent and high pitched metallic notes intertwining with a soft, lush gardenia. This is a very appealing white floral and very classic smelling. Torture Queen smells like it could be from a designer perfume house. After an hour, the gardenia settles down, and it becomes more vanilla and white musk prominent for another 4 hours or so. I still like it, but not as much as I do with the gardenia floating over the top. I'm still considering a bottle though. One thing I've noticed about this one, the silage is more prominent to me than the scent is when I smell my skin. This one is definitely a wafter.

 

Bright, high pitched but nice, classic white floral with a twist. If you like gardenia, I'd definitely check this one out.

Edited September 11, 2017 by VetchVesper

[lizardskin]

I think I've found a new favorite scent!

 

Starts off with a fresh, bright gardenia, with a bit of white tea underneath. Just a hint of salty ambergris. After a while the vanilla musk becomes more prominent as the gardenia fades, though it never fades completely on me.

 

I can be a little iffy on florals, but this is just gorgeous.

[zankoku_zen]

2016 version

 

Yup, smells like CKOne to me. It's all white tea, gleaming metal and a whiff of gardenia. It's white, cool, florals with a flash of metal. I remember enjoying the 2008 version, having a partial, and never wearing it. Very gender neutral. Great throw and wear length.