The Queen of Hearts

[ladybird]

Lily of the Valley, Calla Lily, stephanotis and a drop of cherry.

In the bottle: Strong, medicinal, rancid cherry. I was really scared of this one.

On skin: Magic! All the nasty cherry vanishes! My first thought was "summer on Cape Cod" - it brought back a flood of childhood memories. It turned into a beautifully light summery floral, with lily-of-the-valley dominant, and a few aquatic notes. It's odd because a) the description didn't say anything about aquatics, and aquatics don't usually work on me. But this is a wonderful exception to the rule.

After two hours, it's almost entirely faded away, but the overall scent hasn't changed, just the strength. It won't last for an all-day wearing, but I'm keeping it for when I need reminders of happy childhood summers on Cape Cod

[Browneyes]

Heady blooms and cherry. Very sweet strong and heady. Not my thing sadly

[jasmine]

I always think I’ve reviewed this scent when I see it in my collection, but I actually haven’t gotten around to it yet -- I just keep mixing it up with the Red Queen.

 

This is probably for the best, since it goes sharp and chemical as soon as it touches my skin. It’s like a pixellated flower -- where’s the real thing? Then the scent dissolves entirely into fragments. I am very, very puzzled.

 

Roughly ten minutes later, Queen of Hearts reforms into a rather perfumey floral -- in fact, though the description asserts that it isn’t rose, it smells like roses to me. Despite being perfumey, it hasn’t gone to soap, so I’m not complaining. It’s a pinkish-red rose that is light, enthusiastic, and insubstantial. It’s a ditzy rose, but there’s no harm in it.

 

I find myself thinking that would enjoy a shampoo that had this same light, pretty, perfumey rose scent. I don’t see myself revisiting Queen of Hearts often, but I may try hair-scenting with it sometime.

[Bangles]

As a general rule, me and florals don't get along. So I knew I was going against the odds on this one, but it was a frimp, I like the character, why not. Sadly, I was right - not my thing.

 

Wet, I get almost entirely cherry - not proper cherries, but something artificial, more like cherry kool-aid, with the florals somehow lending it a sour note. I considered washing it off, but it stuck close to my skin so I gave the drydown a chance.

 

As it dries, the cherry dies down, the lilies come out and lose the sour note - but it picks up that soap/baby powder feel that most florals do for me. This queen's jewels are fake.

 

Eventually, the various components balance out, and that soap/baby powder phase is gone. Somehow the combination of cherry + lilies winds up smelling more of roses than anything else. Finally it's calling to mind the character I expected! This is a dark red rose, one that's regal as a queen and hinting at a tyrant's temper.

Edited July 2, 2007 by Bangles

[swilde]

Not looking at the notes, I guessed cherry-almond (like Hiram Walker's creme de noyaux liqueur) and lily of the valley. (And was kinda right... I don't know the smell of the calla lily by heart, but I always love blends that have stephanotis, such as Eternal.)

 

Wait- now the cherry almond is gone, dangit.

 

No matter. This is still a potent, white bouquet. Very much like Eternal, if memory serves. If I didn't know better, I'd guess this had rose in it, too. (White painted red, of course.)

[Styx]

Queen of hearts

yellow oil

 

frImp (Thank you!) : screams Almonds! Marzipan! Cherry!

 

Skin: For the first minute it had a sweet cherry marzipan smell which I got frightened of.

But then it bloomed into a beautiful, feminine perfume, quite heady and sweet.

Then it started getting dusty...... oh no, lily, is that you?

Lilies turn dusty and powdery on my skin, and sure enough, it rapidly turned into powder within an hour. Thats such a pity though, because it really was beautiful when it just passed its marzipan state.

After half a day, the powder is weaker, and more transparent. By then the cherry is gone, so it smells simply of lily.

 

Its a prissy floral, which I could have enjoyed if I didn't go dusty. It doesn't smell dark or heavy, but needs light application - it wafts everywhere, and lasts a long time.

Darn my skin chemistry, I definitely would have bought a 5ml if it weren't for it.

[starwild]

When I opened this, it smacked me in the face with the cherry air freshener scent in public bathrooms. Tried it on, and it turned nicely floral but faded very fast. I'll try it on a different day, but I doubt I'll keep it, just not strong enough for my personality or skin chemistry.

Edited July 14, 2007 by starwild

[stellans]

Imp/Bottle: cherry, but with an underlying floral which interests my nose. I am a friend of floral, so this doesn't scare me off. However, if the cherry amps up as it did in the first imp I tried, I'm giving up.

 

First Applied: So far, so good. The cherry is behaving itself, and is lending a very interesting overlay to the florals, which are getting their strength as my skin warms the blend. I am really liking this, and could swear I smell a tinge of rose petals.

 

Dry Down: This is absolutely lovely! For a blend which has no stated rose notes, this blend is as wonderful on my skin as my favorite rose blends are. Maybe it's the cherry, which doesn't always like me, but this is a delicious, light, lovely floral which suits a summer's evening. I don't get a sense of the heavy-handed Queen of Hearts from Alice at all! I also tried this in my scent locket, and love it there just as much. I think the first imp I tried, which had leaked, and been leaked upon as well prior to my receiving it, was spoiled by the leakage because the 2nd imp and the bottle I'm using now were wonderful. I am going to use this a lot. And I still swear there's rose in this blend, I do!

 

Final Verdict: 5 out of 5 stars. I'm declaring this another signature scent! Wow.

 

UPDATE 3/24/09: This doesn't seem to have aged very well; my bottle has turned more cherry than anything, and that's just too sweet for me. How sad! I've downgraded my verdict to only 1 star, pending further investigation...

Edited March 25, 2009 by stellans

[Delirium1009]

As soon as I apply this, the lily is super strong. The cherry makes itself known as well, but together they create a very powdery and fruity scent.

 

After a while it seems to get even more powdery on me and it ends up smelling exactly like a Fresh Sake-type scented body powder I have. This makes my nose tickle a bit when I smell it. It’s definitely not for me.

[cinderfallen]

My hormones must be having an off day: a non-dreadful lily?! The scent is very much a twining of lily and cherry, white floral and flirty red fruit (cherry juice), which makes this an interesting, if slightly disconcerting test. I'm not much in love with the weighty presence of the waxy lily, which I recognize from too many disaster amapage occurences, but it would certainly strike the right person. Personally, I think it an off-putting balance.

[YoakeNoKami]

This was one of four frimps which came with my very first BPAL order...

 

First impression: in the bottle, a bit of an odd, flowery sugar cookie smell

 

Wet: white florals and a sweet almond note. Had to draw up the site decription again to see what it was I was looking for.

 

On me:

Still an odd almond note, and a sharp cherry blossom. Not finding any lily notes... which could be a good thing...

 

Drydown:

after an hour or so, I've still got an almond note, but it's less sweet and a bit more of a "dry" smell. The cherry smell is less sharp, too, but not a sick-sweet smell, either. After a few more hours, it's a warm, if somewhat faint scent.

 

Final impression:

A bit sweet at first, and the almond note kind of threw me for a loop. But all in all, it strikes me as a sort of poignant, stately scent--less "Off with your head!" than an elegant, stately kind of strength. Not too much throw, more like a vague, drifting aura of it that calls for a bit more attention when you get a whiff. Probably not an everyday scent for me, because the cherry has this lingering edge that says it could turn bitter on me if I'm not careful.

 

Note: On my mom, this turned all to lilies--to the point of a weirdly powerful sweetness--and lasted quite strongly for several hours... unfortunately, I shall have to keep this away from her in the future. The lily became rather overpowering, and it's the one type of scent she absolutely loathes.

[Christine Daae]

In the imp, this is all cherry. Almost like cherry cough syrup, actually.

 

Wet on my skin: cherry. Cherry cherry cherry.

 

As it dries, the florals show themselves more, but it's still mostly just cherry. A haughty, regal cherry, and not at all like cough syrup anymore. The lily of the valley gives a soft, pretty floral quality to it, but...still mostly cherry.

 

Sweet and lovely for someone who enjoys cherry.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: medicinal cherry.

 

Wet on me: still syrupy cherry, like cough syrup.

 

After a few minutes: The cherry has calmed down and smells mild and sweet, but now the flowers smell a little bitter!

 

Drydown: I'm beginning to think that calla lily (or maybe stephanotis?) doesn't like me. (I refuse to consider the possibility that it could be the lily-of-the-valley!) What I've ended up with here is a light, tart white floral (the cherry's really not noticeable as such) with a distinct sour note underneath it.

 

I've encountered this before - I really need to check my old reviews and see what's doing it!

[n3m3sis42]

In the imp:

Florals, with a hint of cherry.

 

Wet:

Same as it smelled in the imp, for about a minute, and then SOAP. Aw, man!

 

Dry:

Strong, soapy florals. I don't think this one is for me. Swap pile!

[bodegaselkie]

I don't think I sniffed Queen of Hearts in the imp. When I put it on, it immediately smelled very much of lilies, with a little bit of acridity. As it has faded down, it's pure lilies -- I love lilies -- and it's only because I know there's cherry in this that I can detect any at all. Queen of Hearts is really beautiful. I don't think I want to smell like this, often, but it's very skillfully prepared and smells lovely.

[aleciarivas]

Hmmm....

 

In the bottle: Mmmmm.... I like this one!!

 

Wet: A little strong on the floral, but I still like it. Not love it, but like it.

 

10 Minutes Later: Uh-oh, smelling kinda funny... I'm a little worried now.

 

An Hour Later: Soap!!! I smell just like hospital soap!! And I can't stand that smell!! Get it off get it off get it off where's my Jack?

 

Well I liked it fine at first, but I'm afraid it didn't smell good on me!! I recommend it to anyone it will work on, though! The cherry spears through the floral- kind of like disarono- for lack of a better description. Syrupy cherries, like marachino cherries- I could eat a whole jar of them. I may scent a sachet with this, though!

[monsteralice]

Initially it's all lily-of-the-valley, with the other flowers coming in later. It's beautiful, and conjures up linen dressed women at a garden party, drinking champagne punch. Didn't last very long, alas. Was pretty much gone by the 4-hour mark.

[therhoda]

well for my first review i am doing one that got a great comment from the Hubby type.

 

In the imp cherry. When i put it on i got lily of the valley in a blast. It has now gone to a lighter sweeter scent. Not so sure what i think of this, i am sure without the head cold it would be stronger. It is still nicely floral, i was hoping for more "off with his headness."

 

a few hours later its still going the floral is still regal, best of all hubby comes home sniffs it and is like, "want to go upstairs." For an old married woman that is a WIN!

[Czarina]

In the imp: cherries, lily.

 

On me: lilies, dish soap. Blah.

 

Not a keeper for me.

[Jean]

SOAP! It smelled divine in the imp and I loved it when it first hit my skin (faint hint of cherry and loads of Lily) but less than a minute later, all I could smell was soap. Not excited about this one, I'm sad to say, as I had such high hopes for it.

[hkhm]

imp: cherry-scented flowers. the cherry is a bit faint and the florals are not distinct.

 

wet: there's a lemony note with the cherry florals. this has gone a touch soapy on me but it's not as bad as it could be.

 

dry: the lemony scent has faded but so has the cherry. i'm left with that vague floral scent that must be lily but doesn't really smell like it to me.

[ravenfeathers]

in the bottle eek! almond!

wet on skin my skin warms up the lily of the valley and the other florals. it goes nicely with the cherryish waft of almond.

dry on skin something about the combination of florals and cherry makes this go a little rose-y on me. the cherry stays true (although it is the dry cherry of almond oil, not the fresh, juicy cherry that sometimes appears in BPAL oils). it's never foody, but delicious nevertheless.

[topazphoenix]

Wet: Cherries. Dry: Floral soap.

Edited July 10, 2009 by AmandaKay

[spiralmissy]

tested and reviewed 11/14/07

I got this imp in a forum sale, and I was excited because although I detest most floral smells, I have been doing OK with some BPAL florals. Unfortunately, this was not one of them.

 

In the imp - flowers with a light, light touch of cherries as an afterthought.

Wet on skin - flower bouquet of death. Lilies take over and there are no cherries.

Dry on skin - turns into a generic powdery floral blend for me, immediately threatening the "perfume headache"

 

Conclusion

Does not capture the bossiness, silliness and extravagance of the Queen of Hearts. Like others have said, not a "red" scent for me but white, white, white. Pretty smell - too girly, flowery for me to wear, or use.

 

"Off with your head"= to the swaps for you!

2/10

[maribouquet]

Let's see. *looks at notes* Lily, lily... Prediction: this is going to suck on me. Awesome!

 

I like an adventure, though, and I'm always ready to be surprised, soooo...

 

imp: pollen dust cherry! holla!

wet: mmm, I like this cherry. It's juicy. The lily is a yellow dust.

dry: all lily, all the time

 

Sneeze city.