King of Spades

[~AmusedMuse~]

... His scent is deep, swarthy, and darkly commanding, and compliments the Queen of Swords perfectly: oakmoss, vetiver and opoponax with black plum, wild blackberry, soft woods, sharp and glinting white musk under a soft, velvety robe of vanilla and coconut.

My Impression:
In two words, Bottled Sunshine
Oh this is lovely indeed. The sweetest plum and vanilla. Just a light hint of the sweet coconut . I must admit I was not prepared for the elegant, wonderful blend that met my senses upon trying this one. It is almost an overload of the senses because it is so warm and inviting. Such a shame it is not offered anymore. My Scale of 1-5....5

[wickedgoddess]

Preconceived notions - I am quite fond of Queen of Spades, and decided I needed to try her partner. After falling in love with Noir and Geek, I have been on a quest to try everything that contains opoponax, and that plus vanilla and coconut sound incredible!

 

Wet - sweeter than the Queen. Coconutty with something a little green, oakmoss perhaps, and a touch of overripe plum in the background.

 

Dry - primarily plum and wood, much like the Queen, but with an overall coconut scent. The plum unfortunately smells overripe, nearly rotting, and it detracts from the rest of the notes. After an hour or so, it becomes a delicous mix of coconut, vanilla and opoponax. The plum and blackberries are gone, and it's absolutely lovely. Unfortunately it takes too long to get to that point. Oh well, I didn't need to fall in love with another hard to find LE.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3.

[Blood onmy hands]

Oh my... this is heavenly. I'm so in love with this that I could cry. It's heartbreaking to know that once my decant is gone, I'll probably never get anymore of this. I love it though

 

In the imp this smells very rich and purple. It's purple fruits, slight woods, and a definite creaminess.

 

First on my skin, I was slightly disappointed that this is mostly woods and moss. However, the juicy plum and tart blackberry quickly come forth and layer wonderfully over the foresty scent.

 

In the drydown... I could die, this is so amazing. Sweet, tart blackberry and juicy plum drizzled in vanilla cream and coconut milk. I can still pick out the soft woods underneath the sweetness, but mostly this is a deliciously edible scent. This is the blackberry scent of my dreams. And I love BPAL's coconut. Rich, ripe fruits and sweetness.

 

I would love to have a bottle of this one.

[olympia301]

 

The king is my favorite of the entire card royalty. He reminds me a great deal of Perversion, but he isn't as pungent and doesn't try to impress you with coconut, though it is definitely in there. I can't see the vanilla, though it may be overwhelmed by the rest of the strong scent in this one, but I can get woods from The King, and that makes it a most attractive blend. He is much more attractive and suave than the Queen, and I wasn't expecting that. This one is a real keeper. There is something in turns grapey and green about this scent which leaves it in the masculine territory, though not so much as would cause me not to buy it if it ever came up again.

Edited November 29, 2005 by olympia301

[zillah37]

Oh wow. In the bottle I get plum and blackberry. It's one of the most fruit scents I've smelled, but it's not overpowering. It's subtle and sexy and gorgeous. On my skin it softens with the vanilla and musk, but it stays a fruit scent. The plum and blackberry are definitely in charge here. It is flamboyant and it is very obvious, but it's really not smack you in the face obvious. It's just this warm, gorgeous scent that I can't stop sniffing. Definitely happy with this one and I'm glad I got a bottle AND a shortie of it to have on hand for when I want that dark fruit scent.

[yeahbutnobut]

King of Spades

 

In the imp: sweet plum and berry with green tones, maybe some earthy notes too.

Wet on skin: mmm, this smells very similar to the Queen, with it’s greenish earthy-fruity feel. It’s sweet, juicy, but now also a bit tart.

Dry: ooh, I like this! This scent is very similar to Queen of Spades-it has that same plum and blackberry feel to it, again, edged with green giving the feel of fruit that has been freshly picked with leaves still attached…it’s juicy, both sweet and tangy, but the vetiver and moss add an earthy green feel to the scent. I also get slight hints of vanilla, coconut and white musk.

After a while: this is very berry! The predominant note on me is blackberry, with just a hint of plum, fringed with green, and with just the barest trace of vanilla/coconut and with white musk adding a lighter note to the scent. I also get vetiver lurking underneath it all. This is a lovely scent reminiscent of early September, the end of summer, just before autumn starts, the beginning of the harvest, when the brambles burst with dark and juicy blackberries, nestling in thorny green surroundings.

After an hour or two…I don’t know if it’s my still-recovering-from-a-cold nose or what, but the scent seems a bit faint on me now, but I can make out a lot of dark smoky vetiver at this point, lying underneath a sweet, dark berry/plum scent with just a hint of vanilla. Very interesting…I just wish it was stronger though!

Verdict: this King seems to complement his Queen very well, because at first, this scent is very similar to Queen of Spades-it has that same juicy berry-plum vibe, fringed with earthy dark green notes…except this one may be a bit sweeter with just a little bit of white musk. Over time, the scent becomes more masculine in feel (but doesn’t become overly manly) as the vetiver creeps up from behind the blackberry and adds an earthy, dark touch to the scent. The only criticism is that it seems to fade fast on my skin (but that may be my nose as well, which is being very annoying) but even so, I am very glad to have tried this now-rare scent, a scent reminiscent of gathering blackberries and plums at the end of summer, complete with hints of thorny brambles. I like it.

[trins-ravengirl]

Today I recieved a gift in the form of trying on the King of Spades, and let me say ...mmmmm.

 

Dry on my skin it mostly smells of the fruity notes, blackberry and plum, with some vanilla in the background. In the bottle I could smell more of the woody tones and thought that is what would come out the strongest on my skin, but boy did it prove me wrong. Sweet and fruity, but not overpoweringly so.

 

This one is a keeper!

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a word or two: Gorgeous!

 

Preconceived notions: I really don't know. Maybe... well, hell, I don't know.

 

In the imp: ....Wow, this is gorgeous. Blackberry, woody vanilla, musk and coconut. This could be trouble.

 

On skin, wet: This is pretty much what I wanted Tombstone to me: a gorgeous, warm, musky vanilla. KoS, however, also has a lovely blackberry/plum twist to it. A tad sweet, but not sugary or particularly sweet.

 

On skin, dry: I love the vanilla in this. Hell, I love *everything* in this. Berry-y and musky and coconuty and vanillic.

 

Conclusion: Of course I fall for something that's not only an LE, but an LE from ~six months before I found BPAL. I've never seen a bottle of this up for grabs, though I fear that were I to, I would sell my soul for it.

Edited September 24, 2006 by Aredhel

[GemmaCat]

I've been putting off writing a review for this one since it's so hard to describe.

 

At first, I loved this scent. It's heady, complex, and has this musky, dark-sweetness that is incredibly erotic. This is the very first BPAL blend that made me think of sex; hot, sweaty sex with a swarthy, foreign stranger. With a devilish beard.

 

But over time the coconut comes out and blends with the fruit to create an almost sickly OTT-coconut monster. Don't get me wrong, that's a beautiful scent, but strong coconut simply doesn't work for me.

 

I don't get any vanilla from this, only a thick musk on the drydown.

 

This is truly heady stuff. It's absolutely lovely, but sadly not my thing.

[edenssixthday]

King of Spades - DING DING DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!!! After testing around 700 blends, I have found the most spectacular of them all (so far). King of Spades is a beautiful, sensual, and gorgeous blend. Wow. I did not read the list of notes before I put it on, and my first impression was that it was vanilla, but a sweet vanilla, almost like there's coconut in there. I also smell what I think is oakmoss and/or woods, which tames the sweetness of the coconut and vanilla. After it began to warm up on my skin, I could smell plum -- the distinct plum I've encountered in a few other BPAL blends, but there's some other fruit that's dark and sweet, as well, which having now read the description, I can identify as blackberry, and which eventually takes over as the dominant fruit note, blending gorgeously with the coconut. I’ve also discovered that if I wear my Coconut Hut Blackberry body butter and my Coconut Hut Coconut Kanantik body butter together underneath the King of Spades, it amplifies the scent even more, and I can’t stop swooning all over myself. I LOVE this! I understand it's supposed to be a masculine scent, but I am really amazed by that gender distinction because it's absolutely gorgeous on my skin, and very beautiful, sexy, and sophisticated. Simply stunning. Absolutely the most beautiful and complex BPAL blend I've encountered. On a scale of 1 to 10, this is easily an 11. I can't give such high honors to any of my other long-time favorite BPAL blends. King of Spades has the most lovely level of throw and lasts and lasts. Oh God, I desperately need more of this, and am tempted to give up the rest of my BPAL and spend the rest of my life with the King and only the King.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

slight berry, light musk, I get the impression of lemon…

 

wet:

barely there scent! Can't smell much of anything

 

dry:

slight berry, slight musk, warmth of vanilla

 

overall:

really nice!!

 

rating: 8/10

[Ryvre]

In the imp: Some sort of fruit (maybe plum?), smoke, resin. Reminiscent of Queen of Spades, but darker and earthier.

 

Wet: Plum, coconut, something earthy,and something just a bit sweet. This is a very complex blend, and it seems to change everytime I smell it.

 

Dry: Smoky and fruity. Utterly gorgeous.

[Voleuse]

As with Queen of Spades, this ends up being a milder blend than I would have guessed. There's a hint of vetiver in the background, enough to signal this as a masculine scent. For the most part, however, I get plum and vanilla and coconut. The plum is the dominant note, with the vanilla and coconut lending a rounder sweetness to the blend. There's a bit of musk as well, and I think it softens the vetiver.

 

Overall, I like the scent, but given the description, I did want more from it. Ah, well.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Blackberry and resin

 

On Skin: So sweet and dark! I feel the blackberries dripping in this, ripe and sweet. Together with the plum this is a beautiful purple scent. I also notice that the blackberry note is the exact same blackberry note in Monster Bait: Closet. That’s scaring me a little since Closet turned to cat pee on me pretty quickly. The coconut comes out and I’m in love, I love coconut blends and mixed with the vanilla it offers an amazing creamy blanket of sweetness. The woods and opopanax offer a nice deep almost sticky resinous feel with a slight powder from the white musk that balances it out (yay, white musk always saves the day!!). I don’t smell the oakmoss… and I am so happy to say the vetiver is so light it’s actually working with me. I love this scent and really don’t see it as masculine. Just very dark, sexy and yummy. I still love Queen of Spades more but this is still amazing. I get a great throw from this and low to average wearlength.

[steffanina]

King of Spades-

 

In Bottle: Grape-and-musk in this one. Yummy-smelling.

 

Wet: Yup, grape musk. This doesn't smell masculine at all to me.

 

Dry: This stayed sweet and lovely all the way through. It's remarkably nice, with its sweet light grape musk scent.

 

Overall: I really like!

[supremegoddessofall]

Oh, this is beautiful! Why does it have to be so rare! I'm getting plum and blackberry in a light bed of vanilla. Touch of coconut, but not enough to make it tropical. Lightly musky, and not really getting the woodsy notes, oakmoss, or vetiver.

[emzebel]

From reading the description, I knew I would love this plummy, woody, coconutty, creamy delightful blend of delishiousness...if only I could get my mits on more than just an imp...

[smallvoice]

The woods in this are slightly spicy, and somewhat reminescent of Arkham. The coconut manages to be there without adding a tropical flair; like it's not quite ripe, or it's really just the bare meat. Vetiver is probably what's adding the spice to the woods, which are the most prominent note to me. This doesn't strike me as being fruity, per se, but I can smell the plum and berries, and it gives the King a wonderfully rounded scent. As it dries, it sweetens even more, which I really like. There is a green note to this, and I'm not sure where it's coming from, but it all blends really well. This is a beautiful creation, to be sure. I'll just have to see if it's something I reach for, now.

 

If you like: Purple Phoenix, Arkham and Hamadryad, you may like King of Spades.

[Quiara]

Oh why did I have to fall for the King?

 

I snagged this as a sort of afterthought in a recent imp purchase from an LJer who is awesome, amazing and made of win. She willingly decanted an imp for me and I will love/hate her forever. Curse her for bringing me to this point only to leave me looking ever for more! But I don't really mean it because, hey, I've got an imp at least!

 

 

So, speaking of my imp, let's talk sniffiness:

 

Wet: plums. Definitely plums, but somehow floral? Weird. At first, I wasn't that taken by it. Floral is meh for me. But then, seconds later, it gets all kinds of awesome. The plums and blackberries sign a treaty and meld into an amazingly fruity scent undergirded with a fabulous, smooth and seamless sweetness lent by the coconut and vanilla -- all with an earthy anchoring that makes this a truly amazing blend. I am in awe of Beth's skill. I've never tried QoS, but if she's anything like her mate, it's probably best I never know. I can't imagine being addicted to both.

 

I have never felt this way about another BPAL blend. Sure, I've got plenty I like, but this is the King.

[sarada]

Back when this first came out -- well, first of all I don't think I had joined the forum when this came out, though I was into BPAL at the time. Anyway, the presence of coconut would likely have been a dealbreaker for me because my avoidance of coconut at that time was complete. Since then I've learned that just about any BPAL scent can work on me if my mood is right. And now, looking at the ingredient list, I could cry, because there hasn't been another scent quite like this!

 

If I could concoct my ultimate dream blend it would probably contain: "oakmoss, vetiver and opoponax with black plum, wild blackberry, soft woods" -- stop right there! That's perfect! I couldn't ever wish for anything more! Earthy, slightly sweet, woody with dark purple berries. The other notes gave me pause -- white musk, vanilla and coconut made me a little uncertain in my early days when I could more easily have (perhaps) obtained this.

 

And guess what? it's just perfect on me. The sweetness is understated, and it has that same wonderful "slightly sweet mossy wood with just a touch of warmth to it" that King of Clubs has. The coconut is dry and barely noticeable, which is good. Sparkling plum and dark sweet berry dazzles, while the woods anchor the blend.

 

I have just a tiny bit but I will treasure it and seek out more. In the meantime, I do have King of Clubs, which is similar in some respects, and that's something to celebrate. Maybe layering it with something with strong berry notes will create a similar effect. Also, this is very very similar to Queen of Spades to my recollection, much moreso that then other King/Queen combos have been. Strangely purple and golden but shot through with rich creamy brown.

 

Ah well everyone's got to have an unobtainable holy grail, right?

[theseagrows]

this is a very interesting scent. i am having trouble picking out notes! it smells sparkling, that's the only way i can describe it-it reminds me of champagne. i think perhaps it's the combo of white musk + plum/blackberry. however the earthy/vanilla/coconut notes ground the fruit notes and it really doesn't strike me as typically fruity at all. i feel like there is something slightly, softly spicy in here too. this scent is really intriguing-i've never smelled anything quite like it. i wish i could say more, but it's rendering me sort of speechless i will definitely keep my imp of this.

[stellans]

When first applied, sweet plummy coconut notes are all I smell. Where are the soft woods, the vetiver, the oakmoss??? As drydown happens, a slightly fermented wine smell emerges, but still no soft woods. I'm not a big fan of wine notes, and even if that isn't listed in the notes of this blend, there is a distinct fermented odor in my decant. This is one rare I think I shall be passing along, because I don’t think further aging will improve my opninon. *sigh* Edited June 5, 2010 by stellans

[Emu Nymph]

I drug this out today and I have to say it's still amazing aged. It's soft yet kinda day. It's a beautiful dark musky berry. It makes me feel comfy.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, this was an almost unbearably sweet plum with musky undertones. Sad to say that both King of Diamonds and King of Spades ended up being way femme.... more than I expected. I am beginning to think I am not a fan of plum.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Orange/amber oil. Sweet and earthy. Lots of ripe, juicy fruit, a little creamy white coconut, with those earthy/woody notes below makign things more interesting. Almost a little foody, and spicy from the vetiver - reminds me a bit of Antonino.

 

Wet: Softer, subtler, and more blended, with less overwhelming coconut. Less foody, and more just sort of...luscious. Lots more white musk. There's a sort of autumnal feel - maybe from the dark fruit + woods combo? I get an almost smoky hint from the vetiver and opoponax.

 

Dry: Not a lot of morphing, although sadly the coconut holds, and I really dislike coconut in perfume. The musk does amp more, as usual, and I can pick out the vanilla, also a little amped. The other notes can be identified, too, but this is a very well-blended scent.

 

Summary: The blackberry and woods are fading a bit, and overall this fades - it's not nearly as strong as one would expect from in-the-imp. Plum. vanilla, coconut, vetiver and musk dominate, so this really reminds me loads of Antonino.