King of Spades

[Ina Garten Davita]

King of Spades: Limited Edition 8/15 Available to Forum Members Only

 

The Queen's beloved, he is a modern representation of the tarot's Sword Knight. His authoritative, keen and penetrating demeanor is a perfect compliment to her dagger-sharp beauty. Master of logic and reason, brave, fearless and stong, albeit a bit flamboyant and flashy. 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.

 

First Impression:

 

Second Impression: Yes, this is flamboyant and flashy in the sexiest and most gorgeous of ways. Not overly masculine, King will work well on the ladies and gents. Lightly sweet, a touch fruity and darkly sexy. The notes are working a wonderful harmony of coconutty vanilla, mossy woods and fruity musk.

 

Final Analysis: Hard to explain, easy on the senses. Genius, divinity and I love the label.

[hypothermya]

First Impression

 

How weird. Half of me is singing out, "Pina Colada!!!" and the other half is wondering, "Plum wood?" Unlike some other masculine blends, this doesn't smell overly masculine (Oberon, for example, half knocks me over before mellowing into a gorgeous masculine blend on my boyfriend...This however smells slightly masculine in the way that a hard mixed alcoholic fruit drink would. You'd be tempted to call it girly until you saw how much booze got thrown in. Not that it smells boozy...)

 

Wearing It

 

Okee. The plum is the strongest, but it isn't just plum, you know? It's plum that's been soaked in coconut and vanilla and blackberry syrup. And just as I'm afraid it's *way* too sweet for me, the wood notes come on out to play. Oh, and of course the white musk. My skin has a special relationship with white musk (part of the reason I got this) and makes anything with white musk smell buttery and warm and sexy without overpowering the rest of the blend; and here's it's just the lightest touch of it. This is a blend that makes me want to go to an island and have a good drink and a bit of an orgy. Very yummy.

 

The more this sits on my skin, the more light it gets. Right now it's mostly white musk, with the scent of coconut milk (not sweentened at all) and a woody vetiver smell. Just lovely. Masculine, but not too masculine for me to wear. Mmmm.

 

I was worried I wouldn't like this one, for various reasons. I was wrong. This is great, and wonderful and I'm going to cherish every last drop. And if it smells good on my boyfriend, I may cry because I don't think I ordered enough for the both of us.

Edited September 25, 2004 by hypothermya

[ebonykawai]

I definitely get the white musk, similar to the note in Embalming Fluid. I also get a citrusy note that must be the plum and blackberry. I'm not getting any vanilla or coconut at all, and I catch only a hint of vertiver. The "woodsiness" sits more in the background. It's really a light and crisp scent on me, and quite masculine in my opinion.

 

ETA:

 

The vanilla came out after about an hour, as well as a light coconut.

Edited September 26, 2004 by ebonykawai

[xoe]

This is so much different from what I expected. Soft,light and sweet.

 

Occasionally, I get little whiffs of coconuttiness. Mostly white musk and plum and something else. Probably the opoponax, since I have no idea what that might smell like!

 

*editing because I forgot to say that I am completely in love with the King of Spades!

Edited September 25, 2004 by xoe

[feline.by.design]

Wow.

 

The King of Spades smelled yummy, positively YUMMY as I was putting it on me. It was like some fantastic fruit cocktail that wasn't too fruity.

 

After about five or ten minutes, there was a smell that slowly took over the Eau de Beach Drink fragrance: cinnamon?! Reading the description again, it might have been the "soft woods" I smelled, but it was definitely spicey, but not overbearing. I love cinnamon smells anyway, so I was happy, even though the change was really surprising.

 

King of Spades lasted *ages* on me, and it's one of those Limited Editions that I am making a big frowny-face knowing I won't be able to buy it again. As Andrabell mentioned, this is a fragrance that works well with the ladies. I haven't tried it on any of the boys yet, so I can't comment on how well it would work with men.

 

Then again, you think I'm gonna share this goodness?

 

:::clutches the bottle and makes hissing noises:::

 

-doreen

[lorajc]

Another perfect example of Beth's abilitiy to create a truly gorgeous, unique and perfectly blended scent. I should have known better than to doubt her, however, I have a problem with some vetiver and oakmoss blends and these were listed in the description.

 

This goes on deep and creamy fruity. The opponax grounds it (I believe opponax is a resin like myrrh) and gives it depth and the oakmoss blends with the woods and gives it just a slightly green, woody depth to it. The plum and blackberrry are the same fuzzy kinda fruit that I smelled in The Queen of Spades, not a thick, syrupy, sweet fruit, but a luscious tart, fresh fruit that just gives a touch of fruitiness and mystery to the scent. After the scent dries down a bit, the coconut and vanilla blend to make it creamy and they blend with the white musk lightening the scent to a fruity, creamy, cloud of goodness. Yum.....glad I bought more than 1 bottle. I'm very happy with this. I love the Queen equally and they do compliment each other very nicely. Very nicely done by Beth.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Of the two, King of Spades & Queen of Spades, I have to say that I much prefer the King!

 

He's tall, dark & handsome, a very sexy beast...in the most gentlemanly way, of course.

 

The oil blend itself is more viscous than most I've tried: it's sweet, (but not over the top) like an attentive lover & likewise the blend lasts a good long time.

 

I like this, I like it a lot.

 

RHM

Edited September 28, 2004 by Red_Hot_Mama

[Lorencita]

I am in LOVE! This is stunning... very different, me likey lotty! This is deep and rich, very regal for me. It is sweet and comforting, I want to curl up in bed and lay with his embrace! Too nice for words... I like this alot more than the queen, I will be sad when he is gone!

[erehwesle]

rather difficult, a scent I hate initially, but love after an hour or so.

 

I do like it.

 

To whit, intially it is too sweet...

 

actually smells a bit like cough syrup.I still smell cherry.

 

on edit though, I doubt the cherryy will last, more a bit of leather, some sweet molasses,and a slight bit of smoke.

a

I'd be happier if there wasn't a snell of fruit...

 

ADDED Oct. 1:

 

well, I'm going to expand on my last input.

 

This is a great scent, unfortunately I have to give it an hour, with my body chemistry.

 

This is rather literal, I've had people 20 mins after applying asking me, what the hell I was up to.

 

In an hour the people were literally nuzzling, and asking what I was wearing.

 

And those that would think it was my charming personality, no! different people! I swear.

 

EDIT: Merged with followup post --Shollin

Edited November 20, 2004 by Shollin

[Belladonnastrap]

Long live the King.

 

First sniff

Much lighter then the Queen, I can smell coconuts, vanilla and a bit of wine. Very much reminds me of a man with a deep rumbling voice, black hair and beautiful eyes. Hah.

 

When wet

*slobbers all over herself* Oh this is beautiful. The blackberry and coconut have mated to have a wonderful vanilla child. Dark and seductive, I want to sort of roll around in the scent.

 

Drydown

Oh this mellows down to a wonderfully coconut vanilla berry scent thats slightly masculine and yet feminime as well. Its beautiful.

 

Aftermath

The King of Spades is AWESOME. Seriously. The combination of coconut and wine and vanilla is killer and the musk adds just the right touch. Its delish and so much better then the Queen.

[TrayLynn]

Oh my God the King is all regal goodness. My skin latches on to the fruit in this oil and kicks it up a notch. Luckily I love it. The plum and blackberry mix with the vanilla and coconut to soften it and make it a warm deep scent. I really like vanilla notes and this one blends so well I couldn't have asked for more. I could never have given this one to my husband, it's all miiiiinnnne!

[Lady_Ell]

Yeeeeeeow!

King of Spades is SO AWESOME!

It goes on fruity, a little candylike sour edge, like mango pulp. The tart bite dies down after about 5 minutes and a glorious dark, unsweet, unfoody coconut comes out. There's a tiny bitter edge underneath that I cannot figure out - maybe tobacco? Maybe a leaf of some sort? Maybe not, I can't tell. Anyway, the bitter edge keeps it from being too much like Spooky or something else that's sweet and sugary.

 

It's really really wonderful.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: King of Spades has an even stronger scent of grapefruit than Queen of Spades did with a hint of tropical coconut. Despite all this, it retains a dark under-quality about it. It makes me shiver!

 

On Me: This is a light colored, dry oil, which is very different from the red colored slick and thick oil of his mate. The grapefruit and coconut smell seem to rule this one instead of the dark woods of the Queen. Perhaps the grapefuit scent that I am getting is the dark plum? I'm not sure. Leave it to a Floridian to put it in terms of citris smells.

 

There is a strong hint of vanilla now, warm and glowing. It isn't that thick, bar type of vanilla, but it is yummy all the same.

 

Yeah, slathering now. I really should have bought another of these two scents.

[Koumori]

Great stuff, this. Deeply fruity, but ripe and sexy. Commanding. This mellows and ages into something dark and complex. I still wouldn't call it masculine, exactly, but it's got that richness and creaminess that appeal to me in many of BPAL's less-girly scents. It does dry down pretty faint on me, though, alas.

[violetblue]

I find this one similar to Queen of Spades but totally different too! I get a very posh smelling, one of a kind suntan oil scent out of this one, making me think of a tropical vacation in an expensive paradise resort. It's sophisticated and original and makes me dream of sipping pina coladas by a pool. Love it!

Edited October 6, 2004 by violetblue

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

The King of Spades seems a bit more lighthearted than his love, at least on me--the resident King is making dinner and has onions on him, so I tried it on myself.

 

The coconut and plum both came out in a big way for a yummy fruit blend, then deepened into vetiver and a touch of mint. I put the King on one wrist and the Queen on the other, and they make a lovely pair--both of them dark and regal, complementing each other. I think they would also layer well...er, but I'd put her on top; she's just that sort of woman.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

Similar to his queen, but stronger, bolder. A sweet banquet of notes laid over more masculine outdoorsy notes. So gorgeous!

 

After Wearing It:

Wet and slightly beyond, King of Spades was all wood notes. The tone of it was fluid, shifting from dusty and dry to dark and piercing, but all woody. Not unpleasant, but definitely more masculine than I had been expecting from the note list.

 

After about an hour and a half the vetivert and other woody notes retreated a bit, not much, but just enough for some of the sweeter notes to make their presence known. The vanilla and coconut were very soft here, and ultimately transparent. It was a very "grandfatherly" type of scent: warm and kind with its sweet touches, but full of masculinity, knowledge, and sometimes discipline.

 

It wasn't until hour four that the fruit notes came out at all, and even then it was only little by little. But the progress was rather constant. By hour seven, I was surprised to find that King of Spades now smelled predominantly of sweet plums and berries, sweetened with vanilla and coconut, but kept from smelling candylike at all mostly by the white musk with the wood notes then just whispers of their earlier presence. It was amazing, and I totally loved it. I wish this stage hadn't taken so long to reach and that it stayed around longer. But sadly, this was the last leg of the fragrance, and two hours after THAT, I could hardly smell the King at all.

 

Final Thoughts:

This oil was a real surprise for me. It morphed more on me than most oils, and I felt differently about each stage. From the note list, I was expecting to like this one more than Queen of Spades, but now I'm not as sure. I need to wear this a few more times to really get a feel for it, because this King is a real tricky one.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Deep purple fruit, round and regal and oh so juicy.

 

Wearing: I suspected the King and I would get along quite well, and he’s proven me right… in spades. This is a wonderfully enveloping, juicy, warm fruity scent with just a touch of dark wood. It sweetens as it dries… which might not be a good thing. Something is giving me a killer headache, and I’m inclined to blame sitting in front of the computer all day because I really don’t want to think my King is responsible.

[grrrlennyl]

king of spades

 

at first: i think i'm smelling peaches. weird.

on: apricot, maybe? it's definitely a sweet, orange fruit of some kind. very, very nice.

1 hour later: this is so beautiful. i'm not sure what i'm smelling, but i like it. it's a little sweet, with some sort of very, plus a woodlike scent and musk. i love this!

2 hours later: beautiul. i wish i would have put a bit more on, since it is much lighter now.

overall: i like this so much more than i thought i would. it's just got so much going on. i wish i would have gotten myself a bottle of this. oh, well...i'll enjoy using up my imp.

[Astarte]

This is very plum initially, from a distance the aura from the blend is distinctly coconut vanilla with a hint of plum. Thankfully the wood note is hidden in the blend so far, though the white musk is grounding everything wonderfully.

 

This is so delicious, I tried this both on myself and my boyf. On my boyfriend it's mingled with him wonderfully, and is much deeper and sexier on him. The wood notes has emerged more and its a little saltier on him than on me but it works amazingly well on both of us. ^^!

[Nadirah]

WOW, Taking a sniff from the bottle I smell the plum and a bit of Hibiscus.

Once I put is on I smell Passion tea from Tazo.

As it absorbs a bit into my skin it becomes this light coconut/vanilla flower that is just BEAUTIFUL. It lasts and lasts, a very strong but noble scent. I love this and I'd love to get more. This is truly a work of art!! (the bottle is beautiful too!) I hope Beth does create more because this is up there on my favorites list. The coconut is subtle but there as with the vanilla. The plum and flowers bring it up to beautiful. I feel really good wearing this!

[glampyre]

King of Spades

 

The King is sweeter than I thought he would be on reading the description, but, as LadyLatemar says, the sweetness gives way to a rich mix of deliciousness...it's still sweet, darker, richer, fuller than on first application.

 

Definitely tingly high top notes, but balanced by a middleground of moss and berries, with the vanilla, coconut, and musk giving it some heft.

 

Gorgeous! I love it!

[Witch's Dagger]

King of Spades

 

Preconceived notions: Between this one and the Queen of Spades, I simply couldn’t decide. They both sounded wonderful, intriguing, mysterious, and complex.

 

In the bottle: I have open, not too far away, and I can definitely smell the coconut. Mmm... Closer in, I get the same “mistletoe” note I noticed in the Queen, and a complex richness around it, including some spices (?) and coconut. It’s dark green in color, surrounded by milky white.

 

On me:

First whiff: The same smell as in the bottle, at first. I definitely smell the coconut and the dark green note. I definitely agree that this is lighter than the Queen of Spades.

 

After a couple of minutes, I notice that it wafts well, and it is very mysterious, intriguing, and exotic.

 

After about half an hour, it’s still pretty much the same - wonderful, elegant, mysterious, exotic, strong and wafting!

 

And, in an hour, it’s still strong - yay! And now there’s an insidious smoky scent coming out, like burning wood. Why doesn’t this happen in Wildfire?

 

Final impressions: I love this. It’s lighter and sweeter than the Queen of Spades, so I like her more, but the King is definitely a keeper.

[Northernminx]

Very fruity and plum and blackberry are predominant. There is a smoothness to this however, vanilla smoothing things out a bit? Not exactly a masculine scent - though it could be. This one goes either way and smells lovely on me as well. Another imp from the Tygher for testing, while I adored it, someone who needed cheering up adored it more so I passed it to her for swaps.

[xochitl]

I really love this scent - it is the perfect, PERFECT companion to Queen of Spades. It wears really well on me and stays a bit sweet, but it definitley has masculine tones, especially after worn for an hour or so. As much as I like it, I think I might stick with Queen of Spades and get my husband to try this. What a scent pair!