Queen Mab

[Witch Baby]

Warrior, Trickster and Goddess of Magic and Poets, she is one of the Tuatha De Danaan and the Queen of the Faeries. A very complex scent, both shadowy and fierce: black orchid, sandalwood, night-blooming jasmine, osmanthus, Somalian rose, and Chinese musk.

*sigh* I wanted this one to work on me so badly. . .since I love the name. All that came out on me was the overwhelming sour scent. . . only to fade in a few minutes.


It smelled divine on my friend Shannon though.


Well, I know that this imp is bound for her makeup table

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Soft and understated floral, but by no means innocent.

 

Second Impression: The chinese musk note in this is gorgeous. She's complex and exquisitely blended.

 

Final Analysis: I adore Beth's soft florals. The musk balances the flowers so perfectly. Queen Mab is just glorious yet so understated she's almost sneaky. I can't smell her unless I try. This one is for slathering.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: dark florals with a hint of something spicey

WEARING IT: sandalwood, night blooming jasmine...this is such a soft, warm scent once it dries. on me, it seems to last for quite a while, which is a bonus. it's warming to almost a honey scent, still with that bit of spice.

 

FINAL VERDICT: i've really fallen in love with this scent, so i'll be buying a larger bottle.

edited to say: queen mab has kicked morella out of the number one spot for my favourite bpal oil! no easy feat either!

Edited May 21, 2004 by any_old_actress

[TygherRayn]

This was one of Beth's little extras in my latest package, and I'm glad, because Iw as looking forward to this one.

 

In the bottle: Very sweet . that has to be the jasmine. It's really nice, and a very 'fae' scent to my nose.

 

First 10 minutes: Wow. My first thought was 'floral room spray'. It concerned me, actually, as I really was hoping good things would come of this one. I have trouble with rose scents, and this one seemed like it might be good from the description . but at the first whiff, I was rather concerned.

 

Drying down: Thank the gods (or perhap the fae!), this one has mellowed nicely. It's a rose I can wear, and that makes me quite happy. I knew all of Beth's rose creations couldn't be too overwhelming on me .. and yay I was right! This one is a delicate rose .. though I'm not smelling anything else, sadly. I was hoping I might smell more of the jasmine than I am, cos I love jasmine scents.

 

Final decision: This one's nice. I rather like this scent, though I'm not certain I'd want to buy a bottle right now. It kind of reminds me of a perfume Jason made for me at Garden Botanika when they had a store near here, and that's a nice memory for me.

[savage_carrot]

Started out quite strong, it was very complex couldn't make out the notes...and during the middle, changed and started smelling flowery, can pick out jasmine. It has something heavy/dark in the background after dry down...it helps balance the flowery notes very well. This was nice...

[VorpalBunny]

It's amazing that so many people are calling this one a "soft floral." I don't get soft floral at all, I think "dark floral" that other people are using is more appropriate. I bought a bottle cold because I love sandalwood and jasmine. I like it, but it comes across somewhat heavy on me. So I've decided it's a once-a-week kind of scent for me. I can't wear it every day, even though I do really like it.

 

The other odd thing is that people have been saying it fades very quickly on them. With me, it's the opposite. I put a little on and it lasts all day. Maybe it's because I'm fair-skinned... takes forever for things like club stamps to come out of my skin too.

[VelvetSky]

This scent is well named for Mab, Queen of the Fae who had the ability to lead humans astray. Out of the Imp, this is deceitfully pretty and ladylike, the floral sweetness will have you sniffing your wrist and smiling, feeling confident that you know which way this scent is going to lead you.

 

However, when it starts to dry down, something twists this floral around. I detect a soapy greenness coming through, and the innocence of the flowers starts to turn into something else not-quite-so-innocent. The faint sandalwood rises to the surface and the Chinese musk comes out of hiding, blooming on the skin gradually. The floral notes turn dark and heavier, and there's something else I'm picking up at the very bottom of the mix...honey? Cream?

 

Long Live The Queen.

 

Velvet

[Dispatcherbert]

Going on, I got an overwhelming scent of the musk (of which I'm not a fan) but it dried down nicely to the sandalwood scent.

 

This definitely is a mysterious scent and I still haven't made up my mind about it.

[shadow]

Jasmine has never worked well on me. Rose has never worked well on me. This? This works on me. I don't get it, and I really don't care about the why. I just really like this one. Dark? Yes. Overpowering? No. Jasmine is usually sharp and rose is generally the same, but this one is soft and dusky. For colors, I would say a deep purply gray with black striation. Kind of how a soft grayish purple would look at night with not much illumination.

[nevermore]

This was thrown in as a freebie in my first order, and is definitely something I wouldn’t have picked out on my own. However, I really like it. It’s floral, but not overpoweringly so. I can mainly smell the sandalwood an orchid. I turned this into a solid perfume so I can take it to work with me to put on after the perfume I wear starts to fade. I don’t know if I’ll be getting a bigger bottle any time soon, but I will use up what I have.

[hellsbelle]

I got this as a freebie with my first order. It smelled SO amazing in the bottle, like an amazingly fancy and expensive garden. Sadly, it went sharp and old lady-ish almost immediately on me! I couldn't smell a lick of sandalwood, which I love. Ah well, that's what florals tend to do in my presence, sadly. I swapped it away to a pal.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Apparently Mab is a shapeshifter of a fragrance--she seems to behave differently towards everyone. I just got her in a swap, so we'll see...

 

In the Bottle: Ooo, fancy floral! Darker than my beloved Belle Dame sans Merci. Is that a hint of peach?

 

Wet: Whoa! The peaches really came out on me, and also soap. I've heard people say various oils "went soapy" on them but haven't had that happen until now. Right now there is a battle of the lovely peach and the blech soap. If peach doesn't win, I'm washing it off.

 

Drydown: Ok, the soap seems to have calmed down, and suddenly there's a whiff of honey. That's more like it.

 

Final Verdict: I never did get the florals to come out of the bottle and onto me at all, which kinda let me down, but honey and peaches make for a yummy summer scent... if the soap will stay away.

Edited September 11, 2004 by Laurel_the_Woodfairy

[heartbeast]

Sad to say, Queen Mab is one of the few scents that didn't work on me. I get bug spray and cherry candy. The bug spray fades after awhile, but the cherry candy stays, and it's not even a good cherry candy, it's flat and blah. Have you ever had that red cake icing that has too much artificial color in it and it gives it a bitter flavor? There's a bit of that too. I'm going to give it another chance one of these days, but for now I'm having too much fun with the scents I love.

[Ishtar]

Queen Mab is a very deep and sweet fruity/floral on me. I think that the most prominent notes on my skin are the orchid and jasmine, but this is such a complex blend that it is hard to pin down individual scents.

 

It reminds me of Old Venice, in that bold-and-intricate-floral kind of way. Very grown-up and sophisticated.

 

At first I did not think I would want a bottle since I already have other oils with a similar "personality", but I find that it is growing on me every time I wear it. I may well end up getting more...

[renaissancerouge]

I can't believe I've put off reviewing my FAVORITE oil for so long...anyhoo. This is the scent that defines BPAL for me. It's a mysterious, feminine floral, which is about as much of an understatement as I can make.

 

I love almost all florals, but a lot of them are too sharp for me. La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Silentium Amoris, Seraphim- they're all bitingly flowery and I can only enjoy them on an intellectual level. Queen Mab bypasses my intellect and goes straight to my limbic system.

 

It's moonlight in a bottle. It's a soft dream of honeycakes, champagne, velvety sandalwood, and warm creamy blossoms. It's so perfect on me it's scary.

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Sticky sweet fruit.

 

Drydown

 

Normally when there is jasmine in a blend it's the first thing I notice, at the moment I cannot find any whatsoever. This is a sweet scent of berries (I'm guessing from the Osmanthus) and a gentle candied rose.

 

After a While

 

Very little change from the drydown. Below average lasting power.

 

Final Verdict

 

I do like this but perhaps not quite enough for a big bottle. It's just a touch too sweet and the lastability of a scent is almost always a factor for me.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Big purple moonlit flowers over a darker base. There’s a sweetness to Queen Mab that I wasn’t expecting… but now I see there’s jasmine in the “ingredients” list, and it makes sense. Very cool, very pretty, and the sweetness is very subtle.

 

Wearing: Deep, rich, royal purple, but there’s a faint hint of powderiness sprinkled over the top… hopefully that won’t take over. I can smell the rose in among the other flowers, but it isn’t overpowering.

 

I’m reapplying before I go to work (about 20 minutes after initial application) because it’s already faded to the point that I really have to sniff my wrist to get any hint of it. My skin seems to have trouble holding onto deep purple complex florals – Phantom Queen vanished on me too, the first time I tried it.

 

On reapplication, again the rose pops out immediately, the centerpiece in a big bouquet of darker flowers. I can’t quite decide what colour it is – it’s not nearly brash enough to be a red rose, nor girly enough to be pink, nor shy enough to be white. It hung on very well the second time – I can still catch a faint aura several hours later. It’s very pretty, but I’m not quite in love yet – I’ll rewear and see if she reels me in a bit more.

[TheDarkMother]

I had initially got this because of the black orchid. I love the smell of orchids. I'm hoping that I can really tell the difference in the bottle.

 

In the bottle Queen Mab is definately orchids and roses. It smells wonderful!

 

On me I can just barely smell the sandalwood. The Orchid smell comes out first, followed by the light smell of the roses. MmMm...Gorgeous! I love it. Its feminine without being too light at all. Another keeper!

[Nepthys]

I am not a girl for florals but Queen Mab is one of the few I can wear for extended periods without becoming sickened. At first sniff this reminded me of a traditional department store perfume - something formal, ladylike and old-fashioned that had been around for decades. Then it dried down into something green-purple and foresty and feminine, like a night-blooming flower. All in all, aptly named. This is very pretty and was a big hit even with my unadventurous coworker, who can only handle the most traditional scents.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Very fruity – I smell something that reminds me of cherry cough drops? Cherry and rose with jasmine petals.

 

On me: This is one of my favorite fragrances. It's a wonderful fruity floral with sandalwood, which leaves it complex but mild. It isn't overpowering or overbearing even with all its components. It is just a sweet floral that isn't particularly unusual, making it great for everyday use.

[Belladonnastrap]

Queen Mab...I could have sworn I reviewed this but I suppose not!

 

First sniff

Mmm Juicy! Also I get a wiff of something darker and floral...I'm not sure if it's because it has been with the other imps but it also has that genricy bpal oil smell...teh one you get when all your imps have been together.

 

 

When wet

This is really complex. I smell the rose and then the jasmine and the black orchid is lurking there in the background. It makes me feel incrediably sexy yet playful at the same time.

 

Drydown

Sweetness...and why do I keep smelling something fruity?

 

Aftermath

This is a lovely captivating scent but it's just TOO sweet for me...I've gotten a bit of a headache. I think if you like your florals running toward the sweet side of things this is the scent for you.

[Dianella]

I'm wearing this right now! It's a really lovely fragrance although it initially surprised me.

 

In the bottle it smelled floral but darkly so. A lot more grown up than I had pictured it

 

When I put it on it was really sweet, too sweet for my tastes. I could smell flowers but with a sweet fruity note.

 

It dried down though into a slightly powdery floral. Really lovely. I didn't put much on so it was fairly soft, but it lasted all day on me. But then most scents linger on skin.

 

All in all lovely stuff. I don't know that I'll buy a bigger bottle right away (I have so many new scents to try) but I'll certainly keep it in mind.

[darkitysnark]

I'm not one for florals, apparently, so please keep that in mind during this review (and on my Catherine review as well).

 

In the bottle:

I'm getting the fruit that some of you got. Sweet, honey, floral. An instant recollection of little plastic Japanese figurines that my cousin played with in Hong Kong.

 

Wet:

ROSES! There's something about roses, no matter what the blend the rose smell dominates when the oil touches my skin.

 

Drydown:

The roses are politely stepping back and allowing some other florals to come to the forefront. Whew!

 

Three hours later:

Mmmm... there's still the florals, well blended now, but now I'm getting a warm waft of sandalwood behind the flowers. Very nice.

 

This is still too flowery for me to want a big bottle just yet, but I will use up my imp when I want to feel a little more feminine and naughty.

[Summerpixy]

Queen Mab was the first out of the huge imp order for me to try on my skin.

 

In the bottle: soft dark floral.

 

Wet: Floral but the fruit note is coming in strong.

 

Drydown: The chinese musk seems to be revealing itself, yum. This is lovely!

 

not sure if I'll buy a big bottle, but I'll certainly enjoy the imp to it's last drop. Suddenly I feel like wearing my slinky lingere... somehow this scent seems to fit lace perfectly.

[glampyre]

Queen Mab is, for me, a very delicate floral with warm musky (sandalwoody?) undertones. Quite beautiful.

 

It's a good one for me to wear to work, because it isn't overwhelmingly strong for other people.