Queen Mab

[harmonyfb]

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.

 

 

In the vial, this was gorgeous.

 

Wet? Complex is a good way to describe it. A dark and heavy scent, well-balanced. I can only distinguish jasmine and rose, though happily the jasmine does not overwhelm the rest of the scents the way it usually does on my skin.

 

Dry: This has become a rosy blend that I frankly find a little cloying. I have no doubt that other people will adore it - it's clearly a well-designed fragrance - but it's really not for me.

Edited January 18, 2006 by harmonyfb

[lookingglass]

FLOWERY...jasmine and roses. Dry (I can barely tolerate the drydown because it is so floral) there is a clean musk and a bit of dry woods. Not for this gal...

[Voleuse]

This is fascinating. On first application, it's soft jasmine, but as it dries, it morphs into sandalwood and rose. Wow!

 

After a while, it fades to rose and jasmine, with an added touch of musk and the other floral notes behind it. It kind of gives me a headache at the very end, but the journey there is lovely.

[merebrillante]

In the vial: I can barely pick up anything. Faintest hint of flowers, that's all.

 

Wet: Same reaction.

 

Drydown: If I hold my wrist to my nose and inhale deeply, I can pick up some fruit and maybe some musk or herbs. Maybe something's wrong with my sniffer today.

 

Dry: Almost gone a half hour later. This is bizarre. I re-applied several hours later and got some decent throw for an hour or so, but within three more hours it was completely gone again. Sadly, this one goes to the swap pile.

[Thaleia]

O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.

 

Oh yes. Yes, she has.

 

In the bottle, I'm smelling something warm and floral, but I can't place it. It's also really not very strong, and this happened to me with Jacob's Ladder last night as well - so it led me to wonder for a second whether I'd lost my sense of smell entirely from being surrounded by so much BPAL loveliness. Well, I did an in-the-bottle comparison test with Regan, and they smell similar, so I'm guessing that's the orchid I'm picking up. I also smell a hint of roses, so that's good. My mom keeps orchids at home, but I didn't know they smelled like anything. Guess you learn something every day, right?

 

This is a really light and fresh scent once it's on - not aquatic-clean fresh, but more of a floral freshness, like a springtime garden. Very complex; I can't pick up the different notes just yet. I didn't know what to expect from orchid, but it smells nice, so I guess my skin likes orchid? The rose comes out after a minute or two, and so does the jasmine, with a trace of musky warmth underneath. I don't know the difference between musks yet, but since it has a bit of an Asian-eastern feel to it, I guess that's what Chinese musk does. I don't get much sandalwood, but I do get a nice rosy-floral bouquet that isn't as light as it was when I first put it on, but darker and complex and yes, just a little bit fierce. This reminds me of something I used to wear when I was younger, and while I had misgivings about it when I opened the bottle and couldn't smell anything, I really do like it a lot. 4.5!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: floral, but...with an almost gritty feel to it.

on: very sweet, but interesting. i can smell the musk, sandalwood, and jasmine, too.

1 hour later: sweet flowers with some musk and sandalwood. very pretty.

2 hours later: a sweet, somewhat fruity scent.

overall: truly gorgeous stuff. i'm not sure where the sweet, fruity note came from, but i like it a lot.

[sissa125]

I've been putting off this review for too long. The problem is that even after wearing Queen Mab twice, and several days apart, I a no closer to knowing how I feel about it.

 

The first time I wore it, I wrote this:

" It is "dry" in the not-sweet sense, there is jasmine clearly, or something else very sharp. no rose or sandlewood that i can recognize it is almost as if something were BLOCKING my odor receptors to keep from smelling this. i apply it to my other hand now. its better on this hand. go figure. a bit more sweetness, much more complexity. a subconscious rustle of silks. no sandlewood tho.

warriorlike, yes. trickster, I'd say so i get the fierceness more than the shadowyness

there is sandlewood on my first arm now. and on the other. This evolves into a very traditional floral perfume."

 

Wearing it a second time did not clarify things at all. I guess third time's the charm. Here goes...

 

In the imp: Something soft and dusky, shielding something sharp and vibrant

Wet: Nothing. Goes into hiding.

Dry: Scent begins to emerge. When I was seven, I owned a Perfume-Pretty Barbie that came with her own brand of perfume. No, this doesn't smell like it. But It has some notes in the same family. I would say more if I could smell more. Alas, this scent (or lack thereof) is just frustrating me.

[WidgetAlley]

Frimp from the Lab.

 

In the Imp: Heady, musky floral, very traditionally perfumey and even a touch alcholic-smelling (although that very well might just be my imagination.) It's full and rounded and everything sort of melds together, but it's also precisely the kind of complex bouquet that I'm predisposed towards disliking. I can smell jasmine, rose, sandalwood, musk, and a sugary something that can only be orchid. There's also a very mysterious, hard to describe note lingering in the background.... it's full and flowery but also watery and emphatically unsweet. I wonder if that's the osmanthus.

 

Wet: Rose, rose, rose! And jasmine, and, trailing behind a bit of orchid, hand-in-hand with some serious musk. There's a bit of sandalwood at the base of all that, dry and pleasantly gritty, and the osmanthus, if that's what I'm smelling, is barely detectable. There's still something just a bit vodka-ish that lingers around the edges. Complex but not very interesting, to my nose.

 

Dry: Thin, floral, and reminds me of the flowers in Bearded Lady... only without that gorgeous lemon-sugar to anchor them. There's just not a lot to be said about Queen Mab on my skin. She's primarily rose, jasmine and orchid, with a touch of musk and sandalwood, but this kind of perfumey floral isn't my bag of bones. Swaps.

[Rhowan]

In the imp and wet on my skin I am getting overpowering floral - especially jasmine My skin really amps the jasmine so I am not too suprised.

 

As this dries down I am still getting a ton of jasmine but other scents are starting to emerge - the black orchid and the rose.

 

Complete dry down: This has turned into a very light floral on me. I believe it is from the sandalwood and the chinese musk. Usually, my skin amps sandalwood - that's a good thing because I love it!- but this time the sandalwood is just a supporting base. The jasmine has receded quite a bit, there is just a hint of orchid, osmanthus but no rose. I have a theory that the rose is helping with the base like the sandalwood and musk.

 

Conclusion? I am amazed! Queen Mab breaks all of my rules. My skin hates rose and rose hates me - but not here! My skin amps sandalwood and jasmine - but not here! This is the first "floral" scent that I have actually enjoyed. Great throw but not overpowering and okay wear - this is going on my 5ml. list!

[ladykitara]

In bottle: Yum.. Floral, but dark and sexy

 

Wet, on skin: ... I smell licorice. Actually, I smell black jelly beans, which I LOVE. Florals are very softly evident in the background, but this is overall a spicy, sexy, WICKED scent on me. I'm in love.

 

Dry, on skin: This fades so quickly But as it dries, the spices tone down some and the florals become more evident. Absolutely gorgeous, and I can still smell the licorice, but I think I liked the dark, spicy, unapologetically wicked scent from when it was wet a little better.. Still, very much a keeper.

[loves_requiem]

softly floral with a little bit of incensey kick to it....

 

nice.

[ariansdreams]

First Sniff (in the imp): There is a sweetness there that reminds me of the honey in O. I'm not sure what it is though. Otherwise, there's nothing similar. It's floral/incense/honeyish. Hmm.

 

Wet: Wow, this is nice. I keep sniffing my arm trying to pick out specific notes but I am failing utterly. *looks at description* Nope. Maybe the sandalwood, but it's blended so that I can't pick any one thing out. Also, I'm new at this, so that probably doesn't help.

 

Dry: This is a lovely one. It is feminine without smelling Grandma-like. It gets warmer and spicy dry, and the flowers are there almost as an afterthought.

 

Overall: I like the way this smells, it's pleasant. It's just not "me." This is the first BPAL I've smelled that has no qualities that make me want to even keep the imp. So...yeah. My first swap imp.

[GypsyRoseRed]

Just.. flowers. A huge bunch of mixed blooms, and although it's pretty, it smells very generic on my skin. It really lacks the lemony-sugary note that I get from Bearded Lady (which I love) or any other distinguishing note, so... not for me. I don't mind floral with a twist, or exceptionally pretty floral, but on me, this isn't it.

[Caltha]

Queen Mab

A freebie I wouldn't have picked myself, too floral I think. It's very girlie and sweet, sort of fruity, sort of floral, perhaps lily of the valley? As it dries it gets a little soapy and get that melony touch I get from certain florals. Very generic perfumey.

[em_h]

A nice rose. Surprisingly, in this blend it is the rose rather than the jasmine that gets amped way up, so I don't get much of any other note, but it's fine. If this had been one of my first BPALs, I would probably have loved it. As it is, I'm mildly pleased with it, but not attached. I have lots of florals, and could easily trade this one away.

[jidabug]

Wet: Light and sweet. Kind of honey-like.

Dry: Soapiness coming out, but the fragrance is overall still very light, despite slathering it on.

Final: Started off nice and floral, but the soapy sharpness it became just doesn't work.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Queen Mab was my very first love from BPAL. I never ordered a large bottle and kind of forgot about her for a few years. Now, I finally got a Queen Mab frimp to retry. Surprisingly, I still love it. The black orchid is the same vanilla-like lovely creamy one from Regan, that I adore. The rose is barely present. The osmanthus is not noticeable, thank god, since I tend to find it loathesome. The jasmine is quiet and beautiful. The musk is soft and pretty. Basically this is is a creamy dark edged floral on me and I love it. I wonder if I remembered to order this in the last batch of goodies I have pending?

 

5 out of 5, very beautiful.

[juniperus]

Bottle: light floral, the jasmine comes through (as it is wont to do) and hints of the rose..balanced, tho.

Wet: the florals dominate, the rose and jasmine primarily. what is osmanthus?

Dry: complex, the sandalwood is light behind the floral, the jasmine not yet taking over (and for that I am grateful). On the sweeter side, but not offensively sweet, the jasmine not cloying..the rose darkens the floral enough to make it more appealing for me. No hint of the musk yet.

Later: Musk stepping forward a bit, with the sandalwood, but it all remains very, very balanced. The jasmine remains in its place, which both surprises and delights me. Very complex..and mysterious, yes: "She is the faries' midwife". Exceptionally lovely - a summertime floral ... a hiding in the deep wood in the dappled late-day sunshine waiting to catch a glimpse of the Summer's Eve ride floral. Loooove it!

[opaleyes]

Tricky, indeed! Queen Mab actually smelled differently on different parts of my body. One wrist was all roses, the other was the jasmine and orchid. But when I was walking around, a sweet alcoholic scent kept floating up to me from my neck. It was a bit like passion fruits dripping with wine, and I LOVE it. It's been two hours now, though, and I'm losing those little snatches of scent. My wrists are both now a powdery sandalwood with touches of something sweet. The musk? I wish the Queen would hang around a little longer!

[DogNPonyShow]

In the bottle: Darkly sweet, floral, and clean. Can't really pick out individual notes here.

 

On: Dries to a sweet, powdery floral. Yet there's a hint of something spicy in there.

 

Throw: There really isn't any throw - maybe more is needed to be applied, but whenever I moved, I'd catch a whiff.

 

Verdict: After reading the description, I almost didn't even open it. Rose just doesn't get along with me, but now I'm glad I tried it. This is an absolutely gorgeous scent! I already want to wear it all the time. There's def. a bottle in my future, since this one fades rather quickly.

[Ryokumuji]

I've totally fallen in love with Queen Mab. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do.

 

I took a couple of whiffs from the bottle, and I didn't really think this scent was "me", at first. It seemed a little too incensey to me. I seem to have that problem with scents that contain musks. But putting it on my skin, it smells so wonderful. Lovely floral, even a little bit creamy, but it has a hint of darkness too. I didn't expect to love it so much! I think it's my favorite from my order, for sure. I can't help putting my wrist to my nose and taking a nice sniff every now and then!

 

I definitely need to pick up a 5ml bottle... Maybe even make it a 10ml bottle!

[PixieSkull]

Imp: A familiar and comforting scent. It's like bread dough and honey. This may be a foody scent that I will keep.

Wet: There's a patch of ground scent immediately, then the honey comes and wafts through the clearing. Nice, thick slices of bread covered in butter and honey... mmmm...

Dry: Very soft and comforting. The honey died down a bit, which is a good thing, and the grains stay warm and soft and fluffy. The dirt circle and grass come through, the wafting food scents are moving on to other places.

 

Category: Foody/Grain/Honey

Rating: 4/5; PERFECT for the queen of the fairies, and a lovely foody scent

Overall: I was surprised by this scent. The first application made me very happy and I felt comforted. It was like a blanket made of fluffy straw and such. While the honey was slightly overpowering at first, it did mellow and the ground and grass scent was able to come out a bit. It smelled like crusted bread and honey by the end, something I can envision clearly when I sniff at my arm.

[draconix]

In the bottle: Surprisingly (and deceptively) sweet and light, with the barest hint of darkness lurking in the background. As a side note, I got a drop or two of this on my thumb while opening and didn't notice until after I started typing. So now my space bar smells very nice.

 

On my skin: Floral and just slightly fruity. (I keep getting this everywhere... there's now a few drops on my bed as well, which sucks because it wasn't a very full imp in the first place.) There's still that dark, deep something hidden that I can't quite figure out... possibly musk... though it feels a bit more like sandalwood. There's a sweetness to it as well, but it's not overpowering enough that I don't like it.

 

Final Thoughts: I'm surprised that I like this. I was expecting a heavier, darker scent, not a fairly light one with just an edge of darkness. Very tricky and complex. I like it, but I'm not sure how often I'd wear it. Maybe I'll try it out for a day soon and see how I feel after that.

[damuddymeg]

in the imp: Floral with a musky bite of spice.

 

Wet: all floral, heavy on the jasmine.

 

Dry: This morphs a lot over the first 4 hours of wear. It starts off mostly jasmine, with a bit of musk and sandalwood lurking in the background. Osmanthus starts to show up and soften the jasmine, and both fade together. Never does this become a rose scent, though it does go through a "traditionally perfumey" stage. Thankfully, it does not last long.

 

In the end, it softens to a lightly floral musk, still a bit spicy, though I can't pinpoint how or why, with the remnants of light sandalwood. Quite lovely.

[batsy]

Normally anything with jasmine is a no-no, but I tried it.

 

At first it was all black orchids, musk, and rose in the vial but as soon as I got it on my skin JASMINE. Argh! It's still a nice blend and has a "dreamy" quality to it. Very girly.