Queen Mab

[gwyllgi]

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.

This is perhaps one of the few scents including jasmine in which the jasmine doesn't dominate everything else on my skin - which is just as well, as I'm so very not a fan of jasmine.

When I first apply this, I don't get much of the sandalwood, just a pretty blend of musky flowers. The jasmine puts forth a strong showing during the drydown, but eventually fades back into obscurity. Unfortunately, the jasmine takes almost everything but the sandalwood with it, so I end up with sandalwood with the barest hint of floral, rather than floral with the barest hint of sandalwood.

I like the wet scent well enough that I'm perfectly willing to give this a try in a locket. On my skin, though, it becomes nothing spectacular, and the wet scent deserves better than that disregard.

[kakiphony]

In the imp: This is much sweeter than I was expecting and smells vaguely like chinese restaurant tea to me. Jasmine?

 

Wet: Very soft and sweet on first application to my skin. The sandalwood peaks through to ground things, but the florals are there, just not at sneeze inducing levels. At this stage, I actually like this, which is kind of a shock. I never do florals!

 

Early dry down:

Twenty minutes later, the florals have kicked up quite a bit. The jasmine has gone from "mmmm, tea" to "achoo! that's a floral!" level.

 

Late dry down:

After an hour, the florals faded some and it settled into a sweet jasmine scent. The sandalwood gives a bit of background.

 

It's by FAR the best floral I've tried to date. Not, mind you, that I plan on buying a bottle. But it does not make me sneeze much and actually smells pretty good on me.

[filigree_shadow]

I loooooove this oil. It's beautiful and womanly, sexy and powerful. There's nothing young and innocent about this scent, it's the scent of a woman who knows what she wants. The black orchid is wonderful, and I love the sandalwood and musk with it. To be honest I'm not sure what night-blooming jasmine and osmanthus smell like, but if they're in this blend I'm pretty sure I like them. Mmmmm, this smells good. Can't believe I don't have a bottle of this yet... it's going on the list right now.

[gloom bear]

This was super sweet, and I couldn't pick out what else it smelled like except sweet. The first time I tried it it wasn't unpleasant and I went about my night. But the second time, it bothered me so much I had to wash it off. It started to smell like a mature lady's perfume. Not old grandma rose, or moth balls or anything.. but still not good.

[jarvenpa]

a kind gift from a forumite (thanks, my dear)

 

Preconceptions: very few, and I didn't read the Lab's description before trying it (had Romeo and Juliet in my mind, however, the great mad speech by Mercutio).

 

A thin, drifting, very sweet fragrance, with a note that reminds me of Desdemona but doesn't, thank heaven, make me wish to burst into sobs...jasmine perhaps?

 

And it deepens, still very sweet, as if there were a whole train of wafting flowers (there is a picture by Arthur Rackham of the Queen of the Faeries in the woods, this is the sense I have of this fragrance).

 

I wish I had enough skill to tell what I'm smelling: flowers, lots of them, all very twining and flowing, little flowers, little sparkles.

 

Pretty. All floats away from me in a hour or so--or perhaps I just grow used to her. She seems quite harmless, this lovely Queen Mab (I have read the Lab's description now). Fierceness is not at all what I get. If anything, it's a sort of supreme insouciance--just kind of beautifully floating by, not really caring what anyone thinks, very confident.

Edited June 28, 2006 by jarvenpa

[Meg]

In the bottle: Orchid and jasmine.

 

Wet: Weird musk, very sharp, with some rose in the background. There's also a rather green note in there.

 

Drydown: Rich musky orchid, with a bit of rose and a touch of very discreet jasmine which adds a dustiness to the blend. I think I also get some rich sandalwood in there. It's rather acrid smelling, sharp and aggressive. After the acrid part goes away (a half hour at least), I get soft rose and orchid, pretty and gentle.

 

Overall: It would be a really pretty blend if it didn't have such a sour note to it. Perhaps I make the musk turn, or if it's the orchid that's too strong, but it's too powerful a blend for me. It does have a magical, dark and warrior-like feel to it, but it's just not me, much too aggressive to my nose in the beginning.

[kuanyin]

I got an imp of this because I saw the orchid in it, and I usually love orchid. I got the imp with quite a few others, sniffed it and lost interest for it being too....something. I decided to try it tonight, and WOW, on is a whole 'nother thing! I love this. I hope it has staying power, because this is light purple beauty as far as I'm concerned. It is very sweet in a way that I can't figure out. Not food sweet, not honey sweet and not berry sweet. Oh, I think I have it - nectar sweet. Like when I was a kid and would actually suck the nectar out of clover blossoms. Mmmm, it is loverly and I can't stop sniffing.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: This smells like orchids dipped in sandalwood.

 

Wet: This is much softer than I thought it would be. I'm going through an orchid scent testing phase, and I really had my hopes pinned on this one. However, there are a lot of other notes, particularly the sandalwood and the other florals.

 

Drydown and wear: This remains a fragrance where no one note dominates. I should not be surprised, as there are many notes in this blend that often amp up on my skin. I have another imp of this on the way, and I think I'll be more than happy with the two imps for now.

[edenssixthday]

Queen Mab is a scent I didn’t intend to ever try because of the jasmine and sandalwood components, both of which I don’t care for very much. However, I got frimped by the Lab, and well, suffice it to say that once again, my instincts have been proven completely wrong. Queen Mab is gorgeous. I don’t even remotely smell the sandalwood or the jasmine. On my skin, it’s all orchid and musk and I’m completely smitten. It stays fairly close to the skin, but the scent is strong and has moderate staying power. I will be wearing this one often. I could even see buying a bottle of this. It’s a stunning floral and I’m so glad I was "encouraged" by the Lab imps to give it a try!

[indicolite]

Queen Mab is, like many reviewers said, gorgeous, and complex. I cannot pick out the notes, but I know she is beautiful.

 

She is beautiful but not me. I do not feel like her.

 

But I'll carry the imp with me in case I do.

[sofiaviolet]

In the imp: Sandalwood, musk, and some florals.

 

On me, wet: The scent vanishes utterly.

 

On me, dry: Still not much smell.

 

Verdict: This doesn't work with my chemistry so I'm swapping it.

[theseagrows]

ooh this is a pretty soft floral. the only thing i can really pick out is the orchid i think. it is now very recognizable to me (and smells good on me!) so that is fortunate. there is a bit of warmth behind the floral, which i think is the chinese musk. i love floral orientals, and i think this one is just beautiful, and a little bit sweet.

 

it's a very gentle subtle scent, i'd wear this on a day when i wanted to feel comfort and light i think.

[sarahj]

Queen Mab

 

in imp: orchid and sandalwood

 

wet: soapy orchid

 

dry: this dries into a nice floral blend (orchid, rose, and jasmine), but fades away in less than three hours

 

verdict: nice, but not nice enough to be added to my big bottle list

[provocateur]

In bottle: Sandalwood and light musk.

On skin, wet: Sandalwood.

On skin, dry: A soft musky sandalwood.

Conclusion: Well, there was supposed to be other notes in there, but I reckon that's where the "soft" part on the dry down comes in. I'm glad I wasn't attacked by jasmine, but disappointed I didn't get any of the orchid.

 

Rating: 2/5

[dierne]

In the bottle - Warm, soft and fruity with undercurrents of floral.

 

Wet on skin - Gets warmer and there are sweet berries in there and honey. Yum.

 

Dry on skin - Warm, rich and honeyed with a strong floral presence but not "flowery".

 

Later - I love this scent. It's definitely a keeper and there may be another bottle in my future ...

[strangemusic]

Clear, yet plum-colored. Initially, there was a bit of chemical admixture to my nose, resembling unscented lotion... a sort of blended nonentity, as it were. As the drydown began, this gained richness and depth, resinous in affect, shading from lilac, traveling deeper.

 

QM is mild, sweet, and dreamy... I suspect it shares a note or two with Tzadikim Nistarim, and I'm almost right-- osmanthus, or sweet osmanthus, is also known as sweet or tea olive, a member of Oleaceae-- and blends with the sandalwood, further bolstering this scent's depth.

 

Night-blooming jasmine and black orchid make for a lovely mix-- I tried this at the same time as TN, and while they go surprisingly well together, enough so that I may try layering them in future-- its throw can't even compete. QM is subtle yet penetrating, queenly and mysterious, yet not so otherworldly that this couldn't be an every day scent.

 

C&P from my LJ, dated 2 Sep 2006 and slightly edited

[valentina]

Queen Mab is one of those scents that I was frimped about a year ago and refused to even test, because I was so easily frightened away by florals as a BPAL noob. With a year of testing and the discovery that florals need not always send fear into my heart, I ventured forward with the Mab. In the imp, it's rich and complex; there's a real depth to this fragrance. My body is a rose-amping machine, and I can tell there's rose in this blend, but there's so much going on that the intensity of the rose blowing up is held down. After a half-hour or so, the rose calms down (or burns off) and what's left is a very calm, sandalwood-skin musk smell with a basis of floral. I can't really pick one particular floral out of the mix, they all work very well in concert. Queen Mab is really very discreet and understated; it is not a girly scent, but rather one of a full-blown woman.

[LiberAmoris]

I know I tried Queen Mab a couple of years ago but didn't remember how it worked on me so I'm giving it another go. On, it smells a lot like baby powder, but I think it's just an olfactory trick. Maybe a combo of the orchid and osmanthus? It's creamy. The rose and jasmine are really muted on my skin. There's a note that's almost like anise or licorice here, too.

 

As it dries it remains very powdery and floral. It smells like a very expensive triple-milled rose and orchid soap. The jasmine is really well blended here, but the overall effect is one that doesn't work on my skin. That's ok, I know someone who will love this one!

[supremegoddessofall]

Definite a darker scent. Smells somewhat similar to the one I was wearing that I liked so much the other day (Alice). Has more of a floral quality than that one though and I can smell sandalwood in the undertones. The musk is the most predominant, which gives it a spicy scent overall.

 

Score: 4 out of 5

[sookster]

oooooooooh....straight sniff from imp is an intense creamy sandalwood with

some floral action going on

once applied i cannot get over how fantastic the sandalwood is in this perfume...

reminds me a lot of the lovely alice without being sharp or sweet...

i don't believe i have ever tried anything so smooth and creamy...it stays this way with some soft white florals...this is beautiful...i may have to add a bottle of this to my vast collection...

[gypsybaby1]

soft, feminine... Close to skin... Fruity? Yeah, definitely some fruit scent in there.

 

it's not much of a review, but it's all I could make out of my scribbled notes.

 

I like. Now to debate on whether or not this will be worth a bottle or just an imp.

[swilde]

If dark purple had a smell, this would be it. The notes are all perfectly balanced and the result is a dark and sensual floral.

[Mountaingrrl00]

There is a quality that reminds me of the best aspects of Dorian - a lightly sweet creaminess and a hint of lemony tartness. Perhaps the Chinese musk is the common note? At any rate, it smoothes out the florals. Orchid is the only floral note that really stands out, which is the way I like it. The sandalwood gives the blend some staying power, although it's still not a very tenacious scent. I've ended up carrying around an imp for frequent re-applications.

 

I don't find the scent particularly dark or strong, but it is quite lovely for dressy daytime wear.

[outofrhyme]

In the bottle:

Reminds me of Moon Rose, insofar as it smells like I expect a perfume to smell. I smell florals and something sweet... but not sweet in the girlish Persephone way.

 

Wet:

It just smells good. It's hard for me to explain how.

 

Dry down:

Sweet, but not too sweet to be unprofessional. Like I said before, I can't really explain what the notes are, because they all just blend into each other... that, and I'm not very good at picking out individual notes yet. My guess is that the sandalwood is contributing to the sweetness and helping to keep everything else in line. If I try, I can smell the rose and the jasmine, too, but I don't know how to recognize the other notes.

 

Final Thoughts:

I like sweeter scents, which is fortunate, since my body chemistry makes just about everything sweet. This has a very professional feel for me. I wore it to basically all of my interviews, because it was light enough to not be overpowering, sweet enough to feel like me, balanced enough to be inconspicuous, and still professional. I wanted to smell good to boost my self-confidence, and this is what I chose to use.

[Babylon]

I can identify the orchid, sandalwood, jasmine, and rose. For a floral scent, it's actually pretty sweet smelling to me. After about 15 minutes, that tricksy Queen Mab amps the rose to the point where it almost entirely dominates the scent, except for a hint of sandalwood.