Phantom Queen

[maewitch]

An epithet of the Morrigan, crow-winged Celtic goddess of war, strife and fertility. Adoration of this Goddess is expressed both through the ecstasy of battle lust and the ecstasy of sexual regeneration. Black orchid, apple blossom, meadowsweet, and rue over Irish moss, hawthorn and red clover.

This is for the Morrigan? Somehow I was expecting something with more blood and smoke.

It is a nice, faintly green floral. I can almost catch a bit of apple at the edges. I'm not nuts about florals and most green scents unless they're combined with either something musky, incensy or foody. Both together, it just registers as "meh" for me.

EDIT: And also, ewwww...MOSS. Edited February 17, 2006 by Shollin

[ajcj213499]

This is amazing. I am always amazed at Beths skill. This is the scent- the real scent- of a field of sweet flowering grasses after a storm. It is beautiful. Green, but not in the typical way, flowery, but not cultivated flowers. Very wild smelling.

 

I'm so happy I bought a bottle of this unsniffed!

 

Also, I don't see the similarities between this and Queen Mab on my skin. Queen Mab (unfortunately) turned uck on my skin...

 

I put some on my pillow last night because it smelled so outdoorsey and wild, but then I had a nightmare about tornadoes! This might not be a good scent to go to sleep with...

[Sycorax]

Imagine yourself in a meadow. The clouds above are grey and gravid with rain. The wind has picked up, and the fresh, crisp air anticipates moisture. In any other day, your surroundings would be verdant and peaceful.

 

This is a day for the Phantom Queen. The Morrigan anticipates nature's fury.

 

Phantom Queen is a light, crisp floral, but somehow it manages to be more than that. There's a sweetness to it, yet that sweetness is tempered by something sharp and ethereal. Somehow Beth has managed to condense freshness into liquid form. It's incredible.

 

Just when I think I've tried all the BPAL imps I need to, I run into another mind-bogglingly evocative scent. I can't get my hands on a big bottle of this soon enough!

[kettu]

I was gifted with a 5ml of Phantom Queen in early December and I guess I never got around to reviewing it.

 

Oh My Goddess, is this beautiful! I want to bathe in it! So foresty. Cathedral forest with the scent of green growth permeating everything. Absolutely lovely.

 

This is now tied with Whippoorwill for my most favouritest scent ever.

 

It didn't really evoke the Morríghan for me, but it's still freaking gorgeous.

Edited February 8, 2006 by kettu keiju

[seamor]

Wet: A very female, "perfumey" flower scent. A deep red velvety rose with a hint of orange peel.

Dry down: The moss and clover have come in and are grounding it beautifully. Very floral still, but less rosy and just a bit spicy.

 

Oh, no! Now my wrists are hot and itchy and I’m sneezing. Aaaarrrggghhhh.... this just can't be!

 

I love this scent. I am terribly disappointed that I may not be able to wear it.

Edited February 12, 2006 by celtimor

[bellis]

LOVE. Sweet wet grass and clover. I LOVE clover, and this is just gorgeous. I wish it were a bit stronger, but I'm more than willing to slather this one. I'd bathe in it.

[populuxa]

This one was a total surprise to me! A warm, heady floral in the bottle. Keeps its strength as it dries. A lovely herbal quality, with a slightly salty note wafting above it all.

[tereshkova2001]

On first application, crisp and woody. It's very powerful. Twenty minutes or so later, shifts cleanly to a passionate floral. The orchid is powerful and deliciously sensual. Strong, yet subtle, with just enough throw that I can smell it if I bring my wrists near my face. This is what I was looking for when I came to BPAL--a scent with power and conviction, one to wear for seminars and defences in graduate school.

[Christine Daae]

...okay, yes, I bought this one because of the name even though the description has nothing to do with anything and didn't sound like me at all, especially since I have no connection to the Morrigan. But really, my skin is like whoa in love with florals, so...

 

In the Imp: Oooh, flowery.

 

Wet on skin: ....ooh, flowery still. I'm not really familiar with any of the notes other than the orchid, which I can pick out, and is reaaaally sweet.

 

Drydown: Ooooh. I really like this. I guess I ought to look at ingredients more than descriptions, because this is really pretty. Hardly any "throw" though, I have to keep sniffing my wrist. I'm smelling the apple blossom now. Very warm and feminine, but not girly or motherly or matronly.

 

Final Impression: Okay, now that this has settled, I get more throw than I did. It's really hard to pick out the notes, for me, but I feel like this is mostly orchid on me. Every time I turn my head, I get a little "whoosh." It's strong and feminine, but not overpowering in the least - on the contrary, it's a tad ethereal, though warm. This is a very poweful scent in a different sense - a more "I'm not going to take any of your games!" scent which is, sadly, something I very much need right now. And at the same time being warm and sweet. Not at all what I normally go for which is generally ROSE ROSE and MORE ROSE. I have no idea what clover smells like, incidentally. Or moss? I really like this, though! I'm surprising myself!

[themerrybaker]

I was put off by the reviews because Queen Mab was Seriously. Not. For. Me. However, I tried this Queen and found it orchidy (no generic “floral”) and oily/lotiony in a way that blended into my skin. In comparing it to Queen Mab on the other wrist, the Phantom Queen was fresher and lighter and less sweet and had no smutty/dirty undertone. I like this one a lot, despite my prejudices against the comparison scent.

[Lynnez]

I love this. I bought it for the name and was very pleasently sirprised by the scent. Light florals do quite well on me. The orchid and apple blossom come out most on me.

[undream]

This one is complicated for me.

 

Phantom Queen was very elusive in the imp, I had a hard time picking up any sort of scent at all. Wearing, however, it quickly became very sharp, strong, and masculine on me. It smells to my nose like I am wearing men's cologne.

 

Given some time, a sweetness emerges, mostly in the throw, but the men's cologne is still there on me. Disappointing; I do not want to smell like a boy.

 

Given more time, I can detect a definite feminine quality around this masculine thing going on - a beautiful, sweet berry/dusty-powder equal alongside the cologne smell - like yin & yang - and it is overall a deeply appealing scent. That bite of cologne, however . . . SIGH, I just don't know . . .

 

I think I may need to keep this one around for a while and try it again. Perhaps we just need some time to get to know one another.

[tinyvulture]

tart apple mixed with fresh, “green” florals and clover. like a grassy field with wildflowers growing here and there, maybe. makes me thing of spring, of plants growing.

[Miss_Trisha]

I'm not sure what to make of Phantom Queen. I don't get any floral or apple scent, which is sad because those were the notes I was excited about. I pretty much have grass. Strange musky grass. Almost like mantis. Only muskier. It's so bizarre on me. I still don't know if I like this or not.

[abejita]

I received this as part of an imp lot I bought off of ebay when I was just trying to get acquainted with bpal. It wasn't what sold me on the lot, and from its lab description, I wasn't particularly interested, so I didn't try it for quite awhile.

 

Wow.

 

At first I thought it didn't suit the Morrigan whatsoever. My first impression was just a light floral, sweet, but nothing special. Then I put it on. It's a clearing, after walking through a forest that was shadowed, but pierced with shafts of light. There is hawthorn at the woods' edge, blooming. In the clearing the grass is tall and lush. Spring is almost just a memory and summer's heat is already rising, and rising fast. Red clover is everywhere and the bees are drunk on it. Are those apple trees in bloom? The bees are swarming there, too. The meadowsweet and rue are lush and overgrown. I can't really detect the orchid, but I'm not very familiar with what black orchid smells like.

 

It's wild and majestic, and definitely representative of the Morrigan. When my imp is gone, this is on my list. That red clover note is to die for.

[juniperus]

Bottle: immediate orchid and meadowsweet. Not overpowering even in the bottle, but a scent of strength nonetheless

Wet: More of the meadowsweet and the apple blossom coming through.

Dry: A soft floral, but not mamsy-pamsy - this definitely tells of femininity and fierceness. Hints of the steady, woodier, non-florals come through seductively, just wafting hints and teases at this point.

Later: More of the herbals than the floral now, a deepening of the scent. Not a maiden-y scent, nor mother-y..those Celts really don't ft that simplistic pattern-set, who does, really? Aside from that rant, it's mature, but not Mature - it's a woman who holds her own sort of mature. Not young and innocent and unwise. There is definitely a sense of the wild in this one, it feels Celtic in centuries past in ways I cannot describe - sometimes I get images or colors or physical sensations from scents and tastes (stop laughing, it's not as Woo Woo as it sounds, and I'm not a nutcase) and I get one from this. I am so liking this scent, and I really hoped I would since the Morrigan is one I feel deep connection to (and all those reading this who were at that particular Samhain observance those many years ago now are shuddering, aren't you?) War and sex. Of course.

[bifemmefatale]

This review is for a tarted imp I got in a swap, so it's aged.

 

In the imp: sharp department store floral cologne.

 

On: Helloo orchid! The clover peeks out as a green moist scent layering the orchid, but strong womanly floral definitely predominates. After about 10 minutes the apple blossom and meadowsweet show up, making it softer, sweeter and somewhat soapy (apple blossom and I do not get along). This is a perfume my floral-slathering mom would like, but not me. It smells very mainstream perfume and a bit cloying for my tastes. I don't get icy off it at all like some others.

[Eunice]

This is all orchid and apple blossoms to me. I get a little of the moss once I put some on my skin. This is a floral that isn't dainty or sweet. This is an elegant floral. An adult floral. I am liking this a whole lot more than I had previously thought. It smells good in the bottle but a hundred times better on my skin.

[damuddymeg]

I have definite ties to the Morrigan, so how the heck did I manage to go so long before testing this out??? Darned if I know, but I am so incredibly delighted that I did!

 

imp: Floral. Wet and green-y.

 

Wet: I'm sure that what my nose is trying to tell me is rose is actually the orchid. It is dark and vibrant and has a pulse all its own. There is a marked green note to the floral, and a sweetness that I'm guessing is the apple blossom and clover.

 

Dry, early on: The height of the orchid dies back to mellow within the rest of the notes fairly early. It becomes a beautiful blend of dark and light, sweet and green, tart and grassy.

 

Dry, after 7 hours: All that's left is the green-y sweetness of the red clover. It is faint and close and heartbreakingly beautiful. If it was offered as a single note, I'd bathe in it!

 

I am in love, and I don't often say that about florals!!

[fiddlehead]

Mmmm. Phantom Queen is gorgeous! Very natural and clean smelling florals with a hint of greenery. I definitely smell the apple blossom and some orchid. I can't identify the hawthorne or the meadowsweet, having never smelled them, but whatever is hovering behind the flowers is lovely.

 

Perfect for Spring and early Summer!

[Zeljana]

This is one of my top 3 bpal scents (together with talvikuu and nefertiti). it reminds me of the moment just after the rain in the highlands. I always wear it when I travel by plane because it makes me feel so free, like I'm flying across the sky. It's apples and herbs, very pretty. It's a men magnet, too.

Phantom Queen makes me feel like a queen, need a biger bottle.

[angharad]

Phantom Queen smells like I'm standing in a meadow. Tall, soft grasses swaying in a summer breeze. Strong throw, lasts for a few hours. It's nice. That's all, though. It's just not my style. I am glad I tried it, though.

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

floral

 

wet:

floral - sweet and a little dark

 

dry:

not very strong at all, lots of morphing, a light floral

 

overall:

nice - need to try alone (I'm trying a spicy scent on the same arm!)

 

rating: 7/10

[Meg]

In the bottle: Apple blossom, a bit of orchid and various herbs.

 

Wet: Apple blossom and something tingly to my nose, grass, I think.

 

Drydown: Soft, powdery apple blossom, a bit of rich orchid, and lots of different herbs and greenery scents. It smells a bit rosey and rather wild, like nature in the dead of night. Actually I think I get a bit of hawthorn, too.

 

Overall: It's pleasant smelling, but I have an aversion to apple-blossom, I find it too sickly. It smells herby and rich, with a dark feeling to it, not threatening, just... nocturnal. Doesn't seem to be my cup of tea, but it's very pretty.

[opaleyes]

This one just doesn't want to stick!

 

The little bit I'm getting is apple blossom, with very sharp herbs. A bit of orchid peeks through. It's definitely a wild sort of scent. I may have to stick to the scent locket with this one though, as my skin just eats it alive.