Queen of Diamonds

[zankoku_zen]

A glittering icicle of a woman, regal, proud and cold: shimmering white grapefruit, pale flowers and lemon bark with orchid, rose and a dash of mandarin.

I have very high hopes for this. I love grapefruit.

In the Bottle: Grapefruit and something floral. Almost masculine. It smells a bit like a men's aftershave.

On Skin: Still smells a bit like aftershave. It's a fresh smell but this wasn't what I was expecting. It's calming down a bit and now it smells a bit more floral.

On Drydown: I get peaks of delicate florals under the aftershavey sort of smell. I wonder if I don't get along with orchid.

Verdict: No grapefruit scent for me. Pooh. Too bad the Queen decided to become Gillette's aftershave. Cool and regal but not in a way that suits me. I would go slather this on the boy but I think I'll swap it instead.

I think the decant I first got way back in the day was mislabeled, it was probably the King and not the Queen. Because this decant does NOT smell at all like what I remember it smelling like.

This one started out as nivea soap, there was something that was clean and bright and slightly floral. No grapefruit, but it dries to a delicate orchid/rose smell. I don't like how aggressive it started out, but the drydown is quite lovely. Unfortunately, it fades fast on my skin. Edited June 27, 2008 by zankoku_zen

[Celogrl]

Thanks to the lovely jj_j, I got an imp of this and have been wearing it all day attempting to figure it out! Amazing the difference BPAL scents have on the whole lot of us- we are SO different. I get no mandarin or grapefruit and definitely it is a "warm" feel to me. This Queen is a motherly cuddly type, not foreboding at all. I do get the florals lightly and perhaps a bit of the rose and the drydown is powdery and almost spicy. I would not have minded a chilly scent as they are my favorite, but still, this Queen of Diamonds does not feel haughty to me, just soothing and comforting. I wish I could get more! A very intriguing scent and an excellent blend as per usual.

[allidavie]

Smells very similar to Calvin Klein Escape on me, which is not an insult. I have an unnatural love for Escape and if it weren't such an obvious and sort of date perfume, I'd probably still be wearing it every day. Very nice, and more complex and less strong than Escape.

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression: Do you like florals with citrus notes? This is about as close to perfection that there is with these two prominent notes....It is absolutely gorgeous and I wish I had a bottle of it to hoard, as I think I would wear it very often. I am so pleased to have been able to experience the lovliness of this one...It is a keeper.

[tempete]

Queen of Diamonds is all grapefruit and lemon when wet, but these notes dissipate as the scent dries down. She then goes through the generic men's aftershave phase that zankoku_zen mentioned, but eventually settles into a lightly floral ozone drydown. Queen of Diamonds is a pretty scent, but not being a huge fan of citrus or ozone, I think that I will pass my decant onto someone else.

[hadaverde]

When I sniff the bottle, I am getting a cool, delicate, slightly herbal, lightly fruit-sweetened scent. It almost seems there could be a bit of cucumber in there somewhere.

 

On the skin, this blend warms up considerably, and the florals come to the fore. The citrus notes are surprisingly muted, rather than sharp and tangy as I've come to expect from grapefruit, especially. I believe this may be in part due to the fact that my skin tends to amp up florals to one extent or another, and rose, in particular, to extremes. Luckily, the amount or type of rose is not reacting with my skin to completely overpower the blend, the orchid is quite noticeable as well, and the citrus notes are apparent, though nicely tempered.

 

The final result turns out to be somewhat more citric than it was when wet, but the citrus notes remain balanced well with the florals. A cool, soft, feminine scent, very reminiscent of spring.

[Blood onmy hands]

Queen of Diamonds is the perfect example of why I do not like florals

 

With all of the mention of grapefruit, mandarin, and lemon I thought that this would be a very citrussy blend. Yet I don't really smell much citrus at all. Every once in a while, I think I can smell a bit of grapefruit, but this is primarily floral.

 

Highly perfumey florals. This one gives me a vicious headache when I try to wear it. I'm happily giving away my decant.

[yeahbutnobut]

Queen of Diamonds

 

In the imp: hmm, smells much like designer perfume-but that's not a bad thing. Very fresh, clear, a tangy floral.

Wet on skin: the grapefruit and lemon come out more here. It's now quite citrus-y.

Dry on skin: mmm, not bad! Despite having a more 'perfumey' scent to it than most BPALs, this reminds me of perfumes I used to wear when I was younger. Light floral-citrus blends were what I always used to wear in the past. But this one seems more complex than over-the-counter perfume. Here I can smell the individual notes-tangy citrus, clear, cool, white orchid, a bit of rose, and other flowers. There's something almost ozone-like here. It is a very clear, sparkling scent-very aptly named, I think.

After a while: this reminds me of Neo Tokyo and Blue Moon-it's that citrusy orchid scent, I think. I'm sure there's an ozone note to this as well, but it's predominantly a light, fresh, tart floral-fruit scent. very pleasant, I think. I think I'll be wearing this more in the summer.

Verdict: out of the 'card queen' scents I've tried, this one is the one which is more 'perfume like' than the others. It has a light citrus floral scent that reminds me of perfumes I used to wear before I discovered BPAL. However, it is more interesting than those are. It is a fresh, clear scent, sparkling and clean, with something ozone like about it which, along with orchid and citrus, reminds me very much of Neo Tokyo. I think this will be a great scent for summer. I won't need more than an imp of this, but I really like it.

[Fefferbella]

Queen of Diamonds is a light, tangy citrus and floral scent.

It's very soft and feminine like Neo-Tokyo, but with more emphasis on the florals notes.

 

Sadly this went slightly soapy on my skin after 30 minutes.

[olympia301]

 

Wow! Sweet and crazy, not what I was expecting at all. Nice surprise but very big smell indeed.There is something old fashioned floral in the background and I would say this is for uber floral lovers only. I can only smell the grapefruit when I breathe out, and breathing in reminds me of the old old Avon favorite Friendship Garden. Not bad, but certainly not me.

[malanna]

This is a sweet, cold sort of scent and yet more of a department store perfume than other BPAL scents are. White grapefruit predominates this scent and it is a citrus scent, but that's not so apparent that I think about it when I sniff this. Rose isn't noticeable in this scent at all, but there are frost-lined white flowers here on the foreground. Overall, a nice scent, but not my sort of thing.

[emzebel]

Thanks, Oly, for letting me try this one.

 

This is a very apt perfume for the Diamond Queen - a very pretty, cold and sparkling scent, floral without being overwhelming with just enough citrus that I can wear it without being overwhelmed.

 

It is a little too traditional for everyday wear for me, but I can see myself dabbing this on for special, high-born ocassions.

[mexicat]

Why oh why oh why...This is the ONLY one I've tried so far that I DON'T like. I just ain't feelin' it. While I do agree that this smells like an expensive, department-store perfume,I don't smell any citrus,or aqua.It is such a strong floral!I am even getting a stuffy nose from this.This is the second time I tried it, thought I'd give it another chance,but.....ewwww....This could be really nice on someone,just not me. Perhaps I'll swap this bad-boy.

[Rhowan]

* QUEEN OF DIAMONDS *

 

Take this review with a grain of salt if you know orchid and rose works for you -neither note works atfor me at all....

 

In the bottle: This smells like department store perfume to me.

 

Wet: A bit better - department store perfume but with a hint of citrus.

 

Dry down: I was really hoping the citris would temper the florals better but I am still getting way to much perfumey, headachey floral that is turning slightly powdery on me.

 

Conclusion: This reminds me of a perfume I wore in the late 70's called "Sex Appeal" by Jovan. The orchid gives this the perfume like smell and the rose note turns it into powder. I was hoping I would that the citrus notes would play more of a leading role in this instead of hanging in the backgroung being shy.

I am disappointed because it seems that the florals that don't work for me have the best throw and last the longest on my skn.

[SeaMonkey]

FOr some reason, its a little commercial perfumy. Sort of like drinking a citrus smoothy in a department store. Citrus floral is the only way I could describe it.

[ABrokenAngel]

In the Bottle: Clean and spikey. It’s like a kick in the teeth from a diamond studded boot.

 

 

Wet: Oh wow…….this is lovely! That diamond boot appearantly was velvety and sweet too. Or maybe the owner just gave me a kiss.

 

Drydown: Can I get a hell yah? This is fantastic. It’s even better that my signifier in cartomancy is always the Queen of Diamonds. Ish mine!

Edited January 26, 2006 by ABrokenAngel

[LittleGreyKitten]

Thanks ever so much to SevenSins for parting with a precioussss imp. I absolutely adore the Queen! I don't get as much of a citrus feel as I would have assumed from the description. Instead the scent is cool, white, chilly, and indeed "perfumey", but in a good way. It smells expensive. It wouldn't be out of place in a Bvlgari bottle with a $60/oz price tag.

 

It's different than the ones I usually love but I did enjoy it immensely. I will cherish my imp! It lasted pretty well, actually, for a lighter scent. It was nothing like the Cheshire Cat, which I didn't like much at all.

 

I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

[mandragora]

Ooh, lovely fresh-smelling citrus. The grapefruit kind. On my skin, this just blooms to a more beautiful blend of clean and fresh citrus and floral combo. Dry, still mostly grapefruit with light hints of floral in the background and now with a bit of an ozone feel to it. There's a bit of an aftershave note as others have noted but it goes back to the lovely fruity/floral blend that's just too pretty to be masculine.

 

Queen of Diamonds is another queen that I will cherish and use sparingly. Please, please Beth revisit these Forum-only series. I hope and pray that Baobhan Sith (or any of the other grapefruit GCs) is as beautiful as the QoD.

[filigree_shadow]

I was worried about the grapefruit in this, but perhaps the citrus has degraded a bit by now... I can't really smell much grapefruit. Which is perfectly fine with me.

 

This is mainly aquatic with orchids on me. It does smell quite perfumey, and very regal. Glittering and exquisite. Perfectly fitting for the Queen of Diamonds.

 

Perhaps slightly too mature for me to be able to carry it off, but I'm going to give it a go.

 

And I'm with mandragora -- I would love to see these forum-only King/Queen scents revisited. I hadn't heard of BPAL when they were presented, and I missed getting bottles of some of my favorite scents.

[Jettcat]

In the bottle: fresh invigorating citrus

 

Wet: Goes a bit floral as soon as it hits my skin. It's a very mature scent, very ladylike and straight to business.

 

Dry: The citrus has faded completely and the floral has turned into a rose and something else. my nose isn't as educated enough to identify it, but it's maddeningly familiar.

 

1 hour later: the citrus stomps back thru...oh crap! It's turned into a dryer sheet on me. Maybe it's my chemistry today. It morphs so delicately, I have to put this one into my give it one more shot later box. Cuz damn...right now, I smell like Bounce.

[edenssixthday]

Queen of Diamonds - I absolutely adore fruity-florals, and this one deserves to be crowned Queen of them all! This is a simply stunning blend, full of bright citrus notes and lovely, light florals. The citrus and floral seem perfectly balanced and neither one overwhelms the other. Of the florals, the orchid is the strongest and the rose is barely discernable, and of the citrus notes, the mandarin seems to be the strongest on my skin. Queen of Diamonds is not nearly as bright as most citrus scents – the florals seem to subdue the bright, effervescence that most citrus blends carry. Instead, it’s regal and haughty – this is a Queen you don’t want to mess around with. The scent has an incredible amount of throw, enough that if over-applied could probably be found cloying and highly offense to those around you. If just a touch is applied, it is an incredibly gorgeous feminine scent that evokes feelings of power and strength. It has moderate staying power on my skin, and the citrus notes fade more quickly than the florals, which turn into a sort of hairspray scent after about 2 hours, but at least it's a pleasant hairspray scent!

[HennaFairy]

bottle:

fresh, similar to dirty- very clean

 

wet:

pretty much the same

 

dry:

a touch of floral, still very clean and fresh!

 

overall:

very nice!

 

rating: 8/10

[themerrybaker]

So happy to have gotten to try Queen of Diamonds. This queen is the type of scent I wore before branching out through the BPAL experience.

 

The overall impression for me is a light, mildly sweet aquatic floral.

 

Orchid usually doesn't work on me and too much citrus is boring. I really can't pick out any of the listed notes, but enjoy the cumulative effect.

 

Would have liked a bottle, but there are others to enjoy, so no biggie.

[supremegoddessofall]

Based on the notes, I should totally hate this, since citrus, orchid, and rose are generally all hell on me. *sniff* Surprisingly, I don't hate this. I'm getting rose, but it's the purer rose that's in Rose Red, which does okay on me. The citrus notes are there, but they're blending well and becoming a back-up for the rose. My main complaint is that this fades fairly quickly. I'll give it another shot later.

[Voleuse]

Oooh. This blend begins as a cool floral, but citrus notes trickle in after a moment. It's a very pale scent, very distant. It's feminine as well, and bordering on sweet, though it never crosses over. The florals end up being dominant, to an overall beautiful effect.