Ice Queen

[LunaSea]

A majestic blend of precious pale musks, brittle winter blossoms, spruce, and frozen winter fruits.

Oh my God - Ice Queen is the love affair I expected to have with Snow White. I don't really have structured notes on this scent, because from first sniff I have been smitten and had trouble picking out a specific note - they all just go together beautifully!

I got the cold, fresh, minty (ok - there's a note) scent from the start, and the Queen stays true to herself on my skin. After reading the other reviews, I can say - yes, the spruce is there, but lightly in the background keeping the scent fresh. And fruits, because I am noticing the sweet (but not cloyingly sweet) scents are the ones making me swoon lately.

The only thing I can say is, this is winter perfection. I have been wearing this one almost non-stop. Beth, I worship at your feet!

[feline.by.design]

I'm surprised, yet not surprised, that I haven't reviewed this yet.

 

Ice Queen was the first Yule oil that I tried, and I really like it. My bottle didn't come with the reducer cap I have come to be so fond of, so I'm a bit sloppy in applying, but I *had* to try this one.

 

The smell reminds me of Mad Hatter, but stronger, and it lasts a bit longer. It's a wonderful fragrance that can go well with a boy or a girl, despite the name. It's a crisp mint with a side of icicle. A really wonderful rendition for the Yule holiday.

 

I like it on me, but I don't think I'd wear it every day. I'm actually looking to hold onto my bottle until the summer, to cool me down in the hot months. My boyfriend likes Ice Queen, he actually commented that it smelled like a man's cologne, which may put off some of you but some of my favourite BPAL oils tend to be "traditionally masculine."

 

All in all, I'm happy with the bottle of Ice Queen I've got, and I hope that she comes back next year.

 

-doreen

[magikfanfic]

In the bottle: Hi, I'm a tree covered in some fruits in the middle of winter. So, you see I'm crisp and fresh and snowy. Yet I'm also with the tree and the fruit. I'm complex. Will you love me? Well, I'd be inclined to at least like you provided that you don't set me into an allergic reaction, which is a problem that tree scents and I have. But, let's take a test drive.

 

Wet: Wow, cirsp and fruity. Let's talk about how I like fruit scents. It also has a nice, sinus clearing smell that's fresh and crisp. Like winter air. Walking out in the snow and feeling your nose getting cold but you can just breathe the ice crystals in. And, wow, what a throw. Most things don't give me much throw, but this is pretty lovely. Kinda green in the background, but not overwhelmingly so.

 

Dry down: Kinda smells like Vick's Vapor Rub only, you know, not. The florals in this are not the kind of florals that I've experienced in other things, and the musk is much brighter as well. I still get that lovely ice/snow scent, which I adore. Oh, oh I know what this is. This is a more feminine version of the body wash I have in the shower right now. It's Winter Snowfall by Suave. This is fresh like that but more tempered by fruits (citrus?) and the musk, the floral and spruce exist right on the edge of this scent.

 

Dry: This is nice. A very cool fragrance. It has a chilly citrus note but it's less pronounced than in Queen of Diamonds. This is more floral than that and the musk makes it all light and bright and just...I feel like I should be able to breath out snow. I only have a decanted imp of this and smelling it I kinda wish I had decided to purchase a whole bottle. Queen of Diamonds is my doll, but Ice Queen is the younger sister who doesn't bother me make-up and goes walking in the woods to come home with snow in her hair. This is so beautiful. I'm not so OMG in love with it, but I'd be willing to have more around if I got the chance

[cuervosueno]

I got this on a whim. I was sure I would love Midwinter's Eve (I didn't) and then saw the descrip of this and got it on the basis of the musk, which turn lovely powdery on me, though I was worried about the floral notes and aquatic notes.

I'm glad I got this....Love it!

In the bottle I wasn't sure. It smelled fruity, like frozen fruit, rather than floral to me. And it did have just a hint of mint...but seemed kind of minty-toothpastey, if you know what I mean.

but on? Just gorgeous!

And yes, its a bit floral...that comes out on the skin on me. but like white flowers frozen....so the scent is subtle. And like others have noticed the musk isn't as warm as they can be...rather cool musk too. there is something green in there...must be the pine, but again, not biting, but the cold scent of snow on a pine tree.

Best of all, it turns lovely sweet on me...vanilla?....and it lasts and lasts. But it morphs...the cool floral green dissipates quickly on me, but when I woke up one morning I could still catch a sniff of it on my wrists, and by that time it had turned pure sweet, similiar but lighter and whiter (if that makes sense) to my much loved Dia de los muertos.

I picked up a bottle of Skadi at black broom as a gift, and did note the similiarities, but I didn't wear the Skadi--just sniffed it--so I can't compare how they wear on me...but I know I love this, so I'm guessing Skadi will be as lovely...in fact, I'd better beg my friend to let me try so of it!

thanks beth, this is a truly lovely winter blend, and it really made my birthday, since I wasn't so taken with midwinter's eve.

edited to add: well, I obviously loved it at first, but then I just never put it on again, and when I did, I wasn't so taken with it...it seemed a bit too floral/fruity and faded too fast--or at least the notes I like did. So I ended up swapping it. And I ended up liking skadi much more!

Edited May 2, 2005 by cuervosueno

[surf-tormented]

I really like this. I cannot stop smelling my wrist EVERYTIME I put this on! There is something soft, icy, animalistic, floral AND herbal about this one but right now, I can't figure out the notes of it. It is very mysterious, like a quiet snowy morning, where there is no noise or movement. No footprints in the snow, no melting, just a bed of dazzling snow, for only your foot to break through.

 

Ice Queen is a bit like that. I seem to be doing reviews full of abstractions.

 

It smells like an icy forest with a bed of glimmering snow. At night, just before the dawn.

Edited January 3, 2005 by Madame Nyx

[sigh]

Wet: Chilly, musky goodness with a hint of citrus and the tiniest dash of spruce.

 

Dry: Cold, yet very very warm. The musk just sort of glows off my skin and whatever that citrus note is (lime? grapefruit? lemon verbena?) lingers just below the surface.

 

Ice Queen reminds me of long, quiet walks in the woods. A fresh blanket of snow, sunlight filtering through the tree branches - with the dogs walking quietly beside you instead of running ahead like maniacs who have never been allowed out of the house before today.

 

I made my bestest friend Jason sniff it, and he said it reminded him of camping in the middle of winter. (We once went camping in Utah and woke up covered in a very very fine layer of ice crystals - it was absolutely beautiful and surreal. Even our eyelashes were covered with tiny crystals. Gorgeous. And not as cold as you might think.) He gets a hint of tea in there somewhere as well.

 

Ice Queen is incredibly exhilirating, yet very relaxing. Makes me the somewhat sad that I gave away my spare bottle before trying it. (Otherwise, I never would have shared because I'm greedy like that.

 

[rainbow]

I nearly sqealed with glee when I first smelled this in the bottle, as it smelled so beautiful. In the bottle- fruity, with a breath of mint. The mint is very well blended, and for quite some time I couldn't figure out exactly what I was smelling with the fruits.

 

Wet on my skin- still fruit and mint, but more brittle and a bit colder. There's a possible eucalyptus note as well. I'm having a hard time determining what the individual fruit notes are. I almost think I'm smelling pineapple or something tropical.

 

For me this is the big winner of the Yule LEs. It dries down into a primarily fruit scent on me, with a bit of musk.

 

Too bad I only bought one bottle.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Oh, this is a beautifully layered one! The spruce (which smells like *blue* spruce, almost like juniper) alternates perfectly with the iced fruits, although I can't pick out individual fruits, and underneath it all the creamy musk. I think it's the musk that's reminiscent of Snow White--in fact, I think this may be the scent of her mother, dead at the beginning of the fairy tale but no doubt a beautiful, more sophisticated and complicated version of Snow White.

 

I imagine this Queen in her crystalline Ice Palace in the center of a spruce forest, at the head of a banquet table with a centerpiece made from mounds of iced fruits on a gilded platter. She is pale, lovely, and utterly poised, undisturbed by baby Snow White toddling around her feet.

 

Wear it when you need to feel strong and cool, but not at all brittle.

[Cats]

I'd read the descriptions and really wanted to love Ice Queen, especially reading the peppermint mentions.

 

But it did me in. Just on opening the bottle it was too overwelming -- very strong floral with musk and some sort of strong bite I can't identify. Insta-headache. Blast my funky chemistry!

[Amazon]

Ice Queen:

 

This smelled wonderfully in the bottle. A beautiful mix of light musk an berries with a hint of florals.

 

Wet, still a nice mix with the musk fading a bit and the florals coming out more.

 

On drydown and dry. Unfortunately, on me, the fruit disappeared and all I was left with was heavy floral to the point of getting a headache.

 

I reallllly wanted to love it, it sounded so good and smelled so delicious in the bottle.

[Fyre_in_Winter]

This has to be the most unusual BPAL blend I've smelled yet. Oh man, the fruits are surprisingly juicy, the spruce doesn't overwhelm, the florals are delicate, a hint of mint to give it coolness, and smooth musk to blend it all together. Yet it remains very lightweight and breathy, with a fair amount of throw. The fruit and whatever kind of mint is in here seem to be predominant on one wrist, while the spruce and musks seem to predominate on the other.

 

As time goes on the florals disappear, leaving a smell that would be quite nice on a man. I'm not sure how "me" this is, but it is so lovely, it might make me consider keeping it. A masterpiece.

[sarada]

I received this as a gift -- I hadn't bought it myself because I thought it would be too similar to Skadi and decided to just get one of them. Well I am very, VERY glad that I wound up with a bottle, because I wouldn't want to be without this! It is also completely unlike any other blend I have tried, though it is definitely in the icy category, without being minty.

 

There should be an entire subcategory for these kinda of cold/icy scents. I don't know how, but this does put forth the impression of ice. Not the snow-covered pine trees of Skadi, but the dry, smooth sheen of a frozen pond. Usually, in order to feel icy something has to have a minty or piney core but this accomplishes it mainly with this wonderful light musk and the faint whisper of spruce, that feels both dry and icy, and WARM at the same time. Not the warmth of heat or light, but the warmth you get when you're bundled up, maybe with some furry animal friends, and the air around you is all crisp and clean but you're toasty and warm inside.

 

I normally don't like florals except rose, but I like the flowers in this blend. I imagine they are white, and covered with frost, peeking out of a bank of snow. I agree with reviews that have suggested that there might be melon in this -- that could be that crisp, aquatic fruity note underneath -- and bergamot, which would account for the very slight citrusy warmth.

 

Don't pass this one by if you think it will be too much like the other Yule blends...this stands on its own.

 

ETA: How did I not smell mint in this before? Perhaps it's had a couple of months to develop, but I definitely now get frosted mint and musk with a hint of aquatic fruit (melon, maybe a touch of grapefruit or bergamot?). I'm so glad the mint is coming out now!

 

As a summer scent: the mint and spruce are very strong, but still crisp and refreshing. This reminds me of winter when I smell it and is helping to cool me off in the summer heat. I'm really getting a strong evergreen forest scent from this now, the warm weather really brings that out but the mint is super strong as well...how strange that it didn't come out when I wore it in the winter!

Edited July 21, 2005 by sarada

[Scylla]

I have been anxiously awaiting receipt of Ice Queen that I purchased from another forumite. I received it today.

 

In the vial: Oooh! Melon, pine and berries. Very interesting and refreshing!

 

Wet, on my skin: Gah! Melon and musk. The musk quickly takes over and makes Ice Queen smell very, um, animalistic. I keep imagining a fox skulking around in a watermelon field.

 

On drydown: The musk fades, thankfully, but then a strong floral comes to the forefront. Not my thing, unfortunately.

 

I had thought that she might give Skadi a run for her money, but it turns out that Ice Queen has nothing on my beloved Skadi.

[goddessrobyn]

This is my favorite BPAL

 

It has that very feminine floral scent to it... but there's a wonderfully seductive spruce undertone that makes it very sophisticated and very... grounded??... don't know if that's the right word...

 

This is the scent that makes me want to get all dressed up for a night on the town... its high heels and little black dresses... and loads of glittering diamonds...

 

its what I thought Snow WHite would be for me... but she's not... but this is!!

[summer]

I was surprised at how aquatic Ice Queen is -- although thinking about it, I don't know why I was surprised, since ice is, after all, frozen water. Ice Queen very much *is* frozen water. Not snow, but ice. Slightly melty ice. And under that fresh, cold (but decidedly not minty) ice smell is a kind of lemony, sharp, perfumey floral. It's like very bright white sunlight melting an icsicle.

 

This blend reminded me a lot of June Gloom, but it may just have been my skin chemistry at the time and my mood.

 

Either way, this blend (unlike my BELOVED Skadi) captured some of the sharper, wetter aspects of winter that don't jive as well with my personal vibe. However, it's a lovely fresh blend that I plan to revisit in the summer when a bit of fresh, floral ice may be just what I need.

[Finny]

I wasn't going to get this one, then decided at the last minute to make an order for it.

 

I am finding I do not do well with aquatics. They smell wonderful to me, but after wearing them for a short while I get a headache. Stupid, stupid head!

 

Initially I loved this, it is icy, green, with musk. Breathing it in, I can feel the crystals of ice. It smells beautiful.

Then it starts to dry down to a musky aquatic, with pine... and my head starts to ache.

 

Happily it is finding a new home, where I hope it will be loved.

[Sara]

Straight out of the imp Ice Queen strikes me as something bright, white, and sparkly. Definitely bordering on "fruity."

 

After application on skin, the soapy smell comes out and doesn't leave the rest of the time. It's not a bad smell..just something unexpected and not really associated with Ice or Queens.

 

All in all it's still a lovely scent, but I'm glad I only have an imp of it.

[jessamynit]

I think I already reviewed this one but I just wanted to come back to it and say I really, really love this one. soooo yummy.

[LiberAmoris]

Oooh, Ice Queen is brisk and refreshing. I get a melon-mint with spruce and a touch of the musk. (Doctor, I think I have a touch of the musk…)

 

This one is so wintry and cold that I think I might save it until July/August/September, when it’s so bloomin’ hot that Ice Queen will be the ultimate personal air conditioner. It will feel amazing to slather some of this on in a lotion and let the mint cool my skin down. Sort of like saving some snow (of which there is currently plenty outside) in the freezer for a mid-summer snowball fight.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: She's so cold and distant. Snow and a sharp wind whipping through the pine trees. It's very strongly mint and evergreen.

 

On me: I thought this would go odd on me, but it's beautiful. The light fruit notes - grapefruit maybe? Some sort of sweet citrus - lurk in the background. The mint's quite prominent, but there's so much going on beneath it that it's very complex.

Brrrr. It's a cold scent, and I like it.

[tempete]

Ice Queen is one of the few BPALs that conjures up an image of a specific type of person for me. She is a beautiful, regal woman who is coolly haughty, utterly in control and above all, incredibly dangerous and not to be crossed.

 

The scent itself is a beautifully balanced blends of all its elements, with no single element overpowering the mix (generally speaking). The fruits provide a touch of sweetness, the spruce give some greenness, the musks contribute an animalistic overtone and the florals bestow the feminine touch required to remind you that this dangerous creature is a woman. My one complaint is that the musks get out of hand at times during the drydown, but that's probably the fault of my body chemistry, which loves to amp up musks.

 

I'm so glad that I took a chance and got a bottle. If Ice Queen returns in 2005, I will definitely get another one.

[Longstofly]

I got a bottle of Ice Queen in a swap and I am so glad I did. It totally surprised me. When I read the description I was terrified of it being a pine tree of doom scent because that usually really comes out on my skin. That reminds me of some kind of horrible piney cleaner for bathrooms.

 

Ice Queen has no trace of pine on my skin. I smell something that reminds me of juniper berry maybe? I can definitely smell the musk. It's light and beautiful. It smells like a beautiful light blue crystal. I wish I was better with words. I don't do this scent justice at all.

[halowrites]

I was sent a decanted imp of this from girl-zone broker-- she'd said to me she felt that this scent wanted to be mine, and she didn't know why. I'm so glad she felt like she did, because she was so very, very right.

 

so, a review-- in the form of an excerpt from the email I just sent her to say thank you:

 

oh, Ice Queen. I want to cry, I love it so much. it's so beautiful....minty

and cold and creamy all at the same time, and there are flowers in there

somewhere, too-- pure white and glittering and if you touch them, they

shatter into a thousand pieces.

 

I can't stop sniffing myself. this is sheer magic, and I definitely need to get my hands on some more

Edited February 7, 2005 by halowrites

[darkling]

At first, Ice Queen was deep spruce with a hint of mint. It was overwhemlingly strong.

 

The queen then morphed into a musky scent. The spruce and mint both disappeared although there was a faint green presence behind the musk.

 

I am not a fan of musk so I was very unhappy at this point.

 

When the scent faded, Ice Queen was a faint breath of winter flowers underscored by light musk.

 

This scent is interesting but not to my tastes.

[pkwench]

Ice Queen

 

 

I'm not sure how I've gone this long and not said anything about Ice Queen. It is to me, the chilliest, most elegant of the piney LE bunch. Mind you, I LOVE Skadi & Mistletoe, but Ice Queen is the one with her hair up at this ball. The florals in this are so pristinely beautiful. They're set off wondefully by the aquatic chillyness that dominates this scent. And then there's the pine, sitting there smiling and saying "you know you love me, dahling". And I do.

 

I've had Ice Queen in my scent locket all day and have found it to be both wickedly divine and decidedly brilliant. Incidentially, Ice Queen over Enchanted Forest cream from Skindazzles = uber happy wench.