qveenmab

Alice's Evidence was a reminder not to put my chickens on the full bottle list before they hatch. When my box first arrived I made my girlfriend wear this one while I tried on Queen Alice. I fell in love. On her it was everything I'd hoped for, subtly boozy and fruity under a layer of spice, not overly sweet and beautifully balanced. It reminded me a bit of Alice; a richer, foodier Alice. A few days later I tried it on myself. CINNAMON. Not sure if there's actually unlisted cinnamon in there or if it's perhaps an oddly-behaved ginger, but mainly I smelled like a walking sugared cinnamon stick. The boozy undertones were still present, but I could only detect the fruit if I sniffed my wrist up close. Overall too one-dimensional for me. I think my imp will be going to Madeleine so I can keep smelling the version I love.

This is..... almond??? Not really what I was expecting, especially since I'd heard it was similar to Alice. It smells nothing like Alice. What it smells like is almond extract from my kitchen. After a side by side comparison all I can say is the milk and honey make it somewhat softer and sweeter, but 90% like I might as well have dumped almond extract on my arm. It's light and foody, nice to smell, but not to wear.

This was a frimp I would never have gone for myself, wary as I am of sandalwood, but which actually turned out to be quite lovely and the morphiest BPAL I've tried yet. Immediately upon application: I was blown away by how different this was from what I smelled in the imp. Rich and creamy but not overly sweet, vanilla and amber and what might be the orris, though that's not a note I'm very familiar with. No sandalwood, thank god. At this stage it makes me think of white chocolate?? A few minutes later: Ah. There's the lily, and the sea moss has shown up to cheer it on. Veeeery floral, in a not altogether pleasant way. I don't think I've ever tried a lily scent before, it's not really my style, but looks like this might be a note that amps on me, like jasmine. :/ After about half an hour it's settled down, and doesn't change any more over the next few hours before I fall asleep. The soapy floral/aquatic is still dominant, but the white chocolate reappears, if only to lurk in the background (it's actually more noticeable from a distance than when I put my nose to my arm). The white sandalwood is gentle, just rounding out the blend and never turning sour on my skin. I wouldn't say the lily ruins this for me, it's still a wonderful complex and intriguing scent and I'll be keeping the imp for now at least while I decide if it's something I'd actually wear, but I wish the other notes were given more of a chance to shine. 7/10