Gypsy Queen

[lorajc]

A heavy-lidded perfume, the quintessence of beauty and power shrouded in mystery, swathed in a deep, velvet-clad cloak of dark omens: Romany incense and candle smoke mingling with an alluring, body-warmed whiff of bergamot, neroli, Bulgar rose, carnation, and amber musk.

This was the first of the Carnivale Noir scents I reached for (although Snake Charmer was left out of my order .....which would have technically been the first one I grabbed had it been in the box). I really like this. I expected to but I was worried about the smoke part of it. It works wonderfully on my skin and is perfectly balanced. I can smell the neroli when first applied (I actually thought it was plum) and then it melds into a carnation, incensy musk with the fruit tone off in the distance just barely detectable. This is surely one of my favorites from the collection so far. My only complaint is that it didn't last long on my skin.

[isyche]

in bottle: incense.

 

on: Wow. This is a complex, warm, shadowy, black-and-purple scent. I smell bergamot and tea leaves, incense smoke, myrrh, candles, a tiny bit of carnation, maybe some dark fruit...

 

Like most of my favorite BPAL scents, it's incredibly atmospheric. I close my eyes and I'm there in a fortune teller's wagon draped with old velvet and fringe and hanging herbs, surrounded by flickering candle flames and wavering shadows. I *love* this.

[shelldoo]

in the vial i double take. i smell wine of some sort. oh how i adore wine.

 

wet, incense and rose, and wine

 

as it dries a bit of neroli pops up, and i still get heavy incense (which i adore) some rose, the rose seems like a young bud, not a full blown bloom, hint of smoke, and a touch of musk. the winey under current is not there anymore, the neroli fades fairly quick, and i am left w/ a soft rosey scent w/ a smokey incense over tone. it is wildly alluring and amazingly gorgeous.

 

 

i adored freak show, i thought i would be lucky to find a couple i loved, well gypsie queen certainly fits the bill too. i am beginning to worry it wil be like gibberish and i will love them all too much

[arabella]

First Impression: Nectar glazed flower petals.

 

Dries down to: Sugar-smoked flowers. It's a lovely, smoky-sweet floral, but very light on me. Then, after a while, it turns into a smoky, waxy, orange scent.

 

Additional Comments : This is a floral for those who hate florals and/or a citrus for those who hate citrus. It's beautifully blended and slightly exotic. Reading the description, I'm not surprised to see amber and neroli. The carnation and rose surprised me, though. I can usually pick them out - especially rose, because it normally smothers every other note. I really wish this were stronger and lasted longer on me. As it is, I can't justify a big bottle purchase.

 

Lasted: I could barely smell it after an hour.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 (for the scent) 1 out of 5 (for intensity and longevity)

[Little Bird]

I'm surprised that I actually like Gypsy Queen, as it was the scent in the Carnaval Noir lineup that I was least enamored with. The rose and carnation scared me away from trying it for quite a while.

 

On me, smoky incense is the dominant note that I get out of Gypsy Queen. It's very heady and sexy. The rose is soft and blooming delicately in the background. There is a sweet orange citrus that I catch every now and then.

 

The overall impression is very shadowy and seductive. Something about this screams of a slow session of lovemaking. Maybe the combination of smoky candles, rose petals, and that general dimmed lighting feel is getting to me...

 

I'm glad that I have a bottle of this. It's so darkly romantic.

[sarada]

Gypsy Queen could be my favorite CN scent on some days, but it would depend on my mood, as it packs a powerful smoky flowery punch that works best in the evening or outdoors. This is a lovely, lovely blend that evokes a small room filled with velvet scarves, tapestries and beads, a little round table covered in Tarot cards and all of the other trappings of the archetypical carnival gypsy tent.

 

This smells like burning or freshly extinguished candles, and it's simply amazing how that smell could be captured in a bottle. It is especially nice when I wear it outside, all of these smoky scents really go nuts when I have fresh air hitting my skin. I really feel like I was in a room filled with incense smoke and not it has infused my hair and clothes. But it's not the strong hippie incense that I normally favor, it's more the scent of an occult store with dried herbs and floral incense. It's definitely a rosy, floral incense but the smoke masks the perfumey floral scent.

 

Rose only works on me when it is darkened by earth or smoke, or frozen in amber, typically, but this is a perfect example of how smoke, incense and flowers can work together. I initially thought I'd put this at No. 3 on my list of favorite CN scents but on the right day it could be No. 1. These are all SO good it's hard to decide! This will be an all-time favorite for me.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - Mmmm, this is delicious. I get incense and the sweetness of neroli combined.

 

Dry - as this dries the incense becomes less prominent on me, and the neroli, bergamot and carnation take over. This is much sweeter than I expected. This might actually be too sweet on me.

 

I tried it a second time and it is sweet, but not too sweet. It's not love, but I will probably hang on to the bottle, at least for now.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 3

[joseybird]

The first notes that pop out at me are the bergamot (not screaming, thank goodness) and wafts of incense. The amber musk emerges quickly, and the bergamot fades into the incense and musk (which smells like -predictably- amber-scented musk). The neroli and rose pretty much meld together in this blend and tinge the incense with their scent, so it becomes more floral-scented incense than florals+incense, if that makes sense. The candle-smoke is very subtle in this blend, and acts more like a dark film over the proceedings than as a note in and of itself--a texturizer, if you will.

 

This is an incredibly sultry blend, definately, as the description says, "heavy-lidded." I would say that it's somewhat similar in feel to Scheherazade, but more "dark purple" than "dark red" in scent. This is definately the scent of a gypsy, or perhaps a seductive, experianced haram girl. It's gorgeous

[Lilithlefay]

This is another of the carnaval scents I will have to order multiple bottles of because it smells that good. When I put this on the incense is very strong, but there is also the spiceness of the carnation. As it faded I can smell the musk, and some of the rose and neroli, but the spicy incense feel is still there. I can absolutely invision siting in a gypsy's tent getting a reading. A darker scent with a definite smokey feel. Love it

[coulrophobe]

At first, wet on my skin, this is all about the bergamot and neroli. When the sharpness dies down a bit, I can smell sweet, smoky incense and... fresh raspberries? Weird. I've been eating a lot of raspberries lately, so maybe they're just on the brain, but I'm getting a tart berry note here.

 

The carnation spices things up a bit, and the rose is (thankfully) staying in the background where I prefer it!

 

Gypsy queen is an unusual incensy floral, with a dash of tart fruitiness. Very nice, indeed!

[Krista]

Gypsy Queen is really pretty. It's juicy and dry and smoky at the same time. Wow, this is really nice. I can really smell berries in this. I really like Gypsy Queen, it's really beautiful!

[harlequin]

In the Bottle: I think “alluring” is probably a good choice of a description for this blend. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it is a very mysteriously sensual blend. Outside of CN, the description (other than the name and the carnation) isn’t something that would make me jump up and down yelling “I Need THAT!” … but I think I’ll like it.

 

Wet on Skin: Well, the citrusy bits I smelled in the bottle fade out pretty quickly, and some of the florals become a bit more apparent. What a beautiful combination of flowers it is, too.. If floral perfumes smelled more like this, I wouldn’t dread walking through the department store perfume department.

 

Dry on Skin: Okay, whatever this “Amber Musk” stuff is, it’s absolutely gorgeous. I think this is definitely what the “alluring” part comes from, in large part. It does have a musky feeling to it, but it’s so much warmer and *mrowr* sex-ay!

 

And, ironically enough.. "Sign of the Gypsy Queen" just came on the radio.

Edited August 26, 2005 by harlequin

[sideviewhotel]

Just something short because I'm covered in about three other oils (two of them being other CN scents).

 

Thankfully, I really don't get any floral from Gypsy Queen. I get musk, incense and something fruity in the far background. There might be a hint of some flowers, but nothing overpowering, which pleases me. I'm glad I didn't go nuts and order bottles of CN scents (other than Medicine Show), because a girl can only wear so much of a scent when she has twenty million, but I will probably wear out the imp in good time.

Edited August 26, 2005 by sideviewhotel

[oatmealneko]

er, edit. I tried it again a few days ago & it smelled better. Go fig.

 

Still fruity & floral in the beginning, but the drydown is completely different this time around. I definitely get the incensy rose scent. Sweet incense, not so much smoke, more spice & rose. The rose, however, doesn't go ROSE!, it seems like the incensey scent dampened that down a whole lot.

 

Carnation does wonders for me & roses. I liked this a lot more than Snake Charmer, really.

Edited September 13, 2005 by oatmealneko

[Em-]

Wow. I had written off Gypsy Queen as being too floral a blend for me to really like. Boy was I wrong. There is something in here, maybe the carnation and the musk, that makes this blend one of the true winners of CN series for me.

 

It is a very pretty floral blend, but whatever the note is that I cannot identify makes it something more complex and beautiful than a simple floral perfume and tuens it into something that I expect to actually wear.

 

[olympia301]

 

Very floral but starts out grape-like. That doesn't last too long before the slightly resin-like and candy flowers take over. A sumptuous and succulent blend and I would say it suits the voluptuaries in this group to a tee. It is floral but in a gourmandy way, that is it is almost edible flowers. Very sweet but not real loud, and I think I detect a bit of black musk under the brew to keep it in place neatly. A very well considered blend which is real juicy.

[Undine]

I almost really like this but instead there is something that is slightly off-putting for me. I think it's whatever makes up the Romany incense or candle smoke, because it's a strong, sweet, smoky smell. It's utterly true that this is a heavy-lidded perfume, and this note is just a bit too much. What's strange is that it almost turns my stomach, even though I don't think it's that bad a smell at all. Sometimes people say food is too rich for them, and I always roll my eyes at that. Ditto scents, I like the resinous ambers and the like. But this, too much. Maybe a little too dry and woody.

 

I can catch the bergamot and neroli if I think about it, possibly even the rose and amber. I have to say this is a wonderfully balanced scent, with each scent coming back and forth each time I sniff.

 

It's a fantastic scent. Just not quite for me. 4.5 out of 5 on my scale, with that caveat.

[blaqpearl]

I almost dissmed this one as too floral. But as I continue to take deep breaths, this is very beautiful indeed. I had to buy this one because I love incense. I almost didnt because of the rose. But I am glad to say that this rose is different than others. It didnt turn to nail polish remover on me. I dont think I need another bottle of this one. But I will cherish this one as long as I can.

[tempete]

When Gypsy Queen is wet, I get the grape note that olympia mentioned in her review. It is quickly replaced by some kind of resin or incense that quite accurately recreates the scent of a blown out candle. Freaky! Unfortunately, this resin gets sweeter and sweeter as Gypsy Queen dries down, and I don't do well with sweet scents that have nothing to ground them. The scent eventually dries down to a soft rose and resin finish, but it takes too long for my queasy stomach.

[tesao]

in the bottle: overwhelmingly sweet. beyond floral. more fruitlike. overripe fruit, plums, grapes. i wasn't sure that this boded well for the gypsy and i.

 

on my wrist, wet: the fruitiness is fading. a warm spice is kicking up, and the smokyness that only recently snuffed candles can bring. the florals are well blended, i can't seem to pick out individual notes. they are just heavy, hanging in the air. hmmmm. maybe this does have possibilities.

 

on my wrist, dry: the spice has morphed into carnation, pure and bright. the jamminess is back, and is reminiscent of the perfume Poison to me. grape jam. alas. something here just does not like me, and i honestly tried.

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Warm floral?

 

After 20 minutes- At first I thought I was not going to like this because it is really rosy at first. After a few minutes something amber/vanilla-ish comes out which I assume is the amber musk? I'd say the top notes here are the carnation, amber musk and the bergamot. There is definitely something in there making this warm and burning candle like. It is lovely!

 

Summery- A keeper! I am soooo pleasantly surprised.

[gingersnapp]

This smells gloriously of a musty head shop. I relished every minute of it on my skin, but it disappeared within an hour. So disappointing.

[fragrantgrasse]

On me, Gypsy Queen is much lighter than I expected. I read the lab's description of: "Romany incense and candle smoke" and somehow my mind conjured up a deeper, darker fragrance.

 

Instead it is sweet, light and very sheer on my skin and doesn't have much longevity but I like reapplying fragrance and there's always my scent locket!

 

As it dries down I do finally get a sense of the incense note as well as candle smoke which adds depth, dimension and complexity to the floral notes.

 

I have another bottle coming and may use it for an up coming birthday....I love sharing my stash!

 

 

edited because i am an obsessive-compulsive fixer-uper.

Edited September 4, 2005 by fragrantgrasse

[quimerula]

Wet I can smell neroli and incense, with a touch of amber and the spicy touch of carnation.

Dry I pick a bit of bergamot too.

It's a strong perfume, floral with a citric edge.

Edited September 8, 2005 by quimerula

[Loligo]

Smoke, smoke, smoke! Smoky incense, burning candles, and an earthy, musky rose perfume are what I get from this. It is *so* evocative -- this is exactly what a gypsy fortune-teller's tent would smell like. The throw is amazing on me, which is good, because at least for the first hour or two, there's a harsh edge to the smell that makes sticking my nose in it a bit unpleasant.