The Peacock Queen

[Schmoozy]

In dramatic contrast to the soft innocence of Snow White and the dew-kissed freshness of her sister, Rose Red, this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom. Haughty and imperious, vain, yet incomparably lovely to the eye, but thick with thorns of jealousy, pride and hatred.

Peacock Queen 2007
Another gorgeous rose scent. However, unlike Red Rose, Peacock Queen is more grown up. There is no mistaking the scent of rose, but this feels more perfumey, more mature, and has more presence.
While it is beautiful, I have to say I prefer Rose Red.

[furygrrl]

Peacock Queen 2005

 

In the imp: Lush, fully bloomed rose - almost candy-sweet.

 

On wet: Still very sweet, a hint of something slightly dusty underneath - reminds me of Beth's orchid note. It tickles the back of my throat...

 

Drydown: Not much morphing from the wet stage. Sweet, sweet rose, and a pinch of orchid dust. Hmph.

 

Overall: I remember liking this much better when it was fresh. It's still quite nice - a very realistic, full-bodied rose, but that dusty orchid vibe has kinda soured it for me. 2/5

[VioletChaos]

this is the 2005 version.

 

in the bottle: a real, red rose in full bloom, late june or early july. amazing.

 

wet on skin: more of the same- i don't get the "perfume-y" aspect some folks have mentioned. this smells like a fresh rose to me.

 

dry down: just glorious. it hasn't changed at all from first bottle-sniff to dry down. a perfect, fresh rose.

 

in all: i'm *really* picky about my florals- i only like violet and rose to begin with, and i only like those notes about half the time. but this is just a perfect, perfect fresh rose. it's like i picked a red rose and rubbed it's petals on my skin. that's the experience of this. i didn't try the one that came out last year, but this 2005 bottle is one i will totally treasure.

 

(a very special thanks to Shelldoo for the hook up on this one! )

[mgrazulis]

Lush, velvety, and a dark red rose whiff in the vial. There is something green there, too. I love Beth's rose. But unfortunately, on my skin, Peacock Queen '07 faded quickly to soap and stayed there.

 

Edited December 23, 2008 by mineralfairy

[hellomoonglow]

I usually have trouble with roses going funky on my skin, either too wet and rotten or too plastic. But Peacock Queen is juuuuuust perfect. This reminds me of VS "Her Majesty's Rose" perfume from back in the day. I will say that the imp I have is te original version, and I have a bottle of the newer release in 07. The imp has aged quite nicely, but the bottle has a little while to go to catch up.

[thelaurenator]

I have the 2007 version.

 

Very nice! A pretty, full-bodied red rose. Doesn't do much morphing. Stays a true rose. Very similar to London, only minus the clean, lemon note.

[asciident]

('07 version.)

 

Wet: Big, strong rose.

 

First on: Unchanged while first on.

 

Dry: Big and spicy. Not really my thing, but a very pretty rose scent.

Edited February 23, 2009 by Melissa Della

[inkaddict]

2007 Version

 

In the bottle: Rose -pure, rich, smooth rose.

 

Wet: Yes! It stays true! A tiny bit sharp, but it looks promising.

 

Dry:

 

Verdict: The first BPAL rose I've tried that my skin doesn't eat nor transform into a sharp, green thorny monster. It's perfect and regal. So glad I got a bottle even if I had to wait 4(!) months befor customs released my package this was completely worth it! *cuddles her precious cobalt bottle*

 

[lady_pandora]

This starts out as a beautifully pure rose. Rose scents can sometimes get a little "sharp," but this one mellows down to something really soft. The better to lull poor innocent princesses into complacency, right?

 

After about an hour, sandalwood makes a subtle appearance. Ah, those must be the thorns. Rose is still there but now there's an additional sensuality that comes from the sandalwood. Best of all, I think it's Non-Headache Sandalwood rather than Headache Sandalwood. (I think it's the white sandalwood that gives me headaches, which would make this the red, if I'm not mistaken.)

 

This is really sexy in an understated way. I like it!

[ShadowsDance]

2005

 

A perfect rose scent. It is slightly different than Rose red, as Rose Red as a bit of a green background to it that Peacock Queen does not. I do not get a perfume-y quality that some mention. It's just.. roses. Perfect, beautiful roses.

[anna1850]

2007

 

Mostly rose and although it has a tiny hint of that funny smell I get from most of BPAL's rose blends (which I'd describe as a cross between socks and lettuce), it's only there slightly. It kind of smells like there are some other florals in the blend that I can't identify.

 

2.5/5 It's not bad but I think I prefer Rose Red and even then I don't think a pure rose scent is really right for me.

[Suusje]

This is such a beautiful rose. It has a bit of sweetness to it as well. And unlike Rose Red, there's no green in Peacock Queen

[Caerphilly]

I think I found my favorite rose scent, aka, my favorite BPAL!!

 

In the bottle: This is what I thought Rose Red (or even The Rose) would smell like, velvety luscious, sweet, powdery red rose. This is it! This smells like this rose jam my aunt used to make, red rose petals and sugar. It's delicious smelling, heady, sexy, sweet, I love it. This is all rose. No stem, not dew, Just sweet, powdery, red, red rose! Love it.

 

Wet: Same as in bottle, no morphing here.

 

Dry: Also the same as in bottle. Although this fades more quickly than Rose Red or the Rose, it still lasts a very long time for a floral.

 

Overall:Again, this is my new favorite BPAL...Took a while to find something to replace Helena, but I found it!

[thekittenkat]

This is a medium rose, not light like a tea rose, not dark like Blood Rose or Black Rose. To me, it's a bit sweeter than the PQ that went all to powder on me (not sure if it was 05 or 07). I don't get aquatics in this, nor do I get the green stems and florist shop coldness that I sometimes have gotten in Rose Red. An elegant scent for a sophisticated woman.

Edited December 7, 2016 by thekittenkat

[HamletsKeeper]

This is probably the most traditional rose scent I've encountered in BPAL. It's sweet, very rosey and contains nothing funky in the bottle. No dew, no greens just straight up rose oil. I got a little excited and thought that perhaps I had found a BPAL rose I could wear. Well maybe maybe not. It does it's usual thing of smelling wonderful in the vial and disappearing on my skin. Leaving behind a vaguely rose plastic residue.

 

Sigh....my favourite flower scent and I just can't wear it.

[Invidiana]

This is a softer rose than Rose Red, which is a bit spicier and mintier in comparison. I thought I could detect a hint of evergreen somewhere, but maybe that's just ozone giving it the chilly "winter rose" feel. It dries down to a soft red rose, possibly the feel of rose petals covered by a light snow. Many thanks to the kind forumite (you know who you are!) who included a partial bottle of this in her package. It's a light and pretty red winter rose, ladylike and sophisticated.

Edited November 28, 2009 by Invidiana

[Venneh]

'09 Blend

 

In the decant, this is a dark rose, vaguely reminiscent of the rose I get in Ysabel. And it translates the same to my skin. Hmm. We'll see what the drydown does; if this behaves, it might be worth a bottle. It seems to be a muskier rose than I usually run into. Thinking this one will be a bottle.

Edited December 1, 2009 by Venneh

[distracts]

This just smells like a rose. It's nice, but I prefer something like Spellbound as a rose scent.

[Prism]

in bottle - rose, it's darker than rose red, but only slightly. Not nearly as dark as London.

Wet - rose, again, it doesn’t really morph.

Dry - a very pretty rose, that's a little different than rose red (a fav of mine) There's no snow or cut grass it's just dark roses.

 

Rating 8/10

 

I have half a bottle, I'm debating a full one. But I already have 2 bottles of Rose Red 2008....... not sure this is dissimilar enough on me to want another bottle.

Edited December 2, 2009 by Prism

[crebbsgirl]

This is another true rose scent on me. Which is rather astonishing seeing as how I usually turn rose to ammonia. Similar to the GC scent The Rose, this is exactly the scent of having stuck my nose into a bouquet of fresh red roses. And it stays true. Unlike The Rose, this fades amazingly quickly on my skin. It vanished completely by the second hour.

[vampirate]

In the bottle it's like a fresh red rose in full bloom. It's more subtle on me dry and warmer, maybe more like a dried rose. Still very pleasant.

[fairnymph]

The 2007 version is one of my favourites, a very lush, appropriately regal, full and velvety rose scent that's true, potent, undiluted and unmarred rose in the bottle and on my skin. Tremendous throw and longevity. I wear it for fancy events - the symphony, fine dining, museums. It feels expensive and classy to me, and it's like a rose essential oil - very pure, no leaves, no thorns, no fruitiness, no soap or powder - just fresh rose petals.

 

The 2005 version is a drier type of rose - it's the same rose note from 2007, but the roses are no longer fresh - they're dried roses, crumbling a bit. I thought this might be age, but I tried it in 2007 and now that I've had my 2007 bottle for 2 years, I can tell it's not age, because that one is still fresh.

 

The 2009 version is not quite like either. Again, it's the same note, and in the bottle is smells just as good as 2007, but on my skin it goes quickly soapy - something rose doesn't usually do on me. It's not a very nice soap, either, but rather chemical, almost plastic - and it makes me very sad! Thank god I have two bottles of the one year that works for me.

[kbrighton]

2009 verison

 

HELLO ROSE! Fresh from the imp, sharp bright rose--enough to make me step back and wonder if I made a big rosey mistake. But no, after a few minutes this begins to soften into something beautiful. Pure soft velvety rose. I am a big fan of rose blends and didn't think I needed another variation, but this is nice and elegant, reminiscent of the pure rose essential oil I used to wear.

 

I was walking back to my desk from the coffee bar just now and noticed I felt extremely happy; I wondered why and realized it was this scent, it makes my heart feel lighter, what more could one ask for?

[Violaine]

My favorite BPAL rose yet. The Peacock Queen is lush, velvety, blood red rose, not headachingly perfumey or too green either. It's perfect, almost the scent of a pure essential rose oil or crushed petals in your hand.

 

Simply gorgeous.

[ami226]

This reminds me a lot of Rose Red, though Rose Red smells like a different type of rose. The rose of Peacock Queen is a much sweeter rose without the green stem of Rose Red. As a rose scent, this one is fabulous!!

 

Sadly on the dry down, this scent starts to smell kind of.... moldy on my skin. Oh, skin chemistry!! Why must you betray me!