The King of Hearts

[Miss Lynx]

Rosewood and black cherry with white musk, red rose, red musk and a spark of lavender.

On first sniff: soap! But a fairly nice sort of soap. The lavender definitely jumps out in front of the other notes once it's been on for a few minutes, but the others are still there to some extent. And the rose isn't dominating the scent as much as it usually does on me.

Basically, it's a light, pretty, and, well, kinda soapy floral-musk. And very feminine, to my nose -- it seems odd that it's named for a male character. That is one girly king there.

It seems like there's something citrussy in it as well, though I don't see any citrus listed. But there's a sort of tart, tangy element to it, which along with the lavender, makes it smell very... clean.

Overall, it's a nice, light scent, but it smells far more like something I'd bathe in than wear as a scent. It smells like really nice soap, from some kind of specialty shop, but it's still, well, soap.

Grade: B

[theseagrows]

at first i get lavender and white musk with a soft black cherry, then it dries to a soft black cherry and white musk. i LOVE this. the only thing is, i wish it had a bit more throw.

[lightgatherer]

Wow, either something is off with my nose or with my skin chemistry - all I get from this is men's cologne. It's not a bad smell, and I wouldn't mind it on a guy, but it's not something I want to smell like myself.

[QueenFae]

This is a complex, many leveled blend. The first thing I notice is a strong black cherry note on top; a deep, rich fruity red scent. The next sniff: lavender and white musk join forces to give the cherry note a run for his money. Then, on the dry down, this magically morphing scent decides to smell like roses, with a shady, deeply sexy back drop. The rosewood note keeps the rosey-ness from smelling too feminine.

 

Wow, this is a really unique one. I like this very much, and I think it would be sinfully sexy on either a guy or a girl. Lovely!!!!!

[Meg]

In the bottle: Almond and lavender, hmm, strange.

 

Wet: Strong lavender with the underlying softness of almond, and possibly also with white musk. Rosewood comes out shyly.

 

Drydown: It turns subtle, with some rosewood and specially a dominating white musk. Lavender soon evaporates and turns into a subtle scent. Red musk and rose seem to hover deep beneath the surface.

 

Overall: It's a white musk blend, which smells fresh and... that's about it, really. The white musk eats up most of its complexity and takes over everything, making it smell soapy clean, and that's it. There's just a hint of sickly sweet rose beneath it, deep down. Not something I'd wear.

[sarahmarie]

Wet, this was very cherry! But it quickly dries to a light, lavender-spiked scent. I'd call it sort of cologne-like, vaguely masculine, but also totally suited to a woman. Okay, so in the end, it's really very much a unisex scent. But it has a classic perfumey/cologney quality to my nose - nice, fresh, groundedly floral with a hint of fruit. I can also see it being a lovely soap.

 

Great if you like a sort of classically perfume-like scent. I'm not sure how much I care for it, but it's definitely a nice scent.

[Neely]

In the bottle: black cherry and lavender. Yummy.

 

Wet: black cherry and lavender.

 

Dry down: as sarahmarie said, this becomes a classic cologne. Lavender with cherry underneath. The rosewood as a base. I am in love!

 

30 minutes: this was a love a ffair meant to be. Lavender, rosewood and a hint of cherry with musk making everything smooth. Ohhhh yeah!

 

Conclusion: I must get a big bottle. Hail to the King baby!

 

Rating 1-5: 5

[PurpleHeather]

In the bottle: Nicely cherry, rich rather than sweet.

 

Wet: The wood starts to come through, and this scent mellows out into a deep one, with some lush cherry, and lots of woodiness. Hurrah, the lavender doesn't go weird on me!

 

Dry: Nice and long lasting. I think I'd like a bottle of this one so that I could put it on less sparingly.

 

Overall 7/10

Edited June 19, 2007 by PurpleHeather

[Mimicake]

Cherries and a bit of lavender make a winning combination while wet. As it dries, the almond is more prominent as is the musk. Very red and purple, very regal. Something in the blend stings my skin a bit, but I like it enough to wear it anyway.

[neuilly]

Um, wow, this is scrumptious! I wasn't really expecting to care for it but it's fantastic!! And I agree that a man or a woman could wear this...personally I really want to try it on my guy but he'll resist so I have to think of a way to trick him into trying it. Lavender is really strong of the bat but mellows quickly into a light cherry, rose, and musk (woo!) combination. There is something classic about it...sort of clean sophistication with a hint of naughtiness behind it. Love it!

Edited July 17, 2007 by neuilly

[heysunshine]

Wet it is deep cherry. But then my beloved red musk has run away (and taken the other notes with it as well) and all I get is lavender. I know now that the that bothers my nose in The Oblation isn't just dianthus, there was some lavender ampage mixing in as well. I think maybe it is the mix with other florals that makes lavender go all funky and strong on me -- it is perfectly beautiful in Lurid and Corazon, my other scents with lavender notes.

 

An hour later it has dryed to a perfumey, white musk with a hint of rose scent. Rather beautiful, actually, and the first BPAL rose scent I have tried that has worked for me. Still, not my fave scent.

Edited April 3, 2008 by heysunshine

[laliloo]

First impression - yummy! This is a scrumptious ripe cherry smell, but not at all sweet somehow. It's full and rounded and squishy and plumptious and I just want to keep sniffing it! Definitely a ripe red scent, with some deep purple berry colours lurking at the edges.

 

I will wait until I've done another test, but first impressions are: 5ml please!

[jsn]

Thid goes very powdery on me but eventually the white musk and cherry come back. I really liked this it seems like a masculine O to me. I didn't like O to girly and powdery for me but this is really nice.

[aquazoo]

You know when you notice you have chocolate on your fingers and lick it off? I did that just after I touched this imp. Not bad, though... This is a nice floral cherry. This reminds me of something — a soap? Except it's not "soapy." It's getting a little salty tang to it.

[LyndaM]

This is a very interesting and complex scent. Cherry, sexy musk, lavender and faint rose. The lavender makes it just a tad medicinal for my taste; but I can see this scent becoming a lovely and unusual signature for the right woman.

Edited October 12, 2007 by LyndaM

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Lavender and rose

 

Wet: Lavender, cherry and rose. The best bpal rose blend I've ever smelled!

 

Drydown: Finally a rose I can tolerate! Yay! I can barely smell the rose, I get mostly lavender and cherry!

3.0 outta 5

[megank4]

Oh I had such high hopes for this one! Rosewood and black cherry?! Slather it on me baby! Alas I think the lavender is just too much. If I could reconfigure this, I would have 40% rosewood, 40% black cherry, 10% red musk, 5% white musk, 5% rose, and no lavender. Will have to try the Red Queen.

[suileach]

In Vial: A light cherry and a watery, powdery, almost ozone-ish note.

 

On Me: The same! It's a really interesting combo of notes. It's very lightly creamy and silky, and there's a touch of a floral perfume scent. The lavender comes out after a few minutes but it's a very inoffensive lavender, and it rounds out the scent beautifully. The musk is the merest whisper - it lends a bit of sophistication and depth to the scent.

 

Overall, I think this is a surprise winner on me. I've avoided lavender for a while, but TKO, Yvaine, and now this are really making me rethink my dislike of it. I dislike rose, but in this blend it just brings about a faint, powdery air without amping horribly.

 

...No, wait. I'm wrong. Ten minutes in, the cherry and cream notes have vanished, and I'm left with a musky rose and lavender. It's not bad for rose, but I'm really sad that the cherry has gone away. This was such a fragile, wistful, beautiful scent on me before drydown. Now it's just floral perfume.

 

The beginning was so lovely, I think I'll give it another try, or find some other way to use it. I think it would smell heavenly in a bath, for instance.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Black cherry, lavender, musk.

 

Wet: Lavender and rosewood dominate, especially the former. Barely any black cherry. Weak rose and musk.

 

Dry: Fades very quickly. Lavender, rosewood, white musk. Rose if I really strain.

 

Summary: The lavender settles, such that becomes a dry, slightly musky floral.

[arsenicsauce]

Couldn't really smell the rose in the vial, so I thought I'd give it a try on my skin, and WOAH CHERRY. Not sweet candied cherry, but a kind of meaty, musky scent with something slightly bitter behind it. I find it slightly disturbing. It gets a little more floral as time goes on, but the lavender and cherry together really aren't working for me at all.

[LadyCrow]

In the decant: Cherry-almond and lavender.

 

Wet: Cherry-almond and LAVENDER!

 

Drydown: On the bright side, this is the first blend I've known to contain a rose note that didn't go dire on me. On the other hand, the combination of a low throw and short wearlength on me leaves me sniffing my hand, trying to categorize what dries down to a classy, expensive, traditionally-perfumey soap. The lavender (and is that anise back in there somewhere?) just fights with the white musk on me, in a soapy way. Not a bottle purchase for me personally.

[scarletgenesis]

In the imp, King of Hearts is a very red, very sweet rose.

 

On- Still sweet, but floral-sweet, not sugar sweet.

 

After a while, the rose fades a bit, and I think I'm getting black cherry and lavender. And what's this? A red musk that doesn't hate me and cause nausea? Amazing!

 

Very light scent. It is quite nice, but doesn't have alot of staying power.

[JennyGardener]

This one was a definite scent memory. I couldn't place it at first. Cookies? Amaretto? No, wait...King of Hearts smells EXACTLY like the almond cookies in a Chinese restaurant!

[aleciarivas]

I couldn't handle this one on me, it smelled like a man's cologne. Granted a very NICE man's cologne, but a man's cologne all the same.... Sooo..... now it's in my hubby's box and it smells divine on him!

[voodoocatwoman]

In the imp: I thought I would really like this fragrance- I love lavender and that is what I most picked up.

 

Wet: More of the same. So far, so good.

 

Dry: No. No no no no no. Not for me. The lavender has faded just a bit and although I can still smell it, the scent has become very masculine. It is gorgeous and I would love to snuggle with a guy wearing this, but I don't think I am going to be able to tolerate having it on all day. I must go scrub it off. NOW.

 

Buy this one for your man...