Queen of Sheba

[aquazoo]

... Her scent is a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices.

Sweet & goopy! Luckily the almond fades down and I'm left with musky spices. Edited August 25, 2009 by Shollin

[rayvn1]

I knew the odds were not good on this one - honey and almond...two notes that sometimes equal death on me. This would be one of those times

[redderz]

In the imp: Almonds and honey. Uh oh, honey hates me!

 

Wet: Sadly yes, the honey is too nasty on me. It seems quite spicy underneath but I can't get past the honey.

[forspecial_plate]

Oh my God, this smells like chili?? And I like it??

 

Really bizarre and I usually don't like honey, but I am strangely compelled by this. And it smells like chili.

[strahlend]

First of all, I really love almonds - always have. THIS scent is almonds unlike others I've experienced. It has salty, smokey almonds... not bitter almonds, not sweet almonds, not almond oil. It seems like a relatively unusual choice for an almond note.

On the skin - starts out pretty strong but mellows out pretty quick and the slight floral tang I get from the honey note comes out just a bit. Those almonds just stay salty and smokey and start mixing with some really lovely spices.

It fades off my skin pretty quick though, and that's too bad.

[ami226]

On the skin: EEEEEeeeeeeeek! Those are some strong almonds!! Strong sweet almonds.... they are making me feel kind of nauseous...

 

As it drys, the spices begin to bloom beautifully, but there is still that awful almond as strong as ever.

 

Overall: This scent would probably end up being one of my favorites if it didn't have such a strong almond smell.... *sigh*

[kohimame]

It just makes me so angry! I love almonds, I love the smell of almond extract, and I'd be so freaking happy if I could find an almond-based scent. But BPAL almonds hate me so

 

This scent is straight up almonds and honey on me, which should smell good, but it doesn't. It just smells.. off, I guess. The almonds are bitter and the honey goes all dusty on me. Sadly, I don't get any of the spices that other people get. After it stays on my skin for a bit, it fades and doesn't smell too bad, but still, nope, not for me.

[smgudan]

in bottle: bitter almonds, and a green scent to it

 

wet on skin: almonds, a grassy green scent, plus a tortilla type scent...can't really describe it, very interesting though

 

Dry on skin: fades away within minutes to a barely there soft marzipan scent...i'm sure would be lovely on someone else, just not on me. off to swapping the queen goes...

[donnatron]

Imp: Warm, sweet almonds and a hint of spice. Like Hecate without the furriness from the musk.

 

Wet:

 

WET: Oh, this amped into something really unpleasant. It smells like nail polish remover, I don't even know how.

 

This. Usually almond behaves itself on me but this smells like I just swam through a vat of nail polish remover. There is still a lingering, pleasant almond-y quality to this. It's just really, really hyperactive.

 

Dry: This dries down to a soft, sweet, skin close almond scent. It's pretty but nothing too exciting. It's sort of like a pared down Bastet--a scent that took me a good long time to figure out, let alone love. A little like a lotion I used in junior high.

 

Overall: It's pretty and I like it but it pales in comparison to Bastet and the drydown is a little scary. The imp is nice but I probably don't need a bottle.

 

[skyelyric]

I like almond notes, I like spices, this should work, right?

 

Wet in the imp I get a honey sweetness, toasted almonds, and an odd green chili note that Forspecialplate mentioned.

 

On my skin? Corn chips. This has seriously been my most entertaining BPAL yet. After half an hour or so it settles into a sort of nondescript sweetness on my arm, but I don't think I could generally keep a straight face long enough for it to get there.

[hmelt004]

The almond in this one is so strong that it takes over everything else. In the bottle it smells like fresh almonds and after it's been on my skin awhile it becomes a nuttier, toasted almond. This is not an almond extract/cherry sort of smell, but the real nuts. Great if you like it; I don't.

[sparkleyturtle]

When wet, the almond is strong. Very foody. Luckily, it is different than other almond smells I have come across and didn't go bad on me. That being said, I am not a big fan of almond smell.

 

When it dries down, there is less of the almond smell and more of the spice, which is nice, but won't stop this from going in my trade pile.

[Saya]

The spices start off strong and smell like something you'd cook with. After about an hour it turns into straight almond. A powdery, really sweet almond.

[Edeniade]

I first got an imp of this because the prospect of African and Middle Eastern spices was so attractive to me. Sadly I overlooked that there were almonds involved as well.

 

My first whiff of it in the bottle, I had the exact same impression as jwhxtna and paperrose had: nail polish remover. SO questionable. I trucked along anyway and did a swipe on my wrist.

 

First swipe: AUGH not better!! Such a sharp, green smell hit my nose that I sneezed and immediately wanted it off my skin. I thought I could wait until it dried down a bit, but no. I had to scrub it off right then and there. I had such high hopes for this one, but the almonds absolutely ruined it for me.

[ajansuz]

This was another generous frimp from the lab with my last order.

 

In the imp, it concerned me a little bit. The almond scent was bitter and strong, overwhelming what little bit of sweet honey I could get to come out. It was very sharp and made my nostrils tingle.

 

Wet, for about 30 seconds the bitter almond grew even more bitter, and then it settled itself down. I always seem to amp honey notes. Thankfully, this was no exception. As soon as the honey warmed, this scent became really delicious.

 

Drydown, the almond and honey seemed to be playing together very nicely, and a melange of spices emerged, warm and sweet. Maybe cardamom, grains of paradise? If the oil were more yellow, I'd think tumeric was there, because there's still something slightly dry and a little bitter that isn't the almond. And I'm thinking there's a musk, maybe white or red, not one of the ones that hate me. What I really appreciate about the scent is the balance. Once it dries down, the hint of bitterness and dry is pleasant with the sweet and the richness of the almond. I fell in love with O in this order, but now I'm completely torn between a bottle of that or a bottle of this. I'll have to try them again close together to decide.

 

This has a medium throw and decent lasting power. Five hours and going strong without a lot more morphing. It reminds me some of Scherezade, only less perfume-y. God, this is sensual and positively lovely!

[sunlitgarden]

To me Queen of Sheba smells like those pickled banana peppers you can get on sandwiches. Haven't tried it on the skin yet, but I don't want to smell like a pepper...

 

Okay, so i tried putting a bit of it on the back of my hand. First blast is still the pickled peppers.... I agree with whoever mentioned corn chips, that's what I'm getting under the pepper-spices. This is basically CHIPS AND SALSA. Eventually the salsa fades, but I am getting... chips. Off to swaps with you!

Edited August 15, 2010 by sunlitgarden

[Altaira]

The almonds were very bitter on me - almost rancid - for a very off-putting scent. The notes sounded like something I would like, but I found it rather gross.

[Invidiana]

This is an absolutely delicious, golden honeyed almond scent with an extra ribbon of sensuality in the background; I don't know exactly what spices, definitely not cardamom since that would definitely show up on me, maybe a hint of cinnamon? Whatever else is in this, it's mostly dominated by the honey and almond in all their thick, luscious glory and I love it.

 

ADDED Jan. 24:

 

This is amazing on me; all golden honeyed almonds with whispers of spice, but it's really the thick golden honey and sweet almond that steal the show. For some reason it makes me think of Cleopatra getting naughty with Marc Antony and a jar of honey.

[Dharklady]

In bottle: Ooo honeyed almonds.

Wet: Sweet almonds and brown spices. It is a very brown, golden scent.

Dry: This stays true throughout, with the spices getting a touch deeper and dustier.

Notes: It evokes imagery of a gold-dusted woman, lounging regally on a divan being fanned while picking at a bowl of delicacies. Regal decadence at it’s finest.

[milo]

At first, this is kind of sweet almond with a weird spice. This really reminds me of Lush's Flower Market perfume with that weird spice thing going on. It's kind of acrid and sweet at the same time, a weird combo. After a bit, the spice goes, and it ends up being an almondy, fresh floral. Quite a morpher, and now it's more like a herbal meadow with grasses. Now it reminds me of Traipsing Through Crop Circles, very nice, but fades very fast and gone within an hour. Boo.

[melrose]

Gack! Horrible - this smells like some sort of moldy grain cooked in rancid butter - I'm on the verge of nausea.

 

I'm going to hang on for the drydown, because the comments suggest this is quite a morpher.

 

Okay, it morphed into wind blowing through a barn filled with moldy hay.

 

Her highness and I must agree to disagree.

[Ella LaRose]

not my type of scent. I am not an almond girl, too foody. and the saffron is metallic too me. gonna trade my imp to someone who likes it.

[angelamaria]

In imp: quite tart and spicy--it definitely woke me up when I smelled it. I'm not able to pinpoint the almonds, it seems like a fairly even note with the spices here. My nose is not experienced enough to know what those spices are, though.

 

Wet on skin: wow, this is very nutty--the almonds are out full force here. I can get a bit of honey, but the nuttiness and the spices drown it out almost completely. I was trying to think of what it reminded me of, and the image that came to my head was a box full of old pretty antique-y things. There is a bright note here somewhere--I'm not sure what it is, but it's very pretty amidst the earthiness of the other notes. I keep sniffing to get at it.

 

Dry: the almonds are retreating a bit, to the same layer where the rest of the spices are. Honey is still hiding behind other spices, but pretty soon the scent is almost all gone, disappearing on my skin; I can hardly get at it now, although there is something still nutty hanging around somewhere, very faint. Also, after a good fifteen minutes on my skin, at some whiffs I am getting a burnt plastic smell! Very faint, but it's there, maybe one out of five sniffs. This is odd, I don't like it one bit. I wish I knew which note was doing it on my skin.

 

Verdict: well, I can now safely say that I like almonds to eat, but not have me smelling of them! It's a very "true" almond scent, and it's pretty interesting, but not for me, even if the burning plastic smell didn't start to seep in at times there.

[meredevachon]

Frimp from the Lab

 

In the imp: Warm spices, sweet honey.

 

Wet: SWEET. Nutty richness of almonds, but mostly what I get is SWEET.

 

Dry down: Surrounded by honey, with the almonds underneath. Where are all the lovely spices I got in the imp?

 

Dry: Still no spices. I really like some honey scents, but this has been and remains too over the top. Plus the almonds.

 

Overall: Foodie scents aren't really my thing, and this one is definitely foodie. It also gave me the munchies. Strong throw, but only lasted a couple of hours. I'm passing this one on to a friend.

[Helas]

On the vial, and when wet, this smells like spicy cherries! WTF? I have never had an almond scent do that to me before.

 

Once it dries, the cherry scent does acquire a drier, nutty edge that brings it back into almond territory. There is also a strident saffron note that makes me think of inhaling a lungful of dust. Queen of Sheba is foody, but not the kind of food that I would consider edible - more like a bowl of sugared almonds that have been left uncovered in the spice cabinet for a few months. It's very sweet, but too dry and musty to be appetizing.

 

The late drydown is very similar to Scherezade, which also did not work on me. I'm about to give up on these oriental/desert blends, and on the bulk of the Ars Amatoria category, since most of the blends here have turned out to be abysmal on me.

 

Two out of five stars.