Queen of Sheba

[Quiara]

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

I got this in a swap with hillarygayle. She couldn't wear it and I hoped I could.

In the imp, it's strong almond. Nice enough, but it doesn't grab me.

Wet: almond and something sharp behind it. Okay, but still not getting me.

Drying: spices begin to emerge, warm and soft underneath the almond -- and hello, honey!

Dry: a gorgeous spicy, honeyed almond blend. I'm in love with the drydown. This certainly on my potential big bottle list.

[mtlaise]

Well anything with an almond note tends to smell like liquid almonds on me when wet, and that's true of the Queen as well. I love the scent of almonds, so this is fine by me! I don't get anything but almond in this one, though, until it's completely dry, when the almonds soften and the scent takes on a powdery finish (not as in baby powder, but as in a soft top layer that's on top of the almonds). I quite like this, but was hoping for the spices to come out more. I'll use my imp, but probably won't buy more.

[smallvoice]

This one needs more mention- I hadn't really heard much about this blend, but I got a frimp in a swap a while back and never got around to testing it. I was going through my imp box, and found it today and, wow! It smells like almonds, the way almost every one of BPAL's almond blends do, in the imp. On my skin, it seems like the almonds may stomp out everything else, but then the honey comes to visit, and some spices creep in, until there's this exotic atmosphere- it's everything I wanted from O, but better. I love the richness of the honey in this one! The Queen of Sheba is right next to Bengal in my bottle wishlist.

[steffanina]

Queen of Sheba-

 

In Bottle: Wow, milk and almonds! Yum!

 

Wet: Almond, sweetness, something sharp and flowery but I'm not sure what.

 

Dry: Doesn't linger long, but pretty for that short time. Mostly milk and almonds with just a hint of spice during that time.

 

Overall: I like.

[maijasu]

Mmm, spicy honeyed almonds, just like the description says! I still prefer Bengal, but this imp is a keeper.

[Nidaba]

My first review, so bear with me. =]

 

In the imp: Almond, almond, almond. It smells just like the almond oil I use when baking. I am a little disappointed.

 

Wet: Still almond, but a little sweeter now. I can live with this.

 

A few minutes later: Soap!? What the heck? Why is it getting a soapy tinge?

 

Dry: I'm not sure what I think. I put a drop in my hair and a dab on my neck and I like the scent. But I don't like it when I sniff my wrist. Right up against my skin it has this weird almond soap smell, but from a distance it is nice.

 

3.5/5

[tinyvulture]

this is the first bpal almond scent that i’ve really loved. it doesn’t turn bitter and it’s not too “foody.” i LOVE whatever it’s combined with! the honey, of course. i love bpal’s honey note. but what are those amazing spices? i can’t tell. something sharp. i sort of wonder if there could possibly be cumin in this. also, i think i smell some florals – roses and jasmine, maybe? i wish i knew, because it’s really an amazing combination.

[Sashan]

In the Bottle: Horrible bitter almonds. I'm not a huge fan of almond so I hope it tones down on application.

 

Wet: Still almonds but it starts to warm and soften as the spices come through.

 

Dry: This is really lovely. I barely detect the almonds now. It's become very golden and slightly spicy with an almost floral edge. It's comforting yet a little sexy.

 

To my surprise I really like this. Once I get through the bitter almond phase it's a really gorgeous scent.

[gingersnapp]

At first, this was warm and nutty almonds. But something really bizarre has happened with my skin chemistry because this turned into that ubiquitous slimy pink soap from any public restroom.

[moon_lemming]

Holy ... those are some strong spices. I took a deep whiff of Sheba from the imp, to make sure I got the almonds, and wow, spices. Yeah.

 

The scent description says "a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices," but this is really more of a hoarse shout. I think maybe the spices include something that amps like crazy on my skin. The almonds are there, yes, but the spices almost form a visible cloud a foot around my wrist.

 

This would all be well and fine, except whatever my skin is amping is making me smell like food. Savory cookies or spiced roasted almonds or something like that.

 

The weird thing is that, after about half an hour or so, Queen of Sheba smells very, very good. Sexy, warm, and smooth, with a little spice. I just don't think I'd be able wait out that strong savory scent on a regular basis to get to this point.

 

Well, this was definitely a learning experience. I'm not sure what I learned, but ... I'm sure there was a lesson in there somewhere.

Edited February 16, 2007 by karen

[brit_brat100]

Imp: Straight away this is gorgeous. Tasty, buttered almonds with a hint of spice. Not red hot, like cinnamon, but dry and exotic.

 

Wet: Heavy heavy almonds with an almost alcoholic tinge. I was worried it might not be as pretty, but I waited patiently.

 

Dry: Mmmm...dry spices with sweet almonds. The honey comes out a little bit in this stage. This is reallly nice.

 

Final Thoughts: I think I want a bigger bottle of this. Queen of Sheba is really pretty, but not quite foody. I don't get power from this, but I do get extravagant and exotic beauty. I love this.

[lightgatherer]

On application smells briefly like fake almond flavoring. I was wary, but gave it more time. After the brief initial stage, the almond started warming up and becoming rich and buttery. The honey started coming out afterwards, and I smelled like delicious butter toffee almonds for hours. The spices make a slight appearance but are fairly negligible. My only complaint with this scent is that the throw is very weak. Because of the likelihood of needing to slather this, I will likely want a bottle.

[ariosa]

I love me some almonds, and marzipan is one of my favorite sweet treats to eat. However, Queen of Sheba is not those sweet, marzipan-y almonds to me. They're sharp and bitter and dry... more nut than sweet. When applied wet, it smells like nail polish varnish on my skin (!!!), but after reading the reviews, I decided to leave it alone and let it settle on my skin. The result is a lovely honey-sweetened almond with a hint of spice, but I still get a 'dry' sense. This isn't something I think I want a bigger bottle of, and I'm actually wondering if this one would benefit with some aging. It's a keeper, though... for now.

 

ETA: You'd think I'd learn that by now, I really need to wait a while before writing a review. After about an hour, the Queen has sweetened some, and is now a nice, rich, if weak smell. I quite like it, but I'm not sure I want to wait so long for something that nice.

 

ETA - March 27, 2007: Tried this again, and got the nail polish/varnish smell. This isn't really something I can abide, because it takes a long time to go away. I REALLY want to like this, but something in it doesn't like me very much. What I AM going to do is put it away for a few months to age it, and then try again. If it's still awful on me at that point, off to swaps it goes.

Edited March 28, 2007 by ariosa

[Lunaratu]

wet: this is musky and astringent--ick! but from the other reviews i think i'll stay with it and see how it settles...

 

it becomes very dry almond candy in a few minutes but it has an almost distinctive almond scent that verges on fake.

 

not exactly for me. sad but true.

 

Rating: 2/5

Throw: low

Edited October 9, 2007 by Lunaratu

[wikkidraven]

from the description i was expecting to LOVE queen of sheba...honey AND almond, plus spice! so up my alley. the smell from the imp was heavenly, first dab on my wrist divine.

 

unfortunately, the excitement i felt upon applying (quick! bottle purchase!) was quickly squashed as the queen dried down to a dry, nutty smell. it's now faded to almost nothing.

 

and i thought i'd found another general catalogue love...curses!

[LadyCrow]

In the imp: Amaretto. No, wait -- this is a different almond note. Is it slightly bitt -- *dies*

 

On skin: No, no, relax. There's no cyanide in this. In fact, what it actually smells like on me, and remains like throughout the entire drydown, is... biryani -- a saffron rice dish with almonds. You would go and get a big plate of this at an Indian restaurant, and then finish with some funky milk dessert that smelled like Milk Moon '07. If Beth ever creates a mango lassi scent, the picture will be complete.

 

Some people apparently really love this. I have the skin chemistry that turns it into dinner, and not the world's best version of biryani, either. Alas! Off to swaps with it.

[gwynethr]

When I got a decant of this, I couldn't wait to try it, because it was purple in the vial, my favorite color. The scent matched the color -- it was quickly my favorite GC scent, and the first GC bottle I bought.

 

It's been sitting there, aging for a bit, and I find I love it even more now than I did when the bottle first came. It's almost a comforting scent, the honey sweetness, the warmth of the almonds, the soft tang of the spices. This is an everyday scent, the kind of thing you could wear anywhere, especially if you wanted to feel sophisticated and elegant.

 

This truly embodies everything the legend of the Queen of Sheba was about... in fact, it kind of reminds me of those old Blackglama fur ads, What Becomes a Legend Most? Not poor dead animals this time, just gorgeous BPAL perfume!

[tanyak]

Ummmm, this is nice. I dont get almond...at least not for very long. My skin must eat it up, lol.

 

Its very much like both morocco and scherezade on me. Sweet and gentle...near the end I dont even have spice. It leans toward warm but not spice per say...

 

 

It in the running for a big bottle...just not sure which of the 3 it will be yet.

[JennyGardener]

Strong on the almonds. That's all I get. A rather bitter almond scent. Not for me.

[enderfem]

Bottle--almonds and something spicy that I can't place. That's going to annoy me.

 

Wet--REALLLLLLLY strong almonds. Like, almond paste almost. I can't smell the other spicyness right now. Maybe it will come out later.

 

Drydown--Really soapy after an hour. Darn.

[UploadedLobster]

I don't get any spice at all, but I do get the honey and the almonds. In fact, this might as well be called Almond Cookie SN. I love it dearly. It lasts maybe an hour, but what a warm and comforting hour that is. Ahhh. More of a pick-me-up scent than a personal fragrance.

 

Lobster Rating

better than: oatmeal raisin

[mspixieears]

I smell the cypress and almond immediately though the cypress makes the almond less foody. Though it gets foodier with the fig coming through, also with something else that is gently spicy. I thought my body chemistry would like this more but so far it’s not as lovely as I expected. Will wait a while to see if this changes. Nearly an hour later and it’s gone powdery like amber blends generally do, but with a touch of almond. Doesn’t have much lasting power and finishes up smelling like peonies to my nose for some odd reason.

[Pottersville]

This was one of the imps in my very first batch of BPAL, and at first I was afraid it was going to do what 95% of that batch did on me .... go sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet (did I say sweet?). There was definitely more sweetness to the Queen than I care for, but it dried down to a gloriously complex almond and spice scent. Might even be worth a big bottle!

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: whoa! Smells really strongly of amarettini, or whatever those little Italian biscuits are called -- almonds and strong cardamom and spices.

 

Wet on me: Whoa. Weird. I think I'm smelling saffron. It really really smells like saffron rice. And also the lemon juice and melted butter that we used to dip crab legs into when I lived at home in Florida. Yeah, I know. I'm weird. God, it's making me hungry though!

 

After five minutes: Right, I'm struggling to get thoughts of seafood out of my head and have almost succeeded. Still saffron, a hint of lemon, and buttery-golden almond biscuits.

 

(Scrolling through the old reviews and LadyCrow is right. Holy hell, now I totally want a biryani.)

 

Drydown: Saffron rice with almonds and cream and a squeeze of lemon.

 

I really want to be able to take this scent seriously, but it's a *curry* for crying out loud!

 

Also I'm torn because it smells totally delicious and makes me want to eat my arm, but I might feel differently if it weren't dinnertime.

[maribouquet]

Intensely almond, like marzipan, when wet. As this dries it gradually mellows out into a lovely, soft Jordan Almonds scent, like the fine, sweetness that clings to your fingers after you've eaten a small handful.