Crypt Queen

[Inanna9]

If, from these fruitless yearnings
Thou wouldst deliver me,
Say that the charms of Nature
Are lovely still to thee;
While I am thus repining,
O! let me but believe,
'These pleasures are not lost to her,'
And I will cease to grieve.

O, scorn not Nature's bounties!
My soul partakes with thee.
Drink bliss from all her fountains,
Drink for thyself and me!
Say not, 'My soul is buried
In dungeon gloom with thine;'
But say, 'His heart is here with me;
His spirit drinks with mine.'

As sweet as death, as deep as the grave: pomegranate, raspberry, gardenia, plum, and rose with patchouli, black pepper, rose musk, and a hint of blood accord.

How could I pass up the chance to be first (me! Aries! yay!) to review the Crypt Queen? I've been fragrance-free all day in anticipation of Her arrival. Alas, the pressure is on...

In the bottle:
Fruity! A lovely melding of pomegranate and raspberry, with just a hint of something sinister beneath, something musky and a little dirty. I suspect I'm going to like this.

On, still wet:
The pomegranate is ripe...dark and juicy - not a note that always works for me, but I'm swooning already. I think the raspberry gives it a heady zing.

Then the patchouli and plum kick in...

omg, this is...so good. Sorry, I'm at a loss for purple prose at the moment because I can't stop sniffing my wrist. Fear not, dirty-hippyphobes: this is the patch of Mme. Moriarty and Dark Delicacies. Very smooth and sultry. *sniff* Oh yeah, Crypt Queen gets her very own branch on that family tree.

Drying:
The juiciness of the fruits starts to fade, appropriately enough, and the darker plum takes over the job. I think it keeps the florals in line, because I can smell the richness of rose and gardenia wafting along beside it, but no single note is amping its loveliness all up in my nose. I'll also give credit to the musk and the soft bite of the black pepper for doing the same - they (and that amazing patchouli) lend this the earthy, creepy nuance it needs. But nothing takes over, everything blends. It's a friggin' symphony: dark fruits...regal yet subdued florals...all grounded by some sexy, spooky base notes. Already in my Top Ten. Really, really gorgeous and sophisticated.

ETA Later that evening...
I've been running errands with this all afternoon, and I keep catching the most beautiful clouds of dark, earthy florals. Good thing this is such a stunner, because Crypt Queen lasts and lasts.


And the coffin is possibly the coolest thing ever. My Halloween is already Happy. I need a swooning vampiress emoticon or something.

Brava, Beth! Edited September 12, 2007 by Shollin

[tempestteapot]

Well I got her today.

 

At first it was VERY fruity, almost to Fire Pig fruit-poo-ness. But there's something behind keeping it from being TOO sweet.

 

Then the patchuli comes out. I like Mme Morarty, but in this blend it goes straight to corkboard/hippyness on me. (sorry Inanna9) It's dirty and dusty smelling with the bits of floral and fruit mixed it. She likes me not.

 

I'm glad I got it for the bottle art and the coffin case!

 

ETA: I'm a complete foodie so this wasn't totally unsurprising that the "dust" and patchuli have turned me off.

Edited September 8, 2007 by Tempest Teapot

[shellyshells]

First off, very lovely indeed!

 

When its wet its dark and fruity which I like very much. I smell plum, rose and gardenia the most and then patchouli whips it all up. It dries down to a soft, smooth, and dark fruity blend and I don't know why but I'm sensing an earthy aspect as well.

 

It does smell similar to Mme Moriarty to me as well. It's definitely a keeper for me

[salamandrina]

I finally got to break open my box.

 

It was so fun - the packaging had an Alchemist's Local sticker on it, and the coffin itself was filled with Spanish Moss (my kitties were in heaven - boxes and herbage to roll about in!)

 

In the bottle, the oil is all juicy pomegranate.

 

Wet, the oil is dark, succulent fruit - almost candy like, but very quickly it dries down to rich, sexy patchouli, sweetened with fruit. The floral notes are almost non-existent on me (which is not a bad thing - sometimes rose goes way soapy for me).

 

It's earthy and rich, and I really love it. It's reminiscent of Mme. Moriarty, although less sultry and more dignified.

[squirrelmonkey]

Well, I'll be damned. A patchouli blend that doesn't smell like patchouli squared. Victory is mine!

 

In the bottle and wet, it starts out with raspberry and plum, very fresh and juicy and dark. It's very cartoon villainess dark and red -- Cruella de Vil level of villainy. As it dries, I smell the flowers more -- rose and gardenia both behave (ie, don't turn into soap or wet dog), and there is a nice light muskiness to it. I can't really smell pepper as such but it's there, giving the blend a crisp and almost alarming bite. Patchouli comes out after a while, but everything else keeps it in check.

 

Overall, a very nice blend; I would describe it as paradoxical -- it is both juicy and dry, fruity and dusty. I think I will have to test it a few more times to figure out what it's really all about. But even when I catch a whiff of notes I don't particularly like, I still keep huffing my wrist.

Edited September 8, 2007 by squirrelmonkey

[heathercaley]

Mmm super sweet and lovely

 

In the bottle it's sweet but with a deep dark earthy roundness. I totally agree... this is on the level of Mme. Moriarty and Dark Delicacies

 

Wet : I smell the musky rose with a bit of sweetness hangin around the edges and an earthy undertone. oh god Im in loveeeee...

 

 

Drying down: I can smell that nummy plum and fruit and a bit of musk curling the edges just enough to make me want to inhale my whole arm.

 

 

A bit later : Mine.. it's all mine.. omg I am soooo happy I got me some of this lovely stuff.. Its been dry for around 20 minutes and I have a sweet-musky-pomegranate-plum sniffy swirl wafting all around me.

[evanesce]

I don't usually do reviews, but being the nature of this one, I thought I'd play too...

 

The moment I opened the bottle it was just FRUIT! Capital letters. And not much different on me wet. It's been drying down for a few minutes now, and honestly its very spicy and bitey on me. The pepper is very strong, the rose is threatening dryer sheets, and the fruit is lost.

 

It smells familiar... I just wish I knew why..

 

It is definitely dusty, and makes me think of an old grave... Dried roses, and heavy nearly rotting fruit under musk.

 

The coffin is neat and I was shocked at how big the package was! And I too love the label art.

Edited September 8, 2007 by evanesce

[bloody sore]

This has got to be one of the craziest morphers I've tried. (And also the first TP blend that I wasn't 'meh' about)

In the bottle this is pure, sweet fruit. Dark fruit, evil fruit. What I feared it might have smelled like.

When I put it on my skin it smells like it does in the bottle for about . . . thirty seconds. Then this crazy grounding almost pepper smell comes through. About a half hour later, a floral is blazing into strength, with the peppery base fighting for the top. It reminds me of all of the old people I used to take care of. It makes me think of the women that refuse to give up to death and old age. It's empowering, yet utterly creepy at the same time. A good six hours later, it's dried down to a soft peppery floral.

Never thought I'd love this one, I just wanted it for the cool coffin. I have a feeling I'm going to be hoarding this one.

[impadua@aol.com]

Bloody Sore, you wrote MY review!

Dark evil fruit? Check.

Peppery then floral? Check.

Little old ladies never giving in to their age? Check.

Creepy? BIIG Check.

It has incredible staying power, and stays a little dark, evil, and creepy.

Glad I got Mine!

 

And I really love her sleeping quarters! I could use a couple more of those.

Edited September 8, 2007 by Esscentual

[Melle Mel]

I've never ever done a review, so this won't be nearly as detailed as everyone else's, but I love this TONS!

 

I don't like it in the bottle. I sniffed it and though, "Wow. I hope it doesn't stay that way."

I put it on over 6 hours ago, and I still smell like dirt and roses.

 

I have to add that I feard it because I don't like patchouli, and my skin tends to amp it, but not this time. I'm SO happy that this works on me.

Nevermind the fact that her casket's adorable! (As was the lil' bat sticker on top of my box.)

[beachbabealways]

I'm not good at reviews but I do smell the fruit, patchouli maybe a tiny hint of flowers & black pepper. Not sure what blood accord smells like. This may be in the same family as Mme Moriarty but it's not like Moriarty if you know what I mean. They are two different scents.

I the smell of this in the bottle but not sure my skin chemistry is going to cooperate with this blend which makes me very SAD. It's close to that time of the month and my chemistry goes all wonky so will try it again in a week or so to make sure.

 

ETA: The throw is good on this one and it lasted 8+ hours on my skin.

Edited September 10, 2007 by beachbabealways

[Rovylern]

I am really torn about this one. I absolutely love the subtle florals and juicy, dark berries. In the bottle, it is absolutely perfect. But on my skin there is an odd smell that comes out, I'm not sure what it is but it makes my nose tickle like a whiff of Vicks Vap-o-rub does. Maybe the pepper? It's not horribly strong but it doesn't fade away. I'm going to give it a few more tries and see how it does around other people, and if they notice that same weird scent when I wear it I may try aging it for a while before trying again.

[annabellee]

Just received my box...and all I can say is WOW. The packaging was so fun..the box and label the coffin and perfume came in. First off, the coffin seemed really quality..it was pretty heavy for its size! Inside it was spanish moss, great touch. The label on the bottle of crypt queen was really fun...it was a laying skeleton. My first whiff blew me away. I knew I was going to love this one! Wearing it now, this is by FAR my favorite oil I have ever owned! I smell raspberry, pomegranate, rose, dusty florals..it is dark and SO beautiful. I have not gotten any pepper yet. I am so in love with this...I wish I had ordered several. 10/10

[dawndie]

In bottle: deliciously juicy dark fruit

 

On skin: the rose blooms right away, mulling with the dark fruit juice

 

Half-hour later: instead of staying sweet, it's turned darker with something dirty and gloomy

 

In conclusion: at first this reminded me of one of my favorite LEs, Queen of Clubs. All watery roses with dark fruit juice. Then the patchouli and black pepper take this blend underground and it ends up quite different -- definitely dark, solemn and eerie. What an interesting blend!

[sookster]

holy shit...

 

the coffin and crypt moss add the perfect touch to this ....

 

straight sniff from bottle is thick, heavy, syrupy, sweet and dirty

 

once applied the tiniest dropling last 4-eva....

 

stays thick and sweet for 10-15 minutes and then mellows into the most

gorgeous mossy, fruitilicous, patchouli, incense blend i have ever experienced

from the lab...remains intensely fruity throughout...

 

phenomenal...a complete bargain as well with that crazy coffin...i am honored

and overjoyed to own a bottle and the coffin...

 

xoxoxo to the most honorable kebechet and puddin...

[Ahania]

I was so excited to be getting this, and it just isn't meant to be. In the bottle, it's all lovely dark fruity goodness. On, it turns into cough syrup. Not the good cough syrup where they put in enough flavor to hide the medicine taste so you'll keep buying their brand, either. No, just the store-brand where the flavor is sort of half-assed, because they know you only bought it because you're standing in the store dying and want to get home. You know it doesn't work when I hope for the patchouli to get stronger and take over.

 

The coffin, on the other hand, is absolutely gorgeous, so I'm still glad I bought the set.

[zenvodunista]

Crypt Queen arrived today! YAY!

 

The coffin is really nice. Heavy, which I wasn't expecting. I definitely feel like I got my money's worth. I may keep my imps for MnS in it. Not sure yet.

 

Anyway, heavy, and nice, and I love spanish moss as it makes me think of living in NOLA.

 

I could smell the tiniest whiff of the Queen coming through the box!

 

I opened her up and got a bit worried as I smelled the Mme Moriarty patchouli. For some reason, even with aging, Mme. Moriarty hates my skin. It's entirely the wrong kind of patchouli, and it smells awful on me, despite me and other patchoulis getting along quite well. My heart sank a bit.

 

The rest of it was plummy and sweeeeeeeeet.

 

Put it on and... WHAM. It reminds me heavily of my first perfume love - Poison by Christan Dior. The other BPAL that makes me think of Poison is Dark Delicacies. CQ makes me think of DD too, but it's heavier, plummier, and deeper than DD. DD I can wear to work - this? Probably not.

 

Crypt Queen is full juicy in the way one says a good wine is "jammy" and "full of fruit" - it's sweet but not SWEET, if that makes sense. Thank Everything, the patchouli is behaving and giving this blend the darkness I crave. My heart was broken by Mme.Moriarty, and so I'm thrilled that I at least have Crypt Queen. So, yeah, darkly juicy, wine like, some tannins - enough for a good backbone. Spices. Musk.

 

I love this. This is so up my alley.

 

 

Thank you, Beth & Co for this gorgeousness!!

 

:applause:

 

N.

[Rheliwen]

Whoa is this red in feeling! It is STRONG too. I put my normal amount on and I had to wash some off because it was giving us a headache.

 

A first this is a sharp, biting red fruit...mostly raspberry with the pomegranate following. Then the patchouli kicks in and it is definitely a dirty variety. It and the pepper make this blend spicey and dusty. Once dry the rose and plum come out. The plum and musk are seriously what's saving this blend from turning "red candy dropped by a 2 year old into the playground dirt" and making it a little more sophisticated.

 

It's a lot more sharp than I was expecting. I don't know if aging will help. It definitely smells nice, but maybe a lighter hand is required.

[stellaforstar]

 

This is it. This is the scent I was looking for when I started looking for the perfect scent and happened upon BPAL. I am not good at picking out notes, but I can say that I DON'T get much of a fruity, juicy nose to this one. I smell it a little in the bottle, but on my skin it skids to the perfect combination of all elements. It is sexy in a dry way, in a walking through the cemetery on a cold Autumn night when you might shouldn't be there kind of way. It does seem similar to Madame Moriarty, but to me Madame is wet and lush and sexy; this is dry and deep and sexy. Something about it reminds me quite a bit of the Brides of Dracula, but with a twist...The coffin is a pretty fitting reminder to me that someone will have to pry this bottle out of my cold dead hands in order to take it from me.

 

Figures this scent is likely to be impossible to find without paying a million dollars for it, because I am in love with it.

 

Edited to say: wah...the label on my bottle is ripped! Crunched up. I was so excited to smell it I didn't examine the bottle until now.

Edited September 11, 2007 by stellaforstar

[SnowWhiteMoon]

I got mine yesterday.

 

In the bottle, it was a dry, dusty incense thing with this finish of ripe fruit. I was hopeful, though incense-like notes don't tend to work for me. I got no rose, no pepper. Nothing spicy.

 

On me, the scent never changed, even on the dry-down. It was powder-like, intense patchouli, and reminded me a lot of Old Lady Smell. Usually, my chemistry amps up rose, but there wasn't even a hint of rose on me. Sadly, it was really awful and had me sneezing and dealing with a massive headache. Even scrubbing it off did little to help... it clung to my skin.

 

I was terribly disappointed, but I don't regret ordering. I love her little coffin, and I enjoyed the experience.

[lapetiteflower]

it starts out a nice juicy red...not really fruity, just wet and red. then it morphs to a spicy, peppered rose and on drydown it is a dry, dry erm, words elude me. it smells like dried bones and dried powdered roses and darkness and attics and really, it's a good smell.

 

and now, halfway thruogh the day it has sweetened back up and is less dry...getting more of the soft whisper of rose...

Edited September 11, 2007 by lapetiteflower

[chrisann]

Crypt Queen reminds me of a mish mosh of three different bpal smellies. Queen of Clubs, Trick #1 and Mme. Moriarty Misfortune Teller. I was a little scared about the earlier reviews, mentioning that this was really "fruity" when it first went on wet. Although it does have some juicy fruit notes, it 's the full bodied "red" fruits vs. the "uber sweet" fruits. More of a wine smeered fruit. It morphs pretty quickly to a more feral spiced rose scent. The rose is not front and center in this scent, rather a frame to all the the other darker notes. When I smell my wrist, I'm engulfed in mulled wine, earth, skin musk, and resin's.

 

In the end, I'm not entirely sure this is a "me" scent. Something about the remnicent Queen of Clubs earth notes, have me hesistating from doing a happy dance. I have plenty of Trick #1 and MMMT to tide me over for times I want a smellie in this "realm" although my GF and I both agree this is a beautiful scent and I may keep it around a little longer to see how it ages.

[cuervosueno]

I got this yesterday and was thrilled by the package to begin with. In addition to my lovely coffin, and the moss, I also got a little bat finger puppet and some stickers and cards and a magnet. The sticker is the three of swords as on the scent locket and will look very dashing on my black Ducati--I'm against stickers on my motorcycle in general, but I already have one BPAL sticker on there so....

 

When I first sniffed this out of the bottle I swooned. SO gorgeous! Someone compared it to the jammy or fruity notes in wine--which are neither sweet nor boozy, but still hold the essence of fruit somehow, and that is what this does. It smells mostly like raspberry, but sort of a juicy cooked raspberry rather than something sweet. It is rich and lovely, and smells like the color of a deep garnet wine. Pomegranite and/or plum can give that richness to blends to my nose, so I can't pick one out (though the raspberry topnotes are clear), but they are lovely.

 

And I love that rich fruitiness. And wish it stayed on me. But as soon as I put it on--poof!--its gone. Well, I suppose a hint is left, but it is nothing like that gorgeous I-could-drink-this scent of the bottle. One me, this suits the name: it is dusty, very softly floral, like a dried bouquet that only gives off a hint of the formal floral glory. (And I'm fine with that--and thankfully, no rose! Or at least only a soft dried rose which my nose interprets as vaguely floral rather than rose). And this is woody, so much so that I decided there must be sandalwood in it before I looked at the notes. White sandalwood I thought--dry and woody. Then I thought rosewood. Because on me, this really is woody. There is something in the woodiness that reminds me of one of the salons I like, but I can't think which one.

 

And peppery. That note is clear, and that is probably another reason this reminds of me wine (though it smells nothing like wine), because of that combo of fruit and pepper. I get no patchouli and this is nothing like Mme Moriarity on me (and while I miss the patch, I'm ok with it not being like Mme. M, since I have both that and an experimental blend that smells like it too).

 

The jury's still out on the crypt queen for me. I like it, but wish I got more fruitiness. I'm intrigued by the scent of it on me, slightly dusty and nostalgic (and wierdly reminds me of Crossroads though it isn't similiar--I think it is the earthiness, though this is dry where the Crossroads is greener). I feel like this might age well, so I think I'll hold on to it for awhile.

 

And anyway, the name and coffin bring the lwa Maman Brigitte so much to mind for me that I think of this as HER perfume, and feel odd about getting rid of it. I already put the coffin on her altar. She is, after all, the Queen of the dead in some ways, so it seems suitable.

 

Really interesting blend, and I'm glad I got it. For me it was worth for the coffin alone!

 

eta: forgot to say that unfortunately this has little throw on me and also lasts only a few hours.

 

eta redux: After having this for a bit, I need to say that I am liking it more and more. The scent is already changing, and when I put it on, I now get a bit of the lush fruit that I love in the bottle. True, it doesn't last long on me (the fruity part I mean) but it so gorgeous and I'm glad to get some of it. And I like the floral more and more. Finally, it DOES last, but faintly. In the morning I can still smell a hint of scent--a ghostly soft floral with a touch of muskiness. I'll be keeping this.

 

And one more thing: there is wood in here. Has to be. When I put it on just now, I got a heavy dose of wood--but I'm not sure which wood. Rosewood? Nah. Maybe cedar. Or a sandalwood, though a red

wood seemed more likely....so cedar or redwood. Maybe it's one of the notes that fixes the scent.

 

Or maybe I'm crazy--no one else has mentioned it. But I get a strong base note of wood.

Edited September 18, 2007 by cuervosueno

[schackjj]

For me, the Queen was nice and berry in the bottle, kinda strangely soapy when freshly wet on the skin, then WHAM! she went straight to florals, my nemesis. It was the evil stepsisters, Rose and Gardenia, but I rolled the dice on Crypt Queen because all the other notes sounded so fabulous. It did soften after a couple of hours but still not really a winner so I likely won't be keeping it (the cute li'l coffin is miiine, though).

 

Kiss of death: DH came home and asked 'have you been testing?" as opposed to 'mmm, you smell good.' Nope, CQ's definitely not a keeper.

[EarthBrat]

Crypt Queen on my skin is.......different. In the bottle it smelled a bit like fruit and a bit like cough syrup, sweet medicine cherry syrup. On my skin is smelled like wet petals or dying flowers. After a little bit, it was gone. But I knew that was going to happen. I have a weird skin chemistry.

However, today I wore it in my CD scent locket, it was amazing. It was a beautiful rose floral, like really nice bunch of fragrant flowers. i guess the best description I can give is a really sweet musk that wasn't over powering. Im very happy with this oil and the coffin was amazing. It was heavy, thick and sturdy. Perfect for a long term stay in the afterlife.