The Red Queen

[abberlaine]

Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.

Gah! I was glad to see this one gone. I got The Red Queen in a swap and she yucked up the whole envelope with her smell of sticky, gooey, half-dried cough syrup. On the skin, she's more of the same, kick strong and terrifying. It's like tripping into a vat of that syrup that's used in Dr. Pepper while still clutching the wooden paddle used to mix it. Never again!

[Celestyna]

It's been 30 minutes and all I smell is Tree Bark, slight mothballish, kinda frankencencie. All wood spice, no perfume or oil smell.

 

I figured something out about my chemistry, though... deeper fruits like currant and cherry, lose their fruity sweetness on me within about 5 minutes, then they turn sort of liquor-like and eventually bottom out. I smell like a box of poppuri locked in a closet full of mothballs.

[nancybridget]

Yep...woodsy cherries. I'd swear there's some tonka floating around, too, but the notes tell a different story.

 

Not for me....

[Meg]

In the bottle: Almonds, pretty sweet, but with a slightly woody base.

 

Wet: The almonds turn to cherries, and become very discreet.

 

Drydown: Wood! Slightly bitter, and very warm. It's such a subtle scent that I had to reapply some because I couldn't find it anymore on my arm. Ooh and then slowly, berry notes come out of the wood, blackcurrant I think.

 

Overall: A deliciously subtle wood blend, the description is pretty much what I get. It's warm and "red" smelling, but unfortunately it's pretty faint. That's really the big drawback, it's one of those scents that needs you to stick your nose on your arm. I'm not familiar with the character the blend represents, but it's regal and feminine. Very nice.

[jakey]

First sniff: Very cherry, like cherry coke or the cherry New York Seltzer or whatever that stuff was...

 

Wet, on skin: Cherry pencil shavings?

 

Drying: Ok, it's ALL wood now. The cherry has vanished. Oddly, it's not unpleasant...

 

Overall impressions: Unfortunately I had to jump in the shower so I couldn't test it for as long as I would under ideal circumstances, but it's not horrible. I might wear this again if the mood strikes, but I don't think I'll be after a bottle.

Edited October 8, 2006 by jakey

[abbycomix]

Smelled strongly like maraschino cherries in the bottle. Once I put it on it faded very quickly. I think I'll have to try this one again because it didn't stick around long enough to really review it!

[septima_pica]

Cherry and cedar. So tasty...like eating black cherries in a hot sauna. Similar to Madrid, though, I don't think I can wear this, 'cause although the cherries sure are yummy I don't really want to smell like I've bathed in cherry juice. Seems vaguely unsanitary.

[opaleyes]

Oh man, this is easily my favorite BPAL scent.

 

In the vial- Cherries, and lots of them.

 

On me- very quickly softens and warms into the mahogany and currant, with something else... I'm not sure what it is, but it smells very much like almonds. I could just drown in this. It makes me want to curl up and take a nap in our library while fresh jam cookies are baking in the oven.

 

Mmmmm*sigh*

 

The King of Hearts sounds somewhat similar, so I've ordered an imp of that. We'll see which I prefer before I go for the bottle.

 

Edit: One other thing I forgot to note- sadly it fades pretty quickly. I tend to be sparing with how much I put on though, so in the future I may just slather it on!

Edited April 21, 2006 by opaleyes

[HennaFairy]

in the bottle:

cherries and flowers…tulips? Roses?

 

wet:

cherry cough drops! Just a bit of spice or cinnamon underneath…

 

dry:

the cherry mellows and gets spicier (the woods?) yummy. Didn't last long (3 hours) and I have a headache now (I think it's unrelated but I wanted to keep track of it here)

 

overall:

Nice, wish it would last longer, need to try again to make sure it didn't cause my headache!

 

rating: 9/10

 

ETA: no, headaches are daily due to seasonal allergies. Upgrading this wonderful scent to a 9 rating!

Edited May 8, 2006 by HennaFairy

[PixieSkull]

Imp: STRONG Cherry Twizzlers, plain and simple.

Wet: It's a little deeper now, dirtier, dustier wooden furniture.

Dry: There are still Twizzlers, but the woods are deeper now and the dust just seems inevitable. Dry and fruity.

 

Category: Cherry/Dry woods

Rating: 3/5

Overall: This was very candy-like at first but did dry down to it's description. The velvety woods were definately covered in black-red cherries and currants. The mahogany was deep and the woods were very rich, but dry. Don't know if this is my kind of scent, but I do like it a bit.

[bookishgrrl]

Wet On Skin: rich cherry scent, and actually smelled of wood underneath.

 

Initial Dry: Fruity and woody; blends really really well together. Hmm... every once in a while it whiffs medicinal, but that may be just the association I make of this dark cherry scent with throat lozenges.

 

Later: Er, hello? Gone in 45 minutes??! (verified with bookishguy, the neutral nose who just came home from work: "um... I don't smell anything? Powder, maybe?")

 

Final thoughts: A mature, rich cherry blend... that is completely eaten by my skin in less than an hour

[Missmoonlight]

wet it's cherry wood. No, I haven't actually smelled a cherry wood, but I see burgundy woods, like the real cherry wood that makes the most wonderfil 19th century's furniture. And I smell almond, sweet cherry wood and almond

 

On my skin it's more wood...dusty wood, less and less cherry. very little mothballs. It reminds me of a wooden table covered with dust and stained with cherry syrup.

 

after 5 minutes and dry I smell a little....biscuit? something sweet, maybe vanilla bean?

 

it's a strange uncommon perfume and I think I'll keep my imp. Like Lady Macbeth it's sweet, but "adult" and indeed noble!

Edited April 27, 2006 by Missmoonlight

[eviltemptressdq]

Mmm.... cherry! Thanks to HennaFairy, I played with this one over the weekend... On my wrist, I smell cherries.... I loved it!

 

too bad the cherry is overpowered by... i don't know, wood? musk? by the time it was dry I didn't like it at ALL. Maybe it is me... maybe it doesn't mix with my skin well. I guess I should try to search for a more pure cherry scent, though! that part was devine!

 

2 out of 5 for me

[n0thing]

In the imp - Really nice, big red cherries, mahogany wood. Sweet but not simplistic & boring or candy like.

 

On skin - Much the same, although more artificial, slightly root beer-y, still nice though

 

..But then it dries and all i get is pencil shavings, everything else vanishes & doesn't come back, even if i reapply it. Bah!

[PurringPulsar]

The Red Queen

 

In the imp: dark, woody cherry-almond.

Wet on skin: this reminds me a bit of Hearth 04’s cherry wood note. It’s deep, woody and a tad smoky.

Dry: now the woods come out to play-I think I’m getting the mahogany. It’s a sweet, dark wood-and yes, it smells almost like furniture, but that’s no bad thing. There’s an almost dusty feel to the scent. I get the sweet fruitiness of cherries as well, a little bit of currant behind it all. This is a very unusual scent.

After a while: this smoothes out nicely. I’m now getting that soft mahogany wood smell with cherries, a brown-red scent. In fact, I swear that at some points it smells like cherries in chocolate! Or a chocolate cake with cherries? It’s lovely and sweet now, less dusty and less dry, and a bit creamy.

Verdict: this was a very interesting, unconventional scent. It starts off very dark, heavy and woody, with a dry, dusty feel-yet it is richly fragrant and fruity, the scents of mahogany and cherry making for an unusual fragrance. The drydown is even nicer-not as dry as before, smoother and sweeter with chocolate like tones to it, and with a fruity, creamy feel. I like this a lot better than I expected so I will keep the imp.

Emoticon rating:

[Astburygrrl]

I'm a cherry/almond whore when it comes down to it..so i fully expected Red Queen to rule my world & do my laundry but sadly it came up short. It smelled awesomely cherry in the imp but once it hit my skin it reminded me of my grandma's furniture polish..the stuff that used to give me a splitting headache. Argh. Stupid scent memories, i curse thee!!

[sissa125]

Yurg. Loud black cherry. Like biting into a rich dessert when you're already full. Correction - it's not that foody, possibly because of the woods. But very *nasal* if that means anything.

[ViciousBleu]

I'm still not exactly sure why I ordered this other than perhaps my deep love of cherry ice cream overwhelming me.

 

It's rich, it's thick, it's heavy- all things that I just don't want in my perfume. This was too much for me, it practically demanded constant attention and although I really tried to make it work, I ended up giving it to my mom- the queen of heavy scents.

[kourika]

When wet, The Red Queen is wonderfully sweet and soft on my skin. However, my skin sucks up the oil almost immediately, so there's just the merest wiff of scent upon dry down. What a pity...this is a lovely perfume oil.

[jenleigh]

I was frimped The Red Queen. It was one of those scents I'd passed over the description of because of the woodsy notes - I normally go straight for the florals, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

 

I decided to give it a shot anyway, though, and this queen wowed me. It turns into a sexy currant-woodsy scent on me. My husband certainly loved it on me, too.

 

I do notice the lack of staying power, though. It's so strong on first application that I just can't justify putting tons on, but I've needed to touch up after a couple hours.

 

This has turned from a "well, I'll try it" to absolute love.

[Teggy]

In the imp and while still wet, Red Queen has a great balance of the woody/berry scent. Unfortunately, it changes depending on how I wear it. On my skin, it goes completely woody. In my scent locket, it goes to cherries and current.

 

I absolutely love the scent in my locket. I get the cherry scent without it being cough-syrupy. It stays very light and very uplifting throughout the day. It's a pity it doesn't smell like that on my skin.

 

This scent even inspired me to buy 2 drams of cherry oil and I absolutely hated it. Medicine all the way. Looks like I'll have to buy a bottle of Red Queen just to keep in my locket. *sniff* *smile*

[mockturtle]

In the bottle, and first on, this is all sweet, juicy cherry to me. As it dries, the wood becomes much more noticable. It's a pleasant sort of wood scent - like a favorite keepsake box. And the cherry sweetens and gives the blend a glowing brightness to the warmth of the wood. Nice & soothing.

[edenssixthday]

The Red Queen - When first applying this oil, it's all cherries -- bright and fruity and juicy, juicy, juicy. I can almost see red juice dripping out of the vial. Upon dry-down, a strong wood note appears, and from here on out, it's all wood and cherries. It's a very strange and utterly unique combination. It's not something I can see myself wearing again, but at the same time, it's so unique that I don't quite want to get rid of it, either. I'm going to sit on this one for a while, try it again down the road, and think about what to do with it at that point. (

[The_Merf]

In the bottle: Powerful cherries, definitely veering into cough syrup territory.

 

Wet: Where did it go? I had to apply more than usual to prevent it from vanishing into my skin. I can't believe how subdued this is.

 

Drydown and wear: Geez, I was trying the oil just as a formality--when I opened the bottle and took a whiff, I thought I would definitely be swapping it out. However, it is so light that I think I will hold on to the bottle. In fact, I'm surprised at the lack of throw here. From what I can detect, the woody notes are starting to emerge, and they really dominate the blend. The oil seems to actually pick up some strength as it goes, and the woody notes become stronger (not surprising, as my skin tends to amp the woody and resinous). There's cherry on the fringes here, but you never take a whiff and go, "whoa, cherries."

[Chouchen]

Ahh, cherries, and not the bubblegum cherries in Jailbait but lovely red maraschino cocktail cherries. My mouth is watering, and the woods seem to be coming over as almonds with a definite aroma of freshly sanded mahogany. Rather lovely but there's so little sillage I have to get my nose within 3 inches to smell anything at all. Half an hour later and the cherries have vanished, the woods are still hanging around but it's disappointing after the lush burst of marascino, to be left cherryless with wood.