The Queen of Hearts

[alyelle]

Lily of the Valley, Calla Lily, stephanotis and a drop of cherry.

 

Imp: mainly lily of the valley, with a hint of medicinal cherry
Wet: pure dewy green lilies
Dry: a strange morphing process - first the powdery scent I usually associate with lily of the valley; then a moist green fragrance, almost melon-like; then a sweet, piercing combination of stephanotis (I assume; it's the one note I'm not very familiar with) and cherry.

Freebie from the lab with my last order, and again, not one I'd have chosen. Lily of the valley is like rose on me - it usually becomes Your Grandmother's Talc within minutes. This one thankfully didn't. The cherry in the final stage was quite different too; normally I'll either turn a cherry blend into cherry blossom or cherry medicine. This was fruitier, and almost drowned out the other notes, but it rounded off over time, culminating in a gentle floral. Floral's not really my thing, but it was nice to try.

Stars: ★★★

[lohengrin]

In the imp: White florals, to the point that it's slightly soapy even in the imp. Zero cherry.

 

On skin, wet: Same. Soapy white florals. Not headachey, at least.

 

On skin, dry: Still the same. Where the heck is that cherry?

 

After an hour: Never even a hint of cherry, this was all soapy florals from start to finish. Boo. I didn't have a lot of hope for this one, knowing how often florals go soapy on me, but to never get any cherry at all was a bit disappointing.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Lilies, something I assume must be the stephanotis & a tiny bit of cherry, but only if you're really sniffing closely for it. Quite dull & old-lady-ish.

Wet on skin: CHERRY! Cherry lollies more than real cherry. The Lily of the Valley is quite prominent now too. Much prettier than it was, but still a bit dull. There's a lot of greenery in here too. Not really how I'd imagine the Queen of Hearts to smell!

Dry on skin: CHERRY LOLLIES! The flowers are waaay off in the background, hidden behind the cherry lollies & some greenery. This smells like a kids bubblebath.

After a few hours: Like a cheap, cherry scented, kids bubblebath - the kind that comes in a novelty bottle with a plastic figurine on it or shaped like a cartoon character.

Verdict: I think this will have to go in the swap pile! This isn't something I ever want to smell like unless I've just been bathing a child!

[Malaena]

Good gods, this one was a super sweet, super strong, rosey punch to the face. I suffered about 10 minutes of it and then had to go wash it off. Oi...

[Cali]

A warm, sticky sweet mix with white florals. It kinda feels like looking down in a witches' cauldron of a thick red concoction, on which a few white flowers are floating. It goes a bit soapy and super green on drydown. It's nice, but not something I'd wear.

[freyasfae]

Lily is iffy on me, and cherry is almost always a big no, but together this works pretty well. The lily isn't too white floral and the cherry isn't cough syrup - together it's like candied lilies...as for the stephanotis, I have no idea what that smells like.

[Casablanca]

Wand: Floral cherry. Definitely soft lilies. I don't know the smell of stephanotis.

Wet: Cherry and then lilies. I don't recognize anything else.

Dry: Lilies, slightly powdery.

I'd rather the lilies didn't go powdery on me as they dry, but I'll use the imp. No bottle required.

[LizziesLuck]

Lily and cherry are both so iffy on me - lily can smell like wet cardboard, cherry can smell like plastic or cough syrup. But I love all things Alice, and I love the Queen of Hearts, so I am giving it a go anyway.

 

 

Wet: Cardboard coated in cough syrup. Of course. Why wouldn't it be?

 

 

Dry: Settles to something much lighter and nicer. Soapy though, and still not something I would wear. There's a sharpness to lily on my skin that I really don't care for.

[paperflowers]

I like this one very much, like cherries and incense. It doesn't last long on me, maybe an hour, but that's ok because I love the initial scent so I reapply often!

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Primarily woozy, almost alcoholic cherry, with heady white florals also in appearance. Pretty much what I expected from reading the notes, with the exception that the cherry is a lot boozier and more prominent than I would have thought.

 

Wet: The lilies take a big ol' step forward, and the cherry fades almost entirely. Right now, it's alternating between soap (I'm starting to think that lily-of-the-valley might be a death note on me - several blends containing it have turned to soap) and soft white florals, faint greenery, and clear running water. Huh, I wonder which it'll settle into...

 

Dry: Settles into a soft, demure lily - feminine and innocuous. It's not at all assertive, or even all that sexy, but it's pleasant and comforting. Definitely not for everyone, but I could see myself in this mood enough to hang onto it.

[maudlinrose]

Did we all sniff the same perfume - mine is all fresh cut roses when wet, no cherry at all. Usually I'm very sensitive to medicinal cherry - weird.

 

Drying down, it does become more white floral. And increasingly soapy. A little too soapy to be a favourite, after sniffing it I feel like I've licked a bar of soap...

Edited October 6, 2016 by maudlinrose

[Lucchesa]

My skin loves lilies, so I had high hopes for Queen of Hearts, and she did not disappoint. In the imp I got a ripe cherry, but the lilies took over when it hit my skin (though I have no clue what stephanotis smells like). A nice bit of throw and reasonably long lasting, which for me is a couple of hours - I get so jealous when people complain something only lasts five hours for them. Gorgeous for a floral mood. I need to do a lily smack down but this definitely goes on the 5ml long list.

[BuxomM]

Started off like bugspray, sharp. Once it dries it's a floral scent & the bug spray scent leaves. I get no cherries

[doomsday_disco]

In the imp: Heady lilies with some cherry.

 

Wet: The heady lilies dominate on my skin, although I do get a lot of cherry as well. Sadly, the cherry is short-lived, and it just becomes a lily party.

 

Dry: The lily notes have calmed down and allowed the cherry to emerge again, although it's just a hint of it (and not nearly as strong as it was when it was first applied).

 

Verdict: This one isn't really for me since I prefer sugary florals, and this has far too much straight-up lily for my liking, but I'll be holding onto my imp just because I collect imps from the Mad Tea Party line.

[achildoftime]

I needed this one to sit for a year before it worked for me. I love lily of the valley, but really dislike cherry. When I tried it on when it was new, it was like super powdery cherry fun dip. It was awful, but I love lilies so much I couldn't get rid of it. I'm glad I held on to it because I only get the barest suggestion of cherry and lots of lovely lilies. It's one a complete 180 and I'm thoroughly pleased I waited this out. Lily of the valley is probably one of my favorite notes and it's beautiful here.

[Bamels]

Frimp. This smells like a toilet freshner. You know the ones in white plastic that you peel the sticky label off to release the scent gel inside? This needs to do some major morphing to impress me. As this is drying it's becoming more powdery. I assume this is the cherry. I adore cherry in the bottle but it always turns to powder on me (Blood broke me). Nope this isn't doing anything for me. Off to the swap pile!

[roseus]

This ends up all light green dewy lily on me. Pleasant and pollen-y.

[Miss_Unicorn]

At first, the Queen of Hearts is quite heavy on the cherry, but the florals quickly come out and lighten it up.

After a little while it is quite sparkly and light-hearted, like red lipstick and a summer dress.

I'd sort of expected it to be heavy and slightly intimidating (like Her Majesty) but it's quite a light scent, perfectly suited for a summer's day.

It disappears disappointingly quickly on me, too... but it's nice while it lasts.

[Soupy Twist]

Lily and sickeningly sweet cherry in the bottle. Goes on as cherry cough syrup. While this soon fades to a nice lily, it keeps going all the way to a powdery lily, which then tips over into sickeningly sweet lily. Pass.

[FebruaryOwen]

Just got this through a swap!  Lily of the valley is one of my favorite scents

In bottle: very bubblegum-y; probably the cherry.

On skin: got a bit powdery on me so far, unfortunately.  

After a few hours: This one isn't for me, I don't think.  It turned too powdery on me

Will be probably be re-swapping this one away!

[SophieCedar]

How have I not reviewed this in my 11 years of BPAL?  I've purchased it, received frimps of it, carried it around with me...  for years! 

 

Anyways...a bit biased bc lily of the valley, calla, and cherry are some of my favorite notes.

This starts off strong white florals and sweet cherry, colliding into and cross each other.

The drydown is so pretty. Reminds me of Right Atrium with its cherry blossom pink/white feel. This is wonderful. Sweet somber hushing soothing lily of the valley and waxy calla with just a bright sweet touch of cherry smoothing out the 2. Its been a fond one over the years and maintains its position well.

[Honey]

This is lily and cherry alright.

The lily is a white and light one that also comes with freshly cut green stems.

The cherry is a bit fake at first but blends well into the floral notes after a while so the perfume becomes sweeter and a bit fruity.

If I would associate a color with this, it's light green at first that morphs into a shade of blush after a while.

It's actually quite nice, I might keep this imp for reference-sniffing.

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Cherry with a touch of floral, almost inverse to the scent description. The floral here is not super distinct, such that I almost envision cherry plus cherry blossom.

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's screaming cherry candy all the way. As it dries down, more of the lily comes through though cherry is still very prominent on me. The longer it stays on me, the more the lily comes out, such that it morphs into lily with a touch of cherry. It's a little rounder than just floral, but it's now mainly a strong floral.

 

I will be honest and say that neither lily (any kind) nor cherry are notes that I wear particularly well. I was fully prepared for this to be a hot mess on me. It is not necessarily to my personal taste, but it is surprisingly un-mess-like.

[Missanneshirleyofgg]

Lots of lily! The cherry is there on application like a little bright red jolt to the fragrance, but then it becomes a lily scent.  Pretty lilies, not indolic at all. It smells a little precious, like it thinks its special in its simplicity. it doesnt need to be anything but what it is, so there! . I guess it is a little precious then. I think this would be fun to layer with, I would want to try it with a white cake scent and may attempt so later. Precious with cake might be fun. 

[skyturtles]

I have an imp of unknown age that appears to be untested. It is obviously a floral upon first sniff, but sweet and candied. I am to assume that is the cherry coming through. It's not unpleasant. As it dries, it gets a little powdery, though. Just a tad old ladyish - not the musty recliner unhappy kind of old lady, but more like the sun hat-wearing, working in the garden kind of old lady. As usual, florals are not my thing.