Phantom Queen

[mochi227]

An epithet of the Morrigan, crow-winged Celtic goddess of war, strife and fertility. Adoration of this Goddess is expressed both through the ecstasy of battle lust and the ecstasy of sexual regeneration. Black orchid, apple blossom, meadowsweet, and rue over Irish moss, hawthorn and red clover.

Frimped in my last order.

When I first put it on, I thought "white florals." Then Phantom Queen gets a little more herbal and grassy--must be the moss and clover. I don't get orchid at all. This apple blossom is a far more subtle apple blossom than the take-no-prisoners apple blossom in Agrat Bat Mahlat (Ladies of the Grindhouse). That apple blossom is the most macho apple blossom I've ever smelled! In Phantom Queen it's more subtle, but still sweet.

I don't have much to say about this one. It's totally not for me. I'm not very interested in floral scents. Phantom Queen is pretty and feminine without being meek, but this scent doesn't speak to me at all. Strong throw in the first 2 hours, fades rather quickly, but sends tendrils of scent with heat and movement hours later.

1.5 out of 5.

eta: lab description Edited November 7, 2008 by RanaSavia

[ami226]

This is so sad! I though Phantom Queen was the first scent I ever reviewed.... Ah, well. Phantom Queen is and will remain my first BPAL favorite!

 

In the bottle there is a hint of mossy greens mixed in with... light apple blossom!! Mmmmmm! This is why it is one of my favorites. In the beginning I mistook the apple blossom note for a different floral, but I now know that it is the apple blossom that made me fall in love!

 

On the skin: the mossy greens give the apple blossom depth. This scent is truly lovely!

 

-EDIT- After trying the Black Orchid scent, I now know that it is Black Orchid and not apple blossom that is the note that makes this scent wonderful to my nose....

Edited September 15, 2009 by Catseyes

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Fresh green meadows full of wild flowers. Similar to Beltane 06

 

Wet on me – Green herbs, with honey and washing powder

 

Dry on me – A soft, sweet green scent

 

Overall – I’m not certain how much this reflects the concept, but I do like it, a lot.

 

[Gwydion]

In bottle:This is a rich floral scent with an absolutely lovely medium green under coat. The non floral elements provide a lovely counterbalance to the florals. The orchid is stunning with the apple. Wet: If anything the plant base is stronger on the skin, creating a lovely, outdoors smelling mature floral. Dry: More apple blossoms, less everything else. Still nice enough though.

[Bluestocking]

In the imp: Sweet, fresh, clean-but-dark floral, with an almost fruity aspect. I definitely get a nice balance of the black orchid, apple blossom and clover, but the other notes are harder to pick out. This is really well-blended, feminine but strong and clear, and it definitely has a Celtic feel.

On, wet: Again, sweet, fresh blooms, dark and purple and somewhat fruity—mostly that gorgeous orchid, but I can sense the other flowers, and the green moss beneath. There is something definitely wild about this, despite the gentleness of some of the notes. I feel like I'm in a damp meadow after a large, cleansing summer rainstorm. Unless this one goes seriously funky on the dry down, this is instant love.

On, dry: More of the apple blossom and red clover now, with the orchid hanging out in the background. Still basically the same: stunning and intimidating at the same time, with some sensuality from the orchid and apple and a fresh, natural feel from the other notes.

Later: So well blended that it's difficult to pick out any of the notes. I want to say that the apple blossom is on top, but this is really one of those cases where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's just really lovely, to the point where I keep sniffing my wrists.

Overall: I was right: instant love. This is a drop-dead gorgeous blend. I always love orchid notes, but unlike some of the orchid-centric scents I've tried, it doesn't take over the perfume here, but matches very nicely with the fruity apple blossom and clover, while the other, greener notes round out the florals and support them perfectly. It's beautiful, very feminine but not at all frilly or girly. It's a lush, confident, womanly perfume, and it's extremely well blended. So glad I have two imps of this!

 

 

[aquazoo]

Grassy, maybe that's the clover in the mix. A little spicy, and herbal.

 

 

[n1k1ta]

Sweet apple with a wonderful light floral--orchid? a little rose?--to back it up is Phantom Queen in the beginning. It's a very pale, new-leaf green.

 

After an hour, the apple note morphs into the blossom aspect. Phantom Queen is completely and deliciously floral. I still get the pale vibe--delicate pink and green.

 

The throw didn't lessen even after four hours. It's not extremely strong, but it's steady.

 

Overall, Phantom Queen is spring-y and delicately floral. What a success!

[Caerphilly]

In the imp: Sweet, berries, some sweet florals. Not cloying. Very pink and yellow. I like it, but have a feeling it won't last long on my skin.

 

Wet:Tutti-Frutti. Sweet, pretty, but a bit light. I didn't think I'd like a fruit scent so much.

 

Dry: Can barely smell anything. A bit of white musk and some berries. Very light. No throw.

 

Overall: Absolutely no staying power. I used up almost the entire imp today just reapplying all the time. And it's pretty enough for me to want to apply. I like sweet feminine scents and this one is perfect. Just, really no staying power.

[ouch!]

This queen is powerful!!!

 

Deep red berries and and Apple and Orchid is what I get first with a POW! Lots of throw to start with and she's making a statement. I'M HERE & I MIGHT BITCH SLAP YOU IF YOU ARGUE WITH ME!!!

Yum...this is cool. I never like florals really but this is cool!

It makes me feel posh and powerful.

 

The dry down stage is different, much more green and mossy, the greeness of this is the same as that lovely light green I get from "The Fairy Market". Delicate grass and green things. That's the undertone...there are still powerful florals on top and the apple blossom is still really prominent. It's like there's fruit somewhere in here that's encomapssing the flowers too but not overtaking them. Like it's giving them a cosy hug. I am LOVING this dry down stage.

 

The dry stage is greener still and probably my most favourite. I somehow is still reminding me of Fairy Market. It's like a sweet greenery that I can't stop huffing!

 

This is one of those scents that I think is brilliant!! But I know I'd never reach for if I had it in 5ml so..I'm happy with trying out the imp.

 

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Mostly apple blossom

 

Wet: Pretty nice floral. Clean without being like cleaning solution

 

Drydown: That's just...wow. This is a DAMNED nice floral scent. The the orchid and moss have this cool effect together were the whole scent manages to be fancy and pretty but down to earth as well. Woah. This is great!

 

Overall: Love it. It's one of those "second skin" scents for me. One of those scents that feel very right to wear and smell like I wish I could always smell. Awesome scent. Wish I hadn't taken so long to get to a MORRIGAN scent of all things. For shame. But now I've found it and a big bottle is a serious probability. We'll know after the full day test!

[crebbsgirl]

This is black orchid and apple blossom on the outset. As it dries, the moss adds a bit of earthy spice, while the apple blossom stays prominent. There is an herbal kick to this, but somehow, the notes blend into soapy doom on my skin. It's becoming a little headache inducing for me.

[Mayhem27]

When I sniffed this in the imp, my first thought was "Prell shampoo??!!" That is exactly what is smelled like. On my skin, it still smelled like Prell. Which isn't a bad thing...I actually love the smell of Prell. :-) As it dried, it turned into a fresh, herbal floral on me. It was strong but not overpowering. This lasted a really long time on me...8 hours later, I could still smell it on me. Phantom Queen has been added to my big bottle wishlist!

[mhickle]

I dig the earthiness of this floral, but all I can really say about it is that it takes me straight to Sneezy Town.

[topazphoenix]

Sharp, powdery greenery that mellows as it dries, fresh apple blossom, and herbs. Reminds me of an apple shampoo I used to have - nice smelling but overall unremarkable.

[angelicruin]

Sniffing the imp, I smell the apple blossom, but it's very faint. Actually, the throw from the imp itself is barely noticeable.

 

Wet on the skin, this starts out as a sour apple on my skin. A few seconds later, I pick up the black orchid note and moss. There is very little throw on my skin as well. I see this fading fast on my arm.

 

Dries down to apple blossom & black orchid and fades quickly.

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Fresh, ethereal flowers and a little crisp fruit

On: Exotic, dusky flowers and apple. Softens a slight bit as it dries, but does not change significantly.

Later: Light, floral apple. I quite enjoy this. Don't know yet whether I'll want more, but it's a contender, especially since it never goes into powder and seems to last well even though it doesn't have huge throw.

[HKB]

This starts out way too sweet and sharp. When it dries down its a sweet, mossy smell. It reminds me of The Apothecary now. Its subtle and green. Too sweet for me initially.

Edited September 19, 2009 by HKB

[Kimbernunk]

The orchid in this was really, really quiet on my skin. The apple blossom was prominent when wet, and then settled in to blend beautifully with the mossy greenery when dried. Definitely a Celtic-feeling scent. It had a brief and fortunately short-lived lotion stage on me before really settling out. The blend stayed fairly close to my skin, but smelled gorgeous and stayed for the afternoon. I could see this turning into a big bottle come Springtime - something about this scent really says Spring to me.

[London]

Imp: sweet floral? I can't really pick anything out. It's elusive.

 

Wet: Flowers. Sharp flowers.

 

Dry: flowers got stronger as they dried.Not for me.

[DeltaCat]

Apples yay! I love apple scents. Wet and dry I get nothing but apples.

[SophieCedar]

Smells a little like fresh soap on me. Floral fruity glycerin soap.

 

It takes the drydown for the orchid and apple blossom to shake hands and put up the bedsheet partition. Then they sit and pout, like cranky siblings. These are the only 2 elements I can pick out. Not bad and very crisp. I really like this after it settles down, however!

 

ADDED Mar. 30:

 

Wow. This is just amazing with my skin chemistry. This gets sweet and buttery on me. Seriously.. I can almost feel the butter on my tongue! My sweetheart, who is really choosy about scents, felt the same way. The orchid is a wonderful addition that gives it a not very easily definable element. Moss lending a wetness that cannot be replaced. Whatever meadowsweet is, I love it.

Edited April 4, 2010 by Shollin

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Whoa, this is not what I expected! I was hoping for something akin to Black Orchid, which I've tried and liked. It's nothing like that, however. In fact, if I didn't know better I'd think I had an odd batch of Fae here: Fae is awful on me, tragically, and Phantom Queen has that same cloying-sweet fruity floral combo. It's apple blossom instead of peach, but my skin seems to have eaten any green herbal notes it had and amped the fruit and flowers to icky proportions, then dried into baby powder. What a shame! Maybe apple blossom will have to go on the list of notes that go weird on me.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Laurel the Woodfairy

[Finch]

Very pretty. It's wild and green, and has a floral sweetness that doesn't go too sharp or disappear within minutes. This will be a really nice scent for summer. Good throw and longevity, too.

[starfish327]

phantom queen confuses me. i'm having my initial confusion that i have when a scent doesn't line up with the image of the subject that i have in my head. this scent is much too pretty and girly to line up with the impressions that i have of the morrigan- i had a similar issue with queen mab when i reviewed that one as well.

 

the second thing causing confusion is that this really smells like vanilla milkshakes and roses to me. in the imp and wet, i get the impression of vanilla milkshakes from the throw. if i actually pay attention to the scent it doesn't smell anything like vanilla, but if i just catch random whiffs it's definitely creamy, milky vanilla.

 

in dry down, i actually got excited because i thought that this was the only other blend than mata hari with rose that i can actually wear. i can wear the rose in this one...because there isn't any apparently. i still don't believe that though, i amp rose to the sky and this definitely smells like rose to me. it's not bad this time though, because while it's prominent, it's not painful like it normally is. if i try i can pick out the apple blossom.

 

it's another pretty feminine floral that feels like it shouldn't be a pretty feminine floral.

[impolight]

:::PHANTOM QUEEN:::

 

When first sniffing at the Imp, the only note seemingly identifiable was... Apple.

???

A quick perusal of the notes reveals that there is Apple-Blossom, but one would assume that the blossoms smell no more like their fruits than Neroli does Oranges...

Huh.

Actually, the only note familiar at all is the Irish Moss, though, from where, memory eludes...

On the skin, the Moss amps enormously; eradicating the Apple peel fragrance almost entirely.

There is also a note in Phantom Queen that gets associated with raw honey... Could that be the Red Clover?

This is a really good fragrance.

This would work well in a unisex way...

The sweetness that is in Phantom Queen leans around 89% toward being exclusively for her, yet the Mossy note redeems it ostracising Him completely.

A pretty dang good fragrance.

4/5.