Queen Butterfly

[Little Bird]

Russet amber and orange blossom honey, red labdanum and wild plum, golden musk and a rustle of patchouli root.

Mostly orange blossom honey and patchouli in the bottle, and it's a lovely, creamy, sweet orange blossom and dry patchouli. I wish that this is the scent that showed up on my skin, but that's not to be.

 

On my skin, this actually gets sweeter (a bit cloying) and more powdery than I would like, and the patchouli instantly disappears and never returns. There's a weird, slightly funky soapiness that makes me think of rest room soap, and I think that's the honey note going a bit urine-like on me, and the orange blossom trying to clean it up. The amber and musk form a powdery, perfumey cloud around the intensely sweet honey and slight funkiness.

 

No plum or patchouli for me, unfortunately.

[zankoku_zen]

Orange blossom, honey, plum and amber. Honestly, I get a very sweet orange/mandarin note from this, and then whiffs of plum, amber and maybe a dollop of musk. It has a slight orange creamsicle-ness on me without actually being foodie. Medium throw and wear length.

[biggnerd]

In the decant: Orange blossom, honey, and amber. A little extra sweetness from plum?

 

Wet on skin: Orange blossom and amber

 

Drydown: Orange blossom, with a resiny sweetness - just a tinge of honey. The orange blossom in this is very true.

 

Final: honey with ladanum (perhaps?) and amber. It's a honey with a soft, spicy warm undertone.

[JazzieCazzie]

In the Imp: Floral patchouli. Makes me flash back 40 (plus) years to my teens.

 

Wet: The fruity notes come to the forefront to round it out and give it less of a head shop scent (though I actually LOVE head shop scents and not so much fruity ones). It's quite beautiful and almost, oddly, outdoorsy, like being in a lush dark wooded area (probably with my fellow head shop fans). But it's not "fruity" per se.

 

Dry: On drydown this goes back to head shop ... it almost completely disappears on my wrist but lasts longer in the crook of my arm. It's really huffworthy for the first hour or so.

 

Result: I love love love the scent but after the early drydown it doesn't love me quite as much ... blaming my body chemistry for that ... I would love is as a candle or incense.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Orange blossom honey and patchouli. It's actually quite nice! The patchouli isn't heavy, at all.

 

Dry: I'm getting some type of clean linen scent that wasn't in the wet stage; it's not strong, but something is giving me that vibe. No idea. It's that, plus the orange blossom honey, with the amber. The patchouli is barely there in the background now.

 

This is a very "golden" blend, and while I enjoy much more than I thought, I won't need to grab a bottle.

[Lucchesa]

Queen Butterfly is golden orange blossom honey on me, warm with amber.  The patch is almost nonexistent, and the wild plum is tarter and less purple than the cultivated variety's note.  It reminds me somewhat of A Wonderful Light (Three radiant ambers with honey, linden blossom, bourbon vanilla, and orange zest).  Like many of the Lab's honey blends, this has good staying power on me, and it stays pretty true to the initial impression.  

 

 

[Padparadscha]

I amp honey and patchouli a lot, but I also love both of them. I tend to gravitate towards fragrances with those two notes (Zoe and the Goat) and both sweet/sugary/honey patchoulis (Fate's Jester, Silkybat, Owl Moon) and spicy honeys (The Eternal Virgin) in general. Orange is one of the only citrus notes that survives on my skin, though it tends to go very sweet on me.

 

In the bottle: This is mostly orange blossom honey in the bottle--and it's the realest orange blossom honey scent I've ever smelt. I grew up in Florida and we always bought locally made honey that came from orange blossoms. It's so comforting and sweet and citrus-y with a pollen-esque dustiness. If I inhale really deeply, there's a slightly candy-ish effect due to the orange/sweet honey combo. I get hints of that red laudanum, golden musk and russet amber, but this is almost an orange blossom honey single note in the bottle to my nose. There's also something sliiightly reminiscent of the honeyed note in The Scroll (though without the myrrh and cinnamon) and the beeswax/patchouli/incense combo in This Wan White Humming Hive (2018 version).

 

Wet/top notes: This starts off strongly with that orange blossom honey, bordering on a fresh orange note, but it quickly settles into something more green and earthy, a combination of the wild plum, red laudanum, and patchouli root. Unsurprising as I usually amp patchouli, but I also tend to amp honey as well (how many times in one review can I tell you I amp honey and patchouli? Let's find out!). I really hope that orange blossom honey comes back. The wild plum gently reminds me of the plum blossom in Earth Pig 2019, but slightly less green and vegetal.

 

Dry down/middle notes: After about twenty minutes, it's all orange blossom honey (!!!). That russet amber and golden musk are creating a lovely, musky, sweet-but-not-cloying combo around that orange blossom honey.  Patchouli settled into a nice, gently woody accent on me, which makes sense because it can sometimes go almost like cedar on my skin. Surprised I'm not amping this patch more, but I guess honey > patchouli on my skin. The russet amber is adding a creaminess to the honey and the red laudanum is supporting it so well.

 

Dry/base notes: After about an hour, this turns into a lovely, soft, musky, honeyed, resinous orange blossom on my skin. The sillage isn't quite as strong as it started, but it's still that almost candy sweet orange blossom honey grounded by amber, musk, and patchouli. The orange blossom reminds me a little bit of LUSH's Karma, though the aromatic lavender note in that turns its orange blossom into SweeTARTS candy on me. By the two hour mark, this has settled even further into a sweet, citrus-y, patch (patch always wins on my skin, I guess) with a floral hint.

 

Verdict: This is so well blended (which has been my experience across the board with the Genius Loci Butterflies) and I am absolutely in love with this scent. It feels great for early, mid, and late summer and maybe even early fall. So sunny and energizing. Orange blossom lovers, this one's for you. And for my fellow honey/patchouli babes, track this down. For real.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Padparadscha
Spelling

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Amber and orange blossom glory. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I get orange blossom right away, followed by some emerging labdanum and then honey. As it settles, orange blossom reasserts itself as a dominant note, possibly mingling with some golden musk and maybe just a hint of patchouli root. The honey, amber, and labdanum have all disappeared, at least temporarily. The scent is airy on me, but not faint -- and not a bit sweet. Given time to really get into my skin, Queen Butterfly is very evocative of Chordae Tenindeae from this year's Luper's. The butterfly's musk is golden and not blood, resulting in a little bit lighter of a scent overall, but this is still orange blossom riding amber and musk on me. I am not complaining, not one bit. 

 

Not too long after that, the scent undergoes a morphing that's a little unusual for me. The orange blossom disappears, and for a bit, I'm left with the much drier scent of predominantly amber and golden musk. (I cannot rule out patchouli root contributing, but it's not a main player.) Then, a few minutes later, orange blossom honey emerges, this time as a coherent, fused note. Amber and lightly spicy musk are still present, but Queen Butterfly has gained a bit of a rounded sweetness that hasn't really been present until now. The scent does lose a bit of throw, but it's still lovely, rich and sweet and golden and just a bit spicy. 

 

Definitely hanging onto this decant. Glad I had the opportunity to try it!

 

 

[Rane.]

I have very little left of this, & it breaks my heart. I get orange blossom & sweet patchouli  warmed by amber, in the bottle & on skin. I hope that this scent is recreated again one day, & wish I would have bought at least 2 bottles.