Ice Queen

[friendthegirl]

A majestic blend of precious pale musks, brittle winter blossoms, spruce, and frozen winter fruits.

I tried this one first out of my Yule LEs.

I can smell the fruits, but Ice Queen isn't sweet at all. They just add a nice background. I think my nose can also detect the musk, which blends nicely with the fruit to create a chilly fragrance. My nose isn't highly developed, I guess you could say, so that's all I can really smell.

[supasonicsage]

Ice Queen is truely beautiful. If you like Snow White, this is like a grown up more night time version of it. Not that they smell the same, mind you, but they do have the same tone, if that makes any sense.

 

The musk isn't overpowering in this, more of a background scent. I don't get a lot of fruit, or spruce... mostly the winter blossoms, which I think are what is reminding me of snow white.

 

Really, this is spectacular, and long lasting and beautiful. I wish I would have ordered more.

[Astarte]

At first initially on myself, I got a citrus burst which gave the musk and fruits an edge to the blend. The fruits are quite nice in this, I found it comparable to an ice cool version of Midwinters Eve with citrus overtones.

 

After 30 mins or so I found the citrus notes had faded into the background and I was left with an elegant gossamer scent. The musk is there as a thin base which empowers all the other elements in the blend, it is quite lovely.

 

This worked so well on me, thank god I got two bottles.

^^!

[inkstone]

In the bottle: Musky greenery. It's actually a little off-putting.

 

Wet: And it's even more off-putting on me. The spruce mingles with the musk in a very unattractive fashion.

 

Drydown: The intensity of the musky spruce doesn't lessen at all. I can smell the florals faintly in the background and just a touch of the fruits, but that's it. This is a very wintery green scent on me and eh, apparently I don't do those scents very well.

 

Final thoughts: It's a very cold, haughty scent on me. On the right person and with the right skin chemistry, I think this could be beautiful. But it really repells me when I sniff my arm, and quite honestly is hideous with my skin chemistry. It's a no go on this one.

[danuv]

I get a very similar reaction as inkstone. It's a lovely green-spruce-musky scent but it doesn't seem quite me. It amazes me how dead on the name is (or maybe I'm transferring!) because it is exceedingly cold, crisp and regal. I think I am going to put some on my husband tonight and see how it smells on him.

[pekeana]

Who all's smelled Yankee Candle Co.'s Snow Angels scent? *raises hand* Ice Queen = Snow Angels. But whereas Snow Angels got in the air and choked the whole family, Ice Queen is nice and light and coldly beautiful on my skin. Ice Queen is a scent that glitters and threatens to stab you through the heart with a shard of iced-over glass, much like in the fairy tale. Looove it.

[diabolique]

i thought i would really like ice queen, but it turns out, i.. i don't.

 

-hangs head in shame-

 

people have been mentioning in the BPAL chat what this smells like, and it made me very suspicious of whether or not i'd like it. i heard "piney," "aquatic," "green," "minty," and yes, it's all of those. four things that don't work on my skin at all.

 

i knew my suspicions had been correct when i got my bottle yesterday morning. i grabbed it out of the box first and sniffed deeply; it was an artfully blended aquatic with fresh mint, pine, and fruit. unfortunately, regardless of the art that went behind this blend, i can't wear it.

[UltraViolet]

Wet

There's a light touch of what seems like spearmint in the background. There is the spruce smell and a somewhat watery and almost a lime note, I think that's the tart berries. It's a teeny bit sweet only. (For you Lush users it smells similar to Oxeo cube)

10 minutes

Wow, again this is really close to a "commercial" perfume. Maybe one for men. I think it would be a big hit. That said, I don't believe I would wear this everyday as it might be a bit much for me...But it's addictive and gorgeous. It kinda reminds me of Sea of Glass with an touch of mint and an iota of sweetness.

If I had to pick one word to describe this, it would be "Fresh".

20 minutes

More pine or green smell coming in now and it's turning a bit soapy on me. I hope it turns unsoapy again because I quite like this.

If you're looking for a nice pine or spruce blend I believe this would be the one.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: An icy cold forest in a bottle.

 

Second Impression: When I sniff Ice Queen I get the sensation that I just skated the program of a lifetime and am about to be crowned Olympic champion in ladies figure skating.

 

Final Analysis: I don't like aquatic scents, so I was a bit worried that I'd react the same way to frozen/icy scents, because some of the notes seem similar. I'm glad it worked for me. It's just wonderful for this time of year. Unfortunately there isn't much staying power to this scent, but I'll enjoy the bottle just the same.

[silverangel]

The spruce stays in the background and I am SO grateful for that! It stays there and never demands a time in the sun. The musk is layered just over the spruce, calming, glittering and cold. Next is the fruit but I can't distinguish anything specific, but the flwoers, oh the flowers are on top and the bring out some of the spruce but maintain this as a cold floral scent which I love. I so wanted one of those winter goddesses to love me, and this one does!

[Sheila]

In the bottle, Ice Queen smells faintly piney, and quite cold and crisp. Like breathing the air on a winter's day.

 

On me, Ice Queen smells like melon. The melon has a soft background of pine. That sounds strange, but it's quite lovely. It's a very light, delicate fragrance.

 

It faded quickly.

[Macha]

Had my first chance to really play with Ice Queen today.

 

In the bottle: a pine mint scent. As I pull away, it suddenly smells very cold. Frozen. My boyfriend declares that it's the smell of massive quantities of ice: a glacier or an ice-skating rink. I haven't smelled too much of either of these, but it does smell very cold.

 

Wet: The minty smell is predominant, with a sweetness that I can't identify (those winter fruits, perhaps?) There is an undercurrent of musk and evergreen. Still very crisp and frozen.

 

Dry: The musk and fruit smells are now predominant, with the mint, floral and evergreen as ephemeral notes hitting behind them. On me musks are usually warm, but THIS smell is cold and crystalline. And random points during the day I'm hit by the sense that I'm breathing up in the mountains, someplace cold and crisp. Since I'm Los Angeles and the weather's in the 80's, this is quite a feat. My sweetie jokes he could cool drinks by holding them to my wrists.

 

Conclusion: This is so lovely on me, I wish I'd bought two bottles. I know others have said it doesn't have much staying power, but I didn't have a problem with it. I love this, love this, love this!

[Red_Hot_Mama]

I was on the fence about Ice Queen...until today. It's all the things mentioned above, especially the Yankee Candle association.

 

However, I often judge a fragrance by the reaction I receive from others. It was this that won me over to the lovely Ice Queen. I thought I smelled like "Snow Angels" (cough, cough) but noooo.

 

Here's what happened.

 

It's been cold here, that's an understatement, it's been incredibly cold here. This morning I stood at the end of driveway (as usual) waiting with my second grader for her bus to arrive. She normally rides her scooter up & down the driveway; yes, even in the cold. Today she had her nose pushed up the sleeve of my coat. I thought her nose was cold & she was keeping it warm. Silly me!

She pulls her face away, has a big, beautiful smile on her face & says "You smell WONDERFUL!" And she promptly stuck her nose up my sleeve again.

 

The smile on my girls' face was enough to make me love the Ice Queen.

[Northernminx]

Lots of peppermint and mild musks at first this was a little almost medicinal for the first few minutes. An undercurrent of spruce and greens came into play under that before the whole blend sweetened into sweet apple maybe? Something fruity that I can’t quite place. yumminess. Mmmm definite keeper. Light, cool, wintery and lovely, feminine. I thought this would be a lot colder on me, but after the initial zap of ice this is cooling without being overly distant, subtle, and reserved and a bit less frosty than I anticipated with my chemistry.

[Nadirah]

Ice Queen, I love you, no wait I hate you, Oh YES, I love you!

 

When I first opened the bottle and got a whif she was crisp and clean with a dark voice.

She was still beautiful after the first application on my flesh, as said before it reminded me of something, its almost like the perfume CK1 but with more pear.

The second time I wore this brought Ken on like a dog. He couldnt stop sniffing me. "you smell so good, did you spill some?" I had only applied a small amount (no slathering needed) He loves it on me, Ice Queen ain't frigid, shes warmth surrounded by an Icey breeze in the dead of winter.

The note as far as I can tell is a bit of pear, light musk, possibly cereus, maybe something like ginseng, something grown in the dark. Very beautiful, theres almost a buttery quality that you get with Snow white , but add some musk and pear. I also want to add that it does smell foresty, like trees, an early morning walk as the Sun rises through the fog.

[FireInCairo]

This scent is an interesting mix of mint/pine. I really like it. Very fresh..clean smelling. There is also an odd hint of fruit underneath..grapefruit perhaps?

[Summerpixy]

I love this scent. I will cry when the bottle is empty.

 

It is all the things the posters above have described, slightly fruity, but not too sweet. Overall very regal and elegant.

[lorajc]

I'm wearing this for the second time today and it's really wearing quite differently on me today. I swear I'm smelling melon...??? This goes on a bit strong and reminds me a bit of Skadi but with mint. I am realling smelling the mint and melon note .....winter fruits...I guess ....today when I'm wearing it. The other time I wore it, I picked up more on the aquatic/icy sense it has. This is utterly gorgeous and longlasting on me (so far). I was also concerned about getting this because of the spruce note in it as spruce doesn't like my body chemistry, but again, this is so well blended that it is only very slightly prominent and hidden behind the musks and fruits. Today, I'm not really getting a floral note from it yet....but that could change. I love the interesting combo of the mint, musk, and fruits. Very unique and well done. I think I like this as much as I like Skadi and I love Skadi.

Edited December 23, 2004 by lorajc

[Reinaluna]

Ice Queen, I get this grapefruit amoma real good when first applied to my skin. Someone earlier said something about this being similar to CK1 and I can see how. The drydown is kind of similar to Cathode to me. I get the coldness and white musk with just a bit of fruit. A keeper for me.

[Rheliwen]

In the bottle: cold pine.

 

Wet: frozen after dinner chocolate mints. There's a floral in there somewhere as well. It's very strong and the mintiness is trying to clear my sinuses. I actually had to take some off because it was so strong.

 

Dry: I still get a powdered chocolate mint smell from this but it's definitely not as strong anymore. It smells semi masculine with all this musk and spruce floating about. Not nearly as delicate as I was expecting, but it definitely has a winter cold feeling.

 

I don't get any of the fruit notes and very little flowers in this one. Musk and spruce / chocolate and mint.

Edited December 24, 2004 by Rheliwen

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Mint, possibly a peppermint/spearmint blend, with a touch of grapefruit in the background. Hmm...wait...apples too.

 

On Me: I think there may be some eucalyptus in here as well. Ice Queen is cold, very cold, her head held high, the pine branches bow out of her way when her sled drives fast, the animals do her bidding. I swear if this scent was any more right on the money I would be able to smell Turkish Delight in it. Since I don't know what that smells like, its a good possibility that there could be.

 

Its so dead on for her, cold and stone, commanding and terrible. I love this! I'm gonna slather now and get to baking. Happy Holidays everyone.

[VorpalBunny]

When I was choosing which Yule LEs to get, Ice Queen and Skadi sounded similar but I couldn't choose between them and got both. This was a good decision. Ice Queen reminds me a bit of Skadi but more toned down, lighter, less piney, more floral, and sweeter.

 

Ice Queen smells like cold. Like a cold, crisp, winter afternoon. It is slightly sweet, just a touch enough to counteract the floral scent, which is also very light. There is the faintest hint of spruce, just a background note that you can smell from time to time, like the winter's breeze. Where Skadi has a definite holiday smell too it, Ice Queen is good all winter long (and I'm sure it would be nice in fall and spring as well). It is a lovely scent, and I am so happy I chose it.

[Penance]

Preconceived notions:

 

Like VorpalBunny, I thought Skadi and Ice Queen sounded very similar, but I only ended up buying Ice Queen (huge mistake, as I love Skadi with a passion). Since then I've tried Skadi and adore it, so I'm hoping Ice Queen lives up to the hype created by her sister and works as beautifully on me.

 

First sniff:

 

Mmm, I smell the spruce first, but it's softened and tempered by something almost minty smelling and the barest hint of something aquatic and slightly fruity and sweet. There is a certain resemblance between Skadi and Ice Queen...Ice Queen is like Skadi's younger, more innocent sister. She's not quite as strong or intense as Skadi is, but she's equally beautiful in her own way.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Musky and almost aquatically sweet. This is a cold smelling scent, but not in the peppermint and citrus way I'm used to. There's something here that's reminding me of anotehr BPAL scent, too, but I can't place it...I think it's the musk I'm recognizing, although I can't remember which scent it's reminding me of. I get the vague feeling it was one I didn't care for, but I don't know what it was. I'm thinking this is going to end up not being me...there's just something about this blend that doesn't feel right on me. I really prefer Skadi to her little sister at this point in time.

 

Dry down:

 

The spruce has disappeared and so has the musk and I'm left with something that reminds me quite a bit of R'Lyeh. It's aquatic and sweet smelling at the same time and very unusual. Ice Queen isn't bad, but I don't think she's me, to tell the truth. I prefer something a little more woodsy smelling rather than a sweet/aquatic scent.

 

The bottom line:

 

I like Ice Queen enough to keep one bottle of it for now, but not enough to keep both, so one is going to have to go up for swap...hopefully I can get more Mistletoe or Skadi with it.

[Ishtar]

In the bottle and wet, Ice Queen smells really, really cold. It's amazing how chilly and wintery this is. Quite complex too. If I inhale deeply, I think I can taste mint at the back of my throat. Other than that, I have no idea what is in this blend.

 

On my skin, Ice Queen started off as a fruity aquatic scent with a very fresh, cool note that I could not quite place. As it dried down, the minty note disappeared, while the aquatic/green quality kept getting more obvious. Unfortunately, I am not too fond of aquatic or green scents, even though this one is so complex and elegant that even I can appreciate it.

After complete drydown, the musks came through, making Ice Queen sweeter and ever so slightly powdery. This is when I started really enjoying it. The last stage was subtle and soft, with a very nice pear note that I had not been able to smell before.

 

Ice Queen definitely is a beautiful scent. However, and although I did enjoy the drydown, I don't think that it works well enough on me during the early stages to keep. Hopefully I will find it a good home

[hypothermya]

Ice Queen

 

When the 2004 Yule LEs came out, I was thrilled; as you can see by my username, I'm obsessed with cool scents. So between Snow White, Ice Queen, and Skadi, I was at a loss for what to order with my limited budget. I was already commited to buying a 5ml of Yuki-Onna (another gorgeous snow inspired scent), so I could only pick out one of the LEs. Ice Queen won, because of the name (reminiscent of the Hans Christian Andersen story, The Snow Queen) and because of the musk notes (which always work on my skin).

 

Initial Impression

When I first smelled this I was disappointed. I knew that I shouldn't be, because of how a scent can develop on your skin; but I was anyhow. There was the scent of cool, crisp ice...but on top of that scent, overwhelming it, was the scent of bitter bergamot and heady spearmint. It was as if someone had taken dental toothpaste and swirled it with sweet and bitter orange. And, to be honest, it was a bit nauseating.

 

Wearing It

When the scent dries on my skin, it becomes much more interesting and beautiful smelling. First, the mint and bergamot mellow out so much as to become almost unnoticeable. No longer do I have a nauseating scent, but something watery, green, and fresh. Here are some of the ingredients that I think I can smell: vanilla (very faintly), water notes, spruce, melon, spearmint, bergamot, musk, and florals. It's really rather lovely. Think of the scent of fresh powdered snow, and the scent of ice, packed around sweet, glowing vanilla-mint flowers.

 

Well, when i first got this, I asked my boyfriend what I smelled like. His response was "Cotton candy and flowers." This really upset me, because I have no interest in smelling like cotton candy, and only slightly more interest in smelling like florals. And while I love the scent of the melon and mint in this (they remind me slightly of mojitos with melon instead of lime), I'm not sure how much I enjoy the vanilla (which is what ended up making me not so fond of the 2003 version of Snow White).

 

I almost decided to swap this, but when I tried it a few days later, though, he only said, "Sweet and floral...both fresh and warm at the same time." The scent of cotton candy had vanished. So I think I'll keep this around for a little while until I can figure out whether the Ice Queen will warm up to me or not.