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slave1

The King of Hearts

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Rosewood and black cherry with white musk, red rose, red musk and a spark of lavender.


Reading some of these reviews makes me wonder if my imp is mislabeled or something. It smells, alas, like astringent floor cleaner to me. I get a hint of cherry and lavender if I focus, but the rest don't show up at all.

My nostrils must be broken or something, but I see TeaLeaf had a similar reaction, so I take comfort. Anguisette also pointed out that it smelled like "nothing," which after a few minutes on my skin also proves to be true. It's a smell, and it's there, but it doesn't smell like anything. It's just this sharp cleaning odor hanging onto my wrists.

Off to swaps!


EDIT: Added description. Edited by Mousesong

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Wet in imp - Lavender, red musk and a tiny hint of cherry.

 

Wet on skin - Lavender and red musk. There’s very little cherry or rose. I’m interested to see where this goes.

 

Dry on skin - Powdery lavender. A tiny bit of rose. I wish there was more musk and cherry. Bummer.

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Hmm...rosewood is sort of a doom note on me-woods tend to amp really badly, but I can't help but be curious about this blend. It sounds like it could be really nice.

 

In the imp this is mostly cherry and lavender with a touch of wood. The wood really comes out on my skin. This is actually kind of nice. Deep black cherry, dark wood, and lavender! Very nice! Going to let this sit for a bit and see how the wood settles, but I am quite liking this so far.

 

The lavender is quite strong in this one, so I would advise caution if you are a lavender hater. Unfortunately, and I happen to like lavender, it does get a bit overpowering in this blend. I lose that yummy cherry and I even seem to lose the wood a bit.

 

As it dries the lavender calms down, and I get a nice musky cherry/wood scent. I don't think I would buy this for me, but I think it is an excellent blend that would smell really great on a guy or a girl. Seems to fade a bit fast, so slathering may be necessary!

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In the vial: Smells like a pharmacy to me, first impression cherry with a dry, woody, chemical background.

 

Wet: More of the same, only the cherry has diminished in favor of something more floral, probably the lavender. Still smells like a pharmacy aisle to me.

 

Ten minutes in: Cherry mostly gone. Rose never materialized. Rosewood and musk are all I smell, with just enough lavender to give it a powdery edge.

 

Twenty miutes in: warm and a little sweet now, I can't tell if that's the cherry coming back or the rose coming up for the first time. But I like it some better now. Also, it's not nearly as overwhelming as the other ones I've tried: nice and light.

 

Thirty minutes: Warmer now, more of a musky rose-ish flavor. Still a sharp little lavender edge to it, but less of that throat-drying rosewood smell. The cherry has receded almost entirely.

 

Hour and a half: warm, dry, musky and a little woody. No sweet elements, no real floral, and the cherry never came back. It smells a bit like some kind of soap. Definitely reminds me of some kind of a shop. I don't actively dislike this, but it doesn't do a thing for me.

 

This is the scent that made me realize rosewood isn't a good note for me. But I traded this to someone who adores it, so it gets a lot of love.

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I never get rose out of this one. For me, in the bottle and on my skin, I get mostly sweet cherry and some muskyness. A little of the lavender finds its way in there but not enough to be overpowering. (That's saying a lot coming from me, since even a hint of lavender is usually enough to give me a migrane) I got this as a freebie in an order of imps and ended up liking it better than anything else i the order! (Much Thanks!) The only downside to this scent in my opinion is the wear time is pretty short.

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In the Imp: Cherries and lavender.. :D I get a little musk, and something kinda green, which may be more from the lavender, or perhaps a little rosewood. Can't say I like this much...

 

Wet: Ewwww... :P I smell a little fried chicken in there for some reason. But is still mostly cherries and lavender, which is just nasty.

 

Dry: Almost entirely lavender and rose on me, I do like lavender but find overpowering and I generally avoid blends containing it. Definitely nicer than when first applied as the cherries have gone away completely. Musk and lavender with a hint of rose.. The cherries might be adding a tiny bit of sweetness. Hmm.. it's ok, but kinda not.

Edited by MCS4096

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Imp: oh my my...this is bad...it's everything I hate; so much rose and musk with a lavendar linger...

 

Wet: reminds me of medicine...sticky purple cough syrup

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Imp: Sharp, herbal lavender with the scent of unscented stick deodorant lingering in the background. I get a very faint hint of rose.

 

Wet: On the skin it immediately reminds me of Gladdener of All Hearts. The lavender is the dominant scent and it's very astringent and herbal. The musks blend underneath, creating this soft, milky scent. I can smell the cherry but at this point it's just a hint of sweetness. The rose and rosewood are present but only if I actively sniff for them.

 

Dry: This is almost a dead ringer for Gladdener on me. It's a bit less creamy, but I do get a hint of milkiness from the combo of the musks. The lavender calms down into a gentle, clean herbal quality. The cherry, rose and rosewood are there but just barely. This is very soft and clean, very gentle but definitely unusual. It would make a good bath or massage oil.

 

Throw: Decent.

 

Overall: I like it. I think I would use it more in products than I would as an actual perfume but it's got a bit of backbone and strength to it without being overpowering. A very interesting scent.

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in the imp: black cherry and lavender.

 

wet on skin: i don't know WHAT that note is, but it's the same one in Pruno that smelled like Mister Clean to me- floor cleaner and cherries. :sick:

 

dry down: more of the same- but with less cherry. :cry2:

 

in all: all these notes work on me individually, so it must have something to do with the combination. whatever it is, this is a TOTAL pass for me.

 

 

:(

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King of Hearts has been stalking me--I've gotten a frimp of it with over half of my orders from BPAL! So now I've finally gotten around to reviewing it…

 

The oil goes on a little sour and peppery-smelling--upon consulting its description, I can identify a sour cherry and sharp astringent lavender right off the bat. Underneath those two notes is a rosewood polished base, rounding things out.

 

Once the lavender plays itself out, this smells very powdery--like a scented powder that I should be putting on with a pink powderpuff.

 

Ah… this is the red musk thing--it ends up smelling like makeup or powder and spends a while in the middle stages completely taking over any scent that it's part of.

 

In its final stages, the red musk calms down and I have a slight rose scent emerging from the makeup/scented powder. It's nice at this stage, but not really me.

Edited by kjirstiben

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Bright woody cherry with a base of red musk. The rose is gentle and very much serves to lighten the scent. It's such a well blended scent that it's perfectly sweet and playful, yet sophisticated and fresh.

 

This is my number one scent of all time. Trying to review it after a year and a half of loving it to death is very difficult! This, to me, is the epitome of 'yumminess scrumminess' and totally beautiful.

 

10/10. OMG yes. Harry Met Sally style 'Yes. Yes yes yes.'

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I told my Fiance that I would pass King of Hearts on to him after reviewing...although I have to admit the notes don't sound much like him, so we'll see. It would be so appropriate for him, in my majorly biased opinion, as the king of my :heart: *takes a sniff* Um, yeah, he'll hate this! :lol: I like it, actually: cleanly lavender with a hint of cherry that quickly fades and leaves a "chewy" sort of musk, if that makes any sense. I think it would be a good scent for gents who tend to like lavender, but I know mine does not. Alas.

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Hmmm, if this is anything like Queen of Hearts, then I'mma hafta go try that one STAT, cuz when I first smelled this it wowed the pants off of me, but after 30 seconds on my skin it turned to cologne. I'm going to make my boyfriend wear this one...He definitely won't complain, though, and will probably be ecstatic because not only does he love BPAL already, but he has a King of Hearts tattoo on his arm! <3

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Imp: lavender and rosewood

Wet on Me: rosewood, black cheery and

the whisper of lavender now.

Drying Down: wow! Musk and rosewood

and lavender all ensure that the rose does not amp out

weird on me. This is fabulous!

Dry: dark, husky, whispers is what I get now.

No one scent stands out any more and the rose is not taking

over on me. This really might be my King of Hearts!

 

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Woah, the King is sexier than I thought he'd be! This blend is a little too masculine for me, but it would smell fantastic on the right person. It's a little sweet but still regal.

 

It starts out very bright and clean. Not too herbal or medicinal -- the lavender is subtle, and doesn't come off like a fougere. Rosewood is a very smooth and almost sweet, moist wood on me, and here it's much the same. As it dries it becomes richer. A dark cherry note comes out. Unlike most cherry blends, the cherry stays in the background, just lightly coloring the scent. I never go through a cough syrup phase.

 

The rose also doesn't overwhelm the blend. It adds a smooth, rich core, but on me it didn't scream "floral!" I don't smell the red musk much when wet, but once totally dry, it adds verve. Although the cherry adds sweetness, this remains a fairly light and clean blend.

 

So, in short: a sexy, red but subtle men's cologne. Bright but rich musk and rosewood sweetened by cherry and rose, with a tiny spike of lavender for balance.

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This one has been sitting in my imp box too long...such an offbeat set of notes. Woodsy lavender and rose, touch of cherry in a crystal white musk. Very playful but respectable. The lavender gives it an herbal edge that keeps the reds, the roses, red musk from being over the top. The rosewood just a hint of dry to ground it all. A little tilted toward the classic masculine, but I would wear it in a heartbeat. Brilliant blend...

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Bottle sniff cherry, cherry and more cherry. Not candy cherry though, an almost almond one.

 

Wet - cherry that fades within about 10 secs and lavender spikes. So far no woods, musk or rose.

 

Drydown - this perfume goes through a rapid 'clinical" phase, that weird smell you get in a dentists office, thankfully it doesn't last long. Dry this scent becomes a strangely watery wood but is so light that I lost all hint of it within 90 secs of application. Cherry is nowhere to be seen and musk? Is it even in there or did it just drive by this blend on it's way to somewhere else?

 

Overall - on paper this scent sounded extremely promising and even on my wrist there's a 5 sec window where what it promises to be does actually make an appearance. I expected a strongly fruit laden woody fragrance with musk & rose creating warmth and lavender providing an electric spark to it. What I get is a scent so crystalline that it literally disappears within 2 minutes. What's left are traces of an aquatic wood that would be a truly andorgynous scent if it had any staying power on my skin. But it doesn't and I just can't buy a full bottle of something that runs and hides everytime I apply it.... :cry2:

 

 

 

 

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In the imp, I'm smelling the cherry and the rose, I think. A sweet scent, not quite sure how it'll translate to my skin, because my other try with cherry (Suck It) hasn't exactly been successful. I get that cherry and rose on my skin as it's wet, with what might be the wood on one wrist.

 

Ten minutes later, and medium application's faded away to almost nothing; as such, I'm slathering now to see if I can get a longer lasting scent. But, no, the rose/cherry's fading away pretty quick to a musky wood sort of scent that I can barely smell.

 

After five minutes, this is a woods with lavender scent that stays really close to my skin and that I can barely smell at all. He's just too timid of a thing to work on me, sadly. And I wanted this to work so badly. But, maybe a little aging will do him some good.

Edited by Venneh

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Damn, this is sexay!

 

In the Vial: Cherry cordial

 

On Wet: I'm being smacked with cherry, and it is indeed in a dark, black cherry, that makes me want to eat black forest cake. Mmmm.

 

During dry-down: The rosewood is warming this up, and bringing back memories of a hand carved dark rosewood dining set my parents had brought back from Korea when I was little. The chairs with their curving backs shaped into grape bunches hanging on vines. If I lay my head on the table, this is the scent that I would get, a dry, ancient odor, which makes this a bit more masculine.

 

Dry: The musk is amping now. I'm not really making out the white musk, which is a favorite of mine. Nope, this is red all the way for me, and it's a sultry smell, that's so close to the skin now, only someone burying their face into my neck would be able to make it out.

 

Genius.

Edited by Sawasdee

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The King of Hearts is all cherry musk on me, with a slight floral woodiness in the background. I got an imp because the combination of notes intrigued me, and was pleasantly surprised by the result. I'm also surprised by how much Im liking it.

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For the first few minutes, the King of Hearts is all cherry... cherry with a bitter edge. The cherry fades very quickly and then I really smell the lavender, but this too fades very quickly. After only 15 minutes, I'm left with just a hint of a vaguely sweet rosy smell. Interesting to smell it go through the stages, but ultimately it's not for me.

Edited by Soledad

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Amazingly ( for me ) , I may have finally found a blend with rose in it that I can live with . This is really nice , rather subdued as far as I'm concerned . I get the rose in it ( as usual ) , but the other notes mute it a bit & also darken it up a bit . After wearing it a while , I am mainly getting rose ( no real surprise there , my nose tends to amp rose to my brain ) . But at least it's not beating me over the head , making me want to sneeze rose . I'll have to give this a trial at work to see what some of the ladies there think of it .

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Wet: Rosewood with a hint of cherry and a good dose of cool lavender. Reminds me of a manlier Red Queen so far. For an instant the scent is pleasant and interesting, but then the redness with the chill purple of the lavender just smells weird and incongruous to me.

 

Dry: As it dries down it reads less and less like rosewood and more like "ROSE", which is bad, since rose is... not so stellar on my skin. It's powdery and a bit acrid, and paired with the lavender especially, makes for a bad-perfumey experience. After it's all dry and settled on the skin, I get mostly sharply powdery lavender-rose with a vague creamy-fruity red musk backdrop.

 

Overall: I can see some potential in it, but it's not for me. The throw stayed pretty strong, so I had to wash it off within an hour to avoid getting a headache.

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This started with the astringent bite of lavender, followed by an initial blast of rose. As it settled on my skin, the cherry came out to sweeten and round things out, while the musk stayed in the background, anchoring the scent. The rosewood was pretty faint on me, but it added a smooth dimension. And then the rose started amping. Off to swaps for this one.

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