The Knave of Hearts

[LiberAmoris]

THE KNAVE OF HEARTS

Crushed roses and blackcurrant tarts.

 

I get loads and loads of roses from The Knave of Hearts, which is never a bad thing for me, as I love Beth's rose notes. The buttery baked tart note is secondary, and the blackcurrant is pretty subtle. I like the currants with the roses, and the tart is fun and yummy, but I just don't think I'm digging the combination. Sometimes the buttery blends are just a little too much for me, a little overwhelming when they're so close to me on my skin. This would be great in my oil burner, though.

[midnight_aeval]

AWESOMELY balanced blend of Rose and Black Currant with a hint of pastries.. I hate roses (well, that aren't sugared a la Hope), and this is fabulous. Fans of Eat Me, try this one.. it's more of a mature, sultry version.

 

If my grandma were alive, I think she would be delighted to smell this one.

[fiddledragon]

On wet, this is cookies. Buttery flaky sweet cookies. With maybe a hint of currant and rose. As it dries down, the cookies recede and the rose and current come out. It becomes a beautiful fruity rose with a hint of pastry. I'm really liking Beth's "stuff with a hint of cookie" scents -- Haloa, Ostara, and now this. And the rose works on me! Almost no rose notes work on me, but this is like the one in Rose Cross!

[Gin]

The Knave of Hearts

 

Huh. This is all buttery and caramelly, and almost smoky on me. No roses, no blackcurrants. By the end of the day, I was comparing it to the reformulated Hearth and Jolly Roger. Weird. (And sad! I wanted roses and tarts! )

[Donnababe]

Buttery hot pie crusts. A little fruit but mostly crusts. Rose sweetness appears after a few minutes but it's nowhere near obvious enough to make me like this

[minnalavender]

I am not usually a fan of foody scents, but I LOVE this one! Both in the vial and on my skin, I can smell the buttery, cakey pastry, the sweet spicy black currants, and as it dries down, I smell the rose in the background. It's utterly delicious. Not much of a morpher, yet the drydown is darker, somehow. It reminds me of my beloved Sugar Skull and/or Red Lantern: caramel so deep it smells like tobacco somehow...

 

How can cake and currants be dark??

The Knave was a thief, though...

 

Mmmmm.

[sarahmarie]

I didn't smell roses in this blend at all, really. Wet, this oil smelled buttery, which freaked me out - buttery can be very bad news for me. BUT! After just a minute, the butter went away, leaving a spiced, fruity baked good. This one wears close to the skin, but it lasted all day on my wrist. I really enjoyed sniffing it all day long. This one is a winner! Lots of fun, and highly recommended if you like spicey baked scents.

[GypsyRoseRed]

I didn't get any roses out of this which is weird because rose usually turns evil on me. In any case, Knave of Hearts has a very distinct 'pie' smell about it, and I can pick out the pastry note right away when it's wet. Thankfully that mellows out after a while, and it becomes juicy blackcurrant. Mmm. Yummy, though not my usual thing.

[space girl lost]

i echo the previous sentiments about the rose being missing to a degree.

 

i oddly enough used to adore tea rose in my younger days so while i do have a HUUUUGE aversion to florals, i can sometimes tolerate rose.

 

the knave of hearts is a giant morpher for me. when i first apply it i get a blast of SWEET AS HELL CURRANTS. you have to understand me though... THIS IS UNIMAGINABLE BLISS TO ME. i currants in a very very major way. they are sweet and sticky and gooey smelling initially. as it dried down, the sweetness burns off and underneath it all is the rose. in the end, the rose and currant is balanced. i'm shocked i like this as i do.

 

onto the bottle list for me!

[macabre_fae]

Wow, this truly is yummeh . Oddly enough, the rose isn't very predominant in this blend, I didn't even have in mind that it included roses when I sniffed it. Actually it reminds me a bit of miskatonic university. Very buttery and sweet, rich and fulfilling. I'll just conclude that... I could gain weight from sniffing this too often .

Edited April 17, 2007 by macabre_fae

[vylit]

Wet: I can't smell the roses at all, but I can smell the tart -- fruity and buttery like a pastry. Honestly, it smells more buttery than sugary.

 

Dry: This is... I can't smell the fruit anymore, but I can smell the buttery pastry and something that... well, OK, it smells like I dragged my wrist over dirt. This is bad, bad, bad on my skin.

[GoldenRubee]

I love this scent! Yum!

 

I didn't think I would because of the rose in it but I don't smell rose at all. I smell vanilla, butter rum, black current and a touch of spice. This reminds me of a current pastry I make at Christmas. I guess I don't have to wait until Christmas, I can make it now! Now look what you did, Beth!!! I can blame the extra weight gain on you!

 

[Keslynn]

In the imp and wet on my skin, all i get is buttery pie crust, which is quite yummy.

 

As it dries down, the rose starts to come out more until it's the same strength as the pie crust smell. A delicious gourmet rose cake! These are not scents that I would have ever imagined would go together, but they work wonderfully. Later on, I get a slight hint of the blackcurrant, but the main notes are the rose and cakey scent.

 

My boyfriend says it smells like butterscotch and likes it, despite his dislike of rose scents.

 

Verdict: Foody and floral together? Count me in! I think I might need a full bottle.

[Miss Lynx]

This was an odd pick for me, since rose usually amps on my skin tremendously, turning any scent it's in into ROSE!, and foody/cakey scents usually smell nasty and artificial on me. Yet somehow, I just couldn't quite resist...

 

In the imp it does indeed smell fearsomely like that cloying fake-butter note that I so dislike in most foody scents. But on my skin, that note's not too strong at all. It's balanced out fairly nicely by the blackcurrant -- which is actually one of my favourite notes, and tends to be nicely dark and bittersweet on me. And the rose does amp, but not to the point where it obliterates everything else.

 

All in all, it makes for an odd and interesting combo -- the three main notes balance each other fairly well, and keep it from falling quite entirely into any one category (floral, fruity, foody). It's also not as sweet on me as you might expect from the description, once it settles in a little -- I'd almost call it a gender-neutral scent despite the rose -- and there's a touch of something green and leafy in it.

 

Grade: B

[juniperus]

bottle: sweet, buttery, and dark

wet: the tarts - wholly the tarts. mm, that sounds pretty good right now...

dry: still mostly the tarts, but in the rear I can just barely catch the roses..like a tray of cooling tarts on a window ledge under which a rosebush grows..this would be the scent of the breeze through that window

later: deeper, and more of the rose, but it's that same feeling of that breeze...interesting, I don't care for foody, usually, and oft buttery notes turn to celery on me...but this is such a fascinating combination, I just can't stop sniffing it

[Sunshine the Werewolf]

Does exactly what it says on the tin. A fabulous blend and another gorgeous rose blend for my collection

 

Seriously, I love rose and I love cakey, buttery scents. I think this is going to one of my all time favourites!!

[ange_glorieux]

I ordered an imp of this from the lab on a whim -- and I'm oh SO glad that I did! This is a new surprise favorite for me. I have no idea why, but something about this reminds me of Tiresias (Carnivale Diabolique) -- something dark and spicy and lovely. I wish I knew what the common note(s) might be, because I'd stock up on other BPALs with them! I will definitely be adding this to my 'swap for more right away!!' pile.

[cassandrakfreaq]

this was a shock for me. I never order anything slightly "rose-ish" but someone sent me a frimp and so I tried it.

 

I get no rose at all...not floral whatsoever...which is fabulous for me. I get sweet berries with a hint of foody as well. this is nice but I haven't decided if I need a bottle yet.

[batsy]

In the bottle: sweet sweet currants, with a buttery undertone.

 

On the skin: The roses truly come out, deep and rich and sweet, almost a red wine-like scent. I normally don't go in for rose scents, but this one hit me just right by not being a dominant floral/rose scent. It's sweet as it dries on my skin and lasts a long time with good throw. It's not a true foody, but will appeal to rose lovers and foodies!

 

I sniffed this at C13 and fell in love, promptly bought a bottle!

[CrazyPretzel]

My new order from the lab has arrived, I've only just torn into it, and before I do anything else I feel compelled to comment that this particular imp smells precisely how I imagined Crumpet Rebellion would smell. (Disclaimer: don't get all excited, I've never actually smelled CR; this is just how I *imagine* it would smell.)

 

I only had the lid off for a second but there's an awesome smell of freshly-baked pastry crust lingering around me in a big cloud. I'm surprised and really excited! I'll edit this in a bit to add information on how it smells once applied.

 

ETA: OK, I've been wearing this scent all day. It is indeed very pastry-ish, and remains so on me -- like a delicious fresh-baked berry pie (or, you know, blackcurrant tart.) The rose is in there but happily not dominant. I really like the combination of rose with berries or red fruit, as this keeps it from smelling too old-ladyish on me.

 

Totally scrummy!

Edited May 31, 2007 by Baitu

[sookster]

my goodness!

straight sniff from imp is exactly as described:

crushed roses & black currant tarts with a slightly chocolate edge...

 

this has a similarity to "love lies bleeding"...a particular favorite of mine

 

once applied this is absolutely one of the best GC scents the lab has to offer...

 

the rose note is by far the most fabulous ever and the foodiness of the tarts is

outstanding...i need a big bottle of this one...stunning!!!

[sedona]

In the imp - Treacle, knock your socks off sweet!

 

Wet - Almost the same as in the imp. At this stage it is just pure dessert!

 

Drydown - Buttered caramel with loads of throw. I smell like a confectioner's kitchen Up close I can just detect some rose with a tartness from the blackcurrants but they are definitely losing the battle.

 

Okay, I admit I had to wash this off as the sweetness was too much.

 

This reminded me of Tokyo Stomp in that the caramel amped bigtime (not that caramel is a note in TS!)

 

Skin chemistry, sheesh....

[naeelah]

Woah, this smells almost exactly like Crumpet Rebellion, only with Rose! So if you've been desperate to try it or just want a GC equivalent, give this a try! Really, it's almost exactly the same! I'm shocked. If there is any question as to whether the fruit note in CR is black currant, I think it has been answered!

 

Knave of Hearts really smells exactly like the notes. Rich, buttery crust and thick, sweet black currants. The rose note here is rich and deep red, and it's in very even balance with the black currant tart scent. It's a very rich and definitely foody scent. The rose blends well into the food, so I wouldn't say it has a floral quality. The rose adds a little levity, but generally it's pretty thick and heavy. This one doesn't morph at all on me. It smells pretty much the same wet and dry, and it remains the same through its entire life.

 

This one has about average life and throw on me. It had faded pretty well after about 4 hours, which is what I consider average. Compared to Crumpet Rebellion, is has a shorter life and lacks the dark, almost musky caramelized sugar quality.

[PurringPulsar]

The Knave of Hearts

 

In the imp: buttery caramel and fruit. Reminds me of Cockaigne and Drink Me more than Eat Me.

Wet on skin: oh, now I smell roses and berries coming out even more. This is delicious!

Dry on skin: mmm, wonderful! It does have that buttery caramel note to it but it's not too overpowering now. It smells of roses, blackcurrants and pastry! I can smell rich velvety fruity roses, just like the ones in Rose Moon, mixing with a tart yet sweet blackcurrant filling (though this also reminds me of the blackberry note in Bitter Moon) with a wonderful warm undertone of crumbly sweet just baked buttery pastry. Not too buttery but enough to make the pastry smell delicious, and there's a layer of cooked sugar on top. This reminds me of the wonderful pie scent I got in Bloody Mary, but with currants instead of cherries.

After a while: the rose really blooms after a while, along with the sharp currants (which smell like blackberries here-not the cat pee blackberries though!), and the two notes go beautifully together. There's a fruity aspect to the rose that mixes wonderfully with the currant, almost creating a 'rose petal jam' scent. The sweeter, foody notes underneath aren't taking over either, it still smells like pastry and baked sugar, and I want to bite myself. It's like Bitter Moon, but less bitter and less melancholy-this is indulgent, wholesome and warm. The slightly smoky, oven-baked scent of the pastry reminds me of Jolasveinar, but not as cloying.

Eventually it becomes hard to tell the rose and currant apart, they've merged so well. it's lovely and tangy, a sharp currant sauce with deep red and purple roses. But they rest beautifully on that warm pastry crust, with maybe just a hint of cream. Some lovely sweet jam like tones appear in this scent every now and then, but it's not over-sugared. The end drydown is a gorgeous smooth 'rose pie', a mix of smoky pastry (like it's been baked in a traditional oven-but not burnt smelling!) with fruit and roses.

Verdict: I love roses and I love Eat Me, and this is a wonderful fusion of foody and floral. I am reminded of Possets Indy 499, the 'peony pie' scent, only this one is a rose pie, and has a lot more oomph to it. at first I worried that this would end up being too foody on me but this wasn't so. It was perfectly gourmand and smelt exactly like a tart…crumbly golden pastry with just the right amount of butter, a glazing of brown sugar, and a gorgeous sour blackcurrant filling which cuts nicely through the sweetness. And the roses just go really well with it-there's a fruitiness to rose, and a sharpness, which mingles very well with the blackcurrant note, especially at drydown when it smells like rose jam. The great thing is that this is a heavily sugary and almost treacle like scent but it's not cloying or sickening like those scents can be. I love the MTP scents and their fun, light hearted nature, and I remember the Knave of Hearts poem fondly from childhood (when my big Lewis Carroll book was one of the most memorable books of my youth), I am definitely getting a bottle of this yummy rose scent!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? yes-and I need more!

If you like this, try: Rose Moon, Bitter Moon, Hope, Eat Me, Drink Me, All Souls, Cockaigne, Two Five and Seven

[dorothy humbird]

First applied to my skin there is a heavy buttery-cake/cookie element with a lot of dark berry from the blackcurrant. However, given about a minute and a half to settle on my skin, the roses come to the fore. I'm immediately reminded of the last time I was in a hookah bar, because we chose rose tobacco that night. It's a pleasant association for me, and says something about this rose: less dewey, fresh-cut and more smoke and mystery.

 

As this dries down I continue to get a lot of rose, and in the background there is a base of what reminds me of pancake syrup -- very sweet, with a buttery note that doesn't quite remind me of baked goods so much as liquid sugar. I must say, I'm enjoying it... I'll decide whether or not to hang onto the imp over the next week or two, I'm sure.

 

 

ETA: This oil is extremely longlasting, with what I assume is really good throw. It's been going strong for 6+ hours now.

Edited June 14, 2007 by dorothy humbird