The first fragrance from Queen Latifah

10/28/09 14:42:59

By: Marlen Harrison

Designer’s Description: “The first fragrance from Queen Latifah, the charismatic and curvaceous award-winning rapper, actress and singer will debut Fall 2009, in the US, with an international roll-out shortly thereafter. According to Queen Latifah, “Beauty really does start on the inside. It's like a state of mind, a state of love if you will. So I see fragrance as just a natural expression of this state of love: scent expresses a woman’s confidence and sensuality, it’s how she embraces her body, her mind and her strength. Queen Latifah exudes a radiant confidence and inimitable style,” Neil Katz, Chairman and CEO of Parlux Fragrances, Inc. observes. “Individuals of all ages connect with her compelling charisma and her compassion. Every woman is a Queen in Latifah’s world. With that sense of empowerment in mind, this first fragrance, Queen, naturally, expresses not simply beauty and sensuality but inner strength and an exuberant sense of confidence.”

I’ll admit it: Celebrity scents turn me off because I don’t want to wear a highly paid singer, or the thought of that singer in a specific acting role. I want to wear an aroma that allows me to create my own scented story. So it was with a little bit of perfume snobbery that I delayed testing Queen by Queen Latifah. In short, I was an idiot who judged a perfume by its namesake (and I should add that I love me some Latifah).

Queen is a surprising love story for me: At first sight I dismissed it. At first sniff I thought, “huh – nice,” and then as the scent progressed I moved to “yummy” and then to “wow”. Now I sit here typing to you, dear reader, in utter addiction to a scent I don’t want to be without. Perfume can be like that, right? You see the bottle or hear the name and think, “Eh, not for me.” And then you smell the aroma and think, “Well, maybe I’ll try it.” Next thing you know you’re smitten and wearing it to lunch with your best friend who can’t stop giggling because she finds it ironic that a 35 year old gay man is wearing a scent called “Queen”.

Have you smelled Tom Ford Black Orchid yet? It’s a conundrum for me because though I love the aroma, it is so sweet that I rarely have the desire to actually wear it. And you know Angel, right? I wore it to death back in the mid-90’s when it first launched and I can’t wear it anymore – fragrance overkill. So here comes the big, bad queen, in all of her red ruby glory and to my surprise, it’s Angel, but with less patchouli, Black Orchid with less sweaty crotch and buttercream, and I have to tell you, I really really like it.

Queen opens with a boozey cocktail – think White Russian or cognac and caramel. Definitely not for the heat of a summer day, the warmth of the notes is deliciously surprising. Queen employs the necessary floral and citrus notes to help liven up the sugary party before plunging even deeper into gouriental territory (that’s gourmand + oriental…just made it up...does it work? I think it’s better than orimand, don’t you?). This is the entire story. Along the way there are glimmers of jasmine, wafts of powdery smoke, and even an accent of musky baby shampoo. Of course, interpretations are highly subjective, but I think you get the picture now.

Of course, there is nothing terribly original about Queen, and subtle she is not. However, if you want to only have to apply your fragrance once a day, you’re gonna love Queen. There’s also something slightly upscale and niche about Queen. With a slight tweaking (add a little smoke, temper some of the sweetness) this could have easily been a Bond, by Kilian, or L’Artisan. With a great price, and widespread availability, I smell a huge sugary hit for Queen Latifah and Parlux this holiday season. I’m curious to see what comes next – Queen Summer, Queen Intense, and maybe even King, Black or White Queen, or my fave with a nod to Mozart, Queen of the Night. Latifah, if you smell like this, girlfriend, come on over here and gimme a huge hug!!!

Summary: The first fragrance release under the Queen Latifah label is a boozey, gourmand aroma, like Angel meets Tom Ford Black Orchid…and it lasts for hours.
 Pros: Despite my little cringe of discomfort when thinking that I’m wearing a scent called “Queen”, the scent is absolutely delicious and highly addictive; perfect for lovers of earthier, dessert aromas.

Cons: Will be far too sweet and dark for some, while others will smell it and simply think “very familiar.” I’m not a huge fan of the heavy, chunky, bottle.

Notes: "Golden Tequila, Italian Bergamot, Mediterranean Mandarin, Baie Rose, Jasmine Noir, Cognac, Moroccan Coriander, Indonesian Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Tonka Absolute, Egyptian Incense, and sexy Musk."

Reminds me of: As noted above, this is a close cousin to vanilla-oriental-gourmand scents like Angel, Black Orchid, Bond 9 Nuits de Noho, VC&A Feerie, Bath and Body Works’ Sensual Amber, the eponymous Sonia Rykiel fragrance in the t-shirt bottle, etc. Perfumer Steve DeMercado (for Parlux) obviously has his finger…er, nose on the pulse of what’s currently hot.

Number of times tested: Numerous wearings on whole body.

Number of sprays applied for this review: One on the back of my wrist.

Fragrance Strength: Eau de Parfum.

Development: (Linear / Average / Complex): As the scent develops, the citrus and floral notes blend together and create a bright, juicy accent to the darker, warmer patchouli and woods basenotes. But truly, Queen is all about the vanilla, tonka, cognac and musk.

Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting): Incredible staying power, this queen rules the kingdom 24/7.

Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot): I shared this last night with 2 friends via a roll-on and we were surprised that the sillage wasn’t more powerful. I bet if we had sprayed rather than rolled the fragrance on, the sillage would seem stronger. I did receive a compliment while wearing it last week, so it must be perceptible by others.

Note About the Packaging: Square, red, glass bottle with matching oval red and gold cap. The bottle is patterned to look like cut crystal or inset rubies while a concave heart shape graces one side and a convex heart shape graces the other. A gold square frames each side of the bottle.

Author: Marlen Harrison (perfumecritic)
Fragrantica Writer

Creator and Editor of PerfumeCritic.com, Marlen Harrison was also author of Basenotes.com's ADDICTED column and one of the community's moderators. Marlen has been a regular contributor to NowSmellThis blog, BeautyAddictMag, and The Washington Blade. He is currently completing his PhD in English Composition and TESOL and teaches at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.