My Queen

Purchased: Around 2008–2009 There are perfumes you wear, and then there are perfumes that wear you—that become part of your essence, lingering in the air like a signature written in scent. My Queen by Alexander McQueen was exactly that for me. I first bought it around 2008 or 2009, and even now, I can still recall its luxurious, hypnotic presence. From the very first spray, it hit me with a richness that felt almost regal. It was heavy in the best way possible—not cloying or overpowering, but bold, unapologetically lush. My Queen was the kind of fragrance that enveloped you in a soft yet dramatic cloud, announcing your presence before you even stepped into the room. It felt like velvet at midnight—dark, mysterious, and sensual. The scent itself was beautifully oriental. It opened with a unique combination of sweet and spicy top notes—something slightly floral but grounded with a peppery warmth. The heart was creamy and deep, a blend of florals, almonds, and patchouli that gave it a velvety smoothness. But it was the base that truly lingered on my skin: woody, musky, almost incense-like. It felt sacred, as if made for a modern-day empress. Wearing it made me feel confident, powerful, and a little dangerous. It was perfect for cold nights, intimate dinners, or anytime I wanted to feel like the most intriguing person in the room. It had incredible staying power, too. I’d spray it in the morning, and it would cling to my scarves, coats, and even my pillows long after the day ended. Sadly, My Queen has been discontinued, which only makes the memory of it more precious. No other perfume since has matched that specific combination of oriental warmth, depth, and drama. I’ve tried to find similar scents, but nothing quite compares. It was a masterpiece—underrated, unique, and unforgettable. If I could get my hands on another bottle today, I’d treasure it like a relic from a different era—a reminder of who I was when I wore it, and how it made me feel: like royalty. **If you find it at a good price, like around the $100 mark, get it!!**

The best perfume I ever had. As simple as that. Oriental and sensuous, feminine and mysterious, floral and slightly woody at the same time, a brilliant combination of notes for a powerful personality. Such a pity not to have it any more...

I am letting go of my bottle, but I wanted to come here one last time to appreciate this gem. Violet, slightly powdery, woody with just slight hints of almond and vanilla. It radiates off of you the entire day in a warm violet embrace. When I first bought this in 2008 (my very old review is allllll the way down, lol), I thought it was the most majestic fragrance ever. Alexander McQueen was my favorite designer, too. I HAD to have this. I wore it all the time until I just... stopped. Regardless of outgrowing it, I clung to my bottle for so long, even having it out on my vanity without ever choosing it. For sale it goes! Either way, My Queen is by far one of my most memorable perfume affairs from my teenagerhood. There were two other fragrances I've smelled which remind me of My Queen: Girl by Pharell and Kenzo's Peace (purple bottle).

Smells like a cloud of black pepper and a hint of violets as they struggle to cough through for about the first hour. Then afterwards, the pepper cloud dissipates and the violet finally comes through. However, the pepper smell still lingers in the background, and to me, the two clash. Sad, because the violet here is done very beautifully. It's not sweet or powdery at all, just floral purple violet, but that pepper note takes over on me.

This isn’t what I was expecting at all. I’m getting mostly a sharp Cedarwood note, with a floral baby wipe hanging around in the background. And actually, I wouldn’t mind the baby wipe scent at all, but combined with the strong overpowering cedar, it turns somewhat sour. It just doesn’t mesh well for me. A shame, I’m an absolute sucker for violet scents and I don’t really get much violet here. I don’t dislike this, but I don’t think I would wear it either.

I find the vanilla really overpowering in this one. To be honest, to my nose that’s the case for many feminine fragrances, Hypnotic Poison for example.

Wonderful scent and a one-of-a-kind beauty. Dark but delicate, wonderful and seductive in such an amazing way. The top notes of My Queen have a woody, almost bitter almond edge. This is not a straight perfume; it evolves. Some of the base notes, such as woods and vetiver, are noticeable right away. To my nose, the development is more in bringing in the softer white flowers, which are a little powdered but not too so. Irrational, emotional, and erratic. It's deep and thick, peppery and powdery all at once. Stunning!

Still the best violet perfume I have EVER smelled. Peppery, deep, rich, woody iris and violet scent. Cool, crisp bright white flowers in the heart. Smooth, warm, woody, cedar dominant base.

There are a few I've tried that are similar--Aimez-Moi by Caron, Organza by Givenchy, 21 Bonaparte by Vicky Tiel, I would say even Hypnotic Poison is along the same vein, and possibly Angel's Dust by Francesca Bianchi, but that one is much more delicious. My Queen is nice, but please do not be sad it's discontinued, because there are others like it, and having sampled it I wouldn't pay the prices eBay seems to be asking right now. It is to be noted, the cedar is fairly prominent, and gives a peppery note. I like it but I have heard others complain about a cedar like this. To my nose the patchouli is very light. It is all about almond, heliotrope, vanilla. There is a nice stage where you can see the white flowers. I do not get a lot of violet or iris but yes they are there, making the perfume richer and more interesting. Overall it is just fine.

Demure yet commanding fragrance. Due to their heady, sensual, powerful fragrance and beautiful colour, violets are often seen as romantic flowers and this aspect has been captured by the perfumers with the combination of notes including the purity of the orange blossom. According to floriography (the language of flowers), in the Victorian-era violets symbolised modesty and blue violets, devotion.

I thought this would be more “edgy” due to my familiarity of Kingdom, another discontinued gem from Alexander McQueen, but this is a lady-like, elegant and comforting perfume. I would imagine a classy lady, a young mother or much-loved teacher, wearing this beautiful fragrance. Love when heliotrope and vanilla is used this way, as a lightly creamy base to the powdery violets.

Creamy violets.......almond facet.......beautiful

This is one of the most beautiful fragrances I've ever owned. I had the 100ml bottle and treasured every last drop. On me it smelt of powdery violets. Gorgeous!

An unexpected beauty that came my way! I don't normally seek powdery perfumes but I found this at a very tempting price and just went ahead. This is lady-like, soft and feminine in a very nice way. It gives out a very 'English' and 'From Another Era' vibe (it's not outdated at all) as if this is the perfume worn by the lead female characters in classic English literature novels, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice,... Edit: I have grown very fond of this and now I figured out why I love some floral fragrances, while in general I don't fancy them much anymore.. It's the Violet! Apparently I've been a sucker for Violets all my life without realizing it! And this is one of the best Violets out there. Would buy a back up if I spot it anywhere in sight. It's sad that it's discontinued.

What a surprise, this powdery soft cool floral gives the image of a soft bodied woman wearing a frilly floral dress, not the defined lines of a dark McQueen creation. The 4-part structure is an interesting concept and I love that Lee got into the chypre concept so as to add that unexpected dimension to the journey. I have a made-up notion that he made this fragrance for his mother.

This smells very similar to Ellen Tracy Bronze crossed with Armani Lei (without the sandal). Strong on the skin with minimal sillage. It starts off peppery and then settles.The muskiness in the dry down reminds me of that in L'Instant Magic and 3 hours later it smells very similar to L'Instant Magic but lighter!

I got a 35ml bottle last month, on eBay for a quite expensive price because it's discontinued... I wanted to see how good this one was, after the reviews I read. I am quite obsessed for almond and violets notes lately. The first spray on my wrist...ok...gave it a sniff...nothing especial...I pick the violets, the almonds, the iris, the musk, some woodsy undernotes... it's a mild and soft scent, powdery, a bit bitter and a bit sweet , not much...I was expecting something more BOLD from Mc Queen, more daring, with more oomph. It's a close to skin scent, floral, romantic,feminine, with a vintage vibe to it...no sillage, not invasive at all but a bit disappointing overall for the high price I paid. This blind buy was not a miss, but if I had sampled it instead...I would be a better option for me. So, it's ok...I think I'll use it as a nighttime scent... I agree with order reviewer that said this has the Naughty Alice vibe. It is similar, N.A. is less bitter and is sweeter to my nose. The purple bottle is cute!

Powder + synthetic violets. Featureless.

Oh My!!! Yet another fragrance in my collection thanks to my Sister :-) I totally got crazy from sniffing the bottle and now that it sat on my skin like a little kitten on fluffy rug opposite fireplace - I can feel it melting :-) I love my Queen, it is standing out from the crowd perfume, quite powerful and with a nice sillage :-) I cannot detect any notes on their own, it is elegant and daring juice :-) The dry down smells to me a bit like JPG Le Male which, despite being a masculine fume, does not bother me at all :-) I consider it better than Kingdom. The colour of the bottle pretty much expresses the taste of the ting to come once you spray it :-) My Queen is charming, it is a sex-appeal, it is love and lust manifest hidden in that beautiful bottle :-) Worth trying!!!

When I smelled My Queen for the first time I was really surprise to discover a gentle/quiet perfume. From Alexander McQueen I was expecting something really audacious like his fashion. For a McQueen perfume I found it boring with a lack of personnality. Finally after many test I realise that is not so gentle/ quiet but more complex. For sure is a real beauty. The mix of violet and almond are really interesting. And now I can wear a ''McQueen''. His perfume is less expensive than his clothes.

Extraordinary tune between color and shape and content. The Iris flower is rebuilt on the notes of its talcated precious root, violet and heliotrope, orange blossoms and vanilla notes, almonds and patchouli background, mosses and cedar wood on vetiver. I love it, good longevity and sillage.

I was surprised to find the almond listed so prominently. Almond is one of my favorite scents and I didn't notice any. For me I smelled a lovely floral with a nice bit of pepper from the violet, but a little too blended to make out what specific flowers I was smelling. After a while a rose scent came out. Later (30-45min) I got a patchouli leather like scent that occasionally had an unpleasent poo like note, but just every so often After the first hour it morphed into a sweet vanilla. I love that it changes, but while each level is interesting nothing is amazing enough for me to fall in love.

I am a latecomer to this perfume, never have been much of a violets fan.Love almonds though, and having just found a full sealed bottle at a ridiculous price at my local perfume discount shop I snapped it up blindly. WOW, I have read all the reviews here, all I can add is that if you love Tim Burton's movies this is one of them. In a bottle, and you are given the lead role. WOW again.

I recycle all my swap boxes and found this recently on the bottom of one. I totally missed it. Thank you swap partner I am so sorry not to have thanked you. Wow this is gorgeous reminds me of Tom Ford Violet Blonde and Ellen Tracy Bronze. It's more animalic like TF it has a dirty undertone but very slight, it is sexy. Why do they always discontinue the amazing sexy fragrances?

That's a really nice perfume! It opens with strong woody notes on me, and after a while dries to nice almond-vanilla notes. I love that the scent is pretty strong, even though I have only a roll-on.

I really don't know what to think about this one. A few years ago it was on sale at tk maxx for about £20.00. As my blind buys are 50/50, I ordered a sample. Used it a few times and was relieved I didn't buy a full size bottle because I thought it was nothing to write home about. Now I found an almost empty vial, sprayed it once and I quite like it. It's very misterious, warm, powdery ("poudre" sounds nicer:)and sensual fragrance. My taste changes dramaticly, I start to dislike and get rid of my once favourite fragrances to buy those I wasn't fond of in the past....

I get pencil shavings cedar from first to last, a sugary over-sweet mix of flowers including a weak almost-violet, lots of pepper. It smells loud and messy and incoherent - like the sound of a riot rather than a choir. I can believe it smells very different to different people or to the same person at different times. I think it will be hit and miss whether this works for you and whether you can get the same result using it twice in a row. Bit of a roulette wheel. Actually, I think 'roulette' would be a better name than 'my queen'. Queen conveys to me a mature, strong woman who is in control and supported by a long tradition, a sophisticated courtly culture, a stable government - stable, conservative, reactionary. This smells nothing like that. If by queen you mean drag queen wobbling uncertainly on six-inch heels through a poorly rehearsed torch song then maybe. The marketing is all about spells, witches, magic. I don't get that at all. The marketing is as confused as the product. Not something I would wear nor would I enjoy being around someone wearing it.

This goes on strongly floral, mostly violets. It's a bit bitter, almost with a tinge of gasoline in the back of your throat. I am not in love with this at first, the bitterness is a little too much for me, but it sweetens up as time goes on. The vanilla comes out with the other florals, and you get a lovely, pretty, purple almond musk. It smells very fall/winter, but I have a hunch this scent would do very well in the summer - sweet musk fragrances usually do for me, if sprayed copiously. I wonder what makes me describe this scent as purple, other than the bottle - earlier today when I had it on and was walking through the green trees, it smelled like the color of the air around me...green, brown, blue, gray...I'm probably not making sense now! haha!

An absolute gem. I think this would be an excellent floral perfume for someone who prefers something more on the masculine side. I sensed some master parfumers at work here, and in my opinion it's definitely one of Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion's best! On my skin, this is harsh at first; followed by lots of violet greenery and an unusual floral note. I wonder if this is the heliotrope. It's very woodsy, fresh and clean. In the heart, the almonds, powdery iris and cedar are more prominent on the skin. The perfume really does dance back and forth between notes. Eventually everything settles into a dry-down of a powdery almond-vanilla scent. Soft to moderate sillage; lasts for about 8-9 hours. I really loved this perfume; but unfortunately, almonds are like play-doh on my skin. I would buy this in a heartbeat sans almonds! Oh well, there are many more perfumes out there for me to fall in love with :)

At first I get powdery violet, then it turns to sweet lemon cake. The sweet lemon lasts a long time on my skin, with the powdery violet settling over top of it. It's hard to describe this scent but I LOVE it. I can faintly detect a hint of warmth - patchouli? Very feminine . Adore!!