Sugar & Spite - The Bee Queen

if there's one signature scent that defines Sugar & Spite for me, it would have to be The Bee Queen (rich honey, horchata, sticky beeswax, and woodsmoke). true to its name, this perfume showcases the best aspects of apiary produce and is a scent that perfectly befits the overlord of the hive.

in the bottle, this is a deliciously rich honeycomb just dripping with deep amber honey, with the faintest touch of smoke at the edges. i love the smooth beeswax in this, i love the rich and realistic honey note, and i love how the two come together so beautifully in this perfume. 

while The Bee Queen is at its core a really sweet gourmand, the beeswax and the smoke work together in a seamless blend to bring this above and beyond just 'honey'. this evokes memories of rich honeycomb just dripping golden without smelling like you had just messily crawled out of a giant hive. it's both sweet and strong, gentle yet regal, and all-around an amazing glimpse of what bee heaven must smell like for all those brave bees who did not go gentle into that good night.

the scent is very stable both on my skin and in my hair, with about 4 hours of wear on my wrist and 8 hours in my hair. the throw is a bit more personal than i would have liked it, never venturing more than a foot from my skin, but the awesomeness of being the queen of the bees more than makes up for it. 

9/10 this has a prominent spot on my shelf as a go-to scent whenever i feel like being sweet and approachable, yet remaining strong and confident.

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this review is of a perfume that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review this scent as a condition of receipt and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Sugar & Spite and as always, all opinions remain my own.

i had originally blind-bought a 10ml and was glad to find that it worked out so well; when Sugar & Spite announced at the end of 2019 that they would remove The Bee Queen from their collection due to a discontinuation of their unique honey note (which is not easily replaceable or substitutable), i just had to get a second 10ml backup for myself. i couldn't bear the thought of not being able to have any more of this beautiful honey in my collection.

but then a miracle happened - within a couple of weeks after the announcement was made, Andrea Fender (the owner of Sucreabeille) managed to obtain enough of the unique honey component required to keep production going and sent that over to Lysa at Sugar & Spite. talk about indie perfumery collaborative power! 

so The Bee Queen was saved from discontinuation and is still available here. prices are US$7 for a dram and US$15 for a 10ml rollerball (before shipping).

all information correct at time of publishing.