Name: Citizen Queen
Brand: Juliette Has A Gun
Size: 50ml
Price: €79,00
What I liked:
- lovely leathery aldehydic scent laced with florals, has a retro vibe
- strong, but not overpowering
- longlasting
- the bottle
What I didn’t like:
- the heart of the scent is quite weak and generic
Citizen Queen is one of my favourite fragrances from edgy niche brand Juliette Has A Gun. When I first heard the name, I thought it was inspired by Marie Antoinette, the unfortunate Queen of The French. During the Revolution, in fact, all titles were abolished and Marie Antoinette was simply called Citizen Capet. Instead, it turns out that Citizen Queen is just a play on words on Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane, which actually fits in better with the image of the brand.
But since I am a big fan of Marie Antoinette (who’s never said “let them eat cake” nor had an affair with Count Fersen, by the way), we’re gonna ignore that and pretend it’s about her instead. 
Citizen Queen is said to be a modern Aldehyde Chypre and I agree with that. It has a retro feel and pays homage to the heavier and classic chypre scents of yesterday, but it’s now been revamped and softened to suit our modern tastes. And it works. It’s not particularly special, but it smells so good that I found it impossible not to fall in love with it.
Citizen Queen opens with a leathery, aldehydic burst laced with rose and violet. It has an animalic feel to it, but is prevented from smelling too coarse and rough by the soft floral notes. The leather is warm and quite soft, with just a hint of powder. If you don’t like powdery scents, don’t worry. There is only very little in it which will hardly bother you. The heart of the scent is its weakest point. After such a nice opening, the fragrance turns into a general floral blend, where the iris, that smells just a touch powdery, predominates.
Musk and labdanum then appear onto the scene to give the scent an edgier vibe. The musk here is loud but quite clean and mixes very well with the creamy sweetness of amber, which is also laced with a touch of spicy accents. There’s a dirty animalic feel that subtly pervades the entire scent, beautifully contrasting with the sweetness and powderiness of the florals and amber. The result is a sexy but sophisticated, naughty but nice scent. And it lasts and lasts. It’s quite strong (and not office-friendly), so a couple of spritzes will be enough for the entire day.
Available at: escentuals.com and luckyscent.com
Summary
Citizen Queen by Juliette Has A Gun is a modern leathery aldehydic scent laced with florals that pays homage to the classic, heady chypre fragrances. Strong, but not overpowering, this sexy but innocent scent lasts for the entire day. However, it is not office-friendly and the heart accord is disappointing compared to the rest of the scent.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Your writing is absolutely beautiful! I am more in love with your writing than the perfume (that I haven’t smelled yet) except for Seville A L’Aube where I love your writing as much as the perfume (that I also haven’t smelled yet). Haha makes no sense!
I’m so interested in this perfume! Your descriptions are beautiful and I can picture the scent almost! (I’m not completely familiar with each flower and spice which is why, not your writing fault— which you have none)
:]
Janessa, aww thank you! It’s very difficult to describe perfumes but I hope I’m able to give you all a general idea of how they smell like. It is a very lovely fragrance, feminine, fresh and powdery that’s retro without being old-fashioned.