Mind Games Lionora vs Queening: How They Differ

Mind Games Lionora vs Queening is a comparison inside one chess-themed house. Both perfumes are an Extrait de Parfum in 100 ml, both carry the house's unisex label, and both end on a musk. Beyond that they go in different directions: Lionora is a fruity floral, Queening a gourmand amber. This article lines the two up by notes, family, season and intensity, and does not name a winner.

Mind Games Lionora vs Queening: the short answer

Mind Games Lionora is the light one. The house calls it an elusive celebration of grace and beauty: passionfruit and ginger open it, apricot skin, osmanthus and freesia fill the heart, and a creamy sandalwood base ends on a clean musk.

Mind Games Queening is the cosy one. It is about reaching a goal and coming out of a hard road stronger: clean cotton, cypress and apple open it, orris, rum and saffron follow, and whipped vanilla bean, fluffy musk and coconut close it.

The chess idea behind both

Mind Games is a New York house, and it takes its vocabulary from chess. Each perfume is called an aromatic movement that mirrors a move or an idea from the game. The brand calls its range unisex, and the compositions are made with the master perfumers of the fragrance house Symrise. Queening is a chess word too: it means promoting a pawn that reaches the far side of the board, which fits the house's story of reaching a goal. The house text for Lionora speaks of grace and beauty rather than of a move.

The bottles follow the theme: heavy glass flacons in black, silver or white, with metal caps shaped like chess pieces. The brand sorts its range into three collections: Artisan, Soulmate, whose pawn-themed perfumes can be worn alone or layered, and Perfumer Extraordinaire, the home of Mentor, which you will meet at the end of this article.

Mind Games Lionora notes and Queening notes side by side

Both perfumes have a full pyramid on the house's pages. We print it as the house gives it, and Tonkalactone Captive and Eco Musk are the house's own names for those ingredients.

Lionora

• Top: Passionfruit, Tonka Bean, Ginger Madagascar
• Heart: Apricot Skin, Osmanthus Delaire, Freesia
• Base: Sandalwood, Tonkalactone Captive, Eco Musk

Queening

• Top: Clean Cotton Accord, Cypress, Apple
• Heart: Orris, Rum, Saffron
• Base: Whipped Vanilla Bean, Fluffy Musk, Coconut

The differences are easy to see. Lionora opens with fruit and spice, passionfruit and ginger, with tonka bean already at the top. Queening opens with something clean and airy, a cotton accord, cypress and apple. In the heart Lionora is floral, with apricot skin, osmanthus and freesia, while Queening turns warm and boozy, with orris, rum and saffron. The bases meet at one point: both carry musk, Eco Musk in one and Fluffy Musk in the other, and both are soft rather than dry. Lionora gets there through sandalwood and a tonka lactone, Queening through vanilla bean and coconut.

Family, season and intensity

The house files Lionora as a Fruity Floral and Queening as a Gourmand Amber. Our tags follow: Lionora is floral, fruity and musky, and Queening is gourmand, amber and musky. The one tag they share is musky.

Lionora carries the intensity tag moderate, Queening strong. Lionora is tagged for spring, summer and autumn and for daily wear and evenings. Queening is tagged for autumn and winter, for evenings and special occasions. Together they cover two kinds of day.

Mind Games Lionora Extrait de Parfum and Queening: concentration and size

Both are an Extrait de Parfum in 100 ml, as the house states on each product page. An extrait usually holds more perfume concentrate than an eau de parfum, so it tends to feel denser and a few sprays are enough. Because concentration and size are the same, the difference between the two comes entirely from notes and mood. That holds for the whole line we list, so size and concentration never decide between Mind Games perfumes.

Choosing between Lionora and Queening

If you want a perfume that stays light and graceful through spring, summer and autumn, with fruit and flowers, Lionora is the closer fit. If you want something soft and enveloping for cool evenings, with rum, vanilla and coconut, Queening is. The house's own words point the same way: grace and beauty on one side, a base it calls cocooning on the other.

More from Mind Games

Mind Games The Forward is a Floral Gourmand with lemon, Mandarin Madagascar and pomelo on top, Jasmine Sambac, Tonka Bean and a salt accord in the heart, and Vanilla Madagascar, Sandalwood Drêches and Cashmeran in the base. It shares tonka bean and sandalwood with Lionora.

Mind Games Mentor is filed as Amber Edible and belongs to the house's Perfumer Extraordinaire collection. It has salted caramel, Italian lemon and dark plum on top, amber coffee and crème de cassis in the heart, and Boya Oud, sandalwood and tonka bean in the base. It shares sandalwood and tonka bean with Lionora as well, and like Queening it carries the tags strong, gourmand and amber, for evenings in autumn and winter.

Our guide to Mind Games covers the whole line, and the Mind Games collection shows every perfume. How families such as fruity floral and gourmand amber are built is explained in the fragrance families guide; to search by mood, use the explore page. You can also browse the Extrait de Parfum and musky perfumes collections.

Frequently asked questions

What are the notes of Mind Games Lionora?

Passionfruit, Tonka Bean and Ginger Madagascar on top, Apricot Skin, Osmanthus Delaire and Freesia in the heart, and Sandalwood, Tonkalactone Captive and Eco Musk in the base, as the house lists them.

What are the notes of Mind Games Queening?

Clean Cotton Accord, Cypress and Apple on top, Orris, Rum and Saffron in the heart, and Whipped Vanilla Bean, Fluffy Musk and Coconut in the base, as the house lists them.

Which is stronger, Mind Games Lionora or Queening?

Both are an Extrait de Parfum in 100 ml. Our intensity tags mark Lionora as moderate and Queening as strong, and Queening's base of vanilla, musk and coconut is the richer of the two.