Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Alkemia Perfumes: Absinthe and Laudanum in the Afternoon and Sampler


My explorations of the indie perfume world continue with Alkemia Perfumes on Etsy. I decided to go ahead and splurge on one full bottle, blind, and a little sampler. Everything arrived in perfect condition and packaged well. Full bottle cost $12.00 and the five piece sampler was $12.00. Shipping came to only $3.17 and when purchasing a full bottle, 2 extra samples will be included and if ordering a sample set one extra sample will be added. You can even request your sample scents. 

So let's dive into the scents I chose.

Absinthe and Laudanum in the Afternoon- Notes: An intemperate intoxication of galbanum, laudanum accord, tonka bean, vetivert root, and narcotic wormwood swooning into an euphoric delirium of opium poppy, poet's jasmine and French lavender. Full bottle.
From the amber bottle, I inhale woods, bark, and a dark whiff of opium thrown into relief with lemony resins and green herbs. Dabbed onto the skin it dives deep into a black ocean, salty and a touch soapy with a wooden tang. It dries and morphs into a powdery resinous wood and laudanum mixture that houses the faintest glimmer of anise. I really enjoy it and mostly pick up woodsy tones in this heady beauty. You know me and my love of woods.


A Darkness Burning- Notes: Spiced incense, brown sugar, Bourbon vanilla, benzoin, guaiac wood, cinnamon bark, clove, charred oak and ginger musk.
I am not sure how my nose did this but I just have to run with it. Totally disregard if this is not your experience with this scent. In the tube my nose interprets chocolate, smoke and whiskey. I want to tip it back or dive into it. Not sure which. But it is gorgeous. Wet on the skin I still get boozy cocoa with hazelnut cream added. I feel like I am drinking a decadent latte held in a wooden mug. It dries to velvety woods and the faint hint of coffee beans roasting and burning and churning in the distance. Love. 

The Raven- Notes: A midnight elixir of shadows and mystery blended at the dark of the moon- ebony heartwood, black amber, piper nigrum, black seed, black Bengal cardamom, black ink, nigella, black iris, violet leaves and leather.
In the imp, Raven smells like black gesso, ink splotches and liquid darkness. Once inked onto the skin orris and tar slick the flesh. Soon the scent of creosote soaked railroad ties ignite from the burning sun. As it dries the fire turns to coals and melts into a pensieve full of dark ghosts with black orchids floating on the surface. The tail end of the scent is ebony leather... then further into it amber. The opening is strange and surreal but that dry down is down right naughty and I love it.

Persian Tearoom- Notes: A long, slow flirtation- strong black tea, dry desert sand, and Silk Road spices, against a background of erotically enticing musk and the slight lingering kiss of soft leather.
Fresh from the phial, steam from a hot cup of black tea reaches up and pulls at my senses, tinted with almond and licorice hues. Once poured on the skin, the tea is braced and strengthened by leather and spice and musk which transforms into a rosewood and resin treat to my nose. A touch smoky, exotic and deep. Pure bliss.


Vixen- Notes: A captivatingly shapeshifting blend of sexy white amber and luminous late summer night blooming florals awakened by warm caresses of autumnal spice, golden musk, varietal apple peel, sugar pumpkin, jasmine tea, and a whisper of woodland mosses.
Vixen in the vial smells of caramel and flowers. Dabbed onto the wrist, waxy sun warmed jasmine, fuzzy herbs and green pumpkin unfurl like vines reaching for the sun. The apple peels are ringed with water droplets and the golden musk masquerades as a skin scent. Towards the end a golden dry down emerges smelling like sunset illuminated oakmoss. 

Arabesque- Notes: An exquisitely spiritual blend of beautifully aged Arabian sandalwood, Mysore sandalwood, precious Egyptian kyphi, sweet orris root, benzoin resin, cassia and blessed spikenard.
These notes assembled themselves to smell like something different than the sum of their parts. In the vial my nose decided it smelled lavender, herbs and meadow plants, I am thinking that must be the spikenard? Once swirled on the skin the notes formed the familiar yet dark tones of beeswax and orange blossoms and resins. The tail end drifts into the sandalwoods. A lovely golden tapestry of a meadow scene this one weaves.

Vanille Amour- Notes: A beguilingly spicy, delightfully sexy blend of Madagascar and Tahitian vanillas and tonka nestled in with a warm melange of ancient Ottoman trade spices (cardamom, ginger and Grains of Paradise) known for heating up affairs of the heart.
Pure spiced vanilla wood wafts up from the tiny glass tube. Nestled in the crook of my elbow, Vanille Amour takes on the boozy dusky tones of tonka beans and dark cardamom. Always a beautiful vanilla centric scent, it has a nod to Lush's Vanillary but even better. 


Pumpkin Strumpet- Notes: A decadent blend of rich pumpkin, caramelized sugar, Madagascar vanilla, precisely balanced with a swirl of cinnamon, ginger, clove and a tiny drop of amber musk.
The vial houses the promise of a slice of pumpkin pie, spiced of course. on the skin the ginger and spice bubble up and a faint sparkling of citrusy ginger ale tickles the nose then calms into sweet cinnamon sugar sprinkled pumpkin pie. Toward the end it reminds me strongly of pumpkin crunch cake. 

I thoroughly enjoyed wearing all these amazing scents. I will be going back for full bottles of Vanille Amour, Persian Tearoom, The Raven (that dry down slays me) and maybe Darkness Burning or Pumpkin Strumpet. I think I have found a new rabbit hole to tumble into. Do you have any Alkemia favorites? Which of these samples do you think might best fit you? 

5 comments:

  1. I've not heard of this brand; thanks for introducing me to another hidden gem! Several of those scents interest me and the prices seem very reasonable.

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    1. The prices are really, really great. I don't feel guilty grabbing one once in a while at all. I will have to try more samples though before buying full bottles blind now... my little storage area will get too full to fast! LOL!

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  2. I haven't tried Alkemia yet, the last time I checked they weren't offering samples in the scent I wanted to try but they do now and they have a couple naturals as well.

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    1. What scent? Do tell!! And yes! Naturals are always nice to have on hand for mood lifting.

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    2. Ambre extrait and Ýdalir (fossilized amber, oakmoss absolute, Siberian Black Pine, smoked juniper tar, balsam pine). I had a pine tar soap once, I wasn't crazy about the scent but hopefully this is better!

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