Alkemia

By dark and mysterious, are you looking for spice, incense, vetiver? Or going more toward metal and leather? I second the rec for Alkemia's Cherries of the Night from u/Slothfulspiritanimal. For a good mix of incense, vetiver and cherry, BPAL's [**Blood Kiss**](https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/general-catalog-perfume-oils/bewitching-brews/blood-kiss/) (Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk.) This is strong stuff, I've got it in hair gloss and perfume, a little goes a long way. They offer samples of it, since it's general catalog.

It would be awkward for Alkemia to admit to this, but none of their fragrances in my experience really reach acceptable state for at least a month and peak at 6 months to a year. I found this out the hard way when I got a secondhand sample that I loved, FSed it, and went "WTF?!" when the bottle arrived smelling nothing like the sample.

Happy April!! Today I’m wearing Alkemia **Apsara** (*Dark purple hyacinth flowers and Darjeeling tea dance together in a sensually alluring spring pas de deux.*) This is one of my oldest perfumes and it brings me so much joy. I don’t get much tea so it’s really a hyacinth solinote and it’s a beautiful one. Something I learned from March Madness is that when I make myself a bank of perfumes to wear within a month I’m much more likely to wear a greater variety, instead of circling around what’s new and what’s reliable. So I did make a bank of perfumes that I think are Aprilly to help me actually use my hoard. I also really liked keeping a record of what I wore every day, so I am probably going to keep doing that, but not posting it to IMAM so it doesn’t get clunky to scroll through lol.

This is a long, long comment (sorry!), but I hope it's helpful! It's a lot of information, so I'll do my best to label and categorize in multiple comments. I personally think **Alkemia** is a great brand to start off with because they're very beginner friendly: short TAT, no FOMO, affordable samples (5 for $20), and you can describe what you're looking for and they'll curate a set for you (5 for $25). If you want to try multiple brands, I suggest trying a decanting service, like Ajevie or Arae. That way, you can test different brands without over-paying on shipping + test samples of some perfumes that are only offered in a full-size. \*Like others have said in this comment thread, destashes are also an option! You're buying second-hand from other people, so it's cheaper (but you might have to hunt if you're looking for a specific perfume).

This is very exciting!! I'd check out Morari and Alkemia. They maintain an Etsy shop for international shipping purposes in addition to their regular websites, but the products are exactly the same.

**Alkemia - Sea Girl** *A sun-kissed summer of beachy ozone and warm skin musk with languidly sensual elements of wild jasmine, sugar cane, double pearl tuberose, hibiscus tea, coconut water, key lime, mandarin, white rum, and clean white patchouli.* My favorite summer perfume. Perfect for the whole summer. If anyone has any recs for anything similar, please let me know!!

Big and popular brands off the top of my head (if there is no description, it's because I couldn't think of any- does not speak of their quality at all!): * **Alkemia** (jack of all trades) * **Amorphous, previously Black Baccara** * **Arcana Wildcraft** * **Black Hearted Tart** (also sells bath and body products; temporarily closed) * **BPAL** (huge catalogue and frequent limited edition releases, website might be overwhelming for new shoppers. Has a dedicated forum if you want to read reviews!) * **Cardinal Scents** * **Death and Floral** (more out-there and unique; atmospherics) * **Deconstructing Eden** (cool themed collections, like deities and historical figures) * **Fandom Perfumes** (fandom-inspired perfumes for nerds and gamers; fragrance oils) * **Fantome** (trending; short order windows) * **Haus of Gloi** (also sells bath and body products)

My SOTD is Alkemia **Sun-dried laundry in a summer rain** (notes are the name) and it smells exactly as described. Clean laundry, a bit of rain, a summer breeze. It's a really nice scent and I hope they bring it back for the July sale. Editting to add: This might be the only scent I'm considering getting a back-up bottle...If someone has one hit me up. It's really THE perfect laundry scent.

scarlet kiss by alkemia - wild strawberry, rhubarb, cream musk, and white tea. the same brand also has an aldehydes layering note & a dirt layering note!

Trying Alkemia - Encircling Flame again! When it was newer it only smelled like Red Hots cinnamon candies and gum to me haha. This time I still smell that vibe primarily, but I’m actually detecting the other notes now! Glad I tried it again, it’s cozy and relaxing for a rainy day!

Today I’m retrying Alkemia - Deadly Nightshade. I really think I’m coming around to violets now! I’m realizing maybe I’m not in the camp of “I dislike violets except in certain contexts”, but I think I’m more in “I like violets except in certain contexts.” Yet again I actually like this one quite a bit more upon another try! The leather, opium, and violets together have mellowed out and become more balanced with more rest. Yay, I’m glad I haven’t given up on violets in scents and I’ve been appreciating them more as a note now!

Congrats!! I haven’t tried it yet but Alkemia has Big Sur- (A Pacific coast road trip of fresh ozone, sea salt, Jasmine tea, lime leaves, magnolia, green amber, saltspray rose, sweetgale, bay, and paperbark.)

**Alkemia - De Herba Sanctissima**: *A sensual reverie of purple cannabis flower accord, frangipani blossoms, vanilla beans, black currant, star anise, pekoe tea, vetiver root, galangal, black opium, patchouli incense, tonka bean, and Atlas cedar.* Honestly, this one has to have been a freebie – there’s no way I’d pick this up on my own. On my skin, the cannabis flower accord takes center stage, like 110%, but there’s this beautiful scent cloud around me that’s surprisingly pleasant. It has a lovely mix of vanilla, tea, and "perfume" – overall, it’s a unique, unexpected experience, though those peaking cannabis notes just aren’t for me.

**Alkemia's 'County Fair'** (*The nostalgic scent of an old-fashioned American carnival midway - pink cotton candy, hot kettle corn, freshly fried funnel cakes, candied apples, and saltwater taffy*) is excellent, especially if you like toffee popcorn (hits you right out of the bottle) and cotton candy (the drydown). **Little Book Eater** has **'Night Circus'** (*Salted caramel, popcorn, vanilla, rum, sugar*), which is, again, mostly toffee popcorn. Unfortunately my skin hates LBE, so I can't give you a real review of it, but it smells amazing in the bottle!

I think when **Alkemia** gets it right, it's pretty magical. That said, a chunk of their oil samples fade into perfume-y nothingness pretty quickly on me, so my biggest gripe is longevity. I'm not sure what you're looking for in terms of scents but **Olympic Orchids** has a super affordable sample pack and some really interesting, high-quality fragrances and I don't think they get mentioned enough on IMAM.