Since Alkemia just announced that they're discontinuing a few more scents, I figured it's time to dive into my collection and finally review the scents they're discontinuing. So here's the review for 8 of the soon-to-be-discontinued scents.
As always, all scent reviews are done blind until the TL;DRs are written, and overviews are only written if anything in the notes surprises me. For my previous Alkemia reviews, you can go to the Alkemia tag on the side or click here.
"An aromatic fougère based on an 18th century men's cologne — a blend of spiced bay rum, amber, tonka, and french lavender with a splash of fresh oceanic breeze ."
Ok, something is going sour on me. The rotting kind of sour. What is going on. Underneath the rotting, sour smell, there's this cool, slightly bitter blue scent that smells like a lot of mainstream high end men's colognes. Fortunately, after 10 min, the sourness dissipated and I'm left with this mellow, cool and a tiny bit powdery sort of blue scent. The scent may be passable as a unisex scent, but it leans more feminine on me. If I'm picking an add for this perfume, it'll be this picture:
TL;DR: Clean, cool and muted with a touch of boudoir.
Overview: I don't smell the spiced bay rum at all, and I'm wondering if it was the scent that went bitter & sour in the beginning.
"The nostalgic scent of an old-fashioned American carnival midway - pink cotton candy, hot kettle corn, freshly fried dough, candied apples, and saltwater taffy."
There's a sugared plums sort of scent, and I can't tell if it's deliberate or it's a caramel or vanilla note going sour on me. I think it's deliberate since it's a tad like apple soap, so it's different from the caramel/vanilla going sour sort of scent. There's an edible, buttery scent underneath that smells a bit like a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a loaf of bread (not the freshly baked ones), but the apple soap bit is definitely more prominent on me. I think if the apple smelled like actual apples, this can be a gorgeous chocolate dusted apple fritters sort of scent.
I think the combination is unique, even though my brain's a bit confused about whether I should eat this or wash my hand in it.
As the scent dries down, it becomes more of a luxurious apple liquid hand soap that has a more mellow, creamy, rounded apple scent.
TL;DR: Apple soap and chocolate-dusted, buttery, carb-y snack.
Overview: I'm not sure what's causing that slight chocolate smell. Maybe it's the kettle corn going weird on me? I definitely don't smell kettle corn.
"Commanding black leather, blood-dark roses, sharp thorns..."
It's a very sweet version of that baby oil-like scent. Extremely sweet. The sweetness got to the point where I smell like ants will eat me alive. The baby oil bit got less cottony and the scent smells like sugared syrup water with a dash of baby oil. I have a bit of a headache from this scent.
TL;DR: Extremely sweet baby oil.
Overview: Sniffing it again, I can smell the roses, but it's definitely drowned out by the sugary sweetness. Maybe the leather note added into it makes it smell baby oil-ish. It definitely doesn't smell like the fierce type of scent you'd expect from the name. It smells more like a perfume belonging to someone with this kind of bed:
"Fiery red carnations, incendiary dianthus, erotically hot spices, a touch of burning incense, and a hypnotic splash of bay rum. "
It's a wooden smell that's dry and astringent yet powdery at the same time, there's also a hint of sourness. I'm guessing there's a black tea note in this? It's definitely that same dry, astringent and sour scent. It makes me think of opening a drawer in a grandma's wooden vanity-there's the old lady powders and the smell of old, dusty, dry wood.
TL;DR: Grandma's vanity drawer.
Overview: I tried sniffing it again and the carnations may be adding to that tea-like scent. Now that I'm looking out for it, I can sniff some of the hot spices, but it just blends in to the dry, astringent wood scent.
"A blend of commandingly sexy musks blended with Queen Elizabeth root (a hoodoo charm for strength and luck); fiesty pink pepper, bay and ginger; a splash of honky-tonk ale; a fleeting kiss of tonka; and a dash of gunpowder."
It starts of as very sour citrus soda with something slightly bitter. The bitterness is more of a new leather sort of bitterness. Makes me think of drinking a whiskey sour with soda added into it, while sitting in a leather chair. The bitterness left after about 10 min though, and I'm left with a whiskey sour soda that's heavy on the lemon. The smell makes me want to pucker my lips.
TL;DR: Very sour whiskey sour.
Overview: I think it's the pink pepper going extremely sour on me. I don't really smell gunpowder since the boozy sour soda smell is strongest on me.
"Sweat-spiced skin arches hungrily toward the slow, sensual penetration of a fang. Dragon’s blood incense, virile dark red musk, and hauntingly blood-kissed Asian florals."
"The innocence of fresh ferns, sweet green grass, and tender new leaves juxtaposed against seduction of white amber, Madagascar vanilla orchids, and vanilla musk."
This is a very green, fresh scent. It's very light and more of the watery, leafy sort of green.
As always, all scent reviews are done blind until the TL;DRs are written, and overviews are only written if anything in the notes surprises me. For my previous Alkemia reviews, you can go to the Alkemia tag on the side or click here.
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Corsaire
"An aromatic fougère based on an 18th century men's cologne — a blend of spiced bay rum, amber, tonka, and french lavender with a splash of fresh oceanic breeze ."
Ok, something is going sour on me. The rotting kind of sour. What is going on. Underneath the rotting, sour smell, there's this cool, slightly bitter blue scent that smells like a lot of mainstream high end men's colognes. Fortunately, after 10 min, the sourness dissipated and I'm left with this mellow, cool and a tiny bit powdery sort of blue scent. The scent may be passable as a unisex scent, but it leans more feminine on me. If I'm picking an add for this perfume, it'll be this picture:
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| Slightly amazed she can still breath in that corset. It looks kinda painful.. Gorgeous photo by Mascha Seitz |
TL;DR: Clean, cool and muted with a touch of boudoir.
Overview: I don't smell the spiced bay rum at all, and I'm wondering if it was the scent that went bitter & sour in the beginning.
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County Fair
"The nostalgic scent of an old-fashioned American carnival midway - pink cotton candy, hot kettle corn, freshly fried dough, candied apples, and saltwater taffy."
There's a sugared plums sort of scent, and I can't tell if it's deliberate or it's a caramel or vanilla note going sour on me. I think it's deliberate since it's a tad like apple soap, so it's different from the caramel/vanilla going sour sort of scent. There's an edible, buttery scent underneath that smells a bit like a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a loaf of bread (not the freshly baked ones), but the apple soap bit is definitely more prominent on me. I think if the apple smelled like actual apples, this can be a gorgeous chocolate dusted apple fritters sort of scent.
I think the combination is unique, even though my brain's a bit confused about whether I should eat this or wash my hand in it.
As the scent dries down, it becomes more of a luxurious apple liquid hand soap that has a more mellow, creamy, rounded apple scent.
TL;DR: Apple soap and chocolate-dusted, buttery, carb-y snack.
Overview: I'm not sure what's causing that slight chocolate smell. Maybe it's the kettle corn going weird on me? I definitely don't smell kettle corn.
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Fetish
"Commanding black leather, blood-dark roses, sharp thorns..."
It's a very sweet version of that baby oil-like scent. Extremely sweet. The sweetness got to the point where I smell like ants will eat me alive. The baby oil bit got less cottony and the scent smells like sugared syrup water with a dash of baby oil. I have a bit of a headache from this scent.
TL;DR: Extremely sweet baby oil.
Overview: Sniffing it again, I can smell the roses, but it's definitely drowned out by the sugary sweetness. Maybe the leather note added into it makes it smell baby oil-ish. It definitely doesn't smell like the fierce type of scent you'd expect from the name. It smells more like a perfume belonging to someone with this kind of bed:
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| Don't get me wrong, it's pretty....but I'd be more in the mood for a chaste cup of tea rather than something naughty. Image courtesy of decoholic.org |
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Incendere
"Fiery red carnations, incendiary dianthus, erotically hot spices, a touch of burning incense, and a hypnotic splash of bay rum. "
It's a wooden smell that's dry and astringent yet powdery at the same time, there's also a hint of sourness. I'm guessing there's a black tea note in this? It's definitely that same dry, astringent and sour scent. It makes me think of opening a drawer in a grandma's wooden vanity-there's the old lady powders and the smell of old, dusty, dry wood.
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| Ignore the nice product photography and imagine the smell of those drawers if this thing has been unused since your grandma's time. This is apparently on sale from indeeddecor.com for $1,870. |
TL;DR: Grandma's vanity drawer.
Overview: I tried sniffing it again and the carnations may be adding to that tea-like scent. Now that I'm looking out for it, I can sniff some of the hot spices, but it just blends in to the dry, astringent wood scent.
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Las Solderas
"A blend of commandingly sexy musks blended with Queen Elizabeth root (a hoodoo charm for strength and luck); fiesty pink pepper, bay and ginger; a splash of honky-tonk ale; a fleeting kiss of tonka; and a dash of gunpowder."
It starts of as very sour citrus soda with something slightly bitter. The bitterness is more of a new leather sort of bitterness. Makes me think of drinking a whiskey sour with soda added into it, while sitting in a leather chair. The bitterness left after about 10 min though, and I'm left with a whiskey sour soda that's heavy on the lemon. The smell makes me want to pucker my lips.
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| Taste the sourness. Image courtesy of Straubs and you can find the recipe here! |
Overview: I think it's the pink pepper going extremely sour on me. I don't really smell gunpowder since the boozy sour soda smell is strongest on me.
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Sanguinaria
"Sweat-spiced skin arches hungrily toward the slow, sensual penetration of a fang. Dragon’s blood incense, virile dark red musk, and hauntingly blood-kissed Asian florals."
In the beginning, this starts off smelling like a dank, musty broom closet. The kind that even little kids won't be afraid of because they know any ghost/monster will just go, "Fuck that. I'm not going in there, it smells!"
After about 45 min, the dank, musty scent faded a bit, and there's this sweet sort of scent that makes me think of red velvet (the cloth, not the cake), with a bit of an old lady sort of floral perfume. While the floral perfume is heavy, it's faded enough in this scent that it smells more like the lingering traces of a very heavy perfume. It's definitely an old cloth too, since there's still that musty smell. It's nice enough, but kinda makes me think of someone grabbing their great-grandma's red, velvet dress from the closet for a last minute 1800s themed party.
TL;DR: Musty old, red velvet dress.
Overview: I normally love dragon's blood so I'm trying to sniff it out here. I guess it's behind the slightly wooden scent, but it's definitely drowned out by the mustiness. Maybe the sweat bit is behind the mustiness. The old, dank part may be the incense here, and I'm guessing the musk and Asian florals is the great-grandma note.
This is such a gorgeous floral blue! I was a bit worried at first since Alkemia has some pretty room-spray-ish blue scents, but this is gorgeous! There's a Balinese flower in this that I can't identify, but it's definitely one of the popular ones since I often smell this in Bali. This is definitely a mainstream high end perfume, reminiscent of one of the Tocca scents.
It's just such a classic, elegant scent!
There's definitely roses in this, since as the scent wears on, heavy roses started blooming. It's still a lovely scent, but it's personally got too heavy for me. Pretty sad since the initial scent was so pretty. It's still something I'd recommend for people who prefer more mainstream high end floral scents.
TL;DR: High end mainstream blue & floral scent –elegant, feminine & classic.
Overview: That's it. Honeysuckle & rose is my magic combo. Everything smells great with honeysuckle & rose! I wish this didn't get too heavy though, the initial smell was gorgeous!
After about 45 min, the dank, musty scent faded a bit, and there's this sweet sort of scent that makes me think of red velvet (the cloth, not the cake), with a bit of an old lady sort of floral perfume. While the floral perfume is heavy, it's faded enough in this scent that it smells more like the lingering traces of a very heavy perfume. It's definitely an old cloth too, since there's still that musty smell. It's nice enough, but kinda makes me think of someone grabbing their great-grandma's red, velvet dress from the closet for a last minute 1800s themed party.
TL;DR: Musty old, red velvet dress.
Overview: I normally love dragon's blood so I'm trying to sniff it out here. I guess it's behind the slightly wooden scent, but it's definitely drowned out by the mustiness. Maybe the sweat bit is behind the mustiness. The old, dank part may be the incense here, and I'm guessing the musk and Asian florals is the great-grandma note.
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Sea Goddess
"An oceanic hymn. Warm skin caressed by iodine and seawater swirled with seaweed and a whisper of seaspray roses and beach plums on a summery breeze of honeysuckle, nardo, and champaca blossom."This is such a gorgeous floral blue! I was a bit worried at first since Alkemia has some pretty room-spray-ish blue scents, but this is gorgeous! There's a Balinese flower in this that I can't identify, but it's definitely one of the popular ones since I often smell this in Bali. This is definitely a mainstream high end perfume, reminiscent of one of the Tocca scents.
It's just such a classic, elegant scent!
There's definitely roses in this, since as the scent wears on, heavy roses started blooming. It's still a lovely scent, but it's personally got too heavy for me. Pretty sad since the initial scent was so pretty. It's still something I'd recommend for people who prefer more mainstream high end floral scents.
TL;DR: High end mainstream blue & floral scent –elegant, feminine & classic.
Overview: That's it. Honeysuckle & rose is my magic combo. Everything smells great with honeysuckle & rose! I wish this didn't get too heavy though, the initial smell was gorgeous!
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Vanille Vert
"The innocence of fresh ferns, sweet green grass, and tender new leaves juxtaposed against seduction of white amber, Madagascar vanilla orchids, and vanilla musk."
This is a very green, fresh scent. It's very light and more of the watery, leafy sort of green.
I smell the vanilla, mostly because I was looking out for it. It's more in the background, grounding this scent so it smells more like perfume rather than room spray, which a lot of greens tend to turn into. As it dries down, the scent gets very sugary, but my skin tends to amp up sweet notes so it may not be a problem for other people.
TL;DR: Wearable fresh, green scent. One of the best light, fresh scents I can think of!
TL;DR: Wearable fresh, green scent. One of the best light, fresh scents I can think of!
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