Hey everyone! I recently decided to give Alkemia Perfumes a try, and I wanted to share my impressions of both Alkemia as a shop and the perfumes themselves.

I had no issues whatsoever with my order, and therefore no need to contact the owner, so I can’t speak to personal customer service. However, it is definitely a huge plus when you don’t need to speak to anyone because everything was perfect already! The turn around time was fast. I ordered on the 27th of September and my order was shipped on the 29th, so definitely no complaints on that front. Everything was packed up nice and safe with not a leak to be found. Alkemia has a very nicely sized catalogue of scents, and they are very well organized into categories that are easy to navigate. The shop also has fabulous deals, with 3 full size perfumes for 30 dollars (which is what I got because I like to live dangerously) and a 5 piece sampler set for only ten dollars and free shipping!

Now, I must admit something sad. At first, I was not excited about my fragrances at all. All but one smelt nice in the bottle but they were all a train wreck on my skin. I decided to let them age, and I am SO glad I did because I now like all but one of them!

Elixir of Aphrodite: Luxurious love spell of Persian apricots dipped in orange blossom honey swirling with a sensual enchantment of peach and plum blossoms, mimosa, white star jasmine, ambrette, guiac wood, and vanilla musk

I wanted to like this. I did. And I just don’t care for it much. To my nose, both in the bottle and on my skin, this is overwhelmingly peach. Nothing else. Just peach. I will say that it calmed down into a much nicer peach as it aged. Initially, it smelt exactly like peach shisha for a hookah pipe and made me slightly nauseated. Slightly aged, it is much less artificial and strong. I love peaches but this is just too much peach for me. I definitely don’t hate it, and if you love peaches like A LOT you will probably like it, but it didn’t work for me.

Salome: oriental florals, cognac, dark plum, vanilla, botanical pheromones, and red oud

This one was odd for me. When I first tried it I did not like it at all, but after letting it sit I actually have grown fond of it. I get a lot of oud in the bottle, but on the skin the other notes start to come out. The oud is definitely the strongest note in the initial phase, but as it dries I get some plum and a light touch of vanilla. I swear there is a light touch of rose in here because I get a soft of dusty rose in the drydown. This is a nice scent, and smells very femme fatale to me. My only complaint is that this was the most fleeting fragrance of the four. It is incredibly soft after only about ten minutes and I really have to ram my nose to my wrist to get a whiff of it.

Carmen 7: An indecent proposal of succulently spiced pear, exotic lychees, decadent french pralines, bourbon vanilla, and crushed almond blossoms leads to a ménage à trois of gardenia, star jasmine, and magnolia illuminated by the afterglow of a sensuously musky amber.

This was my free sample, and I’m so glad because it’s really nice. In the vial, I’m getting spiced pear and gardenia especially but it’s very difficult to pick out individual notes. On my skin, it blooms into this lovely fruity floral that is not at all heady or overwhelming. I am getting a lot of lychee, which is perfect because I love lychee. I’m definitely getting some magnolia as well and a soft undertone of amber to keep in all grounded. I love this scent. Of the four I would say it was the second most long lasting as well. This is one of the more popular Alkemia scents, and I see why. I highly recommend it.

Pumpkin Strumpet: 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.

Oh, man, where do I even start? This is the favorite of the batch for me and one of my new favorite overall scents. I love all things pumpkin and had to pick this up. It is SO good. This is not a sweet pumpkin. This is a delicious pumpkin pie with extra spice. The cinnamon and clove are strong on me, but my skin tends to amp up cinnamon pretty bad. I smell the vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin as well and it perfectly rounds out the spices. There’s this Greek restaurant I go to that has this baklava cheesecake that is just to die for, and this smells EXACTLY like it. I love this scent so much. It is so perfectly spicy and a great fall fragrance. If you like yummy, spicy perfumes definitely check this one out. It is so worth your while.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking out Alkemia. With the expansive catalogue, I would be willing to bet there is something for everyone. Combine that with high quality, great prices, and fast shipping, and I would say you definitely have a winner.

Have you tried anything from Alkemia? What are your favorite scents?