Brand: Alkemia
Scent Description: A mischievous blend of bonfire toffees, treacle tarts, and dark oudwood steeped in the smoke from a raging bonfire.
A collection of indie perfume reviews
Brand: Alkemia
Scent Description: A mischievous blend of bonfire toffees, treacle tarts, and dark oudwood steeped in the smoke from a raging bonfire.
Opens with a blast of very deep smoke and slightly stinky oud with a ribbon of sweetness that leans to a warmer vanilla rather than toffee/ caramel. The vanilla is slightly plasticky (but this is fresh out of the mail so I think it’ll settle down after a rest). Primarily an oud and smoke fragrance, not really a gourmand, the sweetness is just to carry those notes forward. As it dries down the oud develops almost a resinous edge, which I recognise from Attar al Oud. I love Alkemia’s Oud note and this is no exception.
Sweet caramel toffees with a dry, smoky edge – very strong smoke, this is indeed a raging bonfire
On me, its got just a thread of gourmand sweetness that cuts through the smokey and dark oud without overpowering it. A nice balance to my nose. I’ve not tried Smoke & Mirrors so can’t compare.
I also thought this was super similar to Smoke and Mirrors. Sweet and smokey. I don’t really pick up any specific gourmand notes from this. The oude does smell a bit plastic-y on my skin, as many do.
Bonfire Toffees & Woodsmoked Oud smelled like a latex glove on me. I scrubbed it off as soon as possible. I should’ve known this wouldn’t work since Smoke & Mirrors wasn’t good on me.
I found this to be very similar to Smoke & Mirrors. I was expecting it to have a sweeter, foodier vibe. It’s still a nice, cozy bonfire scent. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance since I went ahead and got Smoke & Mirrors immediately.