Brand: Alkemia
Scent Description: A dark intoxication of African Bronze Honey, caramelized charred black oud, blackberry pipe tobacco, leathered labdanum blended with hashish coffee and dawamesk from an original 1844 Club des Hashischins recipe that includes orange peel, cinnamon, clove, cardamon, nutmeg, musk, and kola nuts.
Released: Private Reserve Collection
I have skin reactions/contact dermatitis with cinnamon in perfume oils about 90% of the time so I’m treading very cautiously (testing the oil on the outside of my forearms in a teeny spot) with Club Des Hashishcins. So far, no redness and not even a tingle, the cinnamon in here must be minute. Leather and suede notes also tend to become overpowering. This was a sample included in my Alkemia order. Between the cinnamon and the leathered labdamum, I never would’ve tried this on my own. I can see why this perfume oil is a Special Reserve. The coffee note is coming across as somewhat chocolate like or cacao maybe but it’s not translating as coffee per say. Maybe it’s mixing with the additional notes? All of a sudden here comes the leather to bitch smack me in the face and I’m thinking that my scent journey is ruined but there’s an underlying perfuminess to this that beats back that leathered note. I have a feeling this is one of those oils that will be different on everyone who tries it. The sweetness of the African bronze honey and the caramelized oud is really shining through. And I’m a fan of that leathered labdamum note. Also, the spices in this are toned down and in no way Holiday like. This is glorious yet really hard to describe. I can’t really think of anything to compare it to in my extensive collection. Again I recommend trying out a sample vial because this is going to wear differently on everyone. For now, I’m set with the few chocolate scents I have but will most definitely FS this once I run out of a few others. Sharra’s very skilled at blending notes together and CDH is special indeed. I don’t know who picked out this sample at the shop but I’m thankful that they did.
This was an instant love for me. Lots of oud, coffee, and tobacco. There’s a bit of a fruity edge to it, but it’s primarily dark coffee, oud, and tobacco on me. Perfect!
Just awesome. Black, strong coffee with slight dark berry. Caramelized tobacco.