Review: Alkemia Perfumes, Round 2

After my first experience with Indie perfumes, I decided to place an order of samples with Etsy shop Alkemia to try out a few more scents. I chose Alkemia mainly because samples were cheap, about $12 for six samples including shipping ($2 a sample). I had also heard great things about the wear time of Alkemia perfumes. I reviewed my first half of samples in this post and was pleasantly surprised by the majority of my samples. This is a review of the second half of my Alkemia perfumes review, which had a lot to live up to after last week’s choices! The samples included are Madam X, Salomé, Vixen, and Affaire de Coeur.

Madam X

Madam X is supposed to be a feminine mix of floral scents and vanilla. Its notes are as follows:

“An homage to unsettling, eccentric, irresistible beauty – bergamot, mandarin, dark violet, Italian iris, black orchid, Japanese incense, orris root, sueded musk, white sandalwood, Tahitian vanilla, and pale patchouli.”

I was on the edge about sampling this one, but I read a review just made me want to try it. I mean, if her sassy grandma would wear it, why shouldn’t I?

Scent

This smelled very floral and fresh to me. I definitely get the trio of violet, iris, and orchid but in a light, delicate way rather than an overwhelming old lady perfume way. My boyfriend said it smelled like candles—how specific! I was worried that the patchouli and incense might be overwhelming, but I could barely tell it was there.

Wear Time

Sadly, as soon as I put it on, I could barely smell it within minutes of its dry down. However, my boyfriend could still smell it even after four hours even though I couldn’t at all.

Overall

This was nice, flowery, and light. I liked it a lot initially, but the fact that I couldn’t smell at all within minutes means I probably won’t be getting a full size. I think this has to do all with skin chemistry, so Madam X could be a really pretty and delicate long-lasting perfume on someone else.

Vixen

The notes in Vixen are described below:

“A captivatingly shapeshifting blend of sexy white amber and luminous late summer night blooming florals awakened by warm caresses of autumnal spice, golden musk, varietal apple peel, sugar pumpkin, jasmine tea, and a whisper of woodland mosses.”

Scent

For some reason, I get a vanilla smell from this even though vanilla isn’t one of the notes. Basically, I get a lot of floral smells from this along with a sweet overtone. It smells nice, but not particularly memorable or unique. I didn’t really get the spice, pumpkin, or apple from this, so I’m thinking maybe I need to let the sample sit a few weeks and try again after it settles.

Wear Time

I applied this as I was leaving in the morning and it lasted about six to seven hours before fading away. It did not have much throw and stayed pretty much close the skin the entire time.

Overall

Although this smells nice, it didn’t really stand out to me, and I actually forgot I was wearing it throughout the day. I probably won’t be purchasing this just because it seems a little blah to me compared to the other Alkemia scents I’ve tried.

Affaire de Coeur

Vanilla is one of my favorite smells, so I thought Affaire de Coeur would be right up my alley. On the website, it was described as the following:

“A flirtatiously feminine enchantment of sugared white musk, creamy Madagascar vanilla, white sandalwood, tonka bean, white amber, and pale sugar cane. Sweetly intoxicating…”

Scent

I definitely get a strong floral smell from this. Maybe even too strong. To me, Vixen smells a lot like rubbing alcohol or scented nail polish remover, and it gave me an instant migraine. It might be the sandalwood or amber smell projecting on my skin because this smelled a lot more light and wearable in the bottle. Apparently, my boyfriend smelled vanilla though, which made me question my sense of smell…

Wear Time

I couldn’t leave this on long enough to get an accurate wear time. After about ten minutes, my head was already throbbing, and I was absolutely sick of the smell. Of course, for a perfume I couldn’t stand, it had a lot of throw. I definitely scrubbed this off with a vengeance.

Overall

Something about my skin made this turn absolutely disgusting. I will be getting rid of this sample with no regrets.

Salomé

Salomé is not for the faint of heart. This perfume is all about sexiness and a femme fatale mindset and even has female pheromones to boost sex appeal. The notes are:

A seductively inspiring arrangement to piqué the lustful imagination. An overture of not so innocent magnolia underscored with a sly caress of Queen of the Night, a fulsomeness of nubile black grapes and plums, skin musk bathed in spilled cognac, and ruthless twist of bitter orange, blended with an ancient Arabian love philtre of crushed vanilla and tonka bean, mysore sandalwood, vetiver, cedar, and red oud.

Scent

Once I applied this, I could smell plum along with a hint of vanilla and orange. It’s floral with ripe fruit smells and some spice in the background. My first impression was that it was powerful but not overwhelming. The spice actually cleared my sinuses, which was kind of refreshing. By the end of the day, only the spiciness was left, and I actually grew not too fond of it.

Wear Time

I applied this in the morning. At first, it had a bit of throw and stayed that way for a good amount of time. Eventually, only the woodsy spice was left. All in all, this stayed noticeable for about eleven hours before fading away.

Overall

I think this is a bit too strong for me. It was bearable at first, but over time I just found it too powerful. The ending spice also gave me a small headache. I guess this is another bust.

Coming Up

That wraps up the second half of my Alkemia perfumes review. Unfortunately, most of these are misses for me, but that is my fault since I saved some of the more adventurous perfumes for last. I still have even more samples to review from Possets, Solstice Scents, Haus of Gloi, Smelly Yeti, sixteen92 coming up in my next post!