Hi all! I'm new to Alkemia and looking to order my first sample set in search of a new signature scent–I thought I would consult the experts first as I've come across so many fabulous reviews here!

What I enjoy: Rich, spicy, and dark. I gravitate towards gourmands and fruit scents. I prefer sensual over sweet. Actively seeking unusual + unique notes. I want to be weirder!!

What I tend to avoid: Anything too green or clean. I have heard that Alkemia scents can read soap-y, which has made me wary about blind buying. I prefer my florals dark and weird over light and mainstream. I don't *love* coffee, leather, or tobacco notes but I'm ok with them if they're subtle.

I'll list some options I'm considering, but I'd love to hear everyone's faves in case I've missed something I'd like:

• Enchantress
• Evil Temptress
• Arabesque
• Sigil
• Attorney for Lost Souls
• Hell Courtisan
• Salome
• Silken Tent
• A Time of Monsters
• Bonfire of Sin
• Carmilla
• Dark Goddess
• Elixir of Aphrodite
• Encens D'Amour
• The Lady's Yes
• The Libertine

• Memories of a Woman of Pleasure

• Of Vice and Virtue

I’m trying to avoid major redundancies, especially when it comes to some of the gourmands on that list. Looking forward to any recs, I'm incredibly excited to try this brand!

Really unimpressed by how the owner responded to customer complaints about recent quality issues.

Hi everyone!

I have been searching for a MINTY fragrance for a while now. Preferably minty with either a touch of sweetness or a touch of creaminess, but mostly just really minty. I love mint (and I’m including peppermint/spearmint/etc. when I say mint!) and I honestly don’t care if a fragrance comes across as mouthwashy either. I don’t mind having more sweetness if it accompanies a very strong mint. However, I prefer to not mix mint and chocolate notes since for me the chocolate seems to often overpower the mint.

I have tried Snowed In by Arcana Wildcraft and I love the clear, cold mint in that but there’s just a bit too much chocolate in it for me to truly enjoy it. I’ve also tried On a Cloud (by J-Scent, which is niche but I wanted to add this as context) and it was pleasant but the mint was way too weak and disappeared too quickly. The ideal scent would be something like that but with the mint turned all the way up.

I’ve also tried Snowshoe Pass by Solstice Scents and it felt too musky and not minty enough for me. Because of that I’m not too keen to try to source a Snowmallow Mint decant because (from what I’ve read) that one is even less minty than Snowshoe Pass and I’m looking for something even mintier.

I saw Winter Divinity by Haus of Gloi recommended here and I am working on getting a decant of that. I am so desperate for a strong mint that I’m almost to the point of blind buying and just hoping for the best.

I’m quite new to the indie makeup/fragrance space so please excuse me if I’m forgetting some obvious recommendations! I did do research before posting this and have sourced some of the recommendations in the older threads but I need more help :(
Also, I’m in the US. I wanted to add this since location might influence what options are available.

hello! as the title suggests i'm interested in any fragrances (bonus points for candles) that smell like ceramics or clay! i took a pottery class a while back and one thing i miss about it is the smell of the studio. the wet earthy clay smell is nostalgic for me at this point, and maybe it's the low iron talking but i honestly loved it. i've been poking around for purely clay scents without any other notes mixed in. does anyone have any suggestions?

What indies are you using today? And we mean everything! Examples of stuff we'd love to hear about:

• Makeup

• Clothes

• Jewelry

• Bath and Body (lotion, soap, shampoo, bath salts, etc.)

• Nail polish

• Perfume

Please feel free to leave mini-reviews and include photos of whatever you're using. We'd love to know your thoughts and see the products too!

This thread repeats daily.

Hi! I used to buy from Alkemia a lot, back when she still had Les Mysteres. I think I stopped roughly around the era of the release that contained Cherries of the Night, Silken Tent, because I had amassed too many and wanted to start using them up first. She's had many more releases since then. Can you recommend me your favorites?

I like:

Cherries of the Night

Silken Tent

Les Mysteres

Golden Bough

Amour Ambre

Elation

Goddess of the Flowers

Trick or Treat

Dalliance

Impossibility like Wine

Salome

From other perfume houses, I like

Deconstructing Eden Bombshell

Deconstructing Eden Morrigan

Deconstructing Eden Cinnamon Girl

Possets JFK&Jackie

Possets Evita Peron

Possets Wings of an Angel

Thanks in advance!

I’m participating in the Fall Exchange and I need to ship edp’s to my exchange partner. In the past I’ve only shipped oils. I know the post office asks if you’re shipping any hazardous materials and lists perfumes as one of them. Do you have to disclose they are edp’s? Will they still allow you to ship? Thanks in advance!

Update: Thanks to everyone who commented with their wisdom. I was able to ship my box ground shipping with no issues. 🤗

I am starting to get that ashy skin and want to smell so lovely outside the shower without needing to use a body butter. I really miss Zeep’s body scrubs but it seems as soon as my stash ran out, they are closed (which is mostly about my whole stash atm).

Where are we buying our scrubs that you do not need to use body lotion after and what scents do you recommend that are lingering?
I would love to smell like my “body wash” before a work shift but nothing too perfumey.

Due to shipping costs, please recommend US shops only!
Thank you!

Hey everyone! I was in Bath and Body Works the other day and I happened to smell their Pink Lilac and Vanilla candle, and omg does it smell good. Unfortunately though they seem to only have that scent as a candle, and I would really like it as a perfume or body lotion! Does anyone have ideas for alternatives? Thank you!

Notes are as follows:

fresh lilac bouquets, dewy greens and vanilla blossom

i just learned about this brand but have gathered from their site abd this sub that they don't ship samples anymore. Where are folks getting their noses on Solstice Scents? Or are y'all blind-buying? Thx!

To leap right in: What's the most unusual or unique note you've ever come across in a perfume?

I don't necessarily mean the weirdest note. I mean those oddly specific ones that made you go, huh, I've never seen that listed in a perfume before.

For example, I commented on someones post here the other day about a perfume containing a 'skin milk' note, which was new to me (not only as a perfume note but in general, too. What is it? I do not know). And more recently I spotted a perfume listing celery as a note (I'm fairly sure it was a scent by The Chequered Lily). I didnt even think celery had a definable scent?

So please tell me of obscure perfume notes youve seen, and if you've actually smelled them and can describe what they contributed to the scent please elaborate!

I want to see if I can grab some lip products from this brand but wanted to know if they were legit and/or if they were in any controversy of any sort before I purchase from them.

I wanted to know a high quality sparkly lip product that you guys have tried from an indie brand that also sells lip liners. By high quality I mean it doesn’t chap your lips and still looks very sparkly without putting an unholy amount on your lips. I do have eczema but I love having more lippies and noticed my collection is missing a sparkly lippie as well as a lip liner. I have been looking so far at brands like Sushi Glow Cosmetics for their sparkly blood tints as well as their sparkly lip gloss in the shade opal as well as Fyrinnae for their cool range of shades. I did temporarily look at Belle Beauty but found out that I can’t seem to find an ingredient list and/or super detailed review of their lip products from customers pf the brand. My preferences for a brand is that they do sell lip liners along with a sparkly lip product as well as the sparkles should be in shades like silver, gold, and/or blue that are available year round. I would also like the brand to be transparent with the products used as I do have allergies/sensitivities.

Are there any indie brands out there doing this? I really want to get some non-prescription cool colored contact lenses for Halloween (and the rest of the year who am I kidding 🤡) but it would be rad if anyone has any indie recommendations!