As Dark Things Are Meant To Be Loved

"I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body." - Pablo Neruda Lapsang souchong tea, aloeswood, smoked black amber, aged dark patchouli, tonka, Amazonian breuzinho, Moroccan bhakoor, labdanum, temple incense, caramelized opium, black coffee, black coconut, soft Russian leather, and tabac leaf. Beside Serge Lutens, Alkemia Perfumesis my favorite perfume house. It's official. They both have such a deep well of imagination and quality. "As Dark Things Are Meant to Be Loved" is like nothing you've ever tried before. Like comments say below, "sophisticated, dark, mysterious", "sweet, spicy, earthy, mineral-like", "deep dark beer", "spiced rum", "jazz bar", etc This is such an incredibly multilayered, deep perfume that invokes the imagination in such a profound way. I am consistently smelling my hand and finding new layers to explore here. Superb. 9/10

At first this just smelt like caramel coffee beans. Then it changes into a deeper, more complex, multifaceted scent - the incense, tobacco and coconut come through. I can't smell any leather but I have only allowed this to rest for a few days. It's warm, smoky and slightly sweet. It's dark, mysterious but it has a soft throw so it won't offend people, I wasn't expecting this to be scent to be soft and inoffensive, you can easily get away with wearing this to work. It sort of reminds me of the drydown of Lord of Misrule by Lush, with less pathouli. I'm already addicted to this, I can't stop sniffing my wrists. I can't wait to see what it smells like after a month of aging. I intend to get a full size bottle ❤️

What grabs me at first is the sweet amber, coconut, coffee, caramel note. The incense, tea, and patchouli function as a base that adds complexity to the notes that take this from chai latte to something sensual. That only intensifies in the dry down as the oud and labdanum become more pronounced. Think of Calvin Klein Obsession in terms of the ambery warmth and soft sweetness with smoke, spices, and coffee. I'll update with performance notes once i've had a couple of wears but my GF did stop what she was doing when I walked passed her to shove her face in my neck so i think that speaks to its sillage and projection. I see myself wearing this on date nights and anytime I want to smell mysterious.

This is a very complex scent, with many layers. I would say the first thing that strikes me when I sniff my hand is the incense, which cuts through everything else but without overpowering the other components. Then, there is a non-floral sweetness which must come from the coconut and the coffee. It is not very gourmand, however. There is also old dry tobacco (I'm from North Carolina, I know that smell well) and a difficult-to-discern combination of scents I can best describe as "grandmother's musky old perfume left at the bottom of the bottle." Altogether, a great scent for brisk fall days! Though it is labeled "unisex," I think this is definitely more feminine, albeit in an unconventional way.

This is an absolutely stunning composition. Deep, layered, and complex, I've worn it a few times now and I still feel like I'm trying to get to know it because it seemed to have something different to offer every time I bring my attention to it. With an oil perfume, one expects an intimate projection, but I am a little surprised by the longevity. It fades down to nothing within a few hours. Still, at this price, who cares? I'm happy to reapply and enjoy the journey of its development a few times a day. This is my first sampling of Alkemia, and I am very impressed. Come payday, the first thing I'll do is buy As Dark Thing Are Meant to Be Loved and a couple of Alkemia sample sets!

This is so unique. It's rich and deep like a nice dark beer, but without the bready, yeasty smell that beer has. More like all the spices and flavors that are added to make a good dark beer. Very coconutty as well. Really. I smelled a beer that my boyfriend had and was like, wait, I have a perfume that smells like that! mmm, I'm wearing this again for the first time in maybe a year and it has aged so beautifully. It's a lot more animalic and even deeper and more rich than before.. If that's even possible. One of Alkemia's absolute best blends.

One of Alkemia’s most complex. I’m not sure if it’s advertised as gourmand, but I was really struck with how delicious this scent is. The coconut lays on top, but it’s not a fresh beach scent. It’s dark, coffee, a little smoky, almost cloying. I’d be too shy to wear this out to a dinner or anything with food involved. Wear this if you want to smell EDIBLE. Very seductive scent that makes you want to take a bite. Just slightly feminine, but moreso I could see a man with a vampy aesthetic making this a signature scent.

just pulled this out of the box and immediately had to slap it on. bought it because i love incense, coconut, and pablo neruda. upon first sniff it reminds me of walking around provincetown mass in the summer, smoking with a cup of coffee, perusing all the little hippie shops while wearing a coconut sunscreen. cigarettes on the beach with your hair down smelling of incense.... oh it’s so beautiful, it smells like goth girl summer to me.

This perfume is one of my greatest loves. If it wasn't so particular, this would be signature scent worthy for me. Unfortunately, it isn't one that I can wear so often. Very complex, delicious, heavy. The title is perfect. I'd love to find another perfume that captures even a crumb of this one's vibe, but haven't as of yet.

I love this perfume, it feels like MINE. It’s a very comforting scent to me so much so that I’ll put it on at night to wind down to sleep. Sweet and caramelly at first but very deep and complex. Probably more suited for winter or autumn because of the depth and sweetness but I love it too much to just wear it then.

My first thought smelling this- this is how a dark romance male lead would smell. It's very bitter at first, but after a while I start to smell the sweeter notes. It's addictive, it's delicious, wear this if you want to stare darkly or be brooding or whatever it is dark romance men do.

Very sexy and seductive. The snoky incense notes and sweet rich coconut and coffee makes this veryyyy alluring. I wish it had a bigger presence to others though, it's very close to the body and fades fast but all the more intimate ;) a good sexy, witchy enchantress scent

I can't believe Fragrantica FINALLY got this one listed! It was my first and only Alkemia full bottle I purchased, and I ABSOLUTELY adore it! It's positively delicious, warm, sweet, but not nauseating. It's sophisticated and dark and mysterious. Just perfection!

Before dry down it was pure sweet caramel, after dry down it was incense, patchouli, tobacco and woods. My husband said I smelled like an indie bookshop in the best way. High praise. Lasted 12 hours.

It really smells like coffee right out of the bottle. Definitely get the incense and tobacco the whole time it’s on, and it’s pretty sweet. It lasted around 6 hours on me.

One of my favorites from Alkemia. I'm in love

ADTAMTBL is a combination of very layered, but also very subtle components that are absolutely *not* linear or conventional. As this is the first from this house for me, I think I needed some time to grapple with the performance of this indie oil style, because this doesn't perform similarly whatsoever to perfumes, especially conventional ones. The projection remains very close to the skin, and it's a more intimate experience for the wearer. I have a hard time imagining my family or others commenting on this. I'm only myself and can't comment on sillage, but I doubt there is much (if any), but at least the longevity is decent as it clocks in for around 6 hours. So, as this opens I completely am reminded of root beer or Dr. Pepper, it's a spicy cola type of scent! It's also very similar to some products from a local candle and oil shop here in my town. I compared this with some beard oil samples my husband has from there and would believe they're from the same source if I didn't know better. It's a little incense-y, and a little rustic. The coconut is *almost* the same as Crystal Noir's, and is juxtaposed against a dark, brooding series of notes. It's rich and smells vanillic, nearly creamy in the drydown, but there's more of a coffee-shop feel for the first few hours. Although this screams autumn, I think it honestly fares better in the heat and I'd worry that it would get silenced in cold air...but I'll need to wait and test that later. It did seem to "take off" a little more when my skin was getting hit with sunshine today. You do need a fair amount and although $18 is a decent price, I think this would go quickly with regular use, and these bottles aren't a notable deal. I enjoy this, but I'm letdown that I wasn't honestly more moved by this - I'm not especially inspired or transfixed as I had hoped. I sadly get no labdanum.

i remember not liking this when i opened it after it rested for a while (opened it like a few months ago to test) but i wanted to give it a second shot in case my first time was just a fluke. i got two different scents when sniffing it on my wrist this time around, it reminds me of another scent from somewhere but i absolutely cannot put my finger on it. i think im getting a lot of that coconut and that amber and opium. it’s definitely a lot nicer this time around, the last time i tried it, it was really screechy and it made me gag. im getting the image of a chocolate bonbon in my head when i smell this, it also reminds me of having tea in front of a fireplace. im really glad that i cannot smell the lapsang souchong in here, it’s my mortal nemesis for tea. even though ive tried lapsang many times i cannot get over the taste and smell of smoked ham in my mouth, so im glad it’s not here or at least its really subtle. delightfully blended, im considering picking up a rollerball sometime later.

This oil has fully convinced me that I have a different body chemistry than most. I've always thought so, because as I read Fragrantica's reviews, often I have no idea what they're talking about. The same is here. This oil has a completely different effect on my body. I don't think it's warm at all, actually I don't get the dark till much later. What I got at first whiff was effervescent, kinda like a woolly, cream-colored fuzzball. Not quite tangy, but akin to some brilliant tea scent that I never sniffed before. I am convinced that I eat up coconut and coffee as I didn't get either (maybe coconut bark?). But mid note, I did get a dark, lovely incense. I'm rather enjoying the dry down as the incense-type scents are toning down and a sweetness is peaking through. I just love this. It's so unique and so well-blended. I'm still on the fence if it's for me, as I hardly wear incense-type fragrances, but there's no denying the beauty of this scent.

This was in my first order to Alkemia. I'm not really familiar with the house, at all. That said, when I first applied the oil to my skin it reminded me of the smell of cola. Perhaps a cola with a shot of spiced rum. Despite being sweet and spicy, it also has that sort of effervescent quality. As I've worn it, the tobacco has become more prominent and the greener notes (the tea?)have given it a more earthy quality. It's no longer so squarely edible and any sort of cloying quality to it is gone. It is dark, sweet, earthy with a mineral quality. It's quite enchanting. And, I wouldn't ascribe this to a season as much as a vibe. If you happen to be in the market for the perfect fragrance to wear for a night out jazz club, or a cigar bar, this is your fragrance.