Carmen 7

Smells like an upgraded mainstream perfume without the annoying synthetic smell. At first I thought it smelt similar to Elixir of Aphrodite, but Carmen 7 is more complex. I can mainly smell pear and litchi, but I confused those two notes with peach. When the drydown comes the praline and vanilla are more noticeable, with a little bit of spice. Carmen 7 is sweet and delectable, but not cloying or childish. It's youthful and fun, but it doesn't smell cheap or trashy. Over time it becomes less similar to Elixir of Aphrodite. Now it reminds me of a sweeter, more fruity version of Evil Temptress which also has a mainstream perfume smell. Carmen 7 is the fun younger sister. Projection is normal and longevity is very good. I like how Alkemia make scents similar to designer perfumes, but they're more interesting and better blended. It makes a difference without the alcohol 😊

I have loved Alkemia since I found them on Etsy in 2012 and this one is gorgeous. It's not far removed from a mainstream perfume but still retains that deep, warm, musky amber that Alkemia does so well. This scent is unusual in that a lot of the notes in it aren't ones I usually go for (almond blossom, pralines, gardenia or other white flowers) but they work. This scent is the colour burgundy to me, rich, sweet, fruity floral and musky scent and I love it for summer nights out.

I would describe this scent as "sweet". No notes in particular jump out at me, which honestly has it's own appeal. I smell freshly showered, sweet as a vanilla goddess, lovely like a fruity garden, and enticingly innocent without having to analyze the notes I'm smelling. It's wonderfully and subtly feminine. Sits close to the skin like a naughty vixen. When I wear this an unusually high percentage of men seem to lean in closer to inquire about the fragrance I'm wearing.

One of the best fragrances I've ever smelled. On me, it is gorgeous, mysterious, and sexy. It does smell like more of a mainstream perfume, but without smelling like a giant bottle of rubbing alcohol.

i like this scent. i wish i loved it. i have the rollerball version. if you sniff straight from the rollerball, it definitely has that mainstream bright, fresh perfume smell that is similar to fantasy by britney spears to me. however, when you put it on, the white florals sing through- a very clean, soft, musky scent that is reminiscent of a walk through a park on a spring day. i get absolutely no vanilla, praline or spicy notes, which is a bit of a let down for me. maybe i need to let it sit, or it doesn't work too well with my body chemistry. strangely enough, it smells much differently on me depending on where i place it on my body, that's what throws me off. on my wrists, it has an almost dirty floral scent, though the drydown is much nicer. i actually think its a very accurate and true white floral scent. however, on my inner elbows there's the sweet, fresh, musky pear smell tempered with the white florals again. finally there is a hint of ambery musk in the drydown, but it ultimately just smells "bright" to me. on the other hand, i appreciate how well-blended this is; it's definitely complex, even if i'm not the largest fan of it. it really does give off a mainstream-perfume-but-better vibe, so it would be a good blind buy. not my thing, but definitely not bad at all.

This is a tiny bit too far into the gourmand category for my usual taste, but it is a wonderfully blended, beautifully balanced feminine fragrance that is overall very good. The notes listed are true to the story I get on my own skin, and it's one of those fragrances that smells edible, like it might entice someone to take a bite out of you in a very sensual way. It's lighter than other "sexy" fragrances, making it very pretty and delectable. This is a fragrance that does not invoke a scenic atmospheric vibe, it's very much a primal human love story. If you hate gourmands, this isn't going to be for you, but it's also not necessarily gourmand enough for me to dislike it. As a side note, this distinctly reminds me of being in the local sapphic bar. I'm not sure if someone I met there was wearing it, or if it just... feels sapphic? Like a mystery woman named Carmen walked by in pink kitten heels and I missed my chance to get her number, so all I'm left with is the memory of wanting to take a bite out of her.

I swear on everything that this reminds me of carmex and no I don't believe I'm being influenced by the name. It's distinct and I sound crazy trying to describe it, but it's there. I definitely agree with whoever said there was a menthol note. This is very, very light on my skin. It smells great in the bottle but as soon as I apply it, it disappears. It's only been about twenty minutes since I put it on and I can barely smell it with my arm pressed against my nose.The praline note reminds me of AG Cloud, and that combined with the carmex makes this a strangely unique "my mom" scent. I think I'll give her my sample :)

What a luxurious fragrance this is! Sweet, soft, and almondy with warm florals and rich vanilla. Not overly gourmand but hints at it. A lovely, feminine scent. Superb quality and so affordable. I highly recommend trying this!

Starts out too sweet for my liking, but settles into something pleasant. I like it enough to wear it the rest of the day, but not enough to keep my sample. If anyone is interested, feel free to PM me.

Beautiful but so, so subtle it's like I'm not wearing perfume. I used twice my normal amount and it's still incredibly faint. The biggest note is "soft". Spicy, sweet, and floral are worth name checking but no one more than two inches away from me will ever smell them.

This is nice for someone who is not usually crazy about gourmands. Really smells like a designer/celeb frag. Soft, floral, sweet, there is something green and freshy about it too. It's pleasant but has an unattractive powdery dry down. 5/10

This is jewels of juicy green pears swirled in a rich, buttery caramel sauce, creamed with very noticeable and smooth, dark woods at the base, although not listed anywhere-i think it's the dark bourbon vanilla and the almond blossom note that gives that noir, bitter, woody creamy base. The lychee enhances the pear note and makes it even more lush. The entire effect is essentially fruits enrobed in caramels and woods. This is a gorgeous perfume, is an easy blind buy, and is sweet in just the right amount (for a sweet perfume). I put a tiny dab on my shirt and it's lasted the whole day so far. The thing I most appreciate this perfume is that unlike other sweet scents that dry down to a lukewarm, milky vanilla, this one has such a strong base of dark, almost bitter woods that the dry down is the same bright, fruity caramel with stronger, deeper woods, and it's absolutely luxurious. I probably wouldn't wear this to work as it's still rather sweet for the office place, but it's totally appropriate for lounging, parties, cuddling, and even totally sexy for date nights with the mature almond, woody note. The florals are totally blended in and probably enhance other notes, but I don't actually detect them. I feel like this is one men will really like on women.

I've recently gotten into indie perfumes and so far, I've been pretty impressed! I tested 5 or 6 Alkemia samples and this one is my favorite of the bunch. The positives: Oh my goodness, THIS IS PRETTY!!! This is so feminine and ethereal to my nose. I can't pick out any individual note so it's well blended. The negative: It's FLEETING. Poof, gone. I have the normal oil version, not the ultime. Unfortunately, I keep running into the performance issue with the indies I've tried (mainly the oils, EDPs have been decent...Cocoapink, Kyse, CJ Scents). Oh and a couple of NAVA oils that I've tried perform REALLLLLY well. I have a gripe with the "ultime" thing. Why must I pay extra for a version of the same scent I'm trying to experience in a stronger (or not even stronger but just a normal) way? If there's a way to make it stronger from the get-go, why not release that as the only version? If the person wearing it feels like it's too strong, they can use a light hand to apply. I don't understand that. I mean, seriously, this thing was gone 5 minutes later and the same thing happened with the other samples I tried from Alkemia. So I give the scent 8/10 but the performance is 1/10.

Based on the reviews below, I am convinced that I must have gotten a bad batch because all I could smell is the carrier oil :( I did not get the spiced pear, lychee, praline, or any other of the lovely-sounding notes. I had ordered a sample pack, but this was the only one I had this issue with. Overall, though, I always enjoy sampling fragrances from this house, I find most of them to be unique but still wearable.

There is a note in here, and I need to know what it is. The note reminds me of men's shaving cream. It's a cool menthol smell. This is going to sound strange, but remember those 3D posters that you have to stare through, and sort of let your eyes lose focus to see through and make the 3D art appear? Through the commercial smells of sweet (this doesn't smell gourmand) is this 3D note of shaving cream.

This is a very pretty perfume. It smells like something that very well could be on the market in a department store! Definitely my most favorite out of my samples set, and I had to order a full bottle! It smells very girlie and feminine; not too young and not overly mature. A little bit fruity and a little bit sweet....This is a really great perfume from Alkemia!!