Gaea

Dear Gaea, I would first and foremost like to apologize. I unfairly misjudged you several months ago, and said that I didn't like you, and that you weren't a good enough forest scent for me. Gaea, it wasn't you, it was me. At the time, I lacked the properly vocabulary to describe what I was looking for in my search for a "forest" scent. Turns out, what I wanted at that time was strong notes of coniferous trees--either pine or fir. I misjudged you, Gaea, because you contain neither pine nor fir--but you never claimed to. You never once lied about what you were, the misunderstanding is entirely my fault. Gaea is earth--literally in the name, and in this scent. Soil, earth, moss, stone...forest. Facets of the forest floor, more specifically. I was trying to see the forest for (only) the trees, and I ended up misjudging this beauty terribly. I can't see myself wearing this gem by itself all that often, as it definitely requires a certain mood to be worn solo. However, I *am* extremely excited about the layering possibilities and the earthy/soil punch that this could add to so many different fragrances. At the suggestion of @CaliforniaPoppy down below, I ordered a small sample of Mists Becoming Rain to layer with Gaea, and I'm super excited to try them together. I am also incredibly stoked to try this with MMM's Soul of the Forest and see if together they can harmonize into something magical.

In a continuation of my quest for a wearable wet dirt scent, I purchased a sample of Gaea. It started kind of astringent almost, but immediately settled into a sweet earthiness with white florals and a very slight smokiness. After several hours and one reapplication to get a stronger scent bubble, I get faint powdery notes in addition to clean, wet (kind of leathery?) earth. The longevity is nonexistent. I’ve had to apply nearly half the sample vial today in the span of 4 hours to be able to detect any whiff of it without snorting my wrists or sticking my nose into my shirt collar. If this had more staying power, it would be an easy full size for me. It really is lovely, though maybe not quite the pungent humusy soil scent I’m looking for.

I get the fern and the moss...I believe there are also background notes of patchouli and my daughter asked, "is there tea tree oil in that?" when she smelled it on my wrist. This oil grew on me. At first sniff, I believed it was too strong...but like many Alkemia oils...they are just so unlike anything we are used to in commercial perfumerie, that they can sometimes smell completely foreign to one's nose. However, I do love this...the only problem is it wears very close to the skin and grows faint with the brief passing of time.

unbelievably good, I have tried a lot of earthy, loamy green scents and gaea is everything I've ever dreamt of. It perfectly captures that "floor of a PNW rainforest" atmosphere I've been chasing. my ONLY criticism is its longevity.. it's totally gone within an hour, even on freshly moisturized skin. it needs to be reapplied super frequently. I'll check to see if they have an ultime version when I run out

From the bottle: Intense loamy soil On my skin: Dark and damp soil, green things decaying while submerged in a cold stream in a dimly-lit forest, then warms up a little with the sweetness of meadow grasses. Sillage is low. Longevity is barely 2 hours, and that first initial blast of soil is there and gone before you know it. I enjoyed blending this one with Alkemia's Mist Turning into Rain.

Im so madly in love with this scent, sadly, the longevity is shit. I have a dabber sample so I was trying to be classy and conservative, but if I want to be able to smell myself the better course of action is hitting every single pulse point and going over it twice. The smell delivers good fertilized dirt and a surprisingly salty aquatic note that for me makes it very wearable.

I wore this and smelled like a bog witch. I smelled like I slept the night in a pile of wet leaves. I smelled like rolypolys lived in my hair and salamanders nested in the comfort of my bosom. I love it and only wish it lasted longer. Although very natural and gender neutral there was the slightest hint of something masculine in the ghost of the dry down.

Wonderful smell, but the smell itself disappears way to quickly as well as being extremely intimate of a smell. It smells just like a garden center at a hardware store, dirt and all. I would recommend this to anyone who misses the smell of nature, but wearing this casually would be a little difficult.

Amazing perfume. I have been looking for the smell of wet earth after a shower for so long, and this is finally it. It doesn't smell like a perfume. No flowers, no vanilla, no tonka: just wet earth, moss, decaying leaves and treebark. Amazing.

Wet dark moss, a bit muddy. One of my favorites. Perfect for layering, can give a dark green vibe to any other perfume.

Per the copy on Alkemia’s website: “Forest loam under warm spring sunshine, new ferns poking up through decaying leaves, maple sap flowing over lichens, mosses and wet stones at the edge of a vernal pool.” Earthy, loamy, and mossy as promised, but also somewhat sweet in the dry-down -- not a sugary or floral sweetness, but rather a colder sweetness that in this context makes one think of decay. Although the name “Gaea” might conjure images of an earth mother, the energy here is less Green Goddess and more Girl Scout -- a little quiet and meditative, but ultimately friendly and surprisingly wearable. It’s kind of like a horse girl version of an austere unisex perfume that you’d pay big bucks for from a niche house. I use the term “unisex” deliberately, but also think this one skews somewhat feminine; I can see why it’s called “Gaea” and not “Osiris.” (Also, I am myself a huge horse girl and use the term with only love in my heart.) The reason this is “Like” and not “Love” is because the projection and longevity are pretty terrible. I understand why you wouldn’t want Diva levels of whoosh off of a frag that makes you smell like you’ve been rolling around on the moors communing with the piskies or whatever, but for me this is essentially gone within 30 minutes of application. That being said, I do have the kind of skin that hoovers up scent, so I’m going to see if I have better luck with the stronger “ultime” edition, available from Alkemia for a couple extra bucks. Final thoughts: Delightfully dualistic, Gaea is a minimalist, austere perfume that smells exactly like dirt while also maintaining an earnest, winsome character. This one feels like a meditation on mortality, but one in which you’ve reached the Acceptance stage in the Kübler-Ross model of grief. *Would* recommend for your chaste horse girl fantasies about being the heroine of a pastoral gothic romance.

straight up wet soil in a bottle. exactly what i wanted. beautiful. unfortunately, as the other reviews have stated, this does not have a lot of longevity. perhaps the chemical composition they use to get that photorealistic smell makes it so it's a more fragile and volatile scent. even so, the smell is just so beautifully earthy and photorealistic that i enjoy having it as a small scent on my desk to invigorate me once in a while. i wouldn't buy this with the intention to actually wear or smell it for a long time, but almost just a "wet forest floor on demand" scent bottle i can keep nearby for imagination's sake. i would personally go for st louis cemetery from alkemia if you want a photorealistic earthy scent-- it's a bit more stoney but still has that same soil on application, and has more longevity and evolution compared to gaea. i'd also like to note i got this from a curated sample scent, where i told them what i wanted and then they put together a small set for me. i'm overjoyed with the samples they selected for me, as they perfectly fit my tastes. just putting that out there if anyone was interested in trying that!

This is exactly what it says on the tin to an extent few fragrances achieve. It's a photorealistic scent of wet earth. It reminds me of that nutrient-packed soil intended for potted plants, or a garden that needs a boost. Alternatively, it makes me picture the bank of a forest stream, the sort at which one might fill a water bottle while hiking. Would I wear this regularly? No - I live in a rural area and smell this scent all the time out in nature, while hiking or even just walking in the rain. If I lived in the city, I can definitely see how this might provide a feeling of being somewhere else; it would absolutely appeal to me in that situation. Performance-wise, it's on the weak side. It doesn't really project at all. That said, I don't think this is the kind of fragrance that's meant to project. It smells like actual, literal dirt. It's the sort of scent you wear to enjoy privately, to help you imagine yourself in another place.

I bought this fragrance years ago now. I wanted something that smelled like dirt/moss/stone to layer with other fragrances, or just to wear around the house when I was missing the pnw where I grew up. I'm almost done with it now. this is an outside smell. no perfumey fuckery. this smells like finding old deer bones in a mossy forest after a heavy rain. the old bones note is definitely there, though I'm not sure what it's coming from. every time I've heard someone claim something is a "photorealistic" fragrance I've rolled my eyes, but this smells like a place, not like a scent you'd find on a person. it smells like a picture in your mind. longevity and projection are terrible. but that never stopped me from putting it on just to sit there and smell it until it was gone. wouldn't buy it again, but I'll miss it.

As AjaBlue said below, this grew on me. For me, the first and most powerful impression is rich, damp, loamy dirt! Decaying redwood tree trunks. Then the moss and ferns make a sneaky appearance. It's a simple fragrance, at first masculine (think hunky loggers), later it sweetens a bit. I've been trying many of Alkemia's oils and so far have not found any that I dislike. I should qualify that by saying that there have been several that I found off-putting, but by the third wearing and a couple of weeks for the oil to settle down, I was hooked. Even with a weird creosote-smelling one called Ydalir. Some, like that one, are fantastic for combining with others. Fave so far, which isn't listed on Fragrantica: Club des Hashishines. Yikes! Dark heaven!

The smell of soil. Not just any old dirt, or dirt in the sense of dirty - but that good, clean, nutrient dense soil. precious yet omnipresent. Sensual but pure. from whence we have been and shall return. This would have been an invaluable luxury for me while I was confined to a shoe box during a New York winter. I was kindly given a sample with purchase from Sharra, and I am very keen to layer it with some of my more pristinely pretty florals, for a more photorealistic botanical.

I'll keep this short. I have never smelled a more earthy scent than Gaea. Imagine taking a fistful of dirt and moss and taking a deep whiff. Close your eyes and take a walk down a forest trail after a light rain. That is this scent. I love it, but definitely cannot wear it everyday. Just a warning, I have found very few people in person that like the scent.

It's lovely. Very subtle and natural. It reminds me of the smell in the air after I water my garden in the mornings. Herbaceous, green, aquatic, and a little bit earthy. If you're looking for a realistic garden fragrance, this is a nice one. Low sillage but fair longevity.

smells like dirt, in a good way. there's a sharp, dry note that reminds me of cigarette ash. wish that wasn't there.

On first application this smells like a forest with a waterfall falling onto wet stones. I love the scent - I’m not totally sure I want to actually smell of it? Also as it dries down it gets a little sharp and mineral-y. But it’s the most incredible forest hit, and I’m so glad I got a sample because it’s like nothing else.