Hellcat

This is one of my favorite Alkemia scents, and one of the most nostalgic. For me, this is a very 90s retro scent, not in terms of 90s perfume, but it terms of other things I remember smelling in the 90s, like old car vinyl warmed by the sun and infused with incense and cigarette smoke, like a vintage clothing boutique run by a punk drag queen in a fur coat. It makes me want to put on one of my vintage black leather jackets and travel back in time to a night cafe where everyone's smoking and a woman with an acoustic guitar and a dark sense of humor is onstage singing about her life.

This fragrance is so beautifully created, the notes blend together seamlessly into one perfect scent. This is a dark, complex, come-hither beauty. Extremely sensual and erotic. It's like all the best parts of certain animalic vintage masterpieces come together in one breath. It's absolutely gorgeous!

Intense Bal A Versaille vibe. Skanky and magnificent. Absolutely not for everyone but if you love BAV like I do, I would jump right in.

Rich, heavy, honeyed, this juice is an acquired taste, a handful, both compelling yet difficult. It’s both sweet and bracing, and potentially something to wear into battle, or through a zombie apocalypse or whatever savage dystopian version of the future requires a person to be totally indifferent to whether what you’re wearing actually smells appealing to others, present day conditions included. Why do I feel this way? Because when I first applied it, the sweet, intense depth of it gave me pause. It’s a complicated mix, particular and quite strong upon first application. I keep smelling honey, though this note isn’t listed anywhere. Here’s a surprise, though: For all its initial fury, this juice calms right down on my skin after the two minute mark. The powdery notes evolve, and it smells very distinctive. It smells softer, more wearable but without forfeiting its combative character. Challenges are what make life interesting. If you agree with this statement, you and this juice just might be kismet. Longevity: 7/10 Scent: 6/10

This perfume oil is so interesting. At first I thought I didn't like it, but with time it's grown on me. It has a really addictive quality. It reminds me a bit of incense which I don't normally like, but then there's this intriguing effervescent cola-like note that, combined with the dark incense, I can't get enough of. When I'm already wearing a fragrance that wouldn't layer well with Hellcat and I get the compulsion to smell it on skin, I'll try to get my boyfriend to wear it. I wouldn't call this my favorite fragrance, but it's the only one I'll get such a strong urge to smell that I'll coax someone else into putting it on.

This is one of those that I can't quite figure out if I like it or not. It lives up to its name in that it's an animalistic musk that's a bit overwhelming at first. But then it dries down to the spicy oud and labdanum. It doesn't have crazy sillage on me but that's okay because I don't think this is a scent I'd get too many compliments on. It's a perfume I wear when I want men to be afraid of me, but also slightly aroused.

I know a lot of other reviewers didn't really like this one.... at first when I applied it to my wrist I thought it had a bit of a cat poo sort of undertone - bleh! But then the fragrance evolved into something soft, dark and almost honey-like. I keep detecting a note of incense too. I really like it but feel others may think it smells like one of those hippy shops, the ones that sell incense and tie dye clothing.

Begins with the intense urinous note others picked up on - folds into a cherry-like warmth, I think this may be the opium note - I have smelt this note in three Alkemia fragrances - 1891, Sigil, and Hellcat. It's like a sour green note. Not sure if it suits me. But for animalic lovers - I say, you must try this!

The first time I tried this, with one small dab, I found it sexy. But it seemed to change a lot, shape-shifting to show different faces. At some points I could detect cherry, soapy powder, and one whiff of feline urine. I became interested and applied a bit more, on each wrist and arm-fold. Gradually the scent overtook me and I became so nauseated I almost puked. I literally felt like I got dragged down into hell by Hellcat. I later found out I was beginning to menstruate, so you could try to chalk it up to bad timing for sampling this. However, I am now feeling normal. Hellcat no longer has any sex appeal to me. It smells mostly of a plain powdery musk. No real spice, tobacco or ambery labdanum to show for. I do still detect something sweet and slightly cherry, and it is quite similar to Alkemia's Black Roses. So it resembles smarties candies, but it is also overly musky. It's not complex or deep enough to satisfy me. And it doesn't even smell dark. Just cloying meh.

Right out of the sample vial and onto my fingers the first thing is WHAM! Animalic. Civet, even. That musk is dank, intense, unforgiving! There is no denying to sensitive noses that a deep furry, sweaty monster came to play. The second whiff is cola, cola, cherry cola and then labdanum. Slowly the oud is coming out to play. Still, there's something overly cloying and cat-like about it that keeps me from thinking it would be a good match for my skin. After all, I've always been a dog person. Yet, a scent like Elizabeth Taylor's Passion, full of civet, is heaven on my pelt. Look for an edit as PING! I just got the idea that layering Hellcat with Passion is the thing to do. Meanwhile, a cat lapping up cherry cola is what I smell! Edit: sadly, it's unwearable. After only two or three minutes it becomes, on skin, hair, clothing, or even paper, 100% cat urine. Sharp and relentless, I have to pass.

Sniffing from the bottle: Musky, dark, sexy, and weird. I was excited! On my skin: Dark sexiness for the first few minutes, then straight up sickly-sweet/intense cat urine. I was very unexcited, and promptly scrubbed it off my skin. It was hard to get off; had to drown it out with another scent as well. I am saving the sample bottle to wait and try again in a few weeks, and will update the review if it works out better.

I received a sample of this and I have tried it twice. Both times I got an overwhelming scent of cat spray. You know that smell when your cat is in heat and starts spraying on stuff. The hubs smells straight up urine. It's definitely interesting but not to my taste.

Too dirty for my taste, smells like a cat owner's apartment with labdanum that adds a vintage note to this. Also reminds me of old wallpaper smell - paper in several layers that soaked up stale smoke. Not for me at all.

First on, this smells like BPAL Alice on me: tea, milky notes, something floral. Quite gorgeous. The tobacco is very tea-like in a good way, sort of golden and leafy. The Black Musk note is a bit resinous a bit green, not really a musk. Oud is missing but not missed. I'm not getting any of the animalic notes others have. It is a tiny bit soapy as it dries, but still lovely. This is one of my favorites from Alkemia.

I wish every person who complains that some major niche house's animalic-themed scents (PDM's Hamdani, Nishane's Afrika Oliphant, etc.) smell vile and zoolike and like whatever various colorful descriptions of bodily fluids they can conjure up could get one good whiff of this thing.

What bugs me about this scent is that annoying laundry soap note that clings to the whole thing. It's honestly nothing artful. A weird oud with another weird musk, some tobacco, labdanum and some floral aspect. It gives me some cheap indian store incense cherry vibe. Pass.

Smokey, misty, and kind of mysterious. Smells like passing the hukkah around a small circle inside of a fabric tent while a sandstorm is going on outside.