La Belle Époche

Chef's kiss! I already own an Ultime of this that I got in last year’s Mystery bundle. But since it’s discontinued I couldn’t resist nabbing a second bottle this year. It’s so great. Definitely for vintage lovers. It’s like Shalimar’s slightly androgynous older sister. It smells golden, and like wood varnish, and opoponax (resinous). I just really love when indie perfumers (ok, I just mean Alkemia) can recreate the perfumes of the 20th century, because I’m fine buying old vintage bottles but they sometimes haven’t kept perfectly well. Vanilla, once again like Shalimar, but less baby-powder (I love baby powder, but I know others don’t). Anyways this is my favorite Alkemia scent probably. It’s discontinued obviously but I’d say Hex is it’s modern witchy sister, and it’s still available. The note description makes it sound more floral but it’s definitely an oriental, resinous rather than ambery.

This is a powdery floral with a musk base. It has a vintage vibe so if you are looking for something fresh and clean, look elsewhere. Personally, I love this one. It is mature and has a strong personality. The flowers are tempered by the powder and musk so they lack that "clean" nature many floral scents have. If you want a sultry and grown-up perfume, look no further!

A beautiful warm floral fragrance - definitely swoon worthy. Sensual, exotic, approachable.

This review is for the Ultime oil: Several months ago, I purchased a bottle of La Belle Époque (not sure why the Fragrantica listing has the incorrect spelling), ultime concentration, after having owned a sample of the regular concentration nearly a decade prior. The scent intrigued me but didn’t feel like something I would wear, and eventually it was discontinued so I gave up hope of ever smelling it again after I used up my sample. Fortunately, Alkemia brought it back and I was able to purchase a bottle. I resonate with evilscent’s description of the perfume, which highlights the “wood varnish” character. To me, La Belle Épique smells like a vase of fresh flowers sitting atop a freshly polished wood table of the period (perhaps there is an Art Nouveau stained glass window behind it). There is a baby-powderiness to the scent that I don’t mind. I find the scent relaxing. Vintage perfume lovers should definitely consider picking up a (relatively speaking, very affordable) bottle if it’s ever in stock again.

This was a blind buy and a dissappointment unfortunately. The dry down is okay, but I can't get past the bug spray/avon skin-so-soft vibe. :/ *UPDATE* This gets a bit better with age and is actually great to layer with other perfumes if you want to add a soft, powdery sweetness.