Smoke & Mirrors

This seems like a popular Alkemia scent, and it kept coming up in discussions about Alkemia perfumes online. I always ignored it. "Smoke and vanilla? meh". Then someone gifted a sample scent to me and picked this one out, and I absolutely love it. Smoke and vanilla, yes, but so much more than the sum of its parts. Campfire scents aren't super appealing to me, but the smoke and vanilla and tonka are perfectly balanced. The sillage seems perfect, too, and reasonable longevity - I don't want to scream perfume when I walk in a room, but I like to know that I put it on. I applied a couple dabs of Smoke and Mirrors this morning and got lovely little wafts throughout the day. This one I think would be worn equally as well on a man or a woman. I recently lost my sample of Smoke & Mirrors, which gave me a great excuse to go ahead and purchase a full size bottle. This has become my favorite fragrance to wear to work. I don't like wearing very sweet or girly fragrances to the office (not knocking those who do at all - just personal preference, you do you!) and this fits the bill perfectly. It's interesting without being distracting, soft but tough, and lasts all through the day. ETA: I've been enjoying combining a dab of this and Alkemia's Au Lait.

You are walking home through an old neighbourhood. It is deep into blue twilight. Heavy clouds dampen the air. The trees drip. Every chimney in this street has a fire. Someone is baking vanilla cookies too. The smell blends with the smokey air and you suddenly recall another evening when you drank tea in a little cafe watching rain bounce off cobblestones... This is a smokey, vanillary treasure a bit like a vanilla marshmallow toasted over an open fire. I'm no fan of gourmands but this is sensational and cuddly, something essentially autumn. It won my over in just one wearing. I'm already plotting a back up bottle. I would call this essentially feminine. The longevity is pretty good and projects enough to make you smell delicious and not enough to kill or at least trigger anyone around you.

Absolutely divine! I myself consider this better on skin as a layering device, but on others it can be heaven on it's own. We are talking about the smell of burning smoke, the real thing. Ahhhh. As for the overall impression, on a friend it is mysteriously wonderful, seductive, smoke and vanilla. On me it is the scent of an expensive vanilla candle from childhood. The vanilla lingered with the scent of the partially burnt wick to create something special. Albeit, I think on me it needs a thicker feeling for wearing alone and therefore prefer it layered. It's all about chemistry. A winner no matter how you wear it. Really, there is nothing cozier and more appealing to me than a real bonfire + vanilla! Highly Recommended.

Blind bought this, and it was an outstanding choice! This is one that at first application, makes my eyes roll back in my head, and a bit of a moan escapes me. It's THAT delicious. Realistic smoke and sweetness. Beautifully blended so that every note is present to me, though it's the smoke that dies down the most. Only after that happens do the woods peek through. But the drydown is mostly about delicious vanilla and tonka. If you like smoky scents, this is absolutely a must-have! It took By The Fireplace off my want list. No need for that one when this perfection exists for much less.

Simple but oh so magical. It's the plushest realistic bonfire smoke combined with richly textured sweetness. I get plenty of tonka, and it is seamlessly bonded with the vanilla. They undulate, so you catch wafts of warm smoke, then nutty-woody sweetness, then smoked vanilla... so good. Again, a common combo that Alkemia just knocks out of the park. It's not even my usual, but Alkemia is quite talented in making scents that are greater than the sum of their parts. Her Madagascar vanilla note is also pretty good- it's just the right balance of sweet and warm without being cloying.