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.

Just absurdly good. I can't get over how gorgeous it is. Opens heavy on the smoke, a beautiful hyperrealistic campfire smell which the vanilla backdrop sweetens into something very wearable. I used to run in front of campfires as a kid to get the smell of the smoke into my hair - if you also love the smell of real woodsmoke then you should be a fan. After 3-4 hours of wear, it's softened on my skin into an intimate, smooth, slightly smoky vanilla. Definitely more of a vanilla pod scent than a cloying cupcake vanilla. Simple but beautifully executed.

Exactly like sitting next to a camp fire after smearing yourself with vanilla lotion. It is smoky and sweet; in a word: delicious. It reminds me of those chilly nights as a teenager, sitting around the bonfire, the wood charring up and the embers glowing. It lends itself beautifully to layering; I actually am using it to amplify smoky notes in some of my perfumes. As a hair oil, it lasts for hours; I smell it in my hair a full day after applying it. I have now ordered another 2 bottles. Bonfire nights are here to stay.

Two of my favorite things (vanilla and the smell of woodsmoke) combined perfectly into one. Love it!!! <3 I wear it by itself even though it was meant for layering. It's a cozy and comforting smell. It makes me feel happy. I love someone else's review that I saw somewhere where she said she wore it to work one day and her boss thought the building was on fire. :D This oil is good in any season or weather, imo... But it is extra good in cool Autumn and Winter temps! Oh yesss

Smoldering, sweetly smoked wood . Smells like the evening air in midwinter, the scent of fireplace smoke hanging in the still dark night. Pure wood smoke interlaced with the richest vanilla. This is evocative of comfort. Cozy snuggles in a warm blanket at the fireside. Icy walks through crunching snow, frosty breath hanging in the air. The welcome of hearth and home. This is breathtaking!

This is, hands down, the best smokey fragrance I've found. It smells like real bonfire woodsmoke with the slightest hint of soft vanilla. Every other smoke fragrance I've tried has either been indistinguishable or smelled like an ashtray. This is just perfect, outdoorsy, crisp smoke. Perfect to layer or wear on its own.

I just put this one & I am totally in love! If it has great longevity, it is my next purchase from this wonderful Indie Perfumer. Definitely smoke, like campfires in my desert home used to smell...awesome! Add to that vanilla and tonka to smooth it out and you have perfection in my book.

I'm shopping my stash revisiting ones i haven't worn in a long time . This one it is just sweet vanilla and a bonfire note. That's it. I have had this YEARS but I wore it yesterday (10th Feb 2024) and it's absolutely fine. Just on its own. It stayed with those two notes on me all day.

Neat scent. It smells like the smokey burned-wick smell after blowing out the flame on a high-end vanilla candle. Doesn't last too long, maybe a couple hours. Came in a nice vial with a steel rollerball, so easy to carry and reapply as desired. Nice for layering with other fragrances.

Smoke.! a little sweet like burnt marshmallow for a second and then dries down to smoke smoke smoke. I lava it😍

ahhh This perfume oil , I love it to bits in autumn . I do love the firesmoke and you have o if you are to wear this . It goes so well and mixes so nice with the vanilla A truly beautiful and different kind of scent . This is not somthing i wear to impress or go out . This is for me cosy time, out for a walk in nature or snuggeling up drinking tea . This is the Epitom of Autumn to me , although i woudl wear it year round if i want the snuggely bonfir vanilla offcourse . But you get the ide . Crisp vanilla besides the bonfire in Autumn.

Well, it certainly smells like a campfire! And I live at Yosemite so I know what that smells like. But the odd thing is I don't get anything else, no vanilla or Tonka at all. Usually my skin really amps the vanilla, but not with this. I've tried layering with various vanilla fragrances, but the campfire wins. Oh well, I love the smoke smell, but was hoping for vanilla, too. Good longevity, though.

Pro: You smell exactly like you have been sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows. Con: You smell exactly like you have been sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows. Would not wear it to a party or a job interview, but I find it delicious.

Wow! This is so smoky I can almost hear the wood crackling. It does mellow out a bit when the vanilla emerges. Smooth vanilla smoke with a little sweetness. Very well done, but a little too smoky for me.

Straight up campfire. So Smokey but honestly very nice and slightly sweet.

Smells like a campfire; I like it