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

Let's say you are SUPER MEGA into Harry Potter. Like a LOT. And there's a Pottercon in the next city over and you are definitely going to go, no matter what, and you are going to make an impression, no matter what. So you start wandering around the internet looking for more and more obscure websites when you stumble across a Geocities looking website selling really cool and honestly kinda scary looking wands. You do some digging and there are no reviews--just cryptic, tiny print under each one describing the power each contains. They're expensive but they are so mysterious and so cool they suck you in. You fire up the old Paypal and place your order and you get :crickets:. No confirmation email, nothing. Your payment seems like it was just sucked into the ether. So after waiting three weeks you are getting ready to click the button to finally report them/get a refund from Paypal when there's a knock at your door and a package on your step. Squeeing with excitement you tear open the box and there is your the wonderful mysterious wand. You've seen a LOT of Harry Potter merch dreck in your years of fandom. Plastic wands that break easily, glass ones that are hella expensive and break easily, clay ones, wooden ones--you done seen em all. This one though...this one feels like holding a feather. It is thick and gnarled and looks as though it would be very heavy but somehow it's not. It's almost hard to tell the difference between your fingers and the wand. It shimmers and glows as you turn it over in your hands and at certain points it almost disappears for a millisecond. You can feel a weird tiny *buzzbuzz* in your palm when you hold it and when you feel it you can almost hear a tiny crackle. This? Looked promising. Visions of casting a real, actual Expecto Patronum at the con raced through your mind. You scratch through the packaging material looking for an instruction booklet but all that was included was a piece of plain white paper with "MAY GENERATE DUST. CONTAINING LEAD. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN" on it. You shrug. Oh well, you think, if it was truly difficult or dangerous to use they wouldn't be allowed to sell it! So you set off to your bedroom to practice. After an hour of working up a sweat while swatting and sweeping and switching and slapping--nada. Nothing. Bupkis. You decide you need a break. You're hungry so you go to the kitchen and you grab some marshmallows you bought yesterday to munch on as you look for something more substantial. You can't find anything so you take some marshmallows back to your room to try to get this damn magic wand to do something. You can just FEEL that wand can do *something*. So you stuff the last 2 marshmallows in your mouth, pick up the wand and jokingly mumble "chubby bunny". The wand instantly shoots a beam of fire across the room! For several moments you're so shocked you're unable to move or even mentally process what you've just witnessed take place. Agog, you stare at the tip of the wand until you realize you smell smoke. Across the room, in it's treasured place of honor, your beloved hand carved wooden Harry Potter statue you commissioned from a local elderly woodworker. It was perfect. And it was her last carving. She finished it, delivered it to you and died a week later. Still in shock you hurriedly chew the remaining marshmallow while you grab a blanket to smother the fire and try to salvage your beloved statue. You manage to put out the fire but RIP the statue and RIP your cheap plasticky curtains from Target you got for 1/2 price as well. That moment is what Alkemia's Smoke and Mirrors captures perfectly. Very nice for a candle, morphs into weird territory on the skin.

Count me in as having found Alkemia and this particular fragrance while looking for a cheap substitute for By The Fireplace. While it's similar, it's unfortunately not quite a dupe for me. I don't get vanilla or anything beyond smoke, which makes it pretty unwearable. I've tried quite a few Alkemia oils and I will say, this is probably one of their better scents. It really does smell like the smoke from a New England bonfire and lasts a pretty long time.

I really really wanted to love the Alkemia perfumes. I really did. The names, the themes, everything lured me in. Until I tried them out. I got 15 samples to try out and there were only two I'd consider as good. Smoke and Mirrors is one. The other is Silken Tent. Turns out though I don't actually want to smell like a bonfire. I loved the idea but in reality it didn't work for me. To me, this would be an excellent candle, lit in your cabin in the woods after dark. But not for me personally. I've also owned By the Fireplace, which I gave away due to the same issue but I could at least compare the two. BtF is a lot more expensive and you can tell, the ingredients are better and more complex. S&M isn't as expensive smelling but still, pretty close to BtF, so I'd say there isn't a reason in this case to spend more. Both smell smoky, both will project a burning scent around you. And while wearing S&M, I got asked 3 times in one day if I'd been around people who smoke. Not necessarily what I want people to think when they greet me. But if you like the smokey stuff, by all means try this one because it is a great scent, although not for me. As for the house itself. I'm not sure what to say. I don't want to offend anyone so I'll try to tread carefully. I'm only trying to give an honest review and not be unnecessarily mean. Keep that in mind, please. I have 15 scents from the house. Obviously I can't say that all of them are alike, but I think 15 samples can give me a good picture of what the general offering will be. I make scented candles at home for fun. I just love smelling things. And in my candle making journey I've tried samples upon samples of fragrance oils from various places. And why is that relevant you ask? Well, to be honest, 13 out of those 15 I've tried smell to me like fragrance oils intended for candle and soap making. A lot of those fragrance oils are also suitable for perfume making according the the websites that sell them. Am I saying that Alkemia perfumes are made from fragrance oils for candles? No. But. But, boy do they smell similar. For example, County Fair settles into a nice spiced pumpkin scent similar to those golden brown candles you see in stores in fall time, often named "Pumpkin Spice" or something similar. All Hollows Eve and Hexenhauschen both remind me of the "witches brew" fragrance most candle making supply stores offer. Falling stars at winter solstice smells like those cotton and clean candles. I could go on but there really is no need. Like I said before, in no way am I saying that this is what is happening, but to my nose, I might as well mix up some of my fragrances I have for my candles and use them on myself. And while I'd say I love almost all of them as house fragrances, I can never use them on myself, I'd just smell like my candles. I really like the idea behind the house and the names are lovely and magical. Sadly just not what I was expecting.

Basic vanilla with campfire smoke note. It is simple. I fell for the story and the visual behind this brand and decided to buy it. (I have to admit that the copy and bewitching imagery that accompany each listing is what make me take the plunge. That and the fact that Alkemia's super fast shipping/delivery gives my brain a quick dopamine surge.) But I digress. This scent boils down to a very simple, candle-like vanilla and a smoke note. Throughout the life of this scent, you can smell smoke + vanilla (vanilla + smoke) This fragrance never becomes a "smoky vanilla" the components are always separate, as if living parallel lives. I bought this with the intention of layering it with perfumes that I found too sweet and too fruity. But Smoke & Mirrors never lent itself to complementing another fragrance. I found the great "smoke mixer" I was looking for in an unlikely source: Bath & Body Works Bonfire Bash. Now, before you dismiss my review entirely because I am giving an honest review of an indie perfumer in famous of a chain, give Bonfire Bash a try if Smoke & Mirrors was not what you were looking for either. Bonfire Bash manages to take the edge off fruity fragrances (not my favorite) and makes them grounded and grown up - as if by magic! and without breaking the bank.

Reviewer bolla2909 described it perfectly. The scent is not bad, but most Alkemia scents seem to be more like candles than perfumes. There's nothing really wrong with this fragrance, it just doesn't seem to sit on skin well and the smokiness is a little artificial and overwhelming. If you really want to smell like you slept next to a bonfire, then this is a good frag for you, but otherwise I wouldn't really recommend someone wearing this.

Came back to this scent and I still found it to be a tad too offensive on my nose. Rather than a cozy bonfire type of smoke, it felt more like a choking, dirty smoke. Like old BBQ or clothes 24 hours after camping. If that's your vibe, then def test it out. But I would not consider this a safe blind buy.

I've tried with this for ages but I just don't like how it smells. To me it smells like the candle section in a large garden centre. Sweet vanilla-ish waxy candle wick. I have sampled a few of the others, because I loved the brand aesthetic, but I've had the same issue with all of them sadly.

Eh, yeah, smells artificial and too-sweet for me. Smoke and vanilla but not in a sophisticated way. Maybe I'll revisit in the cooler autumn months, but for now I'm shelving it - and honestly I don't really expect to want to smell this much like a candle even in fall.

i endlessly optimistically hope that i will like alkemia's smoky fragrances. i think i just don't like smoke. this feels extremely heavy and thick smoke, i didn't get any vanilla unfortunately

Smells like what the notes say, except I don't really pick up any tonka. It's smoky, woody, resinous, warm, cozy, a bit sweet, a bit dry, and quite "realistic". Definitely one of the most pleasant smoky scents I have tried. If someone took a piece of fragrant and resinous wood, dipped it in mild vanilla, burned half of it in a campfire, and then the morning after took the remaining piece out of the ashes, then this is what it would smell like. While the smoke is definitely prominent, it's also very smooth and soft and warm, probably mostly thanks to the sweetness of the vanilla. The vanilla is subtle but still a significant part of the vibe of the fragrance. Very nice fragrance! Definitely in the same sort of category as By the Fireplace, but less "thick", more smooth and more realistically smoky. If you like smoky scents and/or vanilla scents, check this one out! Out of the 12 sample vials I got from Alkemia, this is one of my favorites. BTW this is absolutely unisex, I would even say that this leans masculine due to the ruggedness of the smoke and wood, so I'm surprised that most of the votes on this are from women.

So disclaimer: I have the 5ml rollerball. I was hoping for a powerfull smoky scent to combine with Aventus, instead all I get is a generic arabic scent for the first 2 hours. After that, the vanilla kicks in but it.s like having vanilla on a bbq. It doesn.t fit my purpose of making Aventus Smoky so it.s a no for me. I would like to smell it with a little ethanol to make it EDP, might come back with a review edit after. I hope the other 5 ordered scents from Alkemia don.t smell the same waxy candlelish way.

There is no Vanilla in this -- at all. I agree with the other reviews on there that say these oils smell like Yankee Candles more or less. Still- the prices will not break anyone's bank and if one hits you-- GREAT. This does smell like you were sitting next to a bonfire. (This smells like Demeter's Bonfire actually) . So this does what is says - but don't expect some crazy niche perfume for $12.00. Hippie Spirit and Madame X were my favorites out of all my samples.

Look, if I could have a natural smell of something, I really wish it could be this. Such an eye roll. Thick sweet smoke. The vanilla just blends with the smoke. You're in the middle of it, you can't detect the edges, everything around you is burning and the feeling of impending death you just gave in to turned out to be sweet. I think this is a must-have layering tool when it comes to good smoke. Well awarded best selling title.

This one might be my favorite one from Alkemia yet....might.... This one is exact to it's notes. This is a cool end of summer night, fresh out of the bath with a splash of sweet vanilla, chair in front of the wood burning fire pit. The longevity on this one lasts a good 6-8 hours. This is a seasonless scent and will definitely be in heavy rotation.

I don't have a review on this fragrance but, I would like to know where I can purchase Smoke and Mirrors. I enjoy the frangrance , By the Firepjace but , it is quite pricey so if Alkemia Smoke and Mirrors is a more reasonably priced fragrance and it if it is as wonderful as By the Fireplace then I would like to try it!

sweet warm vanilla bonfire. this completed my mission for a perfect smoky vanilla fragrance! i like to layer this with either bianco latte & one spray of akro's smoke, or on the less expensive side fine'rys sweet on the outside! makes me smell like a sexy fire witch,, it's so beautiful! alkemia never misses!! >:)

I don't get smoke at all. I do not like vanilla. I love this oil though! I don't know what I smell. I don't know why I like it. I will order more one day. I like this JUST by itself. It's wonderful. This and Persian Tea Room are better than the others I ordered. These were just samples. Samples DO matter!

To me, this is way too smoky to wear on its own. But I use it to layer almost anything if I feel like experimenting. It does say on the site that it was specially created for a lady who got a very expensive perfume as a gift and she didn't like it, so they created Smoke and Mirrors to layer it with.

Toasting marshmallows over a campfire. Sweet vanilla and woodsmoke. I really want to like it but there's something off about the vanilla - it smells a bit cheap, like a dollar store candle. But I think if it were layered with something like Montale's Vanille Extasy it would be perfect.

This is a deeper, sharper smoke than some of the other smoky/fireplace scents I have tried. This is smoke with lighter fluid. I prefer the sweeter smoke scents without lighter fluid, but if you find By The Fireplace too sweet for your liking, by all means, try Smoke & Mirrors instead.

I don't know if it's the effect of the cold metal ball brushing against my skin, but it smells like burnt vanilla ice cream, cold and balsamic at the same time, strangely synthetic like the smell of show smoke or an e-cigarette. It's certainly not for everyone, but I love it.

I have sampled this twice, because everyone raves about it and I thought maybe I'd missed somethig the first time but I guess I'm just one of those people this manages to smell like barbecue on. Sweet, charcoal-y smoke. I love lots of other Alkemia blends, but not this one.

This is one of my favorites! There's a slightly plastic smoke note at first, but it fades to lovely smoky vanilla and then to a Easter-like vanilla sugar with just the slightest hint of smoke. Very simple and candy-like on me. I'm glad I bought this in the full bottle.

My first buy of an Alkemia oil. This is awesome sauce !!! Very impressed.I get the sweet smokey vibe..with vanilla smoke/incense. The oil is great,but seeing as they also sell a "spray version"..I will be also order the spray one. Oh yeah....!!!!!

My first Alkemia scent. As it's turning fall I wanted something g like By the Fireside but not as $$$. This s definitely in the same category. Realistic smokiness with some toasted vanilla or marshmallow. I like it!

It really does smell like smoke, and I cannot smell anything else. It’s so realistic that I’m absolutely sure that I won’t be able to wear it. Not for me but a well-made perfume for sure.

This is super cozy and I have fallen head over heels! Close similarities to MMM By the Fireplace. Great layered or by itself. Alkemia has quality oils. Definitely recommend.

i do NOT get any vanilla from this at all. literally just smoke. it’s a no.

I don't get anything but smoke as well. It IS a good layering tool though!