Alchimie

An oriental, fuzzy, fruity vanilla. Soft, warm & sweet. The citrus top notes in my bottle have long since turned and upon application the opening is lacking some of the beauty I once knew back when this was gifted to me by my aunt at Christmas, many moons ago. The gift set I received contained a miniature bottle, a 50ml bottle and a shimmering body lotion - all contained within a lovely glittering golden box. This was a love at first sniff affair and is still one of the most beautiful takes on vanilla I've ever known, even now that it's turned. The "turned" scent has taken on a distinctly "sun lotion" vibe, like a sun lotion that's, pardon the pun, sat in the sun for far too long. Once the "bad" notes lift at around three quarters of an hour in, the middle and dry down is almost exactly as I remember. The blackcurrant is lovely here as it's very subtle and doesn't overtake the floral notes at all, so when I say to myself that this is a "fruity floral", I'm not really including the blackcurrant note. It's far from being a fruity scent in a dark berries way, but more so from the mandarin, peach, pear and grapefruit - in that order. The plum is subdued along with the blackcurrant and just stops the scent from becoming too citric. I can't recall the sun lotion vibe being there when I wore this in the past, but it is probably caused by the mandarin, pear, coconut and cucumber. It actually makes the scent smell a little like Sweet Sun by Dior to me. When I first read that this was discontinued, I stopped using my bottle and have regretted it ever since. I have this habit of hoarding, and so I refrained from using this for fear of finding myself unable to replace my bottle. I have therefore missed out on enjoying it to the last drop simply because I'm stubborn. Now it's nowhere near as lovely as it used to be. However, it is, without a doubt, still very lovely. I don't really smell much of the licorice, but I do get smooth caramel and sandalwood in the drydown. It's very sweet and slightly effervescent from the jasmine & heliotrope, with some smokiness from the tonka bean and musk. (Nothing animalic in the musk here). The caramel, amber, sandalwood and heliotrope combo makes for a very enjoyable and unique vanilla oriented scent. The honeyed jasmine and lilac take the fore with the vanilla while the other floral notes all play off each other with none really standing above the rest. There's a slightly sharp edge to the powderiness of this which I think is the coconut, heliotrope and licorice combo, putting me in mind, though only tenuously so, of Hypnotic Poison. Rather light, but this is a longlasting scent. It becomes a skin-scent after around two or three hours, but can last for up to ten hours on my skin. A good replacement for this is Cinéma by YSL (PRE REFORMULATION - CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH). It has less going on; is more sparkling and linear, citrussy vanilla, but it certainly has the same aura and contains many of the same notes as Alchimie, not to mention both having the same "nose" behind them. I'm very surprised that almond, or almond blossom is not listed as a note here, given that this note is unmistakably present in both scents. Actually, today I applied Alchimie solely because I received a sample of Omnia Crystalline Eau de Parfum by Bvlgari. The moment I applied it I thought of Alchimie. The orange in Omnia Crystalline is much more pronounced than in Alchimie, but there's a very distinct similarity. Sadly, Omnia Crystalline, like Cinéma, is a far more airy, much watered down version of Alchimie. So, Alchimie may reign supreme over both, but as it's almost impossible to acquire these days and is terribly expensive, I believe either one of those could (almost, nearly) fill the gap left behind by this unique and inimitably complex scent. I treasure my two bottles of this. They're very dear to me. Over the years I have become eternally grateful to my aunt for turning me on to so many masterpieces such as this. (The most impressive of which was the original version of Yohji Yamamoto Essential, which has remained to this day exactly as it was the moment I cracked it open in '99! I dread to think what the re-release/reformulation is like!) This is a beautiful scent, conjuring the image of sunshine peeking shyly from behind a cloud and casting its rays upon rows of sunflowers. The drydown is truly unlike anything else, and Alchimie contains the best interpretation of blackcurrant that I've ever known in a scent. A real masterpiece from the late nineties. (Edit - just want to share my joy to discover that my bottle HAS NOT in fact turned! It was just the scent in the spray tube that was a bit "funky" - while the scent in the bottle remains intact and smelling heavenly, still!)

I now have in my possession a new 30ml bottle of Alchimie. I LOVE the bottle! The beautiful translucent orange and the shape - lovely. The smell is not something I would normally go for but I find myself being a little bit seduced by Alchimie. I bought it with a view to resale, as it seems to be so rare and in demand, but am now wondering if it's a 'keeper'... hmmm. I don't find Alchimie madly 'fruity', at least certainly not in the prevalent and modern sense of fruity. I agree that this fragrance undergoes subtle changes - at first it s l i g h t l y reminds me of YSL Paris - a very mild version of that with a 'hairspray' edge to it. That sounds horrible but when I sniff Alchimie, I don't feel that 'ugh, cheap!' reaction that you get with a lot of cheapo hairspray-alike frags. Instead, I feel actually, physically, strangely.. lulled by it. Calmed and lulled. And this frag feels PERFECT for the sort of hot Summer weather we're having (no doubt briefly!) here in the UK at the minute. I've read a lot of online comments from people lamenting that there is nothing at all like Alchimie for them. A few frags come to mind for me when sniffing Alchimie. The above-mentioned Paris, which I think Alchimie shares a facet with - that rose/violet thing, at least it's that to my nose. Not saying they're the same or anywhere near, but another frag I would suggest trying, if you're mourning Alchimie, is LaCoste pour Femme. They share a fresh but wistful quality. Also, I find a passing similarity to Yves Rocher Cantate/Cantata, although that is 'nuclear' in staying power and Alchimie is much softer and more subtle. Oh, and don't be tempted to get Casmir to substitute - Casmir and Alchimie are very different animals! Again, Alchimie is much more subtle for a start. I find the 2 smells very different too and as someone mentioned, Alchimie is much more of a 'skinscent' whereas Casmir is a fruit/vanilla POWERHOUSE that you either love or hate. :) Finally, I find Alchimie to have almost an acquatic tinge to it - slightly reminiscent of something like Cacharel Eau d'Eden. I may be willing to give up Alchimie within the UK, still deciding! PS - another one to consider; at the end of its drydown, Alchimie smells JUST LIKE Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist! Update 13/07/13: I am selling this on Ebay but still wavering over whether to end the auction and keep it! I bought Fath de Fath, based on the similarity votes on here, as a cheaper alternative and it's nothing like Alchimie - poo!

Oh I am such a fan of fragrances with a complex selection of notes, I love the changes in the development as you wear them. Alchimie has this cult status because it was one of few perfumes in it's day that were changing the face of fragrances which for a long long time had been dominated by aldehydes and cloying florals and unfortunately this was discontinued very quickly like a lot of other gems. I had dithered over this one due to the note that another reviewer had pointed out- the cassis/blackcurrant which I also find can have that cat pee aroma- I kept testing it and trying to decide,and then I missed out which I have regretted ever since. I have been lucky enough to obtain a mini and the top notes have just started to turn,so the cassis is no longer present. This perfume is so interesting and uses notes that you would never dream of putting together,but it has been blended so skilfully. To me, the fruit presence is in the opening only with the translucent cucumber and spring flowers, the development then leads more into the florals- wisteria,lily of the valley and a hint of coconut- so unusual,but it works ! I get warmth from the amber and a rich woodyness from the sandalwood and yes,there is vanilla but it doesn't overtake everything else. I can't say much more about Alchimie other than this is one fragrance I really do wish they would bring back,as I wouldn't hesitate to rush out and buy it.I prefer this in winter or autumn and find it has a moderate to heavy sillage and is long lasting. Love,Love,Love !

This is my all time fav perfume. I could literally cry because this was no longer in production. After it was discontinued, I moved onto Sensi, which a few years later was ALSO discontinued. Since then (approx 4-5 years now) I have depressingly purchased perfumes without really falling in love with any of them. However, all of that changed this week!! I have been on holidays from work and decided to research until my little heart was content and find something, ANYTHING, that I could fall in love with. I have ended up purchasing two perfumes through the entire process: 1. Givenchy Amarige Mariage is certainly not identical to Alchimie, but freaking close! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. It is not something I would have even thought to try, but if you love Alchimie, drag your butt to the nearest store and give it a try. Allow it to settle on your skin and I'm sure you'll be surprised! 2. Gucci by Gucci for Her (edp) - which is a lot more like Sensi than Alchimie, but when sprayed with Givenchy Amarige Mariage, I swear to god I have Alchimie again! I hope this helps mend some broken hearts out there... I know mine is :) xxx

Alchimie is a master-genius, an elixir of feminity, sex-appeal, elegance and mystery. I am a lucky owner of 100ml EDP and have been using it for years, on special occassions. It is a fragrance I immediately fell in love with. It is not a fragrance for a teenage glitzy Barbie girl. That sensual fragrance is reserved for a mature classy woman, self confident, determined to achieve her goals. The notes are boldly composed in a way that it is hard to detect them on their own. Alchimie is a magical mixture that will certainly get your man on his knees, you watch it :-) I highly recommend it, not only to licorice lovers as to my surprise the note is not dominating others, unlike in other perfumes. To me - all other fragrances may not exists as long as Alchimie is still available in some parts of our globe. Shame that such a perfume wonder was discontinued - the Rochas decision that is completely beyond me. It is like running a marathon and stop one meter before the finishing line. A complete utter nonsense!