Hey friends!

If you don’t love indie perfume reviews, (and you should because indie perfumes are where it’s at), you might want to skip this post. No worries, I’ll see you, Friday for Happy Hour, it’s cool.

But if you do want to know about Alchemic Muse’s Autumn Collection, I hope to be of service to you.

In my quest to know everything about indie perfume, I set off to try Alchemic Muse next. I had heard good things and she’s been around several years now, so I felt confident this would be another good stop for a beginner

Indeed, I only meant to order 3 samples from Alchemic Muse’s Autumn Collection, but somehow that 3 samples turned into 9 and a body whip, which cost me about $30 bones with shipping. Ooops. I guess there are worse vices to have than perfume oils.

Without further ado:

Alchemic Muse and I exchanged a few messages on Etsy so I could order several sets of samples, and she was quick, polite and easy to work with. Her shipping time is also amazingly fast. I ordered Oct 1, she shipped Oct 2, and it was in my grabby hands on Oct. 4, along with a free sample!

I think this is a great place to start if you are a beginner to indie perfumes because a lot of her scents are accessible and pleasant, you aren’t going to be overwhelmed by off-the-wall types of scents. (Not that those are bad, just sometimes intimidating!)

Anyway, check out her Autumn Collection:

Bad Wolf– A basket of freshly-picked berries and sweet cream fused with a shady forest brew of mahogany, apple wood, and blood cedar to round out the darker, more sensuous base of patchouli, tonka bean, oakmoss, and vanilla bourbon. All the better to eat you with, my dear…

I really like this one. It smells like berries and the forest, it’s sweet but the woodsy scent keeps it from being too much so. My non-indie friend even tried it and liked it, so I think it has universal appeal. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t like me very much and it only lasts 2-3 hours at most. I’m considering getting a Body Whip in the scent to see if it helps it last longer. Lovely, but wish it lasted longer!

Bloodlust- A penetrating, sanguine scent flowing with sensuality. Dragon’s blood resin, heady incense, and iron distilled patchouli saturated with blood orange and thickened with amber and myrrh.

This one was my free sample, and I’m actually pretty pleased it was. I hadn’t expected to like this because incense scents are usually too much for me, but this one is really nice. I don’t think I’ve ever described a nonliving thing as sexy, but hey-this perfume just smells sexy. The incense comes across as clean and smooth here, not overpowering. Good wear time on me too, like 5-6 hours! Surprisingly good!

Bonfire- Evocative of the vibrant colors of autumn, this unique scent is sure to engage the senses. An inviting and familiar blend of crisp fall air, mulled cider, burning maple leaves, and a crackling bonfire.

This one smells like straight up potpourri. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It has a strong cinnamon, clove scent without being spicy. It’s mellow and pleasant, but it doesn’t last very long on me, about 2 hours. Nice if you like crisp fall scents.

Countrycide-Scratch the surface of this beautiful scent and you’ll find many layers leading to a shadowy center. A crisp veneer of sweet, earthy autumn leaves with top notes green fig, bergamot, golden hay, and dried flowers masks a darkened heart of musky clover, caramelized benzoin, beeswax, and black vanilla absolute. At the center is a corrupted foundation of bitter almond, tonka bean, gaiacwood and sandalwood, waiting to be revealed for a sensual and unforgettable experience.

Sometimes my brain gets lazy, so TBH I’m still only like 50% what this is supposed to smell like based on the description above. What I DO smell is sweet, clean outdoors, with a hint of grass. I thought this would be like SS Foxcroft, but it’s much sweeter. I think it’s really pleasant, but it didn’t like my skin and only lasted about 2 hours. Pretty and clean, but didn’t like my skin.

Phantasm- Impart a truly haunting aura to your presence with this spectral scent. Aged roses and white lilies shrouded in an ethereal mist of cool earth, wet stone, and faint incense with a lingering base of soft, smoky musk.

I wanted to love this because I’m constantly on the hunt for the perfect rose scent, but unfortunately I wasn’t the biggest fan. Phantasm has just a tad too much of that overpowering floral musky scent that I don’t like in mainstream perfumes. It could probably work if you applied sparingly. Not for me.

Samhain- This breathtaking blend captures the sweet-smelling, musky bouquet of autumn. Light notes of blood orange rests atop a heart of roasted walnuts, brown sugar, and hazelnut java fused with black anise seed, earthy patchouli, and black vanilla winding down to a rich musk base.

Blood orange? Brown sugar? Java? I thought this would be my perfect scent, but sadly, we did not get along. I can’t put my finger on the specific scent, maybe the nutty notes, but this is just too thick and cloying for me. To be fair, my skin amps a lot of sweet scents, so it could be my evil chemistry, but this scent did not work for me. On the plus side, it last like 6 hours on my skin! Not for me

Wicked- A haunting potion to inspire mischievous adventures… English ivy, forest berries, and bergamot refined with and enchanting forest brew of tenacious greens and precious woods

This scent kinda reminds me of Christmas, I’m guessing that’s the ivy notes. It smells clean and outdoorsy, but a bit deeper than Countrycide, and with less berry than Bad Wolf. It comes across as refreshing and crisp on my skin, but it doesn’t last a long time, about 3 hours. Refreshing, but not long lasting on me.

Zombee- The sweet, earthy aroma of this creation is sure to resurrect your deepest passions! A thrilling concoction of sickly-sweet honey and warm beeswax over a layer of aged patchouli, crushed clove, and darkened vanilla pods.

I had never tried a honey perfume before, and from what I’ve seen on the World Wide Webs, they can be really hit or miss. However, I think Zombee is really pleasant. It has a pure honey scent and it’s sweet without being too much, I’m guessing the patchouli and clove help with that. If you like honey scents, this seems like a winner!

*So, I did skip Vanilla Oak from the Autumn line up because given how my skin amps vanilla I was afraid this would be a deadly combination. Also I was dying to try Lovecraft from Alchemic Muse’s regular line. Pumpkin and lavender? Yes, please!*

Lovecraft- Provincial lavender blossoms grounded in fresh pumpkin, sweet cream, and blackstrap molasses with a thick dusting of harvest spice.

The lavender comes across as the strongest scent in this, but underneath there’s a creamy vanilla scent, with the pumpkin and harvest spice notes at the end. It’s well blended, floral, herbal and sweet all at the same time. I don’t think everyone would love it, but I do! A keeper!

Chiquita- Sexy… not your ordinary banana. Creamy, ripened banana marbled with buttered rum and vanilla bourbon grounded in an enticing, warm base of soft sandalwood and amber musk.

This is scent is also from AM’s general catalog and has absolutely nothing to do with Fall. But I really wanted to not what a sexy, un-ordinary banana smelled like. Spoiler alert: It smells great!

At first the scent is strongly banana but then I start to get the buttery, vanilla scents. I don’t pick up on a lot of bourbon or musk, but this scent still makes me want to eat my wrists (that sounds really weird, I promise it’s not a cry for help), because it smells so yummy. Bonus: Despite being fruity-this lasted a long time on me! I want this in a Body Whip.

Body Whip in Cocoa Pumpkin, mini, $4.50

This body whip is super creamy and moisturizing and I can tell my mini size will go a long way. The consistency is a bit creamier and less thick compared to my Haus of Gloi and Fortune Cookie body whips, but it gets the job done!

I got Cocoa Pumpkin because I can’t often find that combination, (Chocolate Pumpkin Pie is the best and I don’t understand why more people don’t respect it), and it’s done very well here. This is a nice balance of spicy pumpkin with sweet, mellow chocolate.

So scents I will come back to from Alchemic Muse? Definitely Bad Wolf and Lovecraft, possibly Bloodlust and Chiquita. I’d also like to try some more scents from her general catalog, as well as her Cream Soaps and Bath Melts.

I do wish these all lasted longer on me, but I think that is more my evil skin than anything else. I definitely recommend checking out Alchemic Muse, especially if you are indie newbie. She’s knows what she’s doing and a trio of perfume samples will only set you back about $8.

Questions of the Day:
-What do you think of these Autumn scents? Which one would you try?
-What is your vice?
-Does your skin chemistry ever do evil things? I suspect mine is a super villain.

Love,

Rebs!