Untitled, Richard Burlet
Normally, the roof only lets in stars but not tonight; it is raining inside the warehouse. Ravers weave between patches of falling water.
A trembling girl shrinks into the corner. Her two friends curse, posture, threaten each other. The terrified girl’s lace and ribbons are at odds with both her friend’s hoodies and sneakers, the other raver’s tutus and rainbow dreads. You watch the fight momentarily then go back to dancing. AHHH!! Your attention snaps back to the fight. Girl One has put Girl Two into a headlock. The terrified girl abruptly rises to her feet. She charges, takes down the aggressor with a jujitsu move. Her battle cry echoes off the walls…
Alkemia Deadly Nightshade (ADN) is that terrified girl. It is the most delightful combination of leather and lace (violets in this case). There is a constantly evolving quality which is appealing, so engaging. The leather saves this ADN from being relentlessly girly and adds an attractive depth, like presenting amethysts in a scarlet velvet box.
It opens with quite a naturalistic violet. Hints of spice follow and a strong dark leather aspect, cool and dirty, phenolic and lush, like a premium leather goods. There is a mentholated quality and relatively strong projection in the beginning. A tender powderiness emerges during the dry down, and, overtime, the violets sweeten, losing their sharpness. ADN takes a darker turn around the end of the first hour. The leather comes to the fore, like a cloud going across the sun. Projection has reduced to five inches but at that distance, the fragrance is still quite intense. At two hours, it is three inches from the skin but has flipped to dark violet. The volume diminishes a little. A skanky note from the leather that rises. Three hours and it is quality violet soap, if that soap was formulated by the Wicked Witch of the West. The aforementioned skanky note becomes more effusive. Around four hours, the violet soap morphs into white flower soap with only a suggestion of violets. The personality, flips again, from darkness to a bright, white-tiled bathroom feel. Six hours and it is reduced to a skin scent, now musky with a hint of violets. The promised patchouli note finally appears, temporarily reviving the intensity of the scent. At its end, ADN is a complex violet soliflore. The longevity exceeds fourteen hours.
Strangely, the full magnificence of this scent was not evident in the sample. It was very good from the sample but utterly amazing from the bottle, much more complex. This is the third such example of this phenomenon that the Moth Woman has encountered from this brand. She doubts this is a manufacturing issue but due the fact that samples are more prone to degradation than full bottles. This is also not a suggestion you should not buy samples from this company. The original sample was still better than 2/3 of what is available on the market.
The Moth Woman is of the opinion, Alkemia’s best works are the violet scents; the other thing Alkemia does well is leather. ADN combines both these elements and becomes a masterpiece. Violet notes are fleeting in nature and the Moth Woman has never before managed to get one to last to the two-hour point before. Like other Alkemia violet based scents, ADN has impressive longevity. ADN is a must have for fans of violet scents.
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