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| A few bottles and skarabs I have acquired from Nocturne Alchemy. These bottles are definitely some of my favorites with Blue Egypt and Jasmine Crimson SE being my absolute favorites! |
These past few years I have definitely experimented with trying different perfume oil companies. My introduction to perfume oil began with
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and then branched out to companies like
Violette Market,
Arcana,
Conjure Oils,
VApothecary, and eventually
Nocturne Alchemy. BPAL was always my go to perfume oil company. They have such a wide variety of blends with literally something to please everyone. I also had a better chance of finding a scent I loved with BPAL as opposed to other perfume oil companies.
After BPAL, I tried Violette Market. I loved their site and their scent descriptions, but the scents themselves felt short on my skin. My
skin chemistry definitely played a huge role in why so many VM scents smelled like tortilla chips on me, but eventually I discovered that VM's
foody, woodsy, and aquatic notes worked particularly amazingly on me. Arcana is a wonderful company in general with no notes going particularly bad on me like VM, but I find Arcana more difficult to get a hold of and so my interest in Arcana wavered. Finally I tried Conjure Oils and VApothecary. The former had some serious shipping issues at the time I ordered. The scents I received were pretty and well blended, but nothing remarkable. VApothecary was really lovely, but like VM a little hit or miss on me.
Then I tried Nocturne Alchemy...
I had actually tried Nocturne Alchemy previously and ordered a few skarabs from their site and a bottle of
Hathor's Vanilla Apple Tea from a decant circle. The bottle I adored even then, but the skarabs were just strange chices for me and generally did not work well. I don't know why I chose the scents I did because they are nothing like what I would order first now after I know a little more about my likes and dislikes in terms of perfume oil. A few months ago I was prompted to r
efuel my interest in Nocturne Alchemy. Why you ask? I received a sample skarab from a BPAL forum user through a swap; it was really kind of them and honestly I have that person to thank for my rekindled love for NA. The skarab I received was Eternal Ankh, one of NA's most popular scents...
Eternal Ankh: White Amber, Powdered and reconstructed oil of Egyptian Vanilla Husk, Vanilla fleck, African White Vanilla and the scent of soft Egyptian Sands.
It is one of the most beautiful vanilla scents I have ever smelled, truly. I had kind of been on the lookout for a vanilla scent that I would be able to layer with everything and just cuddle up in on its own, and Eternal Ankh was just that. The vanilla is rich and creamy but also cool, crisp, and slightly watery with some warm sand thrown in for good measure. The amber in it is divine, as is most amber in NA's blends. Eternal Ankh was where my relationship with Nocturne Alchemy scents really bloomed.
These images show some of my absolute favorite Nocturne Alchemy scents. The pictures were actually taken a month or two ago, and I have a few more favorites now that I will definitely also mention and let you all know about.
Overall, Nocturne Alchemy truly does some of the best resinous (amber, incense, woods), vanilla, and deep floral scents I have yet to encounter from a perfume company. These are definitely the star players in my eyes, and if you don't try something with vanilla or amber in it in your first order... you should make another!
Their royal amber line really deserves a post all its own if you ask my opinion! Here are some reviews and descriptions of my favorite Nocturne Alchemy scents...
Blue Egypt: Egyptian Blue Lavender Essential Oil, Manuka Lavender, Egyptian and Indian Chamomile Essential Oil, Aloe Vera Absolute, Egyptian Blue Vanilla Bean Whole, Palmerosa Absolute, Languid Lavender Cider and a drop each of Angelica Root and Valerian Root. Sleep sweet children of Egypt.
This is unabashedly my
absolute favorite Nocturne Alchemy scent. I actually received my bottle as a little gift in a Nocturne Alchemy/VApothecary Pyramid forum swap! The generosity of NAVA's forum members astounds me and I was touched when I received this bottle. When that bottle then became my favorite ever NA scent, I jumped for joy. It was too perfect. The vanilla, lavender, chamomile, and just overall dreamy fluffy floaty ethereal sweetness of an almost blue lavender completely intoxicates me. I wear this to sleep almost every night, and if you love lavender you will definitely love this blend.
High Priest Amber: The High Priest is said to only have used the most expensive and most exotic of ingredients when blending perfume oils for his Pharaoh and Queen. In this High Priest Amber we have divulged in this same notion that only the most exquisite components be a part of this blend. Adding the Amber component blended for this collection to the beauty of Black Patchouli distilled in an iron vessel to produce the darkest patchouli earth scent, Amber, White Vetiver and Gold Cardamom. An offering only for Pharaoh and Queen, BA and KA.
Do you love patchouli? Do you love amber? Do you love incense-y, smoky, resinous scents? If that is the case I wholeheartedly recommend High Priest Amber to you. It is its description exactly. If you haven't tried the Royal Amber line and are hesitant to try something a little more heavy and "masculine" (because this scent is definitely NOT for the faint of heart) then I recommend Queen Amber, Princess Amber, and Sekhmet Amber. Queen amber is all about honey incense and amber which is really luxurious, Princess Amber is vanilla and amber which is very pretty, and lastly Sekhmet Amber is a more refined and elegant but still deep patchouli amber.
Archaeon: Nebulae Dragon's Blood, N:Santalum Absolute, N:Kobalt Absolute, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Orchid, Dragon's Blood Resin. (not pictured above)
I've never been much of a dragon's blood fan. Most perfume oil companies use a dragon's blood and dragon's blood resin note that is very floral and heady that simply just doesn't work with my skin chemistry. This scent however is that perfect dragon's blood incense with wafts of rich golden vanilla. I don't know what it is about this one, but it actually smells like
luxurious dragon's blood incense. It is extremely true to its description and I adore it.
Jasmine Crimson SE: Blue, White, Purple Jasmine of Aswan and Abu-Simbel, Nokturne:Crimson (Egyptian Red Musk), like the original Egyptian Musk, Crimson is a slightly spiced version with a sultry edge that blends romantically into Jasmine and back again. Like a soft whisker kiss and another and another. + Nokturne:Crystalline (beautiful Vanilla Resin), Egyptian Cardamom and Clove Essential Oil and Aged Amber of Nepal.
I mentioned earlier that I thought NA's darker florals were beautiful, and this is definitely one of those absolutely gorgeous florals. The jasmine is rich but not heady or cloying, the egyptian musk and red musk add another layer of depth and a slight sweetness and warmth while the cardamom and clove really add this gorgeous spicy quality that really makes the scent for me. I have tried the original Jasmine Crimson and it is quite lovely, but it pales in comparison to this because I think the cardamom and clove really just complete the scent. It'd deep, sexy, floral, pretty, and just perfect for every single day. I would also like to mention I am not a huge lover of deep florals (I'm more of a fresh florals kind of girl) but NA really just makes amazing deep florals that I cannot resist! Plumeria Sapphire is also quite wonderful!
Have you ever tried Nocturne Alchemy's scents? What do you think of them? This post was a long time coming, and I think I might do similar posts like these with other companies as well, mentioning my favorites in each... Hmmm. Anywho, I'm off to slather myself with some Blue Egypt!
Ciao,
Sanaa
