Alchimie (1998)
by Rochas

Alchimie starts out with some crisp citrus, perky green floral top notes, and plenty of aldehydes before exposing an extremely soft, sweet powdery amber underpinning. Sweet is the word here, as alongside the amber there emerges a sugar-coated tropical fruit and floral accord that’s enough to put a diabetic in a coma for a month. The fruit grows sweeter and sweeter over a two hour span, reaching a state I find intolerable well before its climax.

The whole experience is at once surprising, odd, and disappointing. Alchimie’s top notes promise a sophisticated green floral chypre along the lines of Envy, Chanel No. 19, or Nicolaï’s Odalisque. What follows instead verges on a crass and banal fruity floral celebrity scent. Alchemy indeed – only in this case the transformation is reversed: from gold to dross.

Remarkably, once the fruity floral sugar rush subsides, I’m left with a hint of the scent that might have been, but by that time it’s too late. The interesting bookends don’t make up for the unpleasantness in between. To my mind this is one of Rochas’s weaker offerings.

10th May, 2011.

This goes on with a overly sweet, slightly metallic floral which settles into just overly sweet and highly forgettable. The only distinct thing about it is that it smells a little like Play Doh from my childhood memories. I'm serious.

21st June, 2010.

This has always been a favourite of mine.
It's fruity top note of blackcurrant, plum, peach,grapefruit, pear and bergamot flows seamlessly into a floral mid note of lily of the valley, jasmine, wisteria. heliotrope. rose and the milkiness of coconut. All these wonderous notes are then warmed with the base of vanilla, caramel, amber, tonka bean and musk only to be finalised by the finest hint of liquorice.An exquisite gourmand that can be worn a warm summer day or a cool evening walk..

13rd October, 2009.

Well... it's liquorice! If you love sweet scents and liquorice this will be your dream come true. (My husband loves it, but I can't wear it. It's just too sweet for me. Alas).

3rd August, 2008.

Rochas's Alchimie is composed of three distinct movements. It opens with a burst of fruity green notes including grapefruit, bergamot, and black currant bud. This overture is very short-lived, and then the sweetness of the second movement begins. The middle notes of jasmine and acacia are almost candyish, but in a nice way. Reminiscent of Lolita Lempicka, only not as sweet. As Alchimie moves into its third movement, it becomes exquisitely warm and spicy and woodsy with a sweet vanillic base note. Very nice, and very long lasting. A little goes a long way with this fragrance. Alchimie does exactly what its name implies: it magically transforms itself on the wearer’s skin from a fruity green to a rich gold. Go smell it, and see what I mean.

7th August, 2005.