The Raven Alkemia 2015

f you are looking for a black leather jacket type of leather scent…this is it. It smells like a black leather on a cold night in a moonlit garden full of night blooming flowers. There is an old fashioned fountain pen leaking in the inner pocket. The wearer has been trying their hand at Poe inspired lines of verse. The purple floral notes are not too intense and I would say they lean masculine anyway. This is one of my top two favorite leather scents.

I really love Alkemia, they are constantly creating new scents, they own a library of perfumes, some quite photorealistics, strange or to try once in your life and it is hard every time to restrain yourself and pick some. Las, shipping and tax for other-seas customers are now frentic and I have decided to temporally (I hope) say goodbye to this indie brand. Which is hard, for their new summer release this year is damn tempting.
Anyway.
The Raven was the first of many samples I own that I finished, meaning getting a full bottle was the next move to make. My skin drinks oil it seems so I thought for a long time about the free alcohol spray version. To me alcohol free-fragrances are summer things that don't last, but I tried it anyway. Surprisingly, the longevity is great. The Raven, one spray, and I can still detect it quite well the following day.

The Raven is something I never experienced before. Something metallic, cold, strange. Is it becuse of the ink ? Honestly I don't know. Just after application this peculiar odor is quite strong. With the spray bottle it is really too much and every time I spray it, for 1hour I wonder why did I bought this ?
Then, it faded and a sweet scent arises, spice, maybe cardamom, the ink is still here but blended beautifully with the other fragrances, and it is not disturbing anymore, quite the opposite. Leather, a rich sun-heated one, adds a comforting atmosphere.
That's it.
This fragrance is an atmosphere.
To me, wearing it is becoming a dandy or a wealthy person, reading a book in your library in front of the fireplace. You sit in your favorite leather sofa, heated by the fire, on your hand a glass of cognac or brandy, a book (or a cat) on your lap, and you feel you are at the right place at the right moment.

Opens with a startling blend of caraway and coriander, so strong I feel like I’ve shoved my nose in a spice drawer.

After that first punch passes, a little clean leather and iris emerge, and eventually it mellows into an amber-musky skin scent.

It’s interesting that this fragrance and Book of Shadows are so frequently compared, because they are entirely different to my nose.

The Raven is iris wrapped in a spiced new leather jacket. Book of Shadows is old crumbling pages covered in metal-tinged ink and bound in worn leather.

The Raven is goth-lite under an eclipse. Book of Shadows is an archaeologist pawing through old archives.

The Raven writes dramatic poetry with a feather quill. Book of Shadows is looking for the lost Ark.

Projection is mild after that first spice hit fades, and longevity is moderate. Completely unisex, live out your baby goth dreams.

My expectations from the notes were: kitchen spices. In reality, none of that! On my skin, this is a scent of fresh ink, 100%, with the smoothness of leather and very light ethereal purple florals behind it. I have lots of tattoos, and for some reason, I cannot stop imagining skin with a fresh tattoo on it while smelling this. A tattoo of a raven. On a skin of a goth. This is one of the most goth scents I have tried, and I've tried a few... Gorgeous.

And this is a good ink scent. Black ink on leather, with a subtle violet leaf. Not a Edgar Allan Poe's raven, but something Eric Draven could smell like (it only misses a rain accord to be Eric's perfect scent...)
It's giving goth vibes, I can't explain otherwise.

Alexa, play "Burns" by the Cure!