ScentNebula

This is a unique, complex fragrance that’s hard to pin down. Honestly, I don’t know what a lot of the notes in this are meant to smell like, so I’m just enjoying the enigmatic end result: slightly boozy, a little fruity, sweet, decidedly dark, gourmand but more than JUST gourmand. When I smelled this for the first time, I couldn’t pinpoint what I was smelling at all, and it’s only with repeated wearings and comparing to the notes lists that I’ve been able to figure out what I THINK is going on here.

I believe I smell coconut, a dark rich spiced fruitcake, a hint of coffee, and a pretty strong incense note. The type of incense used here gives it a faintly soapy quality, but it’s not the overbearing, harsh laundry detergent soapiness that many Alkemia scents have - it’s more floral-smoky, and I really love it. In the drydown this scent takes on a bit of the dusty vanillic quality of old books.

For such a dense scent profile, it’s surprisingly light and easy to wear, while having some of the better performance of the Alkemia scents I’ve tried. I also think it can be unisex, although it’s probably more traditionally feminine in a dark, sexy, femme fatale way. I’d recommend it for the cooler months of the year.

Soft, fresh, damp, and a bit gourmand…this is a unique and unexpected composition with complexity. It opens with a fresh, citric fruity note, but the eponymous notes of clementine and pine are not in fact the dominant ones. A soft, wheaten tobacco halfway between wet hay and oats, with a subtle vanillic quality, forms the heart of this fragrance. Meanwhile, a faint passionfruit and citrus provides a juicy freshness, and for me this combination evokes a hot, humid tropical thunderstorm - earthy, wet, but warm and bright and ultimately refreshing. It also reads quite gourmand to me - like slices of fresh orange mixed with oatmeal.
The overall scent profile is, perhaps, very slightly soft-leathery, but I definitely did not think “leather!” or “suede!” when I first smelled this, and it wouldn’t have crossed my mind without seeing the notes.
I haven’t smelled anything like this before, I think it’s unique and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to try something unusual but likeable, especially for someone wanting a summer fragrance that isn’t your typical freshie.
Disclaimer: I haven't actually tried wearing this in summer yet, but the performance has been so subtle in the cold weather that I think it would benefit from the heat.

edited to add: on consideration, the "tropical" accord in this reminds me of the one in Gelatto

Having tried several of the Chakra range, I was initially underwhelmed by Chakra 3 in comparison to the others - mainly because of its fleeting nature. However, of the three I've tried, this has been the one I keep coming back to - it's very easy to wear, refreshing and soothing, and less like wearing a perfume, more like brushing past a lavender bush in the garden on a dewy winter morning - including the brevity of the experience.
Why dewy, winter and morning? I have no idea. It's just the impression I get from this fragrance. Maybe it's the cool quality of the lavender, the freshness contributed by the lemon, or the slight underlying note of petrichor which I assume is coming from an unlisted ingredient, maybe a tiny bit of patchouli.

Enough about my subjective impressions - I will now try to simply describe what it smells like.
Initially, there is quite a sharp, sour note - probably the lemon - which is slightly harsh and unpleasant, but once it settles it simply contributes a layer of freshness and brightness to the scent. This is followed by a cool, woody and green, almost mentholic lavender that smells very realistic (as it should, being a natural fragrance). I'm unsure if I detect fir balsam; perhaps it's contributing to the greenness, but both the lemon and fir notes seem to have been chosen for how they compliment the complex scent profile of lavender, and it's hard to untangle where one note ends and another begins.

For me this fragrance shines the most in the drydown, when the sharper citric and green qualities have faded, leaving behind the most beautiful soft, sweet and slightly powdery lavender. Sadly by this point it's mostly a skin scent, so you will catch me sniffing my wrist regularly.
On clothes, the sharp phase of the perfume lasts longer, but the longevity as a whole doesn't seem improved, which is unfortunate. On the whole I find it more pleasant on skin.

This opens bitingly strong, I’m not sure what note is responsible. But it settles down quickly. What I get is a massive, indistinct floral bouquet with boozy and spicy aspects, hovering over a darker underlying quality that smells like…a medieval church.

Despite the punchiness of this scent profile, it’s quite soft, almost powdery. The spices here smell more like cinnamon or nutmeg than clove, I don’t get the sharp medicinal quality I usually associate with clove. The florals smell very much like whatever my church used in the flower arrangements, which may have been carnations, though I still don't know what they smell like in isolation.

This scent is pretty linear. Throughout, you get this layering of spicy boozy florals over wood and incense. I don’t know if I can smell a “stone” note, but I can for sure picture the bluestone walls of a church when I smell this. Yet I wouldn’t dream of wearing this to church. It's too much, too sensuous. The florals are too floral, the spices are too spicy, the alcohol for sure isn’t communion wine. It’s indecent. And delicious. Utterly unique and signature-worthy.

When I wore this for the first time, I literally thought I was smelling a Vanilla | 28 Eau de Parfum dupe, but I can't wear Vanilla 28 because it turns disgustingly, sickeningly sweet on me. No such problem with Candybox Alchemy.

Before I had access to the notes list for this, here's what I thought I smelled (this is NOT an official notes list, this was my subjective interpretation before I knew what the official notes were):
Top notes: cream soda, glace cherry
Middle notes: vanilla icecream, faint fresh green floral
Base notes: a slightly earthy sweet floral, possibly orchid

I now realise the "faint fresh green floral" I was detecting is probably actually pear, and the "glace cherry" is in fact candied quince. However, the dominant note on my skin is a creamy vanilla/cream soda accord, which isn't even listed.

I am not a big fan of candy scents as I tend to find them cloying and synthetic smelling, like inhaling nail polish remover. But this is BEAUTIFUL. The fruits and florals elevate it and keep it light and fresh while still being very sweet. It's very comforting and sensual. I don't need any other vanillas now! This is The One!

Also, the longevity is incredible. It lasted at least 8 hours on me, projecting the whole time. You don't need to use very much. (Oh, also, it gets stronger the longer you wear it!)