experience with alkemia? + side notes on indies

preface/side notes: i've tried a lot of indie houses before!! some of them are great and some of them are (sorry) dog water.
Andromeda's Curse is the best example of some of the worst indie fragrances i've ever tried (no throw at all even with the expectation that oils don't have very much to begin with, notes are painfully linear compared to what's listed, scents do not last and smell like candle oils)
Paranormal Perfumes is maybe less known but i've had good experiences w their scents lasting just the right amount for their price, and they always smell as advertised - my signature scent (not listed on parfumo) is from PP but sadly discontinued BUT the owner takes requests and she's very lovely to work with
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, i'm not sure if they count as indie or if they're considered boutique, but they are the best in terms of fragrance quality/longevity for indies and nothing has ever compared to how insanely high quality they are (in my opinion anyway)
Solstice Scents, i tried very recently, and i had a difficult time with their fragrances - it's difficult to say but it felt just generally underwhelming and their scents didn't last very long to me (to be fair i've only had the samples for a month but i'm not sure how much time will change them really)

my question for yall: have you tried alkemia? how do they fare compared to other indies, or even compared to non indies? i'm fascinated by how unique some of their fragrances sound and i'm thinking of asking for a sample pack for my birthday so i wanna hear from yall what you think!
in particular from them im interested in Mermaids in the Basement, O Tea!, Neroli Vetiveria, Seaglass etc etc (idk if u can tell im in a sweet and summery scent mood this season lmao)
open to suggestions from them as well, especially if you can tell what i like from my profile ^_^

hope yall are having a good summer despite everything!!!

I'd love to try more indie houses, especially Alkemia! Unfortunately they're American like most of this type perfume oil indie houses are, so ordering to EU is very difficult and expensive. 😔 So far my experience of indie houses is limited just to a few samples that I have got through swaps so I don't know too much about them really but would love to explore more because the samples I have are very interesting and unique. From Alkemia I have a mini vial of Le Fruit Défendu which I really enjoyed!

Hi! I talked about this a little in the shoutouts with you, but figured I'd put down my thoughts in detail here.

I have tried a lot from Alkemia (they have their own shelf in my collection). I agree with you on Andromeda's Curse, for what it's worth, and Alkemia does seem at least to avoid that candle-oil smell. They are kind of hit-or-miss, in general, which is a shame for such a large catalogue. Nothing feels cheap, but it does sometimes give me the feeling that some of them were more thought-through than others? I also get the feeling that they don't necessarily let their scents rest after blending them, so you have to leave them to sit around for a while.

Salomé is the perfume I was wearing when I met my partner, and it's still one I really love. I also personally love Ambre Gris as a good, seashore-salty marine scent that feels warm and realistic.

Basically, as far as the indie oils go, I think they're really far up there. Compared to non-indie fragrances then some of their fragrances are great, and some are not. I do think in my experience that the things they tend to do well are incense, spices, leathers, boozy/fruity scents, and heavy florals. Their green or citrusy scents have a tendency to run a bit soapy. They do offer a curated sample pack, so if you put in the notes the kind of scents that you like, they'll pick ones for you based on that preference.

As far as lasting power goes, I personally kind of need the 'ultime' concentration if I want anyone other than me to be able to smell the oils (I haven't tried their edp sprays). Some last longer than others.

My experience with Alkemia is super limited (only All Hallow's Eve 2021) - but it was decent as far as indie blends go! Tried a bunch from Solstice Scents and didn't enjoy any either, so you're not alone there.

Hope you're having a nice summer too, and great idea to ask for a sample pack for your bday - enjoy!! 🎂

thanks for the replies everyone!!! hopefully i can attract more people who have tried them haha. 

@kushbreth not to steer you away from Parfumo, but in case you need more feedback than what you're getting here, I find the highest volume of indie frag feedback on the r/Indiemakeupandmore subreddit!