What’s up, perfume friends? Long time no see! June ended up being a busy month for me, with no time for new blog posts. Things are slowing down a bit as the summer progresses and I’m finally getting time to explore some new perfumes. Today, I’m excited to share my thoughts about an entire solid perfume line from Canadian perfume brand Art & Alchemy. I’ve been following the brand’s charismatic polymath perfumer, Mika Tremblay, on Instagram for a while, and the brand launched its first (liquid) perfumes in September 2022.
After more than a year in development, the brand’s Scented Tales solid collection debuted on March 29, 2023 at the spring Toronto One of a Kind show. In a March 15, 2023 video on Instagram, Mika described the new collection as “experimental, so scents that are admittedly odd and that push certain boundaries, either through a playful concept or an odd pairing of different materials.” The collection includes six scents, all of which are available in sample size (USD $3.83), 3 ml (USD $11.49) and 7 ml (USD $19.15) containers. All are described by the brand as “genderful” (what a nice term and far more inclusive and descriptive than “unisex”!), paraben-free, cruelty-free, vegan (with a base of jojoba oil and candelilla wax) and made in small batches in Canada. At this time, the brand ships to Canada and the USA. I purchased two of the 3 ml scents and third to sample, plus a sample of the brand’s IZO Eau de Parfum (which my husband and I both recommend if you love Iso E Super). As per usual, when I’m trying a new perfume house, I make a smaller initial purchase and if I enjoy those, I plan to sample or purchase larger sizes of the rest of the collection.
My order took only seven days to arrive in Philadelphia from Canada, and when I opened the package, dear Mika had sent me my order, plus 3 ml sizes of the other four solid fragrances in the collection. Merci, Mika! There is a certain satisfaction in experiencing all of the scents in a collection and it’s a great way to get a feel for a perfumer’s style. For the record, the scents I had purchased were 3 ml solids of The Revenge of Alice and Summer Camp, plus a 1 ml sample of Black Magic.
Each fragrance in Scented Tales is housed in a black pillow box bearing a colorful illustrated label and a fun brief or “Story” that outlines the mood of the fragrance. (I’ll link to each scent on the Art & Alchemy site, rather than including the full Stories for all six.) The solids are packaged in heavy glass jars with black lids that bring to mind the Lush solid fragrance packaging. The 3 ml container is a generous size that would last weeks, maybe months, with daily wear. The jar lids bear a smaller version of the colorful label, and each is sealed with a tiny sticker bearing the Art & Alchemy logo.
I’ve given all six scents multiple tries and I have some favorites based around notes that I love, but all six are high quality perfumes, masterfully crafted and professionally packaged. They’re very much worth a purchase if the concepts and fragrances appeal to you.
First up is Summer Camp, a Woody Gourmand featuring marshmallow, burning wood, cedar, moss, musk, sandalwood, amber and “suspense.” (Most of the fragrances have a fantasy note that’s a mood or emotion. That’s part of the fun!) I chose this one for the campfire aspects and the nostalgia. My husband and I both love Replica By the Fireplace for its burning wood note, and also summer camp movies like Meatballs, Moonrise Kingdom and Little Darlings, though if you read the Story on the back of the box, the inspiration for this fragrance is more akin to the Friday the 13th movies. The fragrance was an instant hit with both of us. Smoky wood dominates, but the marshmallow aroma is present throughout the scent. Cedar and moss steer it away from being a full-on candy gourmand, and it dries down over six hours or so to a pleasant powdery woody-musk.
Santa Banana is another sweetie, categorized as a Musk Gourmand by the brand, with notes of lemon, banana liqueur, Pina Colada, vodka, suntan lotion, musk and “regret.” This scent’s story details a vacation that begins with promise but takes an unpleasant turn. Mika noted in a recent Instagram that this was the collection’s least-popular fragrance and it may be discontinued, so you should purchase ASAP if the notes intrigue you. I like this one, but it’s not a love. Banana is an uncommon note in perfumery and I’ve never found a banana perfume that I truly love. On my skin, Santa Banana smells like bananas, suntan lotion and… sex? Yes. This is one skanky banana, friends! It has good longevity, lasting six hours on my skin, and the banana and Pina Colada notes gradually fade to a gentle malted milk ball aroma atop the musk.
Choosing which scents to purchase was difficult, when so many of my favorite notes were spread across the collection. I almost ordered Night Whispers but zigzagged to a sample of Black Magic at the last minute. I am so glad Mika included Night Whispers for me to try and it’s actually my favorite in the collection! The scent’s label and story featuring a heroine in classic gothic novel circumstances don’t necessarily scream “Floral Aquatic” as a category, but this scent is a wonderfully dark and complex example of this category. With notes of gardenia, violet leaf, petrichor, pine, costus, leather, musk, patchouli and “haunted Victorian mansion,” Night Whispers brings to mind some classic scents of the 70s and 80s: Hermès Calèche and Amazone, Bill Blass, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Intimate… The longevity of this one is excellent and it winds its way through that entire list of notes as it goes. At the four-hour mark, the flowers had burned away and the fragrance smelled clean and mossy. I could still smell the perfume at the six-hour mark and it had evolved to a pleasant leathery musk by that point. If you enjoy the classic scents I listed above, you won’t want to miss this one!
The Revenge of Alice is one that I chose based on both notes and story. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass with Alice were beloved books of my childhood. Who could blame poor Alice for seeking revenge after all her scary misadventures? A Fruity Gourmand featuring blood orange, bitter orange, pear, unbirthday cake, tea and sandalwood notes, what you see is what you get with this one. Those first swipes smell as amazing as I had hoped. I love this scent, but it’s one of the softer and shorter-lived fragrances in the collection. (On the other hand, that’s just an opportunity to re-up as often as I want and enjoy that delicious first whiff over and over again! You don’t need to worry about overpowering anybody with this one.) I’d love to see Alice introduced in a perfume oil or alcohol-based EDP format.
I know from past Instagram posts that Mika loves classic perfumes such as Chanel No. 5 and Je Reviens, so it was no surprise to find a Floral Aldehyde in this collection. I have not come across many solid fragrances featuring aldehydes and I’m thrilled that it’s so beautifully done here. I Just Killed My Rich Husband blooms on the skin with notes of champagne, lipstick, jasmine, ylang ylang, violet, clary sage, patchouli and “betrayal.” This fragrance unfolds as a French floral perfume sprayed on a starched shirt, worn over freshly soaped skin. (Someone who just murdered their husband might need to freshen up and put on clean clothes, yes?) It lasts about six hours and the florals fade gradually to herbal notes with lingering touches of aldehyde. I highly recommend this one and it’s a safe blind buy if you enjoy this fragrance category.
Last but not least we have Black Magic, for which I purchased a 1 ml sample. The sample was actually a liquid, which I enjoyed very much. It’s a bit louder than the solid perfume, which is to be expected, though the scent is equally lovely in both formats. I love florals and selected this one for its tuberose note. Black Magic is another fragrance that hearkens back to the big, bold classic perfumes of the 1980s or earlier. Described by the brand as “an ode to epicurean excesses,” Black Magic is a Floral Musk with a beautiful bouquet of orchid, red rose and tuberose complemented by black amber, nutmeg, clove, musk and “lust.” The fragrance is dripping with chutzpah and sex appeal, burning slowly through humid tropical floral aspects to a spicy musk finish. A few swipes were still suitable for office wear, but this is a terrific scent for date nights and romantic encounters. It’s a safe blind buy for tuberose lovers and floral fans in general.
A huge thank you to Mika/Art & Alchemy for the chance to try the entire collection. The Scented Tales solid perfumes are some of the most interesting and beautiful scents I’ve tried this year, especially at such an approachable price point. They’re a perfect showcase for Mika’s aesthetic and talent as a perfumer. I hope we’ll see more solids from this brand in the future and I look forward to Art & Alchemy’s next releases, in any format.
All images by me. All links ’cause I love.
Solidly Scented 
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