A Realistic Campfire: Alkemia Ydalir Review

Hello, ladies and gentleman! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day today. I told you in my Facebook group that I was introducing you to two new houses this week. This is one of them. This house is not new to the fragrance game, but something many of you haven't heard of before. I found Alkemia's fragrances to be interesting, so I reached out to them and asked if they were interested in me reviewing one of their fragrances. They agreed and sent me two of their fragrances. So, yes, I received these for free. My opinions are still my own and I was not paid to do this. I will not go over the opening/dry down of this fragrance because it's quite linear. Let's get into it!

Presentation

They sent me a rollerball version of Ydalir. They do carry sprays for some of their fragrances, but most of in a perfume oil rollerball. It features a steel rollerball with a screw-off cap. The label is God and features Alkemia and the fragrance name in black letters.

They did make a post that they are going to slowly start updating their bottles to have graphical designs on them. The two I received are the old labels, so I cannot comment on the new ones, but it seems like a nice improvement over these ones, not that these ones are bad presentation-wise.

Notes

Siberian Pine, Amber, Oakmoss, Juniper, and Balsam Fir


The Scent

Ydalir is an artisanal fragrance. The most prominent smell you will get is that of charred pine wood. It's the most realistically charred pine wood too, not like smoky resins giving that vibe. This smells just like pine wood in a campfire. It is somewhat dark and slightly damp. Like a fire that has been extinguished for a while and allowed some light rain to fall on it. You get the very earthy oakmoss that makes you feel like you are in a mossy forest at night after a light rainfall. Don't be mistaken, there are no ozonic notes in this. The wood and oakmoss smells are a bit damp. You get a good dose of realistic Christmas tree feeling fir as well. Not just the needles, you get the wood along with it. It's overall a very dark and smoky fragrance. Reminiscent of having a campfire in a pine forest at night.


Performance

Given that this is a perfume oil, it projects very well. I get around 3 hours of 6-foot projections and another hour of 3 feet before it settles into a skin scent. The total time lasting on skin is around 9 hours. It does leave a decent sillage trail and people around you will smell this.


When to Wear it

This is the tricky part...As this is an artisanal fragrance. I would say only wear it casually. It would go great with a flannel and jeans with boots. The smokiness in Ydalir makes it lean very masculine, but a woman could still wear this. This is certainly a cooler weather fragrance because of how smoky and woody it is.

Overall Impression

Ydalir is the most realistic forest fragrance I have ever smelled. Seriously, the charred wood note is just simply amazing and so authentic that I am not sure how they were able to capture that within the price point they charge(12-18 bucks for most 5ML rollerballs). I don't usually say stuff is amazing, but I am simply blown away with how this one smells. I will admit, that it's not the most wearable fragrance even, but I will still include this in my rotation for the fall and winter just because I love how it smells and it's very comforting to me.


Conclusion

I will let you in on a secret...My other Alkemia review is positive as well. This company seriously blew me away with how realistic the notes are. I feel like I could reach out and touch the notes in these fragrances. It's simply amazing. They have around 12k favorites on Etsy. I can see why so many love this house. Add my name to that list. I will certainly look forward to sampling some more stuff from them. You know I very rarely say something is a must-try, but I think you have to try this house out if you love artisanal fragrances. They invoke emotions in you, long-forgotten ones. They do offer sample packs, so you can try them out before you commit to buying a full bottle.


I hope everyone enjoyed this one as much as I did writing it. Have a great day. Feel free to hit that follow button and sign up for email notifications if you'd like. Until next time, stay positive and tell other people you care about them!

Alkemia Website (Ydalir seems to be discontinued now, which makes me sad.)

Falling Stars on Winter Solstice (if you liked my review of Ydalir, then this one sounds in the same genre)


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