Today, I was busy until before bed so I put on Alkemia’s Somnium. I got this in a sample pack where you choose 5 samples for $20 USD which isn’t too expensive for a set of indie oil perfume samples. I ordered this one many months ago so it should be rested by now. I have heard Alkemia perfumes tend to need resting for a month or longer to get to their best self. I also don’t typically put on perfume before bed but with one called “Somnium,” that might be the best time to try it. 

Here are the notes as described on the site: 

An eventide elixir of aromatics to bring deep relaxation and restful sleep – French lavender, green cardamon, neroli, Irish moss, vetiver root, and opopanax.

I get a lot of lavender and cardamom in this but I am not sure about the other notes. Most strongly, I get a soapy perfume-y lavender. I prefer an herby lavender personally, but this one works better for a bedtime scent. After, I get cardamom, too. It is really well balanced. I feel like it is hard to make sure the cardamom doesn’t overtake the scent or pull foodie. There is also a slight aldehyde note that I’m getting, which gives a fizzy cola smell. It is faint but I think it goes well with the lavender and cardamom. I am also getting baby powder which makes this perfume pull powdery. I know that that is a very common thing people point out in Alkemia’s chemistry but I feel like this is an intentional baby powder smell from the soapy lavender and maybe musk or other ingredients. Overall, this is a relaxing, soapy, powdery perfume that features lavender and cardamom heavily. I don’t think it is for me but I can see this being well liked among people that like the classic soapy lavender scent. 

Edit: It has sat on my skin for over an hour now, and the powdery smell dies down a lot! There is a delicious herbiness coming from the lavender and I think vetiver and it makes it a truly nice comforting scent. I didn’t think I would wait for the dry down because I put it on for bed but I am glad I stayed up and smelled it again.