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| My Alchimia Apothecary package is stuffed--! |
Perfume samples are strikingly similar to boxed chocolates. They're so small! But you can wear it so many times! It's okay if I buy five at once... or fifteen...! I have a really easy time justifying reaching for that fifth chocolate just as I do adding more sample vials into my shopping cart. Alchimia Apothecary's "buy two, get one free" deal seemed made for me, the only tragedy being it took me so long to jump on it!
Alchimia Apothecary
Although Alchimia Apothecary is a relatively new shop (not even six months old at the time of this review), there's a mindbogglingly vast catalog of options to peruse. But don't let the numbers fool you: Alchimia Apothecary focuses both on quantity of options AND quality. From their shop description:
Alchimia Apothecary is an artisan apothecary with emphasis on quality herbal salves and balms. We research the properties of our herbs very carefully, and tailor our recipes for great effectiveness. All of our products are made in small batches, from 100% organic herbs, oils and flavors. Your body absorbs 65% of the chemicals you apply topically, those chemicals go directly into your blood stream. With our salves, balms and serums there are NO chemicals, so only healthy ingredients will ever touch your skin.
While you could definitely nitpick the comment on chemicals (everything is a chemical! We're surrounded by them!) you get the gist. The shop owner Erin is very transparent about the ingredients she uses and keeping the consumer aware of sensitivities, allergies, and patch-testing. She also makes it clear that while any salve or balm in the shop might have positive benefits, they can't make any health claims due to the FDA's regulations.
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| Positively adorable |
Since I only purchased three "sample" packs of vials (fifteen vials total... I swear I put a lot of thought into which fifteen I picked, and since the catalog is so huge I really did have to take the time to sort through what I wanted!) I won't be looking at the toner tabs, salves, etc.
My samples were in a yellow envelope and wrapped up inside of bubble wrap. I'm pretty sure this is leftover Halloween packaging given the copious amounts of orange and black complete with cute little monster stickers, but I don't mind one bit - packing supplies aren't cheap after all! Each pack consisted of a strip of bubble wrap surrounding the five sample vials, sealed with a sticker, then placed into a little black drawstring bag.
The sample vials were a little tricky. I find I have a lot of difficulty prying the caps off - the "plug" seems much deeper than other sample vials I have in my collection, and I'm always a little afraid that it will snap back when I'm trying to pull it out and go flying. This is probably my own ineptitude and at least I know these vials are well-sealed and won't leak.
Selection
I was shocked when I found out that Alchimia Apothecary had only been on Etsy since the end of June. Considering the vast selection (70 perfume oils alone!), I'd have thought they were long-established. Being a consumer and not a crafter, I imagine that they have to keep a large number of ingredients on-hand for such a large selection, but considering they only make things in small batches this might work in their favor. I'd rather have my choice from a long list of options in small, fresh batches than a small "core" collection. Of course, this is all dependent on the quality - but I'll get to that in a bit.
If perfume oils aren't your thing, Alchimia Apothecary also offers face masks, lip balms, salves, solid perfumes, toners and serums. While I have no interest in the wrinkle serum (I have trouble with some of the ingredients), the toner tabs are a curious item. The basic concept is that you dissolve the tab in water and use it like you would a regular liquid toner. The benefit is that it's travel-friendly. The face masks come in little tubes with 3-4 uses per tube, and salves are in little 2oz tins.
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| Bubble wrap keeps everything safe! |
Samples
My sample packs contained five vials each, leaving me with 16 vials total (including a freebie). However, you also have the option of purchasing individual sample vials, or packs of 2, 3, or 5. You're encouraged to include which fragrances you want included in your note when making a purchase.
Also, the toner tabs have a sample-sized tube, and the drawing salve has its own sample-sized jar. Given the sensitive nature of products you use on your skin, I think it's really important to offer sample sizes.
Quality
It's a teeny bit early to be remarking on the quality of what I receive considering I've only sampled five out of the 15 sample vials I received. However, every single one I've tried so far was unique, applied fantastically, and for the most part lasted a long time. I admittedly was a tiny bit skeptical when I was browsing the catalog--"Look at all these options! This is CRAZY! How can they offer so many different fragrances like this? Does the quality suffer in favor of quantity?"
I'm really pleased to say that the quantity AND quality of what Alchimia Apothecary offers has been fabulous so far, and I'm really excited to try my other 10 sample vials.
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| This is only a fraction of my samples, where to start!? |
Cost
Alchimia Apothecary's prices are fair, and so far I've seen two excellent sales since I started paying attention to their shop.
- Perfume: Varying sample packs, $3.50 for a single 1mL vial, $15 for full-sized 5mL bottle, $4 for a 0.15mL solid tube.
- Salves: All different sizes and prices from $2.75 sample tin to a $14.75 2oz tin
- Toners: $3.50 for a sample tube, $7.50 for a 0.5oz vial
- Lip Balms: $3.50 for a 0.15oz tube
- Facial Masks: $4.00 for a vial (2-3 uses per vial)
Customer Service
I didn't have any direct interactions with Erin, but a quick perusal of the shop's feedback shows that buyers have been consistently pleased with her attention to detail and communication.
I placed my order on a Friday evening and received it the following Saturday. This was impressive because there was a holiday in the middle.
Shipping
Each Etsy listing has a clear breakdown of the shipping policies. Shipping to the US is $3.50 + 0.50 per item, Canada is $5.00 + 0.50 per item, and international is $8.00 + 0.50 per item. From the breakdown:
All US orders ship at most 2-3 business days after the purchase using first-class USPS mail.
International customers are responsible for any customs fees or import duty taxes. I declare the full item value on customs forms and will not misrepresent the contents of my parcels. This is due to potential legal repercussions.
International orders ship in the same time frame as US customers.
I was pleasantly surprised with my order from Alchimia Apothecary. It's not that I was anticipating my samples to be of poor quality... I just didn't expect them to be so GOOD. Between the broad selection (fragrances ranging from the feminine to masculine, floral to foodie and everything in between), the transparency about the ingredients and application to the approachability of the seller, I liked everything about my experience purchasing from Alchimia Apothecary.
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