having worked in many different libraries for a good number of years, the smells of books and their shelves are one of my favourites because they hold many fond memories for me. so when i found myself shortlisting my intended purchases from Athame and Alchemy, one of the scents that i immediately went for without thinking was Dark Academia (atmospheric, dark, moody ~~ Teak Bookshelves, Leather Covered Books, Sandalwood, Amyris, Dark Musk, Smoke From an Ancient Stone Fireplace).
their melts come in generous-sized blocks with a swirl of colour on the top; as my melter is a little on the petite side, i use about a third of a block each time and the soy is relatively easy to work with without leaving wax flakes or crumbles everywhere.
i didn't even need to open the brown paper bag to be able to smell this one - even in solid form, the throw on this was really good. even though using this in a melter gives more scent and throw, it's such a great atmospheric that i've decided to squirrel away a single wax block to tuck in a corner of my bookshelf, to give it more of that comforting antique vibe.
Dark Academia is a great moody atmospheric that is what i imagine the labyrinthian library in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose would have smelled like at midnight by candlelight. the wood, leather and paper notes are well-blended with the strongly resinous amyris, and there's the faint suggestion of a lazy tendril of smoke in the background. it nicely captures the essence of old books on high-ceilinged shelves, with an intense looming forebodingness and mystery lurking beneath. the melter intensifies the resins and the smokiness, which enhances the dark moodiness even further.
in the melter, this had a good throw of a few metres and lasted for about six hours, turning my room into a sanctum of dark disquiet. it's a great scent to enjoy for those "feeling-emo" days, and i'm really happy with my blind-buy of these four wax cubes. i'm still torn between throwing these in my melter for a once-off spooky library maze experience, or keeping them in solid form to enjoy these vibes longer. 8/10.
check out my Instagram @sniffsandscribbles for a satisfying wax melt video of Dark Academia here!
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this review is of a product that i had purchased at regular price with my own money, though i did also receive a review set that was included with my purchase. i wasn’t asked to review this as a condition of receipt and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Athame and Alchemy and as always, all opinions remain my own.
Dark Academia is available here. prices are US$1.45 for a single cube of wax (about 0.65oz), US$4.45 for a four-cube pack (about 2.3oz) and US$6.45 for a wax sack (about 4oz) (before shipping).
all information correct at time of publishing.
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