Yeah, many people raise Alchemy by mixing potions and later powders. I think the easiest to start is combining a light + mod heal to make heavy heal. As alchemy rises you can mix other things and then sell them, which is why most people take an Alchemist: as the money maker
As I mentioned in my earlier post, you can only raise skills that belong to your current magic class. Charm will do absolutely nothing for Alchemy or any of the skills under it.
Nightowl2