Down-and-Dirty Review: Porcini mushroom bouquet

Perfume .025ml $125

Cepes and Tuberose is weird. 

I like weird.

This perfume, by Aftelier Perfumes, is intensely earthy, like picking up a handful of gritty Spring dirt, bursting with both decay and new life, and letting it run through your fingers. 

It is also deeply floral, like sticking your full face in the most gorgeous bouquet of expensive tuberose, accented with a few pristine white roses bred for scent. 

This is one of those scents that needs to be smelled to be understood, as cepes -porcini mushrooms- seemingly makes no sense whatsoever with perfume. 

By mixing the two essences, cepes and tuberose, perfumer Mandy Aftel brings an earthiness out of

EDP 1ml $180

the tuberose that is unexpected and simply startling in its loveliness. 

This scent picks up an almost leathery tone, like the inside of a very old and worn vintage bag hiding a perfume-laden women's hankie inside. A musky scent is folded in (that's musky, not musty!). And the scent fades slowly away. 

So, in the end, it all makes sense. It gets where it gets in an unconventional way and ends up being stunning. 

Cepes and Tuberose is weird. I like weird. It's one of my favorites in the Aftelier line-up, and my next purchase. I consider the whole experience quite sensual. 

Perfume & flask (so cool)
$300

Unisex. Sillage: skinscent to moderate if you are an enthusiastic sprayer; length of wear: 4-5 hours+; price: reasonable for niche; the mini makes it quite affordable. This is a unique fougere scent that may not be for everyone, but I highly recommend. Personally, I think it's highly sexy. Samples of perfume or edp for $6; mini perfume bottle for $50; other sizes available: Aftelier.com

Disclosure: Review based on the edp; sample graciously provided by the perfumer. 

Smoking vanilla with Mandy Aftel

 

This blog only temporarily seems like an ode to Mandy Aftel. She simply is one of the first to pick up on the fact that I am blogging again, and I also like to imagine that we're friends, so she has submitted quite a bit of recent work for me to review. Also, she's just so good I have no reluctance to write because there are none of those not-so-glowing reviews that are always waiting around the corner for a perfume reviewer. Don't worry, I have other reviews coming (DSH (!) among others). 

ANYWAY... 

Today I'm wafting quite literally. I'm smoking! I have an edp on the left hand and a parfum concentration of the same scent on the right. I am so dang lucky I can't stand it. I've got on Vanilla Smoke, and it's so stunning I had to ponder on this review a while before I could get my mind together to write it. (It didn't stop me from buying mini.)

Vanilla Smoke 0.25oz Parfum

Vanilla Smoke edp 1ml
in organic alcohol

Vanilla Smoke 1/4 oz Parfum
 in organic alcohol

So, as is clear from the above, Aftelier Perfumes' Vanilla Smoke comes in two concentrations: an edp/eau de parfum and a parfum/perfume strength. I'll do ye olde compare/contrast here. Remember those papers we had to do in school, comparing and contrasting things? It's going to be like that, but a little more interesting. Well, I hope so. I mean, you're here because you want to be, not because someone forced you to read this review, right? If they did, let me know who did so I can slip them a fiver. That's awesome. 

The general rundown of what this scent smells like is going to sound the same. It's a smokey vanilla, folks. Try not to fall over in shock. 

This is a fairly straight-forward, "simplistic" scent, but don't let that statement fool you. This is not to say the scent is basic or not dynamic. 

According to the perfumer, top notes are yellow mandarin, Siam wood, saffron absolute, and vanillin. There are no "heart" notes listed.  Base notes are listed as vanilla absolute, lapsang souchong (tea), ambergris, and coumarin. 

My vision of Vanilla Smoke edp

Vanilla Smoke - THE EDP

I'm sort of "over" breaking down scents into notes. I'm finding it tedious, trite, and insulting to the perfumes themselves, but due to the fact that I'm comparing/contrasting two versions of the same scent, I'll do it this one last time.

When I wear the edp version of this scent, I find it more transcluscent and bright than the other.

This scent opens with a bit more of the sparkle brightness of the mandarin and the Siam wood.

I get a distinct rootbeer note (or more distinctly, birchbeer - have you had it before?).  I spoke with Mandy and we decided this little trick was most likely the saffron. It made me giggle the first time I smelled it, but now I do find it annoying. It passes quickly, to my relief.

I find the edp airy, bright, sheer, open. It's got more space in it than the perfume.

The edp version of Vanilla Smoke stays lighter and more flirtatious, in my opinion, than the parfum strength, though she does pick up a bit of depth from the ambergris, tea, and coumarin later in her development.

This is a lovely version of the scent and I do adore it.

Vanilla Smoke - THE PERFUME

My vision of Vanilla Smoke perfume

When it came time to order one of these, because I totally "needed" this in my life, I ordered the perfume mini. I'm addicted to these minis, by the way. They are petite little bon bons that should be available by every perfumer - price-wise, right in the zone, size-wise, so portable (I always have at least two in my wallet (my wallet!).

I am totally off topic now, aren't I?

Let's do this. When it came time to order one of these, because I totally "needed" this in my life, I ordered the perfume mini. The perfume strength speaks to me more.

While the notes list seems identical, the way they play out on the skin is subtly, but markedly, different.

The "birchbeer accord" is present, but fleeting. The perfume strength Vanilla Smoke dives more directly into vanilla, spending less time flirting with the mandarin and Siam wood. I smell them. They peek out and then they're gone. This is all about the vanilla and the tea and the coumarin, though.

We're all basenotes, all the time, in this version. And once those deepen, we get that ambergris, and the musky husky depth happens and we get sexy vibes all over the place. This is flirty vanilla all over. And yet it still remains breathy and open, never cloying and heavy.

It's brilliant, really, as any other vanilla-centric scent I've smelled with darker notes like this has always taken that heavy-breathing into a smothering place that isn't terribly unpleasant but certainly gets cloying in hot weather. This, Vanilla Smoke, would never! I can see wearing this in any temperature whatsoever.

And so that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I had to have a bottle. And I may go back and get some of that edp, as well, because it is also beautiful. Speaking of gentlemen: YES, you can wear this. PLEASE DO. I encourage it. Either strength.

Unisex. Projection: skin scent; Length-of-wear: edp- 4-6 hours+, perfume 6-8 hours+. The premise of the scent, as set out by Mandy, is that Vanilla Smoke is meant to be sexy, exotic, mysterious. I accept that premise, however I find the edp's version of sexy to be a more innocent, flirtatious type of sexy and exotic, like a young woman in a foreign bar you'd meet on a vacation, while the perfume is more like meeting the Mata Hari.  The pricepoint is reasonable for niche perfume, and the packaging is always a beautiful experience. Samples are available for $6 each. Aftelier Perfumes: Vanilla Smoke.

Disclosure: samples submitted by the perfumer

Photo Credits

Vanilla Smoke perfume photo representation: Esmerelda Seay-Reynolds, Vogue Germany; Photo: Mario Testino

Vanilla Smoke perfume photo representation: Emma Karlsson,Vogue Australia; Photographer: unknown

Radiant skin from Aftelier and Aroma M

Do you hate your skin? If so, scurry along. I'll wait. Bye.

Ok, now that the riff raff is gone, the rest of us can discuss keeping our skin its radiant best.

Enter: Aftelier and Aroma M.

But wait, Jen! Those are PERFUME companies. Have you gone mental?! 

I have, but that's irrelevant. And rude that you brought it up, frankly. 

Yes, those are perfume companies, but focus, people. I know what I'm talking about. I'm a professional. No, really: I am. I'm a professional makeup artist. 

And my main artist philosophy is "if you have terrible skin, your makeup will look awful."

You heard me. No makeup artist can fix bad skin on set. Only Photoshop can do that.

So...

Meet skincare oils. Yes: OILS.

Stop making me repeat myself. Geesh.

Your skin has oils anyway, so if you add the right oils into your routine, your skin will thank you by glowing in that way it hasn't since you were a child. 

Radiance, not shine. 

Oils were the original skincare. Put away the chemicals and get back to basics, ya'll. Here's how...

camellia

CLEANSING:

Aroma M, by the lovely Maria McElroy, has you covered, with the Cleansing Oil addition to her breathtaking Camellia Oil collection. It's rich in antioxidants and super nourishing, but rinses off and leaves just a hint of dewiness. 

Use this to whisk off makeup easily, as it deftly dissolves even stubborn pigments and nasty bacteria, so you don't have to obsess about all the yuck on there and you can believe your skin has always been as clean as the day you were born. It leaves your skin simply soft, impeccable, and looking radiant, like you've scrubbed it with angels wings. It also stays nice and hydrated for hours, soft as a baby's tushie.

Or once a week let it sink into the skin during a 3-4 minute massage (face/neck/décolletage). Thank me later. 

Ingredients:  beneficial fatty acids like Organic Camellia Seed Oil, Organic Rice Bran Oil, Organic Golden Jojoba Oil, Organic Vitamin E, Organic Essential Oils of Neroli, Yuzu, Rosemary and Frankincense. It smells heavenly.

Suitable for all skintypes. Really. Even you boys.

See also: Camellia Body/Bath Oil*; Camellia Perfume*; Camellia Hair Oil*; Camellia Face Oil* all available at Aroma M.

Geisha approved.

*This Blog Really Stinks owned and approved

jasmine

MOISTURIZING:

Aftelier, by goddess Mandy Aftel, creates skincare divinity: Organic Face Elixirs. Today's offering is her newest, Jasmine. 

Here's the thing. I love to hydrate with oils. Especially Mandy's. 

Organic Jasmine Face Elixir is SO good it's like inhaling the Garden of Eden and all of the goodness and sin that comes with it. Only, this time the gods and goddess approve, and so does your skin. And there's no snake or apple.

Wait. This is getting confusing.

Just put a few drops of this elixir (oil) on your fingertips and press it into your skin after cleansing, then let it soak in. You'll swear unicorns blessed you with their magic. You'll radiate glowy youth and vigor without a hint of oiliness. Scout's honor. 

And it smells slightly spicy and jamine-y (literary license says I can make up that word). If you put this on at night, you'll fall asleep to lovely dreams and awaken looking like a model*. I also wear it during the day, but you may not want to if you wear face makeup - it may be a tad too hydrating. 

Ingredients: jasmine sambac, harvested in India, in a base of organic oils - rice bran, sweet almond, apricot kernel, camellia, grapeseed, squalene, and rose hip seed. Some oily skins or combo skins in the oily areas may find this a bit too rich - so try a sample first. 

See also: Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir**; Organic Rose Face Elixir; Ancient Resins Body and Hair Elixir**; Chocolate & Saffron Body and Hair Elixir; Patchouli Spice Body and Hair Elixir; Pear, Fir, and Coffee Body and Hair Elixir. 

All available at Aftelier. 

*This may not be a real thing. But your skin will be lovely, I promise. 

**This Blog Really Stinks owned and approved

Disclosure: samples provided by the perfumers/manufacturers, with thanks.

If you have a face with skin on it, read this.

As a child, did you ever climb through brambles on the way to those beautiful, bobbing heads of honeysuckle, pinch off a blossom, and suck the nectar out? I know I did! I recognized the scent of those thick, full vines way before I spotted them on one of the many pathways near our house. And I still lean over and take a whiff now, though they surely aren't as prevalent as I seem to recall them being back when I was young. 

Well, if honeysuckle is a fond childhood memory for you like it is for me, AND you have a face with skin, you're going to be so excited to hear what I'm talking about today!

It's good. 

Damn good.

Really mind-blowingly good.

Dance around with a smile on your face, holy grail, hug strangers good.

Natural perfumer Mandy Aftel has a collection of skincare products in her Aftelier Perfumes line. They are divine. How I have managed to not blog about them is, frankly, appalling and shameful. I could have sworn I had, and I will rectify that with haste. 

At any rate, today I'm talking about a newish addition to the line. It's, of course, all kinds of natural, because this is Mandy Aftel we're talking about. And, unless you're particularly tired or un-coffee'd today, you have probably guessed it's got honeysuckle in it. Yup. Beautiful, rare, organic honeysuckle, sourced from Italy. 

In fact the whole product, a face oil, is organic. (Score!) So: Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir is what we have going on today. 

If you have never put an oil on your face, do not stop reading. Trust me. I'm a doctor.

I am totally not a doctor. That was a blatant lie.

But I am a makeup artist. 

And I have been using oils on my face for over two years, exclusively. No creams. No regular jars of moisturizers. No makeup removers, either. Just oils. And if you're shaking your head saying, "Jen, you are nuts!" Well, yes. Yes, I am, but that is not the point.

Even oily-skinned people and those with acne can -and SHOULD!- use oils on their faces. Just the correct oils. I have gone from having some visible fine lines and some acne (I'm *gulp* 43) while using an arsenal of expensive, high-end, store-bought products, to having almost imperceptible lines and barely any breakouts, even At That Time of The Month. Thank you face oils! And yes, oils are fabulous for men, too. (They give a great shave, btw)

Here's the deal. You put about two, maybe three, drops of the oil on your fingers. You spread it around a bit on all of your fingertips. You then press -do not rub!- it into freshly washed skin. Ladies, that third (or even a fourth) drop will be beneficial on your throat, neck, and decolletage. Anything left on your fingers should be pressed on the back of your hands.*

*This is a rule you are to follow from now on with all skincare including sunscreen or you will have ugly old lady/old man hands. Heed my warning.

The directions instruct you to use it at night, but as a doctor makeup artist I will say that if you have dry or even normal skin, feel free to put a little on in the morning as well. Do give it some time to sink in, though, if you indulge in makeup. It does soak into the skin quickly, but we don't want a foundation or concealer landslide issue happening. Also: caution around the eyes, please.

Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir is scented beautifully. I confess: when testing it, I put some on the back of my hands, not as an anti-aging device but as a perfume. Really, I needed to get a feel for the scent for the review.

Oh my gosh, this scent. People! THIS SCENT. 

It's so ripe, lush, plump, full-bodied, rich. It's floral, it's a little fruity -but only a little. It's just... the word divine is over-used, but it fits here. 

On the face, the scent seems to disappear fairly quickly, which is desirable. It is definitely enough of a lasting scent, though, that you will fall asleep to pleasant dreams if you use this at night...

I loaded it up on the backs of my hands, though, and the longevity is a little nuts, frankly. I'm about 2 1/2 hours in and I can still smell it clear as day. So if you go crazy with this on your face (Which I do not recommend because you do not need that much oil on your face. Ever.) and you apply in the morning, you're going to have some funny looks at that 9:00am meeting. And that's not what you're going for, I don't think, amiright?

So the breakdown is this: Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir has, as mentioned, rare organic honeysuckle oil sourced from Italy. It's added to the organic skincare base oils: rice bran, sweet almond, apricot kernel, camelia, grapeseed, squalene, and rose hip seed. What does all that mean? Essentially, these are light, natural oils that are easily absorbed into the skin. Many of them have antioxidant properties. Some profess to even out skintone. Rose hip is often touted to be great at lessening the appearance of wrinkles. Many of these work to soften skin. 

The gist: your skin is going to feel softer. It's going to feel smoother. It may have fewer breakouts. It will have fewer dry spots. You will probably notice some plumping of fine lines. You'll glow. Not kidding.

I know you will enjoy the scent. And the pampering feeling. 

And this stuff is organic and it's natural and it's $65 a bottle, which since you're using 2-3 drops is really a very good price. 

Trust me. Oil up. 

 DOG SHAMING

This is Zoey.

Zoey took the opportunity to steal the box holding the sample vial of Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir. She proceeded to rip said box open and ignore the other sample in the box and somehow chew the bottom (only) off of the GLASS VIAL of the Honeysuckle Elixir and drink (?) the face oil.

Zoey will be submitted to a) the crate of shame, b) DogShaming.com, and c) intense scrutiny to make sure she did not cause herself any damage.

Mandy has been informed that Zoey prefers the Honeysuckle over the other sample. ;)

Oh, in other news, the dog's breath smells lovely...

Disclaimers:

First photo courtesy of themagiconions.com;

 honeysuckle and bee via marathi.wunderground.com 

all others except the dog via wikicommons.com.

The dog is, regrettably, mine.
Sample of product provided by the perfumer.

On Mandy Aftel's book "Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent"

Intro
It's been so long since I've blogged that I've quite forgotten how! But I can't think of a better way to jump back in than to start with an offering from one of the nicest people I know, a friend and a fragrant wizard: Mandy Aftel. Today, though, I'm not discussing a perfume. I'm talking books, my friends.

That's right. Among Mandy's many gifts is her ability to put her thoughts to paper. Perhaps you have read her well-known primer on natural perfumery, Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume*? Or her book on using essential oils in expected (and not so expected) ways: Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Food and Fragrance (with Daniel Patterson)? Or Scents and Sensibilities: Creating Solid Perfumes for Well-Being? Did you know she has also written about Brian Jones, a founding member of the Rolling Stones? And about finding a therapist? Yeah, she used to be a therapist in a past life. I mean, not like a past life, woo-woo-style, rather that was her profession before she discovered her passion for natural perfumery.

[*Note to self: Self, why have I not reviewed that?  I do own it. Must remedy.]

"I create perfume, and people wear it, because beauty is a vacation from reality. It is a place --an ideal place-- that you can visit without traveling. It is restorative, and it makes you feel good. A personal adornment like wearing jewelry, it has no practical purpose whatsoever. It simply allows us to inhale bliss." - Mandy Aftel

Why Fragrant?
Frankly, I'm a bit of a quite a nerd, so no hobby of mine can fully be enjoyed without understanding the background of the whole thing. Luckily, in Fragrant, Mandy makes this not only an accessible bit of research but a very pleasurable one.

But Fragrant is not written for the perfumers and perfumistas of the world. I mean, feel free to read it if you are one. I encourage you to do so. No, more than that: Frankly, I'm quite confused if you don't read Fragrant and still call yourself a perfumista. I don't understand how you can blog about, or "speak knowledgeably" about, your passion if you do not know where the art's roots are. But anyway, I digress.

Fragrant is Mandy's offering to the non-obsessed. To those who, to borrow the online slang, may be noobs. The curious. The folks who wonder-- "who was the first person to rub that on their body? And WHY?!" It's a way to open the door and say, "Come in, explore this amazing world with us!"

Love, love, love the awesome pictures that pepper the pages of Fragrant. 

At the beginning of the book, Mandy skims through her history. She tells us of various careers that led her, ultimately, to her passion: natural perfumes. She uses words like "joy" and "heady" and "mysterious" and "amazing." You feel how excited she is to share this world of hers with you, the reader, and that's what makes this book such a lovely read. And it's also, by the way, what makes Mandy such a great perfumer and a wonderful person to talk to. 

You see, she knows that people have become so accustomed to being bombarded with scents that we hardly register them anymore. Our detergents, our dish soaps, shampoos, our grocery stores, our foods for heaven's sake! Everything has an artificial scent and we've become numb to this constant battering ram of olfactory warfare. 

We think perhaps we just don't care about scent. But Mandy has discovered the joy of introducing - or rather, reintroducing - people to the pleasure of natural scents. And that, my friends, is why Fragrant was written.

"...they've come to believe they have no appetite for scent itself.  Watching them discover authentic aromas and their sensual pleasures is profoundly thrilling, like watching a starving person feast on a delicious meal. It's these experiences of reawakening people to scent that led to this book." -Mandy Aftel

The Main Characters

Mandy has taken a clever approach to introducing us to the world of scent. She's chosen five "main characters" to lead the reader through history and perfumery. Each gets a chapter. I'll happily introduce them, but let me point out that the real bonus is that if you purchase Fragrant from Mandy's website, Aftelier Perfumes, you get this amazing Companion Kit that actually gives you samples of all five of the main characters!

Each item in the Companion Kit

Companion Kit packaging

In order of appearance:

Cinnamon

Mint

Frankincense

Ambergris

Jasmine

Full disclosure: I really do not react well to spearmint. Well, whatcha gonna do? 

How cool is it to know that the cinnamon and mint oils that come in the kit can be used in food or drink? And should you choose to do so, you may wear the (already diluted) ambergris tincture and jasmine on your skin. The frankincense? Rub it between your fingers, on your skin, or layer it with the other two skin-appropriate oils and make your own perfume!

The inside of The Companion Kit

Cinnamon is a spice, and leads us through the spice route, educating us on history, passion, some myth, and how perfumery really got its start.

Mint represents home and Americana. It symbolizes all things authentic, comforting, and welcoming.

Frankincense, as part of a tree, ties us to the earth and to the sky, being a crucial part of incense. This character leads us to the spiritual.

Ambergris is one of those "who in the heck saw that and decided to burn it or put it on their bodies?" items. This character, a highly animalic, very prized, quite expensive ingredient, introduces us to the concept of "other" but also ties us to our own animal side. Not familiar with the ingredient? Wait until you hear how it's "made"...

Jasmine. Ah, sweet, sultry jasmine. This character represents the human craving for beauty, but also artfully introduces the concept of wabi-sabi. Well, you'll see. This may have been my favorite chapter. 

Quickly...

Other neat features of the book include recipes for perfumes, foods, drinks; gorgeous quotations and poems (Mandy, you make my heart sing with these!); delightful illustrations from old books; insights into perfumery; and so much more.

For example, would you like to learn...

• The best cure for olfactory fatigue?
• How to think about/describe a smell?
• How scents are captured from the thing-- the flower, the tree, the bark, the fruit?
• Some really mouth-watering tips for using essential oils in food and drinks?
• A pretty sexy poem about being the wife of a cinnamon peeler? 
• Where the word "grocer" originated?
• Which surprising spice, still used everywhere, was used as currency in medieval England?
• How many perfume ingredients had elaborate stories involving snakes "back in the day"?
• How to discern, yourself, what raw ingredient is a top, middle, or base note?
• Which popular herb was thought to be an effective form of birth control in Japan at one point?
• How to make Toad Ointment? (spoiler alert: the toad does not fare well in the end)
• Why Wrigley's Gum owes a lot to some geese?
• Which common perfume ingredient was found in King Tut's tomb?
• What Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are finding out about frankincense and why it is really, really important?
• How incense was used as a clock?
• Why a dog rolls in the nastiest, grossest filth it can find and then proudly trots off?
• Why, although I love it, butyl mercaptan will never be used in perfumery?
• What butterflies smell like?
• Really, how many times snakes are mentioned in this book?
• Would you try jasmine-ambergris chocolate?
• Which perfumes would you compare with rococo architecture? Ok - only you can answer that, but the question is obliquely posed in Fragrant.

In Summary

I found this book a fantastic read. I not only enjoyed the history -and I'm not a history gal if it's dry, which this was not- but I really had a good time learning about how Mandy picks particular ingredients. What makes a specific cinnamon Aftelier-worthy? Fascinating.

I thought that it was quite cool to learn how modern marketing hasn't come too far from ancient times, when stories were embellished to make the ingredients seem more valuable, more exotic, and voila- more expensive! 

And I laughed out loud when Mandy compared Pinterest to a modern cabinet of curiosities. Indeed it is! More laughs came when reading the story about the man who got an leaky package in the mail...

I have a fondness for old American stories, so the section on peddlers and old ointments and backwoods tales was right up my alley. 

And of course, digging into the gross but amazing roots of some of my favorite vintage scent ingredients (ambergris, castoreum, civet, musk) was so cool. I have my qualms about their use currently, but in my vintage perfumes I figure those ethical dilemmas have long gotten on their ships and sailed away, so this vegetarian and animal rights activist can rest easily. Kinda.  

I learned a lot about perfume itself, not just the ingredients. New terms made themselves known to me. Accessory Notes. Burying, Chameleon Perfume. Cresol. Who knew? Well, Mandy Aftel did. 

At any rate, this book kept my interest, and if you are intrigued with perfume I assume it will do the same for you.  

Frankly, I am now inspired to mix my own gorgeous naturals. Ok, I expect them to be much less gorgeous than Mandy's, but the process is the thing. And the smelling, the diving in, the reveling in the scents... that's what I have gotten from this book. So thank you, Mandy.

PS: I'm totally making frankincense shortbread.

"What is beauty for? The beauty of beauty is that it is not for anything-- it doesn't stand for something else, it doesn't have to do something, it only needs to be." - Mandy Aftel

Other reviews

This book has been disappointingly represented in the perfume blogosphere, but has been received well elsewhere. Here are some links to reviews and, after that, links to purchasing the book.

• Now Smell This
• Fragrantica
• Review by Mark Behnke of Colognoisseur
• Received a mini-review and mention on Kafkaesque's Holiday Gift Ideas 2014
• Handful of Salt
• A Shaded View on Fashion
• Forbes
• Vogue
• Elle
• The New York Times
• LA Times
• San Francisco Chronicle
• Huffington Post
• Publisher's Weekly
• Birchbox

Purchase

• Aftelier Perfumes (with Companion Kit)
• Barnes & Noble
• Amazon

Disclosure: This book and the accompanying "Companion Kit" were provided to me by the author.

The Dignity of Decay: Mandy Aftel's Sepia

Have you ever visited the ghost towns of the Wild West? The skeletons left standing long after the Gold Rush was done rushing have always intrigued me, but I've never been to visit one.

We just don't have anything like that on the East Coast, where I've lived all my life and done most of my (limited) traveling. When I think about those old ghost towns, certain images repeat themselves, probably exaggerated by books and movies, twisted and changed by time and imaginations.

If I close my eyes right now and imagine...

[via]

Feel the stillness of the amber desert, all that can be seen for miles around... Hear the squeak of a door as it opens, a bell quietly ringing its alarm...  Taste the dirt and dust as it circles you, kicked up by cattle on the main street... Feel the pounding heat beating down on your head as you discretely wipe away sweat from your forehead... Smell the cold water, freshly pumped from the well and poured into a rich oak barrel... Feel the heavy weight of gathered gold, hard-earned and nearly hot to the touch... Smell leather saddles, reins, boots, and belts... Touch the canvas on a wagon as you sidestep a loose dog and almost stumble... Hear the groan of the planks as you walk by storefronts... Smell the horses: their sweat, their manure, their warm, hay-tinged breath as they stand, patiently, tied to railings... Listen to the gentle rustle of long skirts over high leather boots... Smell the freshly polished wood that runs the length of the bar in the saloon - and smell spilled whiskey and beer, sticky on the floor... Hear the laughter of dancing women through upstairs windows as they gossip away the long, hot day... Smell the passion - and the desperation - that permeates everything...

[via]

"You know I can't believe we've lived so long and are still so far apart

The memory of you keeps calling after me like a rolling train."

"Brownsville Girl" - Bob Dylan  

Sepia, the newest scent by natural perfumer Mandy Aftel, strives to capture the feeling of those long-gone times. It evokes the memories of the past while also representing the still, quiet abandoned buildings and streets that remain to this day. Mandy said she enjoys trying to capture an emotional visual scene and portraying it as an emotional statement for the sense of smell. This strikes such a chord with me. One of my favorite things to photograph is abandoned buildings, crumpling barns in forgotten fields, and cars rotting away under trees. Without trying, I find myself building stories around these ghosts as I snap away. So you see why this project draws me in!

Mandy followed her own usual process when creating this olfactory homage, and to my delight captured bits of insight and peeks into her methods as part of the Letter to a Fellow Perfumer series that runs on Nathan Branch's blog (the series starts here).

How does a perfumer, natural or "mixed media" go about creating a perfume that depicts a California ghost town? Mandy usually starts with specific essences and builds around them then builds the scent from the bottom (base notes) up. Sometimes, as in with Sepia, those initial essences never make it to the final product! Her method is fascinating - very similar to that of an abstract expressionist painter. She seems to go to anther place and let intuition and experience guide her, as if in a trance of sorts (read more here).

Here's an excerpt that explains her motive in making Sepia:

"I’ve been driving around California’s Gold Country for the last year, looking at ghost towns and feeling consistently struck by their desolate beauty. I find myself drawn to their ruin — seeing in the remains of their previous life much more than I ever would have seen when they were new and pristine.

Certain things charm me, like the lack of a strict grid or city planning, the absence of sidewalks and curbs, and sometimes the presence of wooden sidewalks. My imagination is spurred in ways that are sensual yet vague, without specifics or literal points of focus.

To me, this is all about atmosphere

— the ghostly presences, the patina of time —

all of which inspire me to create..."

- Mandy Aftel, Letters to a Fellow Perfumer, courtesy of Nathan Branch

"I’m looking to recreate a feeling I have about ghost towns and the beauty of what remains after something is ravaged by time. After much disappears, what remains is experienced in wisps and shrouds of what came before, but only from the vantage point of now." - Mandy Aftel

Mandy made two concentrations of Sepia and I got to try both. Both are clearly related but have distinct differences, too. It was a really great experience to not only try this scent, but also to compare the two concentrations. Both were their own process and both brought to mind different things.

Notes are as follows:

Top: blood cedarwood, pink grapefruit and yellow mandarin
Middle: pink lotus, jasmine, strawberry, cocoa and coffee
Base: indole, ambergris, tobacco, labdanum, cepes and oud

When sampling Sepia in edp form, a mandarin and jasmine are the first prominent notes. Nearly immediately the base notes are pushed to the fore, sort of like flipping to the end of a book to see what happens. Sepia becomes dusty. The air is filled with tobacco, mushroom, salty skin. It is still and dense, like air in an undisturbed room.  Shortly, I experience an intensified mushroom scent blended with some dry, dark chocolate. At this point the scent seems to solidify and become more dense. Sepia in edp wavers on my skin like a flickering light, coming into focus and then fading away repeatedly over the rest of the duration of the scent. It's a truly beautiful experience.

In perfume concentration, Sepia opens chocolatey-rich with mandarin and jasmine on the side. The impression one gets of the scent is definitely warm and golden, like amber resin wrapped around some ancient long-gone creature. This version of Sepia builds as it wears as if layers are being piled on: polished wood then more chocolate then mushrooms. There's a  flash of something else here, something like Mandy's Cacao, but this is deeper and a bit more naughty. Cacao is sweet and rich, but this is dry, maybe dusty, perhaps even ancient. In this version, the scent softens over time and becomes a slightly powdery ambered whisper. Another incredible experience.

I couldn't pick a favorite version of Sepia. The edp is so damn mysterious. That in-and-out flicker is truly compelling, and I wear it sometimes just to feel it move. The perfume version of Sepia is so dense and lovely I won't be able to pass on it, either. I haven't worn them at the same time - I don't know that I could stand that much beauty all at once! I do think I need both forms, though, in my collection. There are times when I'd like a little mystery and others that I want that more centered, stronger presence. There is nothing like either of these in my collection right now.  In fact, I do not know that there's anything  like these two in perfumery. I can't think of a thing to compare them with when it comes to the mood and presence that they convey. They are startling, unusual, and truly beautiful.

"What I find so compelling about the art of perfumery is its seemingly direct access to our memories, hooking right into the experiences and feelings that stay with us throughout our lives... smells that can plug us in to dreamy, inchoate places inside each one of us where the entire landscape is painted with colors pulled from the very depths of our soul." - Mandy Aftel

Sepia is both a perfume and an experience. Had I not known the back-story, I doubt I would have envisioned abandoned Gold Rush towns, to be honest. But Sepia is clearly about distance and time. It is elegant and earthly at the same time. It has a certain wistfulness that I deeply enjoy. It is a whisper of the past. An echo. A memory - and yet somehow also beautifully concrete. It's the kind of scent that may seem strange at first but then you begin to crave it. It takes root in your being and becomes essential.

Thank you, Mandy, for another amazing piece of art (two, really!) and for allowing me to have this experience. 

Get Sepia at Aftelier Perfumes.
Mandy does have samples available
 for both the perfume and the eau de perfume
versions of this scent.  

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Samples of these items were provided by the perfumer. 

Please see my policies page for more info on my review practices.

Aftelier Perfumes - new packaging (and a review of Honey Blossom!)

Oh, hai! Pic-heavy post here. Bringing in the freshest news from Aftelier Perfumes. Well, almost the freshest news. More on that in a bit.

Anyway, these are pictures of Mandy Aftel's new packaging. Isn't it exquisite?!

[before pic via Mandy's Facebook page]

Let's start with the bottle itself...

Pre-makeover, we had a sleekly-shaped rectangular bottle - kind of apothecary style - with a wrap-around sticker. Lovely.

Now, though, the same bottle is adorned with a gorgeous, streamlined logo, silk-screened in white.

While the name of the scent isn't featured on the bottle itself, it is present on a sticker placed on the top of the cap. So cute! It's easy to find the scent if you have multiple bottles of Aftelier (you should!) but the overall look remains subtle and pretty.

Why I really love the new bottles: I get to see more beautiful juice! I find the colors of perfume to be mesmerizing. It's on of the many pleasures to be derived from this obsession hobby.

Plus, the bottle just looks even more professional and upscale now.

On to the exterior packaging...

I'm a fan of that gorgeous mega-floral print in deep purple, ivy green, and vibrant orange that Mandy uses. I always have loved that! Now it's the main feature on the boxes from Aftelier.

My edp came in a pretty box that has no excess space. The bottle slips perfectly into the inner box, which then slides into an outer sleeve. It opens like a matchbox!

The exterior packaging doesn't give a hint to what wonders are inside save for a simple clear sticker placed on one end that tells the scent's name.

Why I love the exterior packaging: The colors! The sliding! I also adore that the somewhat busy print on the box contrasts so nicely with the minimalistic appearance of the bottle. If both were vibrant and busy or both were spartan, it wouldn't have the same delightful impact.

Overall, the packaging is incredibly well-done. I'm impressed. I'm not someone who buys a perfume just for packaging (ok - maybe the cute cats for Katy Perry's scents or the fairy on Feerie, but let's ignore that for now). And I would never skip a great scent because the bottle was ugly. But isn't it nice when a well-crafted, beautiful scent comes in well-crafted, beautiful packaging?

On to my review of Honey Blossom...

I have no stories about honeysuckle, mimosa, or linden. As far as I know, there's no linden (called "lime" in England but not actually a lime tree) anywhere around. I outlined my history with mimosa last Spring (here). To summarize: I have no history with it. My experiences with honeysuckle are the same as many people's experiences: when I was little it would be on fences in my neighborhood. We'd pluck it apart, sip the nectar. I have no recollection of how that tasted or how they smelled. So there, I'm totally not qualified at all to review this scent, but that has never stopped me before!

Scent Family: Soliflore
Beautiful honeyed floral, hypnotic with notes of honeysuckle. If there were a flower that smelled like honey, this would be it.


Featured Notes
Top: mimosa, linden blossom CO₂.
Heart: orange blossom absolute, phenyl ethyl alcohol.
Base: ambergris, benzoin.

Finalist for Fragrance Foundation 2011 FiFi Award: Fragrance of the Year - Indie Brand

Here's what I can tell you about Honey Blossom: it's a beautiful expression of Summer. And Spring. And just sumptuous florals in general. 

This perfume is the result of Mandy's Letters to a Fellow Perfumer Series with Andy Tauer, featured on Nathan Branch's blog (read the first installment here and then follow along!). Andy ended up with Zeta, Mandy created Honey Blossom. Both are worked around a linden CO2 extract, and yet they smell nothing alike. I can't really wear Zeta (I will try again this Summer, perhaps), but Honey Blossom I love. As always, I encourage you to follow along with the perfumers in the Letters... series. It's an incredible opportunity to see how creative minds work, how indie perfumers create, and how the individual perfumes evolve.

Honey Blossom opens with a beautiful floral note. "Honeyed" is the word I'd use, rather than "honey". Meaning, it smells sweetened and floral but not like the gooey stuff Pooh loved so much. It is by no means that alleged honey smell that you can find in some cheap perfumes. No. What it does remind me of, though, is a ridiculously good wildflower honey I had the pleasure of eating two years ago. Let me tell you, that was so gorgeous and rich and sweet and heady and unbelievable... And while smelling Honey Blossom probably smells nothing like that wildflower honey, the experiences are still somehow incredibly similar. 

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Stretch out on a picnic blanket in the sun
next to these gorgeous flowers...
That's how Honey Blossom makes me feel.

I'll be honest: I can't pick out the mimosa or the linden. As the swirl of the opening settles on my skin, I can pick out the orange blossom, but it's not a soliflore orange blossom. It's just evident that it's there, involved in the melange of floral blooms.

This scent is warmed but not warm, if you take my meaning. It doesn't generate its own heat, but rather feels like it has been heated gently in a meadow in the sunshine. It's like basking in the sun on a Spring day. Not hot, not humid, just warm. Honey Blossom glows.

This is a natural perfume. As such, it does not lift off the skin and call out to strangers. Your sillage won't follow you for blocks. Honey Blossom is more of a "come to me" kind of scent. It's for you and those lucky enough to be close to you. It's neither translucent nor short-lived, however. 

The drydown for Honey Blossom is oh-so-subtle and yet exquisite. This scent melts into the skin over the course of a few hours, leaving behind the most delicious honeyed nuance to the skin. It's incredibly soft and incredibly sexy.

Honey Blossom is more than welcome in my perfume cabinet. It's perfect for almost any occasion and will never overwhelm. I wanted to compare it to MAC's Naked Honey, but really - there's no comparison. Naked Honey seems shrill and strong and a little clunky when worn next to Honey Blossom. They do not smell the same, but I suspect they wanted to have a similar feeling about them. I like them both, but Honey Blossom is truly a work of art.

You can get Honey Blossom on Mandy's website, Aftelier Perfumes.
A sample is $6 for either the perfume or edp; a perfume mini is $45; an 30ml edp like mine is $150; a bottle of the perfume (1/4 oz) is also $150. 

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PS: This isn't Mandy's only new news. Or not her most recent news. She's got a new scent called Sepia and it's breathtaking. It's actually Mandy's creation from another Letters to a Fellow Perfumer series, this time with Laurie Erickson of Sonoma Scent Studios. Stay tuned for my review!

[additional image credits: linden, orange blossom, mimosa]