In my continued quest for seeking out interesting perfumes (read more here & here), I ordered 4 fragrance samples from Aftelier Perfumes. I was completely charmed by the article on owner Mandy Aftel, recently published in T Magazine's Women's Fashion issue. Based in Berkeley, CA, each of Aftel's handcrafted synthetic-free scents are blended with a dizzying array of ingredients, that ignite your senses. Her access to some of the most coveted essences from around the world paired with herbal and floral notes from her own garden, produce such alluring fragrances. My 4 selections are included below, with Aftel's scent descriptions.....
- Palimpsest: Scent Family: Fruity Floral .. "Captures the feeling of being in the Garden of Eden at midnight: lush, wild florals, forbidden fruit, and majestic creatures in hiding. Featured Notes: Top: gamma dodecalactone, phenyl acetic acid, yuzu. Heart: jasmine grandiflorum, peach, ylang ylang. Base: firetree, vanilla, ambergris."
- Wild Roses: Scent Family: Floral Floral .. "I wanted to capture in perfume the experience of walking around my garden and smelling each rose, as their perfumes blended in my nose. Featured Notes: Top: rose CO2, heliotropin, bergamot, geraniol, m-methyl anthranilate, damascenone. Heart: apricot, Turkish rose absolute, pimento berry, p-ethyl alcohol, rose petals attar. Base: tarragon absolute, vanilla absolute, indole, aged patchouli."
- Secret Garden: Scent Family: Floral Oriental .. "Named for the 1910 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, about a young girl who herself blossoms after she discovers a barren secret garden and brings it back to life. Featured Notes: Top: bergamot, bois de rose, Geraniol, blood orange. Heart: jasmine sambac, raspberry, Turkish rose. Base: civet, castoreum, vanilla, deertongue (plant), benzoin, aged patchouli."
- Fig: Scent Family: Gourmand .. "Without a true natural fig essence available, my fig contains no fig, but employs a sleight-of-hand based on a rare, almost fruity lavender from Spain, paired with the sweet and jammy fir absolute. Featured Notes: Top: grand fir, pink grapefruit. Heart: pink pepper absolute, jasmine sambac, Seville lavender absolute. Base: Africa stone, fir absolute."
Of the 4 above, my favorite is Secret Garden, with Palimpsest being a close second. The aroma of Secret Garden just drew me in -- it's soft yet spicy, absolutely intriguing and left me wanting to smell more..... FYI, visually I tend to reach for lighter shade perfume liquids, and Fig was the darkest of all -- closer to an amber color. The samples are $6 and I found that the amount in the bottle lasts for maybe 2-3 wears depending on how much you spray on. Additionally Aftelier Perfumes offers solid and custom perfumes, body care and Chef’s Essences & Sprays.
Mandy Aftel
Images T Magazine