Study of a Young Man  John Singer Sargent

The perfume shelves overflow with mainstream vanilla scents, most marketed to teens and young women. As our editor in chief Michelyn Camen wrote, “No one over the age of 12 wants to smell like a cupcake.”  That’s because most of these fragrances use cheap vanillin diluted in water, and have no relation to real vanilla or vanillin extracted from the bean; upon closer scrutiny many contain the disclosure of “artificial ingredients”. (Just read the back of a Twinkies package…be very scared).  I can’t think of a commercial vanilla perfume that a man would wear.

Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes

Natural perfumer Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes offers an alternative.  Ms. Aftel offers richness and refinement in her new perfume Vanilla Smoke. As a student of natural perfumery, I know that Madagascar vanilla, the finest in the world, begins its life as an orchid. Vanilla beans are scentless and require a long and arduous process, dried and curated in the hot sun in order to create its  beautiful  scent, the pod itself has woody and floral nuances and its the seeds that smell like what we would recognize as vanilla.  The lapsang souchong tea Ms. Aftel uses in Vanilla Smoke,  must first be heated in a basket over a pinewood fire, drying the leaves to achieve smokiness.

John Singer Sargent-MountainFire (digitalized by Michelyn)

Vanilla Smoke opens intense and smoldering with lapsang souchong tea essence.  Unlike common smoky notes such as cade and birch tar, lapsang souchong is not overpowering nor does smell like a five alarm fire. It hovers like a smoky veil, transparent allowing the beauty of the yellow mandarine to peak through.

John Singer Sargent, FUMÉE D’AMBRE GRIS 1880

As the veil is lifted,  the facets of the Madagascar vanilla begin to unfold, exhaling woods and amber that smells to my nose like a good single malt scotch.  Siam wood warmed by saffron takes on an almost incense quality before leading to the caress and creaminess from the vanilla.  The more delicate floralcy of the vanilla breaks through, not at the top or heart as most florals do, but unexpectedly at base with the beauty of ambergris  keeping the vanilla from becoming ‘foody:

And in her recent book Fragrant, Ms. Aftel tells us of the miraculous transformation of ambergris: “Fresh black ambergris is not prized; But as it floats on the ocean for years and decades, a white coating forms on the outside… and the inside also becomes lighter in color as it dries and cures, with the fragrance growing lighter and more refined”

Vanilla Smoke is a fragrance of transformation. From raw materials in their natural state to a work of alchemy as only Ms. Aftel can achieve.  Finally a vanilla perfume a man can love.

Perfume Notes in organic alcohol:  Yellow Mandarin, Siam Wood, Saffron Absolute, Vanillin, Vanilla Absolute, Lapsang Souchong, Ambergris, Coumarin
Michael Singels, Sr. Contributor and Natural Perfumery Editor (with contributions from Michelyn Camen Editor in Chief)

Disclosure: Samples provided to me by the perfumer for review.

Art Direction: Michelyn Camen. Rather than using pictures portraying burning wood, vanilla beans nd raw materials, I wanted to portray the artistry of Vanilla Smoke and John Singer Sargent came to mind.

Thanks to the generosity of Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes, we have a 2ml sample of Vanilla Smoke Eau de Parfum for a  registered reader worldwide.  To be eligible, please leave a comment with what intrigues you most about Vanilla Smoke and your favorite Aftelier fragrance.  Draw ends 11/13/15.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.