It was with great delight that I discovered a diminutive honeycomb-quilted gold missive from Mandy Aftel last Saturday eve …
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The luxury of opulence nipping at the heels of exhaustion is always welcome- especially when Mandy’s latest work awaits.
My favorite medicine!
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May I share my impressions with you, dear friends?
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Honey Blossom
Oh my, YES.
If you thought Candide was lovely, then you must smell this!
This is as honeyed as a floral gets- without a cloying sense of decay.
The mimosa is a perfect foil for the linden absolute; how could it not be?
With angelic orange blossom in the heart, reposing so blissfully atop ambergris and benzoin.
Lordy.
I could bathe in the stuff…
Sunny, warm, utterly luxurious.
Limpid liquid joy.
[Lindens have immense significance for me; they represent hope, fecundity, how fleeting the early aestivalian pleasures before the summer swelter.
Boston streets are littered with lindens; both times I was fully pregnant when they were in full bloom.
I felt so in tune with the season, and the tree- right down to its heart-shaped leaves.]
Memento
Such a tantalizing little number, this!
Bergamot and blood orange linger tenderly and briefly, like a scented handkerchief in the breeze-
Roses and jasmine sambac fashion a luscious cloak of smoky cinnamon and piquant nutmeg.
The resinous richness of choya nestles amidst tonka bean and vanilla, achieving a suave spiced leather effect which cushions this precious fragrance.
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[Choya loban is my supposition- the use of clay vessels to distill Indian frankincense gum or benzoin, results in a smoky sweet character; choya nakh uses toasted seashells, resulting in a salty tarry scent]
Tailor-made gourmand for the Solstice season!
Wildflowers Solid Perfume
Hay, honey, grassy fields strewn with miniscule wildflowers.
I wax maudlin over this sweet concrete; floodgates of adolescent memory flung wide open.
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I’ve never been to the rolling hills of California- but I don’t have to.
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Summer 1969 in North Salem, N.Y. is plenty for me…
Fifteen years old, walking miles of dirt road in my bare feet and waist-length hair, carrots in my overalls for the horses – who know my voice and trot to the fence when they hear me sing [some things never change !] .
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A bashful young man gallantly carries me across the cowpaths to the haystacks at dusk-
So I won’t step in manure.
The hay is so warm and still bears the scent of the summer sun; no one kisses the sweet seemingly endless kisses shy young lovers do.
Chamomile, daisies, clover, dandelions everywhere- in my hair, in his hair, in our overalls.
The inestimable value of simple gifts, especially in darkest winter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT-6yjT4oFo
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Mandy, you’ve made me very happy.
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May all our readers treasure moments of light in the seasonal heart of darkness/ repose and feel the many blessings which surround us all.
Photo Credits:
Mandy at perfume organ – aftelier.com
Mandy's package- my own
Honey Blossom 1/4 oz. bottle-aftelier.com
Blooming mimosa-123rf.com
Blooming linden- naturehills.com
Bonnard studio with mimosa-galeriedada.com
1987 pregnant Ida on M St. with lindens- my own
Aftelier Memento -mparis.ru
Spices- iamplayingwithfood.blogspot.com
Winter Solstice at Stonehenge- page247.wordpress.com
Wildflowers solid perfume-mparis.ru
Field flowers- garon.ch
North Salem open lands- nsolf.org
Haybales- gailpidduck.com
Camomile- my own
Bare feet with dandelions- sheknows.com
Holly-flowersociety.org
Solstice card- sporeflections.wordpress.com
–Ida Meister, Senior Editor
A seasonal treat for our readers..Please enter our draw for Aftelier's Honey Blossom. Draw closes December 18, 2010. Leave your comment on site