Aftelier Perfumes Custom fragrances @Aftelier Perfumes

Here go the “shoulds” again…sigh. It is the format: by now you know how I feel about deserve, shoulda woulda coulda, yes? So let’s agree that there are many Aftelier perfumes both current and no longer in production which merit loving consideration. I’ve smelt each and every one over the years. It agonizes me to choose; these three are the bottles which bear significant signs of love and use, as there remain only a few precious drops (which in and of itself tells a tale).

Mandy Aftel courtesy of Foster Curry

Mandy Aftel and I first met ten years ago at the former glory known as Henri Bendel in NYC. Bendel’s displayed Caron Baccarat urns and wondrous perfumes which most people had never heard of before; Mandy was not only stocked there but having a trunk show as well. I purchased few perfumes that day, but I did treat myself to several mini flacons of hers, to my delight. My first choice was among the tiny triad of minis hidden inside an orange embroidered silk pouch, and the first full bottle (then teardrop-shaped crystal) I ever sprang for.

Trees and Truths art for rapper Mick Jenkins©

 Aftelier Perfumes Cepes & Tuberose (2003): Before there was a Velvet Tuberose there was a Cepes & Tuberose – such a winning pairing that I couldn’t remove my nostrils from the bottle. Nothing I had previously smelt had prepared me for such richly erotic, earthy perfume. I simply had to have it, adorn myself with it, and sequester it in my cleavage. I was possessed. Applying it today in this tropical swelter reminds me why: it opens with a luscious bitter orange note blissfully nuzzled into rosewood (do you love rosewood as I do?). Before you know it, a never-too-sweet tuberose is clinging longingly to wild mushroom absolute; there’s a little rose to enhance harmony (I call her the Universal Playmate, because she plays so beautifully with everyone else AND makes them look good) as a bonus. Sweeten the pot with one of Mandy’s aged choice sandalwoods, and you are hooked. This is fondly animalic, not a snarling beast. It’s as if the tropics wed the forest floor – strange as that sounds – and it works. All we lack are one or two slithery snakes winding themselves around that rosewood tree…and perhaps we’re in the Garden of Earthly Delights with no avenging angel in sight. Notes: bitter orange, porcini mushrooms, tuberose, rose, rosewood, sandalwood

Paul Jacoulet©

Aftelier Perfumes Parfum Privé (2007): I had longed for a bottle of this beauty but it was beyond my reach until years ago when Mandy and I met again at Elements Showcase in NYC; she was kind enough to gift me with a 2 ml. mini, which I treasure. Why privé? Because the perfumer initially composed it for her own pleasure and the following raw materials cost a fortune: osmanthus, orange flower absolute, ambrette, and real ambergris. Aftelier Perfumes Parfum Privé is well-described as pétillant: it has that same glittering champagne-like quality. Many folks liken their fragrances to sparkling wine, but this scent preceded them – without the use of aldehydes (I am very very fond of aldehydes – but it isn’t that easy to create this effect without them.). What a lightheartedly sensual, devil-may-care perfume it is! We romp in the groves of ripening fruit en plein air. Ambrette lends a sweet dry earth note, complemented by that faintly rosy salinity I smell in true ambergris tincture; they each ground the fragrance with apposite/opposite approaches. Topnotes tease piquantly; the heart is luminous with indolic, fleshy orange blossom and the smooth apricot tones of osmanthus enmeshed in pelt. There’s a sort of Scandinavian wholesomeness to it, an unself-conscious enjoyment of nature in the buff. Notes: bergamot, pink pepper, faint apricot, osmanthus, orange flower absolute, ambrette, ambergris

Painting by Lena Karpinsky ©apped by MC

 Aftelier Perfumes Vanilla Smoke (2015): “Some like it hot but you can’t tell how hot ‘til you try; some like it hot, so let’s turn up the heat ‘til we fry…” ~ The Power Station 
There you are. Sums it up nicely, I think. Sizzling smoky vanilla, anyone? Everyone? Mandy plays her components like a fine chamber ensemble: each voice counts, a single error can’t be covered if there are fewer voices to be heard. Beguiling yellow mandarin sets the stage before the swirling maelstrom of leathery/woody/scorched tones commences. Saffron burnishes sooty tea, amplifying its weathered rawhide character so that they each glow. Madagascan vanilla is so complex: spicy, woody with tendrils of smokiness by itself. Siam wood enters as a natural consort, contributing balsamic creaminess with hints of nut rounding out any rough edges; ambergris is ancient as the oceans and just as wise. Like the rose, I can’t honestly think of anything that ambergris doesn’t enhance, with its additional benefit of extending the pleasure of all players. Each performer is essential, welcome – resulting in a thoroughly enjoyable perfume which wears well in all seasons. Notes: yellow mandarin, saffron, Madagascar vanilla absolute, lapsang souchong tea, Siam wood, ambergris

Aftelier Perfumes Parfum Privé was a gift; the other two were purchased by myself. My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor

~ Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

Aftelier Perfumes Cepes & Tuberose,  Aftelier Perfumes Parfum Privé and Aftelier Perfumes Vanilla Smoke (photo Foster)

Thanks to the generosity of Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes, we have a draw for large samples of Aftelier Perfumes Cepes & Tuberose,  Aftelier Perfumes Parfum Privé and Aftelier Perfumes Vanilla Smoke for one registered reader worldwide. Please be sure to register. To be eligible please let us know what appeals to you about Ida’s review, where you live, your favorite Aftelier fragrance. Draw closes 7/30/2018

We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like Çafleurebon and use our RSS feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume…