Ancient Egytptian Women spraying perfume via scentfie.com
We mortals have accessed the Divine throughout the ages per fumum – through smoke. Whether we choose to smudge in order to purify/clear out old energies which hamper or have outlived their usefulness, burn incense in churches, mosques, temples, monasteries or shrines, gather around a campfire – fire and its ensuing smoke predate history.
Woman Pouring perfume into a flask 1st Century Roman fresco via shutterstock
Perfumer and storyteller Mandy Aftel (a mystical force all her own) found herself enamored of pine tar: viscous, sweet, smoldering – and mused upon pairing it with the crystalline, sheer botanical musk ambrettolide. How to intertwine two differing elements while showcasing them each? Surely they would skirmish for pride of place; it might prove showdown vs.showcase. Enter Aftelier Perfumes Embers and Musk, a potent talismanic force field: bold, tenacious, consciousness-altering. No hyperbole is intended; over the years perfumers have sent me some materials possessed of properties which forced me to halt and take notice, such were their psychoactive effects. I literally had to stop what I was doing and sit with them until they were done with me. This is one working illustration of the potential of plants.
Camille Beckman Perfumery of the Ancient Empires shutterstock
Mandy has taken the intensity of pine tar and accented it with guaiacol, a natural component appearing in guaiac wood and creosote; it’s also a precursor to eugenol (that clovelike odor) and vanillin. Guaiacol occurs naturally in whisky and roasted coffee – no surprises there. She’s enhanced one charred tarry substance with another; that’s forceful. Ambrette, in contrast – is persistent in alternative vein. It lingers indefatigably, melding with skin and smelling fresh with an equine riff, a subtext of horsiness which is often wed with orris to great effect. Both the woody elements and ambrette are dry; together they demonstrate interplay of light and shadow. Smoky is lovely with sweet or something zesty: Mandy gives us both. Pink pepper contributes its piquant sparkle to ambrette’s downy cheek; apple is sweet, tangy and yuzu (a Japanese citrus smelling of grapefruit/lime/mandarin) vivacious and energetic. Only the slightest touch of red champaca is added (an Indian relative of the magnolia); it’s so floral, rich, fruity with herbal, haylike tones, a murmur of tobacco. Even so, red champaca is dry and devotional, much used in Indian ritual ceremonies. Our perfumer didn’t want to skew Embers & Musk wildly floral; she fleshed out its bone structure for intrigue’s sake, creating more nuance than simple smoke-and-mirrors.
A dancer of Ancient Egypt by George Owen Wynne Apperley
Mandy Aftel hasn’t referred to these psychoactive qualities when describing her journey creating Aftelier Embers and Musk, but I must. Initially after I sprayed it I was overcome: it was vast and mighty, meaty. My sensorium was affected, I felt altered as if I had taken some sort of drug. It wasn’t frightening, but it was unexpected – and it reminded me of all the primal associations and uses smoke has had since time began. I yielded myself up to the experience; as time elapsed the moment passed, but the apparition lingered on my skin hauntingly. If you love the outdoors, devotional practice – I think you will be very fond.
Notes: ambrettolide, pine tar, guaiacol, pink pepper, apple, red champaca,yuzu.
Thank you, Mandy – for my sample! My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor
~ Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
Thanks to the generosity of perfumer Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes, we have a deluxe spray sample of Aftelier Embers and Musk for one registered reader globally. The draw is for registered readers only, so be sure to register if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what you thought of Ida’s review, where you live, and your favorite Aftelier perfume. Draw closes 4/22/2019
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