Mandy Aftel is an indisputable icon in the world of perfumery, and quite
arguably, the Mother of Natural Perfumery…

 

As a renowned teacher / mentor / perfumer/ author / iconoclast, Ms. Aftel founded the Natural Perfumers’ Guild in 2002 ; she has championed the use of natural substances and environmentally ethical practices for most of her adult life.
 

I follow Mandy Aftel’s writings with fascination, dating back to her first book on perfumery- */Essence and Alchemy/* – published in 2001 and now translated into /seven languages/

I’ve literally agonized over how to /do justice/ to Ms. Aftel’s *Boronia* solid perfume…

Something this exquisite and complex merits very careful consideration…

I feel a true /Narcissus and Goldmund/ conundrum in the process.

Torn between two modes of expression.

Part of me wants to ‘wax forensic and didactic’ over the chemical
aspects of boronia’s composition.

There is a plethora of facts that tempt the scientist in me.

 

A born pedagogue, I’d love nothing better than to harp on the botanical
aspects, the value of brown boronia vs. pink boronia.

So I’m going with my gut, here.

Everything about* Boronia *sings dulcetly to me of its extraordinary
delicacy and exoticism.

The fact that boronia was clearly related to rue, made a great deal of
sense to me.

It illuminated my experience of the pine-like resinousness that kept
tickling my awareness….peeking through the persistent veil of erotic
floral and fruit notes that interweave so expertly.

Rue symbolizes weddings , marriage, and romantic love.

How appropriate !

Ms. Aftel is newly wed, to a longtime love….

 

And this haunting, ancient Sephardic theme, Una Matika de Ruda kept recurring in my brain; I just couldn’t exorcize it !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxv55mvlkO4

Often it was sung at medieval weddings.

The old tale of a young lover giving his beloved a ‘sprig of rue, in
bloom ‘, as a symbol of his passion and devotion….

** The mother cautions her daughter:

“Don’t fall prey, my dear daughter !

It is better to have a bad spouse than a new love …”

The daughter coyly counters:

“A cruel husband ! There’s no worse curse !

But a loving young man, my mother-

Is like an apple and a fine lemon ! “

* *
  

Una matica de ruda,
una matica de flor,
me la dio un mancevico
que de mi se enamoró.

Hija mía, mi querida,
no te eches a perdición.
Más vale un mal marido
que un mancevo de amor

Mal marido, la mi madre,
el pilisco y la maldicion.
Mancevo de amor, la mi madre,
la mançana y el buen limón.
 

Brilliant aromatic marriages are a hallmark of Mandy’s compositions.

Her use of only the finest substances [which she has managed to acquire and sequester] thrills me; antique sandalwoods- up to one hundred years old, from the now- pillaged region of Mysore, Tasmanian boronia [/so dear/ to
purchase !], true aged ambergris, exquisite essences from the world over…

My poor senses addle gratefully.

This is manna for my nose.

Several years ago, I noticed that Tasmanian Boronia absolute was
available for sale on her *Aftelier* website ; I gulped, appropriated my
pennies- and sprang for a small quantity of this venerable stuff.

I was stunned by the formidable complexity of this rare elixir which
encompassed so many olfactory facets at once.

Mandy’s* Boronia solid* differs from her /absolute/ in two subtle,
fundamental ways :

 

Ms. Aftel has deftly added a very light agarwood and a touch of her
noble Mysore sandalwood to the absolute, and the base vehicle is
composed of organic unfiltered beeswax and jojoba oil.

I find that beeswax adds a certain mellow roundness; the soft agarwood
is indeed delicately woody / resinous , minus the pointed astringency
which often accompanies its trumpet voluntary, while truly vintage
Mysore sandalwood [ my love of loves !] is so creamy, suave,
curvaceously accommodating…

The boronia itself is a mysterious entity.

It recalls the scent of yellow freesia; it wafts strains of succulent,
ripe fruit- raspberry and apricot, in particular.

The overlap with osmanthus cannot be ignored; a certain velvety sueded
leatheriness insinuates itself.

Beta-ionones [ from the carotenes present] gift boronia essence with a
distinct cassie, or violet-like inference.
 

Sweet, woody, fresh greenness springs from the presence of analogs to
linalool- responsible for coumarinic effects of hay and a grassiness
that one smells with delight…

For me, it is a mélange of depth, joy, and and a playful sensual nature.

Light-heartedness underscored with a subtext of /that which lies beneath./

/ /

Mandy Aftel has been fascinated by boronia since she first encountered
it, years ago.

She describes it as “drop-dead gorgeous “ and was challenged by its
costliness, scarcity, and propensity to be engulfed by other essences
when combined.

Her desire was to convey “ the experience of sunlight through the trees “.
 

 

*Boronia solid *most certainly reflects her vision of a dappled glade, a
mythical forest where fruit, blossoms, and sweet resins coexist in sweet
euphony.

-Ida Meister, Contributor
[Review based on sample given by Ms. Aftel]

Editor's Note: The art of Henri Rousseau spoke to me, after reading  Ida's review.