Three Sweet Seasonal Perfumed Pleasures by Mandy Aftel…Naturally + Draw

 

 

 

 

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

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32 comments

  • esther Hernandez says:

    Winter gives so many people the blues including me, even though I live in Southern California the early nightfall and cooler air makes me feel out of sorts. I really need some of that Limpid Liquid Joy Asap. 🙂 

  • Julie VanGee says:

    Your descriptions of Mandy's fragrances are wonderful and a momentary respite from the blizzard we are having here in Upstate NY.  Enter me in the drawing please!

  • Nina Z says:

    Oh, I've been semi-obsessed with honey lately! I've been drinking some honey tea I bought in New York, and have been dreaming of a honey perfume. This one sounds amazing.

  • Mandy Aftel says:

    Dear Ida and Michelyn
     
    Thank you so much for this beautiful review.  I am always so warmed  to read these kind words about my work 
    Thank you too to everyone who has entered the draw and bee n interested in my perfumes.  I really appreciate it.
    mandy

  • Isa says:

    Honey is a note which has grown on me. Now I love a little honeyed drydown on my perfumes. In spring and summer mimoses smell lovely too.

    Thank you for this drawing 🙂

  • Malena says:

    Mandy Aftels work is always amazing!
    I could really need some liquid joy asap – we've so much snow over here, it makes me really depressed – especially since winter is still so long…

  • Margi Macdonald says:

    Oh swoon… Wildflowers and Honey Blossom sound perfect for the long steamy Aussie summer, as much as for the darkest, blizzardy winter. I'd love to be in the draw. Thank- you!

  • Monica H. says:

    Yes!  Honey Blossom is amazing, I've got a sample of it so chiming in with the praises~  I love linden blossom and I think Mandy's interpretation is one of the best yet =)
     

  • ElizabethN says:

    I am dying to try Honey Blossom. I love her work, and I wish I had more of it. Thanks for the drawing!

  • Gisela says:

    I love the smell of linden blossoms and enjoyed to read Mandy's/Andy's conversation about their creations. Can't wait to smell them!

  • Anna in Edinburgh says:

    Not seeking to participate in the draw, I just wanted to thank Ida for the rich and frank appraisals of the reviewed scents: lovely (and Wildflowers made me catch my breath).
    Many thanks, Anna in Edinburgh 

  • elizabeth says:

    I would like to be entered in the draw. I haven't tried any of Ms. Aftel's creations–yet!
    Also, how lovely to read these impressions of days gone by…

  • Masha says:

    Well, Mandy's one of the Founding Mothers of natural perfumery in the US, so of course I want to try this. Thanks for the draw!

  • karin says:

    I haven't tried any of Mandy's fragrances, but they sound wonderful…and I love the packaging!  Thanks for the draw!

  • Sandi says:

     
    Mandy has paved the way for all natural perfumers! Because of her passion for the naturals,she put the spark in all of us who have a passion for the naturals. Mandy you are absolutely the Graceful Lady of Natural Perfumery… I have been blessed because of you…

  • Michelle Hunt says:

    I would love to enter in this draw. It's been awhile since I had the pleasure to sample Mandy Aftel's work, and mimosa is one of my favorite flowers – though a challenging material to work with! 

  • london says:

    I am so pleased to have discovered your site (which is great, by the way) in time to enter this drawing.  I love the sound of this and haven't tried any of her fragrances before.

  • Julie Mullins says:

    Please enter me into the drawing! I'm dying to smell Honey Blossom. I've been a fan of Aftel's perfumery for the past couple of years and I just can't go back to synthetics.