Taking it up a notch: Aftelier Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir

Facial oils are a particularly delicious sort of treat for me to use, and I have oils for every occasion and whim. I adore all kinds, including those made with a combination of luxurious natural fragrance and skin-loving non-fragrant oils. There is room in my life for all of them, and I'd like to share my current favorite with you, Aftelier Perfumes Honeysuckle Face Elixir.

Ingredients: Honeysuckle absolute from Italy with rice bran, sweet almond, apricot kernel, camellia, grapeseed, squalene (vegetable-derived) and rosehip seed oils

I like to use Aftelier Perfumes Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir (15ml, $65) a couple of nights a week, and especially on the weekend. It's got special spa duty around here--when I create custom beauty treatments with raw ingredients such as coconut oil or if I want to soup up my facial masques, I use a couple of drops of this brilliant oil. Also, sometimes I like to mix two drops into my nightly cleanser, massage into my face and remove it with an organic cotton muslin cloth. A little bit of well-formulated face oil with natural absolutes can transform your favorite skin care products, making them even more effective and totally soul-satisfying. If you're new to facial oils or if it's a subject you're well-educated on, Aftelier should be your first stop if it hasn't been already. This is the first time I can ever recall smelling real honeysuckle outside of the actual bush, and it's a real treat. Mandy has used her sourcing and alchemical genius to take true luxury up another notch. Less floral and more ripe melon-like fruit, it deserves to be showcased the way it has been in this face elixir. It's unusual, tender and very sultry.

Also consider Mandy's other face elixirs: they are all formulated similarly (aka brilliantly), but which one you should choose really just depends on your preference with fragrances. Also on the roster currently are Ylang Ylang and Rose blends. I personally use the Ylang Ylang most frequently because it has a particularly soporific effect on me that sends me off to dreamland on the fluffiest cloud you can imagine. It's a pastel peach-hued cloud, if you're wondering. If you're looking for an aromatherapeutic facial treatment oil that is all-natural, light as a feather and is versatile enough to customize your other skin care products, Aftelier's Face Elixirs are certainly not your only choice, but in my opinion, they're the best.

Screw-cap sample vials are also available for $6 each.

(sample provided by Aftelier for my consideration)

My Top 8 Fragrances of 2013: (or, the year-long rollercoaster of olfactory pleasures)

It's LIST TIME again! Always a treat for us bloggers. This year, as with every other, these fragrances are in no particular order, and if I do say so myself, this is quite an interesting group of perfumes I've got here. My consumption of scents in terms of numbers has not been quite as high as in years past, but these fragrances caught my attention instantly and I knew they would receive my year-end attentions. There are several new brands, and nothing pleases me more to be able to embrace new niche companies and the fantastic talents behind them. Below are links to the lists of my blogging compatriots-- for additional listy-type reading entertainment, please do check out their posts as well!

Persolaise
Olfactoria's Travels
Fragrant Moments
Candy Perfume Boy

Aftelier Cuir de Gardenia
With the simplicity of the finest natural tiare essence along with natural castoreum, I'm not sure a floral fragrance lover could dream a better perfume. Cuir de Gardenia is so rich and uplifting all at once-- it's one of Mandy's most lust-inspiring, maddeningly perfect, expensive-smelling creations yet. Unscrew the cap and it just might whisper stories into your ear that would make you blush. Over the years I've come to find out that it's not my toys or the television or my cat that hypnotizes me and tells me to do bad things, it's perfume. I'm going to love and wear Cuir de Gardenia with pleasure and abandon, and if I wind up in jail, Mandy, I'll need you to bail me out.

Neela Vermeire Creations Ashoka
As many of you know, I'm still completely obsessed with Trayee. However, Neela's newest creation, Ashoka, is a very, very close second. The composition is complex (in true Duchaufour style) but the effect is tempered with pure soul. I find its milky, powdered fig and sandalwood very soothing, and the intense overlay of a cool, otherworldly floral melange led by jasmine sambac (my favorite kind of jasmine) and osmanthus is something akin to icing on the cake. However, comparing this fragrance to food just seems wrong. Whatever this is-- this magic-- can only live in the ether, where you're lucky if you ever get to meet it.

Parfums Retro Grand Cuir
Fledgling brand Parfums Retro's first release Grand Cuir instantly made me feel all sorts of things. It has an incredible effervescence that you don't find in many leather fragrances. It draws you in and won't let go-- not that I would ever want it to. It's a many-faceted diamond that sparkles in its frankness and refusal to blend into the standards that have been set by the industry, critics like myself, or any other person desiring to categorize and simplify it. Grand Cuir is a leather fragrance for optimists, and for pessimists looking for a change of pace. And, I love the Art Deco chevron design on the label, which fits the brand perfectly. Overall, it's a very impressive and interesting first launch for Parfums Retro, and I can't wait for the next one.

Charenton Macerations Christopher Street
Everybody, meet the fragrance I wore most of the summer. I had been eagerly awaiting this new brand's first release, Charenton Macerations Christopher Street. The story is rich with history of the joy, freedom, revelry, individualism, pain, violence and turmoil of a particular area of New York City- The Village. I have two major associations with that neighborhood-- the happy memories of spending time with my mother there on our occasional trips, and the riots of Stonewall in 1969. You can fit thousands of lifetimes and experiences in this bottle of shimmering, combustible, energetic fragrance, and the imagination and artistry that went into making this a perfect fragrance for either gender, for any situation, is rather mind blowing to me. How to explain the Willie Wonka-esque everlasting drunken salty lime note? I don't know, I guess you'd have to ask Ralf Schweiger, who composed it. There is a lot of creative transparency and lore to pore over on the CM website, and it all makes for interesting reading. At the end of the day, though, Christopher Street, in its purposefully modest packaging, is one of the fragrances I reach for the most, and my favorite thing to smell traces of on my clothes.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Embers
UK/Moscow cosmetic brand Rouge Bunny Rouge relies heavily on fantasy. If you look at (or use) their products, you'd know their signature whimsical style and stories. They eschew infantile cutesy-ness for shadowy rabbit-hole oddities, and it really works for them. Their cosmetics are fantastic and their seasonal collections offer much more originality than you'll find with the usual high-end department store suspects-- this is niche beauty on steroids. The looks they create are what I want, so I was not surprised at all when they released a series of fragrances that I found equally impressive. I mean, really impressive. I like all of them, love a few, but am out-of-my-mind obsessed with Embers. It's smoky and woody (which you may have already gathered), but it's loaded with spices and aromatics that mercifully last for days if you let them, and yet it manages to not be cloying. It's a super-sexy swoon-worthy unisex sillage monster and I love it intensely. In the US, it currently can only be ordered through Beautyhabit.com.

Aether Arts Burner Series no. 4 John Frum
Amber Jobin is the perfumer behind Aether Arts, who until fairly recently was under Dawn Spencer Hurwitz's apprenticeship. Some of you might remember that Dawn created a bespoke perfume for me a couple of years ago, Guimauve de Soie, which was a huge thrill for me. Amber created a series of perfumes for Burning Man, and I fell in love with no. 4 John Frum, right here in my living room-- not naked in the desert. But I do know someone who was there, though I've no idea if she wore her clothes or not. Anyway, Burner no. 4 is a super-fresh vetiver and leather concoction that is oil-based, and wears close to the skin. With other, milder notes of tropical flowers and a faint touch of coconut, besides the vetiver of course, the other main ingredient it boasts is kava kava, which in herbal medicine is known to help a number of different ailments, including its function as a sedative, an anesthetic, and a psychoactive drug with its numbers of kavalactones reaching up to fifteen or so. I must admit I have no idea what the plant smells like, and I've never seen it in person in its natural form. But if I'm smelling it in this perfume, it's delightful. I don't know anyone who wouldn't love Burner no. 4, which makes it a must have, and a good one to stash small bottles of for gifts. Amber and Aether Arts are bringing something special to the table-- watch this one, folks.

SOIVOHLE' Carpathian Oud Cologne and Demi Absolute
Yep. Those who know me, know that I might be a little obsessed with Christopher Lee as Dracula from the old Hammer films. When I heard the name of this fragrance, I thought, "the old-school vampire lover in me AND the black metal lover in me are making out right now". I remember years ago when I went bazonkers over Liz Zorn's Meerschaum, her ode to my other favorite fictional character, Sherlock Holmes. This is Meerschaum 2.0, people (only similar in degrees of bazonks I went over them). Carpathian Oud is one of those rare fragrances where I've gotten handed two different versions of it at the same time, so that is a total treat for me. I tried the cologne first, which I declared addictive (between long inhalations). When it came time for the demi-absolute, a new world opened up. It's like watching a Dracula film or reading Stoker's book vs. being right there in the Carpathian Mountains as the sun is setting and you've got no idea where you'll find shelter for the night. Carpathian Oud has many aromatic oddities, a curious balance between acidity and alkalinity, and the distinct tang of metal. Ah, yes. Iron! That's it. The mineral found in human blood. It's earthy, sexy as hell, and can be defined by the word exotic. It's not from here, it's not from there... it's a Liz Zorn creation, and this is a scent that I want to be buried with.

[photo includes DOGSTAR and both Carpathian Oud concentrations]

SOIVOHLE' Dog Star Cologne
A Soivohle/Liz Zorn cologne-concentration fragrance can be deceivingly potent, so that's one (good) thing to consider when thinking about trying Dog Star- but I will warn you, it's already on clearance and being phased out, so snatch some up NOW. Hopefully it will return again one day. Anyway! Dog Star is what you would find on offer at an intergalactic, floating department store for aliens (I know, I watch a lot of Doctor Who). It has a very human, tactile quality to it, but it feels very, very steely and cold in temperature with ozonic muskiness, choya and patchouli. To be perfectly honest, it fascinates the hell out of me. I don't even know who I am when I'm wearing it. And that, is what has earned Dog Star a place on my list. Too strange to live, too beautiful to die.

[disclaimer: I was not compensated for any of my reviews or statements. Samples were provided by the perfumers for my consideration. All photos courtesy of their corresponding brands]

Aftelier Perfumed Beeswax Candles

Just when my frenzied passion for candles was waning enough to be in danger of cycling back to incense exclusively, Mandy Aftel launches three limited edition (of only 23) perfumed candles. They're each 3oz and burn for approximately 18 hours, they're hand-poured and made with 100% pure beeswax. If you were one of the lucky few to snag her candles that were available last holiday season, you know how special they are.

The votive vessels are exceedingly impressive on their own, with coiled strung glass seed beads in a color appropriate to the scent it's paired with. Each candle has a very distinct personality, and when they are lit, they blossom into their full glory.

A fine candle has a way of engaging multiple senses when it's lit, and when every detail has been carefully thought out and executed by hand with luxury in mind, the experience is unmatched. These Aftelier perfumed candles afford that rare experience, and in my opinion are not to be missed.

Lemon Basil ($35)
The fresh aromatic qualities of this blend makes it the most versatile of the three. Not just a kitchen candle, the brightness of lemon and the sharpness of basil together produce a sort of neon anisic quality that is not only delicious, but addictive too.

Campfire ($45)
Campfire is powerfully reminiscent of the real thing, with emphasis on the smokiness. The wax is a lovely shade of mahogany and the vessel's seed bead embellishment is red, which further enhances the coziness of the scent. You don't even need to light this candle to scent the room-- its diffusiveness is very impressive. Campfire is a rich, woody trip down memory lane for former summer campers. Just bring your own lanyard-making supplies and fixins for S'mores.

Root Beer Candy (circa 1972) ($35)
Lastly, there's Root Beer Candy, my favorite. It definitely smells like the real thing, and it's worth mentioning that the "circa 1972" part was aptly used to qualify the name. Old-school root beer barrel candies have a certain flavor to them that I could never have dreamed could be captured in a candle fragrance, but it's all there. A little sweet, a lot sassafrass-y, and a pure, unexpected delight. On a related note, if this were available in perfume form, I'd wear it ALL the time.

All three limited edition perfumed candles are available for purchase at Aftelier.com right now, but fair warning: there are only 23 of each to go around. If you pick just one to buy, don't worry, you really can't go wrong. These are a major treat for anyone who enjoys creating a warm and inviting living space. The cheerful disposition of these scents come through even when they're not lit, as they are very highly fragranced.



[samples sent to me by the creator for my consideration]

Perfume Palate: A Matter of Taste [Mary Ellen Lapsansky]

I've been happy to work with Mary Ellen Lapsansky for the past year or so on The Fragrance Foundation's Indie Fragrance Committee, and have learned some basic (but increasingly rare in people) truths about her during that time. She is very down-to-earth, she's the picture of grace under fire (though she's too humble to accept that, I think), extremely reasonable and she really listens. She extends kindness and consideration where one may never even expect it. As committee co-chair, perfumer, author and my friend Mandy Aftel once put it to me, "she's a good egg".

I had to smile a little bit as I read Mary Ellen's answers to my questionnaire, because she responded  much in the same way I would. Perhaps she simply expresses herself from the perspective of someone whose life is largely focused on fragrance, as is mine. So without further ado, read on for a glimpse into the preferences of a pro (and a very cool lady).

First of all, please state your name and occupation:

Mary Ellen Lapsansky, Vice President, The Fragrance Foundation

What is your favorite perfume at the moment?

L'Artisan's Mure et Musc- I've rediscovered it!

What is your favorite fragrance house or brand of perfume?

There are so many that I am partial to that I cannot list them all.  Many of them are niche brands but some big houses as well. 

How often do you wear perfume, and under what circumstances do you wear it?

I wear fragrance every day and reapply throughout the day. If I am going out in the evening, I reapply the fragrance worn during the day or switch to another favorite.

Is it important to you to know who the perfumer or creator is behind the perfumes you wear?

Since I am in the fragrance business, I do like to know the perfumer/creator behind the fragrances I wear. But even if I weren't, I'd like to know the creator/artist of the perfumes that capture my attention. It is the same as knowing who wrote my favorite song(s) and painted favorite pieces of art. With fragrance I find that if I like a particular perfumer's creation, I usually like all of his/her other creations.

Do you follow the work of certain perfumers, and if so, who?

I do. Right now I am following the work of Ralf Schweiger of Mane since we just interviewed him for The Fragrance Foundation's website: www.fragrance.org

Think of an iconic perfume bottle design from the past. What is it?

Schiaparelli's Shocking.

How many times a day do you estimate that you think about perfume?

Quite often-- it's hard to give a number. 

Think of the last time you complimented someone on the fragrance they were wearing. Did you ask them what it was, and if so, did they tell you?

I am always curious about what other people are wearing. So when I smell something delicious on someone else I always ask them what they are wearing if I don't recognize it already. They usually do tell me because they are thrilled that someone noticed and appreciates the scent. 

In just three words, describe your ideal fragrance:

An "olfactive love affair".

Elements Showcase Forum on Monday August 20: Art and Commerce

Since I won't be in NYC for Elements Showcase next week, I'd like to urge any of my readers who will be in the area to register to be present for this panel discussion on the coexistence of art and commerce. It promises to be really interesting. Participating panelists include:

• Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes
• Carlos Huber of Arquiste
• Christopher Brosius of CB I Hate Perfume

[August 20th at 3pm EST at the Skylight West in NYC]

Aftelier Sepia: a review, and a pondering on the nature of things

I am a Virgo. Mutable, a child of Mercury or Vulcan, depending on what you believe. I am perpetually in awe of what I encounter on my path in life. It's taken me awhile to figure out that I must yield to immovable forces, and that it's wise to recognize when to do so. That brings me to my introspective question of the day:    Do we assimilate ourselves into the hearts of perfumes when we wear them, or does the perfume go through some sort of transmogrification to become part of us? If every action has a reaction, am I reacting or is the perfume? Who's Zoomin' Who?

Mandy Aftel and I definitely hang out in the same universe-- that much is clear. Body and soul, her creations are stirring to me. I react to them with a deep curiosity and appreciation, and they make me feel so balanced that I even tend to have increased empathy for the people and other living things around me. This sounds like a positive step in the direction of world peace, doesn't it? See, Norwegian black metal hasn't ruined me completely. There is hope.

Sepia is Mandy's newest creation, and has a very unique inspiration: the dusty ghost towns of California. Her travels to these places was a very moving experience for her, and she has expressed herself eloquently with Sepia.

Fragrance Notes:
TOP: blood cedarwood, yellow mandarin, pink grapefruit
MID: pink lotus, strawberry, jasmine grandiflorum, cocoa, coffee
BASE: flowering tobacco, oud, indole, ambergris, cepes, labdanum


One of my initial impressions of Sepia was that it feels very much in the same family as Tango, but a bit less sweet and richer, deeper and more earthy. It also shares genes with another of my favorites, Cacao, with the gorgeous combination of fresh citrus and cocoa. The indole is perfectly dosed and works so beautifully with the jasmine and notes of dry earth, tobacco and cepes. Many people are afraid of indole (or are just opposed to the idea that its scent is associated with excrement or decaying bodies), but rest assured that it has been used in Sepia very judiciously and should definitely not be problematic for anyone who is (or thinks they are) sensitive to it.

[Beautiful new boxes and EDP bottles!]

The EDP version of the scent leans more in the direction of Tango. The notes of cocoa, strawberry and coffee are most prevalent on my skin. It's also more buoyant, less earthbound than the perfume. It's vulnerable to the wind. This diffusiveness allows the citrus notes to sing in its ideal register for a short but blissful duration.

With the perfume, the heightened intensity of the base notes (especially labdanum) behave in a  more incense-like way, and the gourmand notes are the first to hit me and the longest to stick to my skin (my skin is a notorious sugar magnet- amplifying even the tiniest hints of sweetness). The strawberry note in particular seems to intensify over time, and marries with the ambergris so perfectly. Ultimately, these little variances between the EDP and the perfume makes the perfume my preferred version of the fragrance (by a small margin, however).

The first time I wore Sepia, I was unsure about how I felt about it. It felt foreign to me, and historically, that's never meant anything but good things-- I enjoy not having specific reference points for perfumes. With Aftelier Shiso, the fragrance conjured alien landscapes for me, and with Tango, a surreal psychodrama played itself out set in my childhood home. Sepia is intended as an ode to the beauty of decay, when something is all but forgotten and only the bones remain. It is a stark contrast to her fleshy, robust and sticky Fig perfume and the tropical seaside lushness of Parfum Prive; Sepia is about the romance of what has passed and can never be replaced. It exists somewhere between reverence and reverie-- a newly occupied space for Mandy's perfumes, and a welcome addition to her well-edited and diverse lineup.

There is Beauty in Decay [photo courtesy Mandy Aftel]

Lately, I've been returning to my youth via the traditional hippie-ish scents of the incense I used to burn constantly-- Nag Champa, Frankincense & Myrrh, Patchouli, Dragon's Blood, Sandalwood, and all manner of various aromatics and ambery resins occasionally combined with elements like fruits and gourmands. I've been buying up and stockpiling "headshop" oils, incense, bath and body products-- whatever I can find that recalls the stuff I once habitually used and treasured. I've even located a source for Frankincense & Myrrh laundry soap.*

I am currently in the middle of this fragrant frenzy, yet it wasn't until the 3rd time I wore Sepia that I realized that there is a place for this luxury artisan fragrance among my veritable army of incense and oils.  Of all the incense-y perfumes I own, Sepia is the only one that doesn't announce itself as an incense fragrance; it wasn't intended as one, after all. But...labdanum and strawberry with so many other rich and mysterious elements... yes, it's happened again. I'm able to assign my own memories, feelings, images and associations with another Aftelier creation. From my perspective, that's the sort of blessing that only the very best perfumers can bestow upon the wearer. Sepia found its place in my life by instinct alone, and has already joined the ranks as one of my favorites.

Layering tip! There is a palpable sort of magic in the air when you layer Sepia with Oud Luban, which lends its beguiling smokiness to Sepia, enhancing its incense-like qualities and even transforming them. You can create an incredible third perfume by combining them.

* Visit IndigoWild.com for a nice selection of natural cleaning products, as well as a bazillion wonderful personal care products with scents suitable for current or former hippies, or people who aren't hippies but like hippie stuff (like me).

Aftelier Perfumes Sepia is available at Aftelier.com: 1/4 oz perfume for $150, 2ml mini bottle for $45, and 30ml EDP for $150. Samples are also available in both forms.

[samples provided by the perfumer for my consideration]