Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume

This book was recommended to me by Miriam Vareldzis, a significant figure in the world of fragrances, and the principal of 40notes (see her on-line!), who knows the author. There can be no better recommendation than that. I can only add, Aftel herself is a remarkable author and fragrance-artist (and a well-regarded psychologist), she writes very clearly, and the strengths of this book are two-fold: she provides just about everything you would need to know about perfumes if you are an interested newcomer to the field, and if you want to be an indie perfumer yourself, this is a good resource to see if you have what it takes. Another strength is that she connects fragrance in an introductory way to the physiology of scent, and to the spirituality of fragrance via alchemy without being airy-fairy New Age about it. Loaded with additional resources, and highly readable. - Daniel O'Donnell in Portland

When I purchases this book...I liked the title & thought it sounded neat. When I received it I thought I'd read the first page to see if it was any good & I ended up dropping everything and reading it every chance I got until I was at the back cover 36 hours later. It is such an informative and delightfully entertaining book. Aftel is not only a modern day natural perfume artisan, she is a tremdous author...using rich history in her writing and whispy dreamy imagery. There is an underlying sense of white magic to this book. I just love it & recommend it to EVERYONE. I knew nothing about the world of perfume, much less, natural perfume before this book--now I make my own blends in solid perfumes, oils, etc. and have completed Aftel' level I workbook. I live in TN, so I cannot attend her classes. I am no master artisan...but its a fun hobby.

I'm a practicing aromatherapist for 20 years who is self-taught for the most part. I've been wanting to make some vibrational sprays for my clients & customers, but didn't really know how to BLEND essential oils to get the outcome I wanted. It was basically hit or miss. This book gives a vast amount of practical information about how perfumery works: top, middle and base notes; categories of essences such as floral, fruity, woody, animal, earthy, resinous, balsamic, green, edible for Base notes; the 3 stages of the scent over time; essences that always go together well; how to create a blend for an individual, and much more. She gives a list of top, middle and base note essential oils to start with and what to add to your collection as you go along. Pages 60-64 explain exactly how to get to know each of your essences at the deepest level so that you can begin to see what blending the oils will result in. Then later in the book, she speaks in detail of the steps to creating a blend as well as giving recipes for blends such as how to make a top, middle and base chord blend, sensual blends, blends for meditation & bath, etc. Lots of information, recommended books, and resources for supplies. Very practical and the historical narratives are very interesting.

It is worth purchasing and reading for the beginning natural, artistry perfumer or kitchen witch but probably not going to be an easy read for empirically minded chemistry types. This is a book by Mandy Aftel, the artist and professional perfumer. It is about her personal "alchemy" as it relates to the art of perfumery as she sees it. This is not an alchemy or science based perfumery text. It's one artisans personal and practical philosophy on the artistry of perfume making with some perfume history and practical information to be gleaned by the eager or tolerant and patient reader. Despite the authors extensive use of hyperbole and lack of clear organization of some of the material there is a lot to be gleaned from this book for beginners who aren't ready to dive head first into expensive or hard to find archaic perfumery texts or chemistry tomes. There are some tables of useful information that clearly outline which oil combinations are historically harmonious or that she finds harmonious and offers some simple formulas, harmonies and accords for the beginning perfumer to start with - although you will need at least $200-$300 worth of materials which you might already mostly have. This book is about perfumery and how to blend perfumes from traditional "natural" materials (essential oils, absolutes, concretes, natural fixatives and animal products predominantly) for beginning perfumers. It seems like most of the material in this book is aggregated from other historical sources but then again I don't think one can write about how to make perfumes without going into the historical blending of perfumery; it seems like every book I've read so far on the subject does the same thing including the more science based books. If you are wanting to learn more about the science of perfumery from a modern or more empirical perspective filled with technical information then this is definitely NOT the right book for you. If you are wanting an "inspirational", emotive filled how-to from the perspective of a professional artisan in order to get your feet wet then you will be able to glean useful information, it all depends on your leanings and/or tenacity - I didn't find it that inspiring personally. As an artist I got a lot out of it on a materials based and intuitive process kind of way. As an empirical leaning, science based beginning perfumer I was frustrated by the meanderings, hyperbole & lack of organization. The author comes from her personal experience and philosophy as a professional perfumer and relates her experience in a way that makes it sound like her religion. She writes some philosophically based opinions into the text as though they are fact so be aware of guru-ism. It is clear that the writer feels a strong connection with perfumery's historical alchemical, guild based and apothecary roots and her insight comes from her practical knowledge and experience as both a professional and artist. Some might find her writing style inspirational due to her frequent use of metaphor and grandiosity. Despite what I found to be mostly fluff I think the author does a pretty good job of bringing the material down to a human level and makes perfumery approachable enough to start blending for most people. In case you can't tell I'm not fond of her writing style and am of the opinion that her writing style (or lack thereof) tends to cloud some of the value this book offers in the way of practical information. I'm sure she is a wonderful perfumer but a writer she is not. The alchemical aspect is not readily apparent besides the authors use of some "alchemical" terminology, exaggerations and hyping up the mysterious aspects of historical processes of perfumery, life and biology for effect. My wife reads archaic alchemy texts and couldn't get half way through this book. It seems that the alchemical reference is more for effect and marketing chaff in the same way jazz bands like to over use it. I'm sure she is well meaning and I'm sure she knows quite a bit about the history and contemplative process of alchemy, especially as it applies to her craft but it doesn't really come across in a way that is specifically related to alchemy in general for you practical or laboratory alchemy types. Instead it comes across as another marketing piece for the Aftel franchise way of doing things.

Fantastic Book! I bought this as an intro to help me as an apprentice in natural perfumery! It talks about the history of perfume in depth and also describes how to create natural perfumes using base, middle and top notes of natural essences! I was so inspired, I visited the Aftel website and went on to complete Mandy's Intro to perfume- distance learning class. Then I attended her studio class in Berkley that was absolutely amazing! Best book ever on Natural Perfumery!

This book is stunning! I was expecting something different. Beautifully writted, this content is not only for a lover of fragrance, but also for the intellectual seeking to learn and immerse themselves in the history of fragrance. Well done!

Lo usé para una investigación museográfica. Tiene buen contenido.

un libro pieno di spiegazioni e di informazioni sui profumi dall'antichità fino ai nostri giorni. Un ottimo acquisto consigliatissimo, la copertina non è rigida e la spedizione puntuale.

Es un imprescinbible para comerzar con la creacion de la perfumeria.cada vez que lo lees aprendes algo nuevo.cortito y muy facil de leer pero con mucha informacion

great for the collection

I lapped up this book. It was magical, historical and informative without being dry. Loved it. A must have for anyone interested in perfumery and history.