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Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume Paperback – May 18, 2022

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 232 ratings

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REVISED EDITION, 2022
For centuries, people have taken an instinctive pleasure in rubbing scents into their skin and using them to pray, to heal, and to make love. Yet in many ways perfumery, with its lush history and creative and sensual possibilities, is a lost art. No one knows this better than artisan natural perfumer Mandy Aftel, who has spent nearly thirty years immersed in the world of scent, culling the most beautiful natural essences from all over the world and using them to create exquisite fragrances.

In Essence and Alchemy, which has been published in fourteen foreign editions, Aftel teaches the art of making natural perfumes, complete with recipes. She resurrects the social and metaphysical legacy that is entwined with the evolution of perfumery, from the dramas of the spice trade to the quests of the alchemists. Tracking scent through the boudoir and bath and into the sanctums of worship, she offers insights on the relationship of scent to sex, solitude, and the soul, unearthing a forgotten world of natural essences and their profound resonance with body, mind, and spirit.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In my experience, Essence and Alchemy is the first book that people turn to when they're starting their practices with perfumery. It's a crucial societal touchpoint and a huge factor in the ongoing evolution of independent perfumery. In short, it's a cultural gem."
— Saskia Wilson-Brown, director & founder, The Institute for Art and Olfaction

"To this most extraordinary treatise on the history and making of perfume, Aftel brings sheer delight in the bouquet of aromas in the natural world."
— Publisher's Weekly

"Compulsively readable compendium of perfume legend, lore, and instruction."
— San Francisco Chronicle

"Mandy Aftel is fascinated by magic and alchemy - and she writes so beautifully, she definitely adds a touch of fairydust to this truly readable book. It's more than a history of fragrance: it looks behind the scenes at the evolution of fragrance-making, and packs plenty of info about essential oils and their attributes. In the closing chapters it
segues into a how-to book that's a good place to start if you want to become your own 'perfume mixologist', and deepen your understanding and love of perfumery by making fragrance yourself."
— The Perfume Society

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B1VKZPBZ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aftelier Perfumes (May 18, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8218009014
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.6 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 232 ratings

About the author

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Mandy Aftel
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Mandy Aftel is an internationally known artisan perfumer and educator on natural fragrance and flavor. She was born and educated in Michigan and has been living in Berkeley, California since 1970. She is the owner of Aftelier Perfumes and the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents in Berkeley, California. The Archive is the first museum in the United States dedicated to the experience of fragrance, including her collection of one of a kind antique artifacts.

She participated in many exhibitions, panels and conferences concerning scent, has demonstrated and taught the art of natural perfumery across the nation, and regularly collaborates with top-name chefs and mixologists. She was named one of the top seven bespoke perfumers in the world by Forbes.com. Her work has been featured on CNN and in The New York Times, Vogue, Vanity Fair, In Style, Time, Bon Appétit, Food and Wine, W, Self, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Elle.

She is the author of eight books, most recently with Chef Daniel Patterson The Art of Flavor: Practices and Principles for Creating Delicious Food.

In Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent (2014), through five major players in the epic of aroma (cinnamon, mint, frankincense, ambergris, and jasmine), Mandy explores the profound connection between our sense of smell and the appetites that move us, give us pleasure, make us fully alive.

Aroma (2004), the cookbook that Mandy co-authored with chef Daniel Patterson, focuses on the essential link between food and fragrance and includes recipes for both.

Essence and Alchemy: A Book of Perfume (2001) has been translated into 14 languages and was the winner of The Sense of Smell Institute’s Richard B. Solomon Award.

Scents & Sensibilities (2008) guides the reader through the history and creation of solid perfumes.

Mandy is also the author of The Story of Your Life: Becoming the Author of Your Experience; When Talk Is Not Cheap; and Death of a Rolling Stone: The Brian Jones Story.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
232 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2022
    I love Mandy's original "Essence and Alchemy; the first edition is where I "cut my teeth" so-to-speak. I truly am grateful she shared her knowledge.

    My only wish for this new second edition is that there'd be a lot more new stuff...more golden nuggets.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023
    What didn't I enjoy about this book?
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2023
    I thought there would be more information about actually creating fragrances - most of the book is a narrative history, which I very much enjoyed.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022
    A delightful read, once again! Worth taking the time to experience, not only for the reminders and revisits but for the updated section on composition filled with concepts and guidance that you can’t find elsewhere!
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2017
    Some reviewers seem to have wanted a recipe book. This book is so much more. You'll get basic how to information, but more importantly you'll get context to understand why and how scents work. The result will be to enable you to make creative decisions on your own. I loved this book and I'm going to read it again, and return frequently to passages i highlighted the first time through.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2022
    This book has useful and fascinating information on crafting perfumes.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2013
    Wonderful resource with some really good info. However, this should not be the only book you read if you've seriously considered creating scents for personal use or sale. Explore this fascinating world of mystery, beauty and imagination with voracious interest and near-clinical study, and you will be able to find resources that help you achieve gorgeous creations in no time!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2014
    A great book if you want to be inspired, convinced perfumery is a worthwhile thing, or provided with a teeny bit of instruction for getting started. Not nearly enough technical info to make me feel ready to buy several hundred dollars of starter oils and begin blending. The book is disorganized with an abundance of oddly pieced together history, and fantastical creative writing. Beautiful but not very helpful for making beautiful things. I got one page of "how to get started" notes from the whole book.
    7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Paola
    5.0 out of 5 stars Per appassionati e intenditori
    Reviewed in Italy on October 19, 2024
    Acquistato per regalarlo a una delle mie figlie, che lo desiderava, in quanto appassionata dell'arte della profumeria. E' un testo per "addetti ai lavori". Arrivato ben imballato e in perfette condizioni. Molto soddisfatta.
  • Alex
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on May 28, 2024
    A wonderful and deeply insightful journey in the world of scent. Profoundly researched and very tastefully written. Today even more valid and necessary than at the time that was written.
  • Comprador ocasional
    1.0 out of 5 stars Pésima calidad de impresión
    Reviewed in Spain on March 28, 2024
    Quienes venden libros no se consideran obligados a mencionar que los imprimen bajo demanda. El resultado no es un libro sino un taco de papeles con calidad de fotocopias, que están pegados a un cartón que llega deformado. No lo voy a tirar a la basura, pero este tipo de engaños no son admisibles. CALIDAD PÉSIMA.
  • Mrs.Veronika Maxim
    5.0 out of 5 stars The depth I have been looking for
    Reviewed in Canada on July 27, 2019
    This book is outstanding in its refinement, depth and quality of information and the exquisite writing style. I cannot stop reading and rereading it. I'm a beginning perfumer and I tried reading some modern books on perfumery, but just couldn't palate the dry chemical, marketing laden soulless feel of them. This book has brought me right back to the source of the magic and mystery of perfumery! It's almost esoteric. It feels like certain passages were written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes (a renown Jungian psychologist, the author of the epic "Women Who Run With the Wolves") with her archetypal insights.
    I have seen some negative reviews of this book and I pray the world won't see the perfumes produced by those who cannot relate to the alchemy, poetry and mysticism of the perfume. They should be making laundry detergents, not perfumes.
  • Amazon カスタマー
    1.0 out of 5 stars Good information but badly written
    Reviewed in Japan on June 4, 2024
    The writer knows their stuff and obviously has a passion for the subject - its a shame they can't write so well. The words are often rambling and wander all over the place, and it feels as though they are trying to fill the page rather than just share their knowledge. Its unfortunate, because there are not many books on this subject and it has an interesting history. Perhaps it would be worth the publisher engaging a professional writer to turn it into something worthwhile.