The exhibit focused on education and the history of perfumery.

In early 2009, Living Perfume: The Natural Alchemy of Mandy Aftel, debuted at the Fifth Avenue store, Henri Bendel. My three other books are 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. Scents & Sensibilities guides the reader through the history and creation of solid perfumes. Aroma, a cookbook (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 has been translated into seven languages and was the winner of The Sense of Smell Institute's Richard B. In addition to my work as a perfumer, I am the author of six books, three of which are on natural perfume. It is my hope that people have a feeling of luxury, well-being, beauty and excitement when they wear Aftelier Perfumes.

I am connected to the whole process, and it makes me very happy when people incorporate my perfumes in their lives. Once the formulas are developed, I hand blend small batches of perfume, and bottle it in the same studio it was created in. Others take endless revisions and weeks of blending until everything comes together in the ideal balance. With some perfumes, the first iteration is almost perfect. I start with a concept for the perfume, and work to create something modern and luxurious. In each perfume, I try to capture a feeling and aesthetic experience. Through years of searching I have amassed a comprehensive and strikingly beautiful palette from which to work. Finding the essences is like a quest, and I enjoy it as much as the act of creation. I seek out exotic, unusual essences from hidden corners of the world, often smelling a dozen versions of the same oil, searching for the one that surpasses the rest. I hand blend each perfume from my collection of extraordinary essences, which I have gathered with uncompromising standards for only the finest quality 100% pure and natural materials. My approach to creating artisan natural perfumes is based in the quality and integrity of the ingredients. We bring an inexplicable emotional intensity to the experience of an authentic smell and the memories it sparks and creates. Although synthetics approximate the odors of natural ingredients, they have none of the complexity, mystery or emotional depth. Today, almost every perfume is created from synthetic essences.

Essence and alchemy by mandy aftel