Essence & 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.

First, I want to state that I do love this book. I find it inspirational, beautiful, and entertaining. The history of perfumery was especially enjoyable. The sections on creating your own perfume also have a lot of wonderful information.HOWEVER...This book was published in 2001, so perhaps that has something to do with this issue (i.e., perhaps certain safety and/or ethical issues were not then widely documented or understood). I'm happy to cut the author some slack on that count, but I really must clearly state that some of the author's recommendations for oils are questionable for safety and ethical reasons. Readers would do well to do their own research and not just take the author's word for it when she tells you to put cold-pressed bergamot oil on your skin (even diluted, there is a risk of phototoxicity!), or recommends the use of Mysore sandalwood (which is an endangered species and is subject to a great deal of criminal black market trafficking as well as adulteration).Other things to look out for include the recommendation of costus root (highly allergenic, forbidden for use in fragrances as per International Fragrance Association guidelines, plus the plant is threatened or possibly endangered by now), boi de rose (Brazilian rosewood, which is endangered and the subject of highly unethical exploitation), civet (unethical due to treatment of the animals from which it is obtained), castoreum (as with civet), and those are just the things that I can recall off the top of my head. To her credit, Mandy Aftel no longer uses civet or castoreum or any other ethically questionable animal products in her work; as noted, this book was published in 2001, and she appears to have had some change of heart or mind since then, at least on the issue of animal products.She does give a brief nod to safety and advises patch testing (although phototoxicity cannot be tested that way) and she directs the reader to the IFRA website for further guidelines. The reader is WELL ADVISED to do this, and to really look into the issues involved in which oils are and are not safe to put on your skin, and in what dilutions and quantities. Essential oil safety shouldn't be taken lightly, and what you don't know can harm you, others, and the environment, and possibly contribute to the extinction of a species.Now, I really do not want to leave anyone with the impression that this is not a worthwhile book, because it most emphatically is worthwhile! It is beautifully written, full of delightful quotations, sensual prose, and fascinating ideas, it's a little mystical, maybe a little magickal, too, and a wealth of inspiration to anyone wanting to learn the art of natural perfumery. This book, in fact, started something of a revolution, a renaissance in the art of natural perfumery, and it is very clear to me why that is and how it happened. This is an incredibly inspiring and beautiful book, and one I am sure I will refer to and cherish for many years to come.So long as you educate yourself on the issues I mentioned, this book will serve you well, and even if you never intend to buy an essential oil or make any perfume whatsoever, the book is a lovely read if you're a perfume lover, if only for the wonderful history section and musings about alchemy as it relates to perfumery. As I said, it's a beautiful book, and well worth reading.

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!