Come in from the cold: Winter and holiday offerings for 2015 from Aftelier Perfumes

By Donna Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes has made a habit of delighting us just when we need it most, in the dreary days of winter. This season we are presented with a new perfume, a different version of another, and a long-awaited addition to her line of organic artisan teas. All new for 2015 is Vanilla Smoke, which through some sleight of hand actually smells more like real smoke than many fragrances with synthetic ingredients; the effect comes from a special extract of Lapsang Souchong tea that has been smoked over pine wood. I have to admit that smoky perfumes and I do not always get along, and when I first put this on, I smelled just like Henri Bendel's Firewood candle – one of the best there is, but not something I would want to wear on my skin. Fortunately this effect subsided as it warmed up and the vanilla note began to expand. It is a decidedly non-foody Madagascar vanilla absolute, deep and dark and woody, the perfect mate for the smoke. The composition is wrapped in a veil of real ambergris, which acts as the binder to make the whole thing seamless and velvet-smooth and gives it extraordinary longevity. This new introduction is available in both eau de parfum and extrait; the latter is almost supernaturally rich and dense and a bit less smoky to my nose than the eau de parfum; it's a showcase for the vanilla and ambergris. Wear it for the most special of occasions; it stays close to the skin, but those who do get close will be mesmerized. I tested the fabulous Bergamoss when it was launched in solid form, and now it is available as a liquid perfume for a limited time. I may even like it better in this formulation, if that is possible; it is opened up, sharp and distinctive, punched up with a shot of bitter-green the way I like my chypres, yet still imbued with the beauty of the florals and the marvelous essence of the aromatic flouve grass. The bergamot is very forward in this version, while the solid is softer and mossier, with some sweetness added from the creamy base itself. The eau de parfum is striking, exhilarating, and vibrant, the perfume equivalent of a beautiful woman in a daring green dress who turns heads the moment she enters a room. We are so very lucky to have American perfumers making real chypres at a time when European firms are hobbled by EU/IFRA restrictions - I say bring it on, and since this is a limited edition, get it while you can, it is superb.                                                                                 And the tea – oh my, the tea! It has been two years since the launch of the original three perfumed teas from Aftelier, which are wonderful, and the new Orange & Cardamom black tea, using flavorings from Aftelier's wonderful Chef's Essences, was worth the wait. Cardamom is my favorite of all the sweet spices, but dosing is key; too little and it can be overpowered by other aromas, too much and its highly pitched woody character can do its own overwhelming. This is judged just right, blending the sharp brightness of cardamom with a sweet and inviting blood orange, which also happens to be one of my favorites so far from the Chef's Essences line. The tea itself is top shelf rolled black tea pearls of exceptional quality, of course. This is a treat for cold mornings curled up on the couch and relaxing, savoring every sip, and a worthy addition to the lineup. Image credits: “Golden Smoke” wallpaper from 99wallpapers.net, art by T Glow. One of my favorite photos of actress Elizabeth Taylor, in a publicity shot from 1951's “A Place In The Sun.” Disclosure: The samples of all the products in this review were sent to me by Aftelier Perfumes.

A beacon of light in the gloom: Bergamoss solid perfume by Aftelier

By Donna Recently I was thinking about why I like chypre fragrances so much. Obviously I love the way they smell, but apart from that, the true chypres all share a common thread; they clearly owe much of their character to natural materials, and in general those materials are of good quality. From the high opening note of bergamot through the floral heart and down into the base of resins and moss, they are grounded in nature. Whether it is the animalic elegance of Miss Dior, the wistfully rosy beauty of Houbigant's , Demi-Jour or the bitter-green oakmoss overdose of Jean-Louis Scherrer, the chypre structure in all its guises owes its integrity to things that can't be made in a laboratory. (Don't even get me started with the so-called “modern chypres” that were born of necessity out of restrictions on naturals.) As much as I appreciate contemporary perfumes made into abstract works of creative art with the use of aroma chemicals, those which are made with nothing but those lack heart and soul, like a computer-generated image of a “perfect woman” whose expression is a vacuous stare and whose face is boring in its eerie symmetry. For the real deal, I reach most often for my collection of vintage chypres, made before the days of nanny states, bureaucratic overreach and multinational detergent companies acquiring perfume houses. Now we have another entry in the genre that could easily be a throwback vintage scent, but it's an all new fragrance called Bergamoss from Aftelier Perfumes, and it is only available in solid form. Mandy Aftel wanted to make a true chypre fragrance and decided that it would work best as a solid. After testing it, I cannot disagree; it's so good I want to slather it all over myself and live in it 24/7. Bergamoss is 100% natural, like all Aftelier perfumes, and it has the true chypre building blocks but with some unexpected companions. The exhilarating top notes of bergamot and wild sweet orange are bright and uplifting, like sunlight knifing through a dense forest canopy to reach the ground below. As the perfume warms on skin, it opens up to reveal a dreamy, expansive heart featuring ripe peach and nutmeg, a combination I have not encountered before but of which I heartily approve. This pastoral effect is heightened by the use of a most rare material called flouve, which is an absolute of a sweet grass that has a heartbreakingly beautiful aromatic character and gives the the wearer the feeling of being in a broad, romantic meadow filled with waving midsummer grasses drying into hay and interwoven with scented wildflowers. Of course, the base has plenty of real oakmoss, the cornerstone of all true chypres, along with antique civet and coumarin, the latter of which enhances the impression of the flouve. I have to say that flouve is my new perfume crush – every time I wear this fragrance I smell something different in it, as there seems to be no end to its aromatic revelations. The solid formula adds yet another dimension, with its sensuous, luxuriant feel when applied to the skin. Bergamoss has it all – it's refreshing, bright, sweet, floral, spicy, green (literally and figuratively so), mossy, earthy, rich, animalic and profound. Classic perfume lovers rejoice; the art of the chypre is not lost, it's just living in the small studios of artisan perfumers who are keeping the flame burning. Image credit: “Enchanted Forest” from hdwallpapersos.com Disclosure: My testing sample was given to me by Aftelier Perfumes.