Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent, by Mandy Aftel of indie perfume house Aftelier, will be published in October of this year. Aftel's prior books on perfumery include Essence & Alchemy, Scents & Sensibility and Aroma.
Mandy Aftel is widely acclaimed as a trailblazer in natural perfumery. Over two decades of sourcing the finest aromatic ingredients from all over the world and creating artisanal fragrances, she has been an evangelist for the transformative power of scent. In Fragrant, through five major players in the epic of aroma, she explores the profound connection between our sense of smell and the appetites that move us, give us pleasure, make us fully alive. Cinnamon, queen of the Spice Route, touches our hunger for the unknown, the exotic, the luxurious. Mint, homegrown the world over, speaks to our affinity for the familiar, the native, the authentic. Frankincense, an ancient incense ingredient, taps into our longing for transcendence, while ambergris embodies our unquenchable curiosity. And exquisite jasmine exemplifies our yearning for beauty, both evanescent and enduring.
In addition to providing a riveting initiation into the history, natural history, and philosophy of scent, Fragrant imparts the essentials of scent literacy and includes recipes for easy-to-make fragrances and edible, drinkable, and useful concoctions that reveal the imaginative possibilities of creating with—and reveling in—aroma. Vintage line drawings make for a volume that will be a treasured gift as well as a great read.
Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent by Mandy Aftel is available now for pre-order at Amazon, $14.99 for Kindle or $23.66 for Hardcover.
(via amazon, found via Aftelier Perfumes at Facebook)
I have one of her books – the one that is sort of a cookbook – and I love it. This one sounds great, too. I’ll be watching for the NST review when it comes out!
Is that Aroma? I keep thinking I should buy it…have you cooked anything from it?
Interesting! With the explosion of technology focused on creating scent experiences, shopping inscentives (okay, I just coined that and am very proud of it) and the plethora of scented products on store shelves.. I’ve been thinking about what a scent canon might look/smell like–and then it seemed I was clearly biased towards a Western Canon with scents like rose, honey, garlic, rosemary, apples, black pepper, lavender, cheddar cheese, menthol, lemon… you get the picture.
+1 for inscentives!