Skeptical? Smell for yourself. In one corner of the museum, Aftel has set out synthetic versions of jasmine, rose and vanilla alongside their natural counterparts. To my nose, the synthetic scents all feel familiar — the vanilla recalls Bath & Body Works lotion, or a Yankee Candle, while the rose wafts a harsh, chemical-laced note that suggests a cleaning product. Smelling the natural versions is like the olfactory version of removing a cataract from your eyes and suddenly seeing the world in vivid color...

— The San Francisco Chronicle goes to Mandy Aftel's Archive of Curious Scents in Berkeley, California. Read more at Mandy Aftel’s perfume museum seduces with whale vomit and other curious scents.

This tiny museum manages to contain the olfactory history of the world: hundreds of natural essences, raw ingredients and antique tinctures gathered from every corner of the globe, and all available for visitors to smell. [...] Spending an hour in here, which is what one is allotted with the purchase of a $20 ticket, is an emotional journey of inhaling odors that conjure ancient civilizations and one’s own past.

— The New York Times writes about Mandy Aftel's Aftel Archive of Curious Scents in Berkeley. Read more at A Little Cottage Where You Can Smell the Natural History of Perfume.