The undoubted perfume movement of the new millennium has been the massive burgeoning in numbers of’niche’ scent makers.
This over-used term has come to mean as many different things as there are perfumistas, but the trend The Dandy finds most encouraging is the ascendency of artistic and artisanal perfume producers, operating in the main independently.
Often experimental in their approach and with an accent on essential oils and absolutes over massed produced aromachemicals these avant gardists of the olfactory world have undoubtedly pushed back the frontiers of what fragrance can smell and feel like.
No nation has been further to the fore of this movement than the United States and there are too many sublime American scentists out there to list (not least for risk of leaving out some greats).
But special attention and admiration must be paid to Mandy Aftel and Aftelier Perfumes.
Not only has Mandy produced wonderful pieces of art across various perfume platforms but she has written with insight, intelligence, wit and passion on her craft in a way that has inspired a whole generation of new aroma artists.
Choosing a scent from the extensive range is a near impossible task, but Cepes and Tuberose stands out for The Dandy as an idiosyncratic masterwork.
Meaty sweet mushrooms meet fleshy over ripe flowers in a carnal embrace that is splendidly earthy at the opening and morphs into an extraordinary splicing of library, forest and eccentric boudoir.
Truly original and quite remarkable.
This may not be a scent for everyone, but in a world of apparently endless choice (are there now more Angels in heaven or on the shelves of Thierry Mugler?) I, for one, am so glad that there are such creative options available.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy.
The Perfumed Dandy. 
Hear, hear! Hurrah for Mandy Aftel!
Glad to see that you’re back to posting again–we missed you while you were away. Sorry that you did not drop by my place. Maybe next time… 😉
Dearest Shera
It is so good to be back and a visit to your place is long long overdue…. once my current IT ailments are finally at an end I shall be sure to be around for tea and finger sandwiches
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I meant in Boston (the next time you’re over on this side of the pond), but of course I always love to read you chez moi at the salon de parfum! 😉
Wow. Cepes and Tuberose — sounds like dinner — although, I’m thinking of another unlikely pairing: lobster and vanilla and I’m thinking this would be infinitely better on the skin 😉 Sounds like a must-try!
Lobster and vanilla! I’ll eat that!
You two… now you’ll have me hunting through Elizabeth David hunting down that Provencal recipe what calls for langoustines and vanilla pods.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
Dearest V
No, lobster and vanilla is perfecly logical, I’m sure there are plenty of French dishes that call for the pods with langoustine! And, if one could capture the slight savoury creaminess of lobster into fragrance. I think it might make a fine perfume, certainly no worse than ‘caviar’ that’s one thing for sure…
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
YES to vanilla and lobster. Also monkfish and really good cod. Just a little bit from a soft vanilla stem. Excellent. In all sorts of ways, for steaming, in a cream or bechamel sauce, in the butter…
I don’t know this one but it sounds interesting. Gardenia has that “mushroom note” as noted by L. Turin. I can see it working with tuberose, but it would surely need a deft hand.
Dearest Lily
And Mandy Aftel’s hand is truly deft… though that said this is not a scent for even every perfume lover.
I rather enjoy the savoury in scent, the printers’ ink and beeswax of Byredo’s misunderstood m/mink, the medieval Baron’s hall of Rabanne’s la Nuit, so perhaps I am predisposed this kind of animal aroma.
Thought provokinf stuff.
Thank you as always.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
When I was given an opportunity to try Aftelier’s perfumes, Cepes and Tuberose was the first one I chose. Absolute magic in its strangeness, its beauty and the many wondrous things it does to my mood. (It’s quite empowering! 😉 ) Since then, it’s become so much a part of me, there’s often a tiny dab of it somewhere on my person, no matter what else I wear! Thank you for such a lovely review, Dandy!
I deeply appreciate your kind words about my work, and your eloquent & perceptive review of Cepes & Tuberose! I wasn’t sure when I made it whether *anyone* else would like it besides me.
xo Mandy
Dear Mandy
It is my very pleasure.
I came to this splendid scent of yours by way of the fine and wise words of other bloggers, so I’m firmly of the belief that there are *quite a few of us* who not only like but positive love this perfume.
Thank you for the love, passion and skills that you bring to al your fragrances.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I’ve described Cepes & Tuberose as pure genius! I was quite taken aback the first time I tried it and was almost scared to re smell my wrist, but an amazing magic happens with this perfume. It is my all time favourite natural perfume and I am so sad that my sample is now empty. I am either going to have to splurge on a bottle or else re-create a poor ‘version’ for myself from my own natural perfume materials! This is a highly recommended must try perfume – the cloying nature of tuberose has been perfectly restrained. Kerry Che
Dear Kerry
I couldn’t agree more, there is most definitely some very white magic going on with this exceptional scent…
So much seems to be in the delicate and beautiful balance struck in the composition, something I imagine would be a real challenge to reproduce… but I can see that a lot of fun might be had in the process.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy