Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume

Revised edition, 2022; English-language version

For centuries, people have rubbed scents into their skin with instinctive pleasure and used them to pray, to heal, and to make love. Yet perfumery, with its lush history and creative and sensual possibilities, is in many ways a lost art. No one knows that better than artisan natural perfumer Mandy Aftel, who has spent nearly thirty years in the world of scent. She selects the finest natural essences from around the world and uses them to create refined fragrances.

In Essence and Alchemy, which has appeared in fourteen foreign editions, Aftel teaches the art of making natural perfumes, complete with recipes. She rediscovers the social and metaphysical heritage woven into the evolution of perfumery, from the dramas of the spice trade to the quests of the alchemists. She follows scent through the boudoir and the bath to the sanctuaries of worship, offering insights into the relationship between scent and sex, solitude, and the soul. In doing so, she unearths a forgotten world of natural essences and their deep resonance with body, mind, and spirit.