Just finished reading "Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume" (2001) by Mandy Aftel. I decided to pick up this book to learn more about the history of perfumes and the ingredients that go into them.Aftel is an American natural perfumer and her book is a testament of her in-depth knowl...
Gleaming beds and chairs, Polished by the years, Such would decorate our chamber; And the rarest blooms Mix their soft perfumes. —Charles Baudelaire, “Invitation to the Voyage” 79 WHEN YOU SMELL PERFUME, you absent yourself from habitual life and go on a journey. Scents materialize, one after the...