Essence & Alchemy, by Mandy Aftel. Mandy Aftel’s fascinated by magic and alchemy – and she writes so beautifully, she definitely adds a touch of fairydust to this truly readable book. It’s more than a history of fragrance: it looks behind the scenes at the evolution of fragrance-making, and packs plenty of info about essential oils and their attributes. A ‘natural’ perfumer herself, working only with botanical essences (and with her own fragrance line, based in California – Aftelier – and in the closing chapters it segues into a how-to book that’s a good place to start if you want to become your own ‘perfume mixologist’, and deepen your understanding and love of perfumery by making fragrance yourself. (Reading reviews on www.goodreads.com, it inspired plenty of readers to do just that.)
*****
At Amazon
