The Museum of Scent: Exploring the Curious and Wondrous World of Fragrance

by Mandy Aftel

Breathe in the natural and cultural history of scent with this richly illustrated book inspired by the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents “This work . . . is a true original―a rarest of rare legacy volume. This book was created by a beautiful elder who is a meaning, a highly unique person of multiple modern and old ways of knowing. . . . Mandy Aftel’s dons and talents are now resting in your hands in this magical tome that, I deeply sense and hope, will bless you time and again.”
―From the foreword by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés Reyés, author of Women Who Run with the Wolves and the forthcoming La Curandera, Walking in Two Worlds Mandy Aftel is one of the world’s preeminent natural perfumers, with a clientele ranging from the singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen to Ivy Ross, head of hardware design at Google. Eschewing the synthetic molecules that dominate commercial perfumes, Aftel creates her complex and subtle fragrances using only natural essences. For her, each of these essences is a gateway to a lost world of scent, stretching back to the beginnings of human civilization and intertwined with the history of medicine, cuisine, adornment, sexuality, and spirituality. In 2017, Aftel opened a one-room museum―the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents―in her backyard in Berkeley, California, to help a modern audience rediscover the enchantment of this lost world. Her museum has attracted thousands of enthusiastic visitors and has been featured in the New York Times , Vogue , Goop , The Oprah Magazine , and numerous other media outlets.

Now Aftel has created this beautiful book, illustrated with treasures from her museum’s collection, so that readers at home can immerse themselves in the world of scent. She guides us through the different families of botanical fragrances (including flowers, woods, leaves and grasses, and resins), depicting each plant with a hand-colored antique woodcut and revealing its olfactory notes and lore. Special chapters are devoted to the most rare and precious fragrances―such as ambergris, formed of a rare secretion of the sperm whale―and to antique essential oil bottles, handwritten recipe books, and other evocative artifacts. The Museum of Scent , which includes a bookmark subtly scented with a natural essence, invites us on a sensuous, imaginative journey.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

264 pages, Hardcover

Published October 31, 2023

About the author

Mandy Aftel is an American perfumer. She is the owner and nose behind the natural perfume line Aftelier as well as the author of nine books, including four books on natural perfume and a cookbook on essential oils.

Reviews

[Adrienne Blaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got engaged in this museum! My partner and I had been trying to visit Mandy Aftel’s Archive of Curious Scents throughout the waxing and waning of quarantine. Fragrance had become our method of armchair travel in the 600 sq ft space where we were spending most of our time. We quickly learned that one of the rockstars of perfumery, Mandy Aftel, not only lived in our area but also had a museum built off of her home. On New Year’s Day we were finally able to safely attend her museum. It was raining hard outside, but inside we found a warm and fascinating space. While I was examining antique perfume materials, my partner was sneaking his own object among the interactive exhibits: a message in a bottle.

This proposal was just as magical as the museum Mandy Aftel, her husband and their son have built in Berkeley. We were able to meet all of them during our visit, which shows just how personal this endeavor really is. This book gives excellent insight into the exhibits and is a great alternative for anyone who isn’t able to see the place in person.

[Tracy]

This book is very pretty and has some interesting info but I didn't really get who it's for / why this book (so, probably not me 😉). I wound up being most interested in the history and techniques of extracting fragrances. I was intrigued by the idea of chords and which fragrances comprised different notes, but the section was quite brief.

The compendium of individual essences was interesting but challenging to understand the differences in fragrance -- most useful were the places she shares her opinion or highlights the unexpected, like the concept of "fecal-floral" fragrances and the value of incorporating scents that might seem odd or even unpleasant to balance other sweeter fragrances.

I didn't understand the point of the unopened antique/ vintage bottles of essences; the author, however, was very enthusiastic about them and the unknown they represent.

[Kelly-Ann McFern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've gotta say the cover doesn't do the book any justice. If you love the historical and archive side of perfumery with a good dash of chemistry, then this book might be a great choice. Filled with countless pictures and references to the history of perfumery, there are chapters that speak about the materials used in perfumes interspersed with pictures and explanation of historical artifacts kept by the Museum of Scents. It's a beautiful journey and might give you the need to go visit the Museaum (I had never heard about it before this book).

I would've personally loved more details about the ingredients used in perfumery (there are often only 5-10 sentences per ingredient on a given page) and a better popularization of historical parts. I sometimes got lost because I didn't understand why the author had included such text or such picture. It was, nontheless, a beautiful journey and one I recommend to anyone who loves perfumery or historical adventures!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

As beautiful as it is informative, this book is the next best thing to visiting the Aftel Museum of Scent in person (which I will certainly do someday). The inclusion of a cute scratch-and-sniff bookmark with the book is example of Aftel's whimsy, generosity, and imagination.

[Shyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really need to buy this for my collection. I've had it checked out for almost four renewals at three weeks a piece. >.<

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Factual book on essential oils and making scents

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to scents.

[Ilaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Molto carino, è una specie di catalogo del museo di Mandy Aftel con qualche spiegazione riguardo le varie note dei profumi.

[O M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremeley beautiful book, worth reading and visitng the meuseum.

I not only read this book but have also taken her courses and am a certified perfumer.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book! Great descriptions, insights, and stories.