Scented Snippets New Fragrance Review: Aftelier Bergamoss Solid Perfume/I Came So Far For Beauty

Mail from Mandy Aftel is to be savored.by: Ida Meister

Pure and simple.

Balance and harmony are the hallmark of Mandy Aftel [aptly coined “The Queen of Green” by Michelyn Camen of Cafleurebon].

Many perfumers seek to create jagged edges, discord, parfums aiguillés—but not Mandy.

Beauty is her driving Muse, She Who Must Be Obeyed [if you are a fan of Leo McKern's Rumpole of the Bailey]: this is the only mistress she serves.

Her latest composition Bergamoss, a subtle solid perfume embodying many mysteries—gives great pleasure.

AFTELIER BERGAMOSS Featured Notes: Top: bergamot, wild sweet orange Middle: peach, citronellol, nutmeg absolute  Base: oakmoss, flouve absolute, coumarin, antique civet

Mandy is detail-oriented; every aspect of her creations must have a cohesiveness, an artistic merit.

Her packaging in orange and purple, with its exquisite scrollwork; her choices of flacons, handmade sterling silver/vermeil/Limoges/gold compacts which nestle into the palm of the hand.

This corresponds directly to the immense love and respect with which she treats her materials, all of which are responsibly sourced and / or are antique in origin [musks, civet, sandalwood].

In Bergamoss we are treated to a chypre laced with citrus and spice; everything nice comes to us in the form of mouthwatering peach and flouve, haylike coumarin which acts like the "wind that shakes the barley." Oakmoss, lovely oakmoss—nuzzles beside the rare gift of true civet, just minute enough to murmur of dark rustlings in the forest.

Two-sided niello enamel antique watch case, available with 
the solid perfume of your choice

Bergamoss is not linear in any wise. Like my favorite fragrances, it undergoes many turns along the way: upon initial application, I'm aware of the slightly bitter tanginess of tonic bergamot, mellowed by orange, which is juicy in itself. It's as if, briefly—a bit of the fruits' pith is included. Intensely grassy peachiness greets the grateful nose, suave and pastoral. Here is a phase of meadow, with the sun beating down at midday, heightening aroma and our own discernment of it. Meadow and orchard both, with the rosiness of citronellol to thank for the flowers.

From the meadow to the forest, where wild creatures lurk within its mossy depths. This is a fairytale forest; only when night falls are we moved by the voices in the dark, the footfalls of the Other.

I love oakmoss' inkiness, that primordial ooze quality which mesmerizes. Civet emphasizes this characteristic without overshadowing it; that would be inharmonious, and Mandy wouldn't permit it.

19th-century Limoges compact with Arts and Crafts Portrait,
available with the solid perfume of your choice

We only sense the beasts. They never overpower us, or there might be no happy ending.

As a solid perfume [as in any solid, concrète, or oil], Bergamoss lies close to the flesh and one needs to be in a very intimate space to appreciate it, so that it is a private pleasure, not a sillage monster.

My wayward mind sees the word Bergamoss and immediately segues to Paul Verlaine's exquisite poem/chanson lyric, "Claire De Lune"—with its use ofbergamasque:

“Votre âme est un paysage choisi  Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques.” —Verlaine

"Your soul is a choice landscape Peopled by charming folk in masquerade, rustic folk dancers Playing the lute and dancing and nearly sad beneath their extraordinary costumes." —my translation

[I'm aware that many folk feel that price point should be commensurate with sillage. If this is your belief, then such perfumes will not satisfy you. You would do well to seek elsewhere, because such creatively work-intensive perfumes and their equally artistic presentation may not justify their cost in your eyes.]

14K Gold Antique Patch Box, available with the solid perfume of your choice

I am grateful that Mandy shared this exquisite experience with me.

Not only myself—but sister Jodi Battershell as well, because she knew it would give us each such joy.

That's incredibly gracious and thoughtful. <3

Sample image: Ida Meister; Official product and antique compact images: Aftelier