W hat are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent?
Sarah Horowitz-Thran, Creative Scentualization Mandy Aftel’s favorite holiday destination is Oaxaca, Mexico, which she finds to have a stimulating, artisanal environment, and to be beautiful, lush and aromatic. What is your favourite holiday destination? Lightness for her does not equal simplicity, the scent should be light but complex. Lightness for Aftel seems to be the most important characteristic, however she stresses that when she speaks of lightness, she means it in terms of odor profile. Aftel also likes sarsaparilla, which has a light, fruity, root-beery fragrance, as well as boronia, the smell of which she describes as a cross between freesia and raspberry. These essences are ginger, blood orange, and olive. Speaking of specific essences, to the sourcing of which she devotes a lot of time, care and effort, Aftel mentioned that she considers the ones that went into the making of her new perfume, Cognac, to be well-suited for summer. It is a lot like eating, says Aftel, stressing the importance of seasonality some things are more appealing in summer, some in winter. In a phone interview, Mandy Aftel told us that she gives preference to lighter fragrances in summer and generally believes that a scent should be appropriate for a season and a time of day rather than for specific social occasions. What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? In Part 4 of Perfume Stars it is my pleasure and an honor to share with you summer favorites and ideal holiday destinations of some of the most talented women perfumers and perfume line creators.