Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent Kindle Edition

A beautifully written book! A poetic integration of sensuality, philosophy, and history. Fascinatingly describes the origins and technicalities behind the production of perfumes, essential oils and other fragrant essences. I inhaled this book (heheheh).You'll learn a lot about the five essences she discusses, and come to more deeply appreciate the sense of smell and all of the feelings and experiences it can elicit within us. I find myself now slowing down and truly relishing scents and exploring them more deeply.On a lighter note, I have a kindle, but I chose to buy the hardcover after seeing at a bookstore because it is simply gorgeous. A pleasure to hold and look at. With metallic detailing on the cover, it's very eye catching. The photo on Amazon doesn't do it justice. A hardcover copy enhanced the reading experience for me.The one star review listed is hogwash, I doubt the reviewer even read the book. Mandy is actually biased against synthetic fragrances.You don't have to be a fragrance hobbyist or connoisseur to enjoy this book and really benefit from it. Treat yourself or a loved one to this jewel!

I think this book was trying to be a love letter to all thing perfume: covering the history of the industry, some important ingredients, basic crafting and whatnot. What this book really is is a collection of underwhelming bits and pieces about perfume. There are many short pieces on the history of perfume, but as always the pieces are too short to explain much. So adult male butterflies have a scent? OK, now what do -- fin.This book is not even as good as the author's previous book "Essence and Alchemy" (which is why a bought this book).

I was hoping for something a bit less cerebral than Turin, but honest and useful on natural perfumery. I'd have liked to seen this purged down to about 50 pages, the rest was a bit of a ramble fest that is opinion and personal thought. It seemed to me to be written by an artist, not a writer; in need of edit. However, it has flashes of true brilliance and enjoyable information. Especially the historical recipes and historical information on antiquity. The recipe section is most useful. For that, I am thankful for this read.

Beautiful book cover and inside. Love reading Mandy's books, well written and can't put it down. Lots of information from someone who loves what she does. I purchased Essence and Alchemy on kindle and order it with this one. Love that also.

A fascinating & fragrant history of scent and its role in our lives - from ancient myths to our everyday interactions with smells.Mandy's book is like stepping into another world, one filled with a magic and sensuality that brings a greater richness to the wonderful - and less wonderful - scents that pervade our lives. Well written and incredibly interesting, it is difficult to put down and hard to contain one's excitement when sharing it with anyone and everyone nearby.

I did like this book. Great info on ingredients. Did tend to go on in places, but worth the read

This book never ceased to charm the mind and the senses. In the book You begin your journey in understanding the fundamental nature of scent, from this stage you explore how fragrance comes into being and through your careful devotion to this book you will then come to a place where grace, beauty and glorified scent in combination discoveries itself as an essential feature of life. You will be amazed at what you have learned when the journey ends.

For those that are familiar with blending essential oils, tinctures, attars etc. I loved the recipes she has in the book. It has been one of the most important books in my library for designing botanical perfumes. Highly recommended!

I am filled with admiration for Mandy Aftel’s writing about perfumery. Although a beautiful book to handle and read in ‘real’ form, with its thicker than normal, creamy coloured paper, beautiful, often archaic line drawings, and shiny, alluring woodcut/embossed type red cover, this is not a coffee table book. Rather, I would say Aftel is inviting you into imaginative, creative journeys of your own, those line drawings rather stirring the senses, connecting the reader to an old, but living history, in a way which artfully arranged, sumptuous colour photos of perfume bottles and ingredients could never do.Aftel shows herself to have style and she shows herself to have substance.Originally, Mandy Aftel, a highly respected American Artisan perfumer, was a psychotherapist, and what really appeals to me in her fascinating books is the reverse of the pile em high, whack em out ephemeral approach to instaperfume fashion. What insinuates from her books is relationship, a kind of development and connection which comes from the fact that she works with natural materials.Fragrant, divided into 6 chapters, 5 of which place a particular plant and the fragrant material it produces, centre stage is an invitation to journey in time and in space with the material itself, and those who have tended it, prized it, grown it, harvested it, worked with it, transported it, thought about it and worn it.There is something very special about a perfume from natural ingredients only. Firstly, it can never be standardised, and for some of us, that is a major part of its allure. The plant an essential oil or absolute may have been extracted from will have been a living, responsive entity. A batch of essential oil bought from this supplier, this year, from this place, will be somewhat different from the batch bought from the same supplier, from the same grower, last year, as the plant will be producing subtly varying chemistry, in response to this year’s changed growing conditions.Aftel’s book invites reflection. Her major star playing aromatics, each of which indicates different facets about our relationship with aromatics, are Cinnamon (the once, highly exotic, call to adventure and the spice trade) Mint (home, the familiar, the cottage garden, the everyday – home) Frankincense, (the search to transcend, to interconnect, to find spirit) Ambergris (the frankly weird, a vomited up exudate from sperm whales, acted on by wind, water wave, sun to, if the finder is lucky, turn to monetary gold) and finally, Jasmine (the gorgeous, the provocative, the sensuous delight) Around these star players are others, and, also instructions to encourage the fragrantly curious to experiment, to source, to make your own.A bibliography invites further fragrant journeys, too

I do like Mandy Aftel's writing - if you make or like fragrant things for noses, you should like this. A very easy to read style without repetition or condescension, which is quite unusual in books I've found about perfume in the last ten years.

I bought this book out of interest. As someone who enjoys fragrances and plays around Perfume. It was very elegantly written, very philosophical yet easy to read. it I really enjoyed it. If you watched the movie "Perfume", you will love this book, a history of perfume and what goes into making it. It is very exciting. Cannot upload Kindle image but lovely.

For someone who knows nothing about the topic can be good but who knows something, is not as good. Flowery and poetic language is the rhetoric device used here but personally I prefer clear ans to the point when it come to gain knowledge. So I didn't like the look and to add this kindle edition is not satisfying at all.

coincide con lo deseado, la pena es que aún no lo hayan publicado en castellano para evitar traducir el texto