What defines luxury? From my perspective it’s not about labels, or famous designers it is about refinement, exclusivity and attention to detail. When luxury relates to perfumes, I look for the quality of the raw materials. My nose is so sensitive these days that one whiff of a fragrance really tells me all I need to know about the pedigree of the aromatics. This is why I find some of the most luxurious fragrances coming from niche perfumers. They tend to source the finest ingredients to compete in the brutally competitive world of fragrance. They don’t have the marketing budgets or fancy packaging, but what they do offer is a rare glimpse into the art of perfumery as it was centuries ago.
Mandy Aftel is a modern pioneer in all natural perfumery who really shines. Mandy’s company, Aftelier Perfumes is a niche house that is at the epicenter of the renaissance of bringing “sexy” back to old world perfumery. One of my favorites is her perfume, Tango. It truly is quite sublime. It takes a seasoned nose to really appreciate natural perfumes. They don’t form right out of the bottle like commercial perfumes. When you don’t use synthetics, I prefer to call them “human created” ingredients, “synthetic” just sounds so, well synthetic. There are some human created aroma molecules that are also works of art and a good portion of them in my opinion are not meant for human consumption. But I digress. Tango is an enigma, it wants to be so many things on first whiff. Tango explodes on the olfactory nerve like a narcotic dose of exotic sweet florals, leathers, smoke and tobacco. Most of Mandy’s natural accords are so unique that a good percentage of the general public have never encountered these aromas before.
This perfume is a symphony of Champaca, a rich, heady, over the top archangelic floral that screams for attention but is tamed by the forces of earth like roasted seashells, coffee and blond tobacco. The chords of spice, honey, sweet orange, Tonka and leather round out this fragrance into a very mysterious Argentinean Tango dance that is precise and highly erotic. The magic with this perfume and most naturals is when applied to the skin. I find that nothing compares to pure natural essences when combined with body chemistry. When the juice hits your skin and is warmed by body temperature it diffuses the scent so gracefully that it transforms itself again into a totally different animal. From this point on it is difficult to put into words the aromatic effect, because I have inhaled it from many wrists and they all come across quite differently. I can best describe from my own chemistry which leans on the musky, spicy angle. After about 10 minutes it emanates a warmth that I have quite not been able to duplicate with other fragrances. It alchemically transforms into a rich chocolaty, leather tone sweetened by the Champaca and honey. It works very well for me, and I wear it a lot.
The beauty of this fragrance is that it basically has no gender it fuses with the wearer and transforms to fit their sex. It is gorgeous on most woman and men that I have experienced. Mandy is a genius and I commend her efforts to forge ahead and dare to be different. I urge my readers to visit her website she has authored many books on perfumery that are fantastic, my favorite of her works is Essences and Alchemy it doesn’t disappoint. Mandy’s book is a great resource for those that are interested in the mystical origins of perfumery and the complexities of perfume composition and theory. I think I will try taking Samba classes next.
TANGO 1/4 oz. $150.00
Fragrance Notes: Wild Sweet Orange, Ginger, Coffee, Champaca, Choya, Blond Tobacco, Tonka
Fragrance Family: Dry Woods
Recommended Season: Year round, Evenings – Aphrodisiac
Sex: Unisex
Launch Date: 2006
David Parker
Perfume Aficionado
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