A Closer Look: Perfumes

I first showed you my perfume collection in January 2012 some of which are still there today!

Tom Ford Santal Blush EDP 50ml - this is my second bottle and it's nearly done sob! One of my favourite scents. See my review here.

Chanel Sycomore EDT 75ml - love this vertivert scent. See my review here.

Diptyque Philosykos roll on - the best fig scent out there (in my opinion!) It has figgy and fresh green notes.

Aftelier Perfumes* - Cepes & Tuberose EDP, Wild Roses EDP, Cacoa EDP and Cuir de Gardenia Extrait - some of the most unusual perfumes I've ever tried. See my review here.

Diptyque eau Rose roll on 20ml - adore rose scents.  See my review here.

Illamasqua Freak EDP 30ml - first tried this via a beauty box sample and just loved it. 

Shay & Blue Atropa Belladona 30ml - one of my favourite new finds. See my review here. I've just found out that Shay & Blue are now stocked in M&S Beauty Hall - be heading there soon!

Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia EDP 30ml - this is my second bottle. Love this floral scent.  See my review here.

kai perfume oil - I'm nearly finished this one. It's one of my favourites. With white flowers and freshness. Only negative is it's price.

Annick Goutal Mandragore EDT 30ml - a fruity, minty and fresh scent.

Cowshed Gorgeous Cow Perfume Oil roll on - a really wearable scent.  See my thoughts here.

PG Embrace EDP 30ml* - one of the nicest natural perfumes I've ever tried. See my review here.

Jimmy Choo EDP 60ml - a fruity floral scent. Probably wouldn't re-purchase as I've grown a bit tired of it (third bottle).

Kiehl's Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit aromatic mist 30ml - really like this light fruity floral. See my review here. 

Jurlique Essence of Rose Roll-on Fragrance Oil 11ml - huge rose lover and this is gorgeous. 

Balm Balm Mandarin single note EDP - I got this in a souk souk box. Fresh and Fruity.

Abahna Frangipani & Orange Blossom EDP - my favourite Abahna scent.  See my review here.

Crabtree & Evelyn Somerset Meadow 12ml Perfume Gel - see my review here.

Have you used any of these scents? What perfumes do you have in your collection?

*PR samples

Aftelier Perfumes

Mandy Aftel, creates hand blended artisan perfumes at her studio in Berkeley, California.  We got chatting on Twitter and she offered to send me some samples to try out and review.

Here's what I chose - Cepes & Tuberose, Cuir de Gardenia, Wild Roses and Cacao.

The samples* arrived wrapped in tissue and presented in a cute little tin.

As well as creating her artisan scents, both liquid and solid, the solid perfumes are housed in beautifully designed sterling silver cases of Mandy's design or a one-off antique case.  See here.  Mandy is also an author (link), creates scented teas and chef's essences for cooking.  You can see the full range on her website here.

The perfumes are hand blended using essences which have been gathered from all over the world.  They are created from flowers, fruits, leaves, roots and barks. Some perfumes are created instantly and others take weeks of revisions until Mandy is happy with the finished scent.  The scents last for about 2 hours on the skin.

My favourite is Cepes & Tuberose* "wild mushrooms with animal undertones and one of the world's most voluptuous florals". 

The scent starts off quite rich and mellows down to floral tuberose with an earthy edge. A top note of Bois de Rose, a heart of Tuberose and Moroccan Rose with base of cepes absolute and benzoin. It is unlike anything else I've got in my collection. Now Smell This said that it should be a perfume "every Perfumista should try".

Cuir de Gardenia* this has no top notes and goes straight into the scent of the Tiare flower - Gardenia with notes of leather. It's not intensely floral like other gardenia scents I've tried but subtle creamy and green making a fresh and woody scent. Again, I've never tried anything like this before. Love it.

Cacoa* a gourmand scent with top notes of blood orange and pink grapefruit, a heart of jasmine sambac and grandiflorum and a base of chocolate and vanilla. Mandy creates the chocolate alcohol which is the foundation of the perfume. It really is a lovely combination. The citrus note make first appearance along with the chocolate followed by jasmine and vanilla.  This is quite a heady scent which lasts quite a long time on the skin.

Wild Roses* Mandy says it "evokes the garden in our imagination and memory - the book of a hundred petals unfolding: balsamic, spicy, apricot, and honeyed roses, mixed with the smell of warm earth and herbs". This smells very herbal to begin with and then the fruity notes of apricot appear followed by the rose with a spicy note of pimento berry with a base of patchouli, tarragon and vanilla.

Mandy will ship to the UK - see the website for further details.

I've really enjoyed trying all the pefumes and stepping out of my comfort zone and trying really different scents.  See the website here and follow Mandy on Twitter @AftelierPerfume

*complimentary sent for review