Perfume Stars: Summer Favorites. Part 4

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. We start in the USA… Mandy Aftel, Aftelier What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? 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. It is a lot like eating, says Aftel, stressing the importance of seasonality; some things are more appealing in summer, some in winter. 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. These essences are ginger, blood orange, and olive. 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. 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. Lightness for her does not equal simplicity, the scent should be light but complex. What is your favourite holiday destination? 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. Sarah Horowitz-Thran, Creative Scentualization What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “My favorite summer fragrance is of course, 2 fragrances - how can I narrow it down to one? I wear Peace and Light from our 'What comes from Within' Collection in the summer - Peace daily, and Peace layered with Light when I am going somewhere special or out in the evening. 'Peace comes from Within' is the perfect everyday summer scent for me - it is a simple, three note blend - Bergamot, Pacific Musk ( a compound I created that is at once earthy and oceanic) and Sandalwood. It can be worn by men as well as women, it is fresh and clean and completely unobtrusive, and it wears very naturally on the skin. 'Light comes from Within' is much softer - floral and feminine. It has a night Jasmine/Honeysuckle accord in the middle note that gives a sweetness without being to sweet - and it is light enough for summer. When I layer them, I get this clean, soft feminine scent that my husband LOVES - and it makes me feel beautiful and natural all at once.” What is your favorite holiday destination? “My favorite holiday destination is pretty basic - anywhere with a beautiful, open beach, warm turquoise waters, and my family. Preferably with a cocktail in hand, toes in warm sun, laughter of my daughter in the background. Oh, and if it's Bora Bora, with the scent of Plumaria and Tiare in the air, Vanilla beans grown not to far away, and I can go scuba diving - all the better.” Jalaine Sommers, Jalaine Fragrances What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “I love sandlewood, all citrus scents, lavender, rose, amber I like soft sweet smells in the summer, nothing heavy...” What is your favourite holiday destination? “Figi is my favorite holiday destination.” Yosh Han, Yosh What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “In the summer, I prefer to fragrances that are sheer and simple. Mostly single notes like neroli. I also like simple floral green fragrances for summer too. Freesia, iris, linden blossom. These are terrific in the summer. The other day, I made a simple spritz of geranium and spearmint. So deliciously cooling. I think the smell of berries is scrumptious and other fruity fragrances. I love my U4EAHH! because it's so juicy! Pear, pomegranate, cuke, aloe & waterlily. Unfortunately, it isn't the best for my skin type. Go figure. But I love it on other people. It's a very easy to wear fragrance for the hot season. I also love Guerlain's Pamlelune. L'Artisan's Mimosa is refreshing for this season too. And I have Santa Maria Novella's Ginestra. It's delicate and barely there. I also have a beautiful violet fragrance that I got from a tiny specialty Italian boutique here in San Francisco called Bell'occhio. They're the only ones in the world who sell it. I recently picked up Tigresse again that I made for a wedding dress maker. It is a sheer floral with a hint of mint. It's refreshing. It's nice to remember fragrances. I went into Jo Malone a few weeks ago. They gave me a sample of Nectarine Blossom & Honey. It took me back to the summer I graduated high school. Malone's lime blossom is great too. I bought TOUCH Uchino Herbal Green blend in Tokyo. Wow. It's citrusy and green. I feel elated when I smell that. It gives me the same sensation as fresh mown hay. And I like this oil I got from Terra Nova called Sakura & Green Tea. It smells very peaceful to me.“ What is your favourite holiday destination? “My favorite holiday destinations are places where I can have peace and quiet and go scuba or snorkel. I went to Cairns and Port Douglas in Australia and had a marvelous time between the Great Barrier Reef and the Rain Forest. The Great Barrier Reef is kind of a once in a life time adventure. I've never seen such big corral, extra giant clams, the tropical fish are just enormous. The Big Island of Hawaii is gorgeous too. More primal, go for the less touristy spots to feel Spirit energy. Kas in the coastal Mediterranean of Turkey. Wow. Quaint. Great food and people. Shopping. Swimming. Ruins. But if I want super city, I always love going to Japan. I love it. Tokyo, Kyoto, so many things to see and do. The food is incredible. Shopping is crazy. I went diving once there while it was pouring rain with lightning storms to see the electric eels. The Japanese are fanatical about certain things. And for scuba, they were dressed in neon team scuba gear. When the lightning strikes, the whole black sea lights up and you see the eels and people in neon. It's wild. I've never experienced anything like that before. Then I hopped over to Guam for wreck diving. It has US navy presence there so the sunken ships are huge. I saw a 300 lb jew fish. I almost had a hard attack. I thought it was a monster. The visibility was crystal clear. I love to spend time on holiday being in nature. It is the most important thing for me to be connected.” DelRae Roth, Parfums Delrae What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “In the summer I wear Eau Illuminée. It is aromatic and fresh, uplifting and feels right whether it is very warm or cool (and foggy). It has some marine notes, and is refreshing as being in the country near the ocean. I don't like scents that are too baroque in the summer. I also wear Début which has the lily of the valley, linden blossom and vetyver.” What is your favorite holiday destination? “It really depends on the time of year, but regardless of season I love to go to Paris, I know, who doesn't. It is always beautiful, compelling, and something new to see and discover.” To be continued on Friday. Images courtesy of Mandy Aftel, Sarah Horowitz-Thran, Jalaine Sommers, Yosh Han and DelRae Roth.