Aftelier Perfumes

My Process of Creating Perfume

I started making natural perfumes almost 30 years ago. I create each of my perfumes from the comprehensive collection of strikingly beautiful natural essences that I have assembled over the years from hidden corners of the world. Finding these essences is a quest that I enjoy as much as the act of creating with them. Often I smell a dozen versions of the same oil, searching for one that surpasses all the rest. Some of the essences in my palette are antiques that have aged for many decades, like fine wines.

Everything I make is free from synthetics, parabens, glycols, and petrochemicals. I hand-blend and bottle all my products in small batches in my Berkeley, California studio, and personally attend to every detail of the process in creating every product. I love adding a sense of luxury and well-being to people’s lives.

As the founder of Aftelier Perfumes, I have been hailed as one of the fragrance industry’s “most prolific talents” by Vogue and an “angel of alchemy” by Vanity Fair, and listed as one of the top seven bespoke perfumers in the world by Forbes. I am an advisor at The Institute for Art and Olfaction, which has created the annual Aftel Award for Handmade Perfume in my honor, and in 2022 honored me with the Septimus Piesse Visionary Award for my lifetime achievements.

Collaboration with Chefs and Flavor Work

Since 2003, I have been supplying my Chef’s Essences® to the finest chefs and mixologists, along with many artisanal producers of fine chocolate, ice cream, candies, and baked goods. I pioneered the use of essential oils in home cooking, with James Beard Award-winning chef Daniel Patterson in our book Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Food and Fragrance.

I have taught about flavor at the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone, California; the American Museum of Natural History; the James Beard Foundation; the French Laundry in Yountville, CA; the London Design Festival; and in conjunction with the Slow Food movement. I have made food-related media appearances on CNN, the National Geographic channel, and PBS's “Diary of a Foodie.”

I have written 5 books on natural essences & perfume: - The Art of Flavor, a cookbook written with Michelin-star chef Daniel Patterson, helps you learn the simple rules for cooking without recipes. - Fragrant, winner of the Perfumed Plume Award, explores the profound connection between our sense of smell and the appetites that move us, give us pleasure, make us fully alive. - Essence and Alchemy has been translated into eight languages and was the winner of The Sense of Smell Institute’s Richard B. Solomon Award. - Aroma, also with chef Daniel Patterson, focuses on the essential link between food & fragrance and includes recipes for both. - Scents & Sensibilities guides the reader through the history and creation of solid perfumes.

I am also the author of The Story of Your Life: Becoming the Author of Your Experience; When Talk Is Not Cheap; and Death of a Rolling Stone: The Brian Jones Story.