Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume,   ISBN:9781586857028

Customer Rating: 

This book was an entertaining read, but it was hardly a good historical account of perfumery. It did have a brief overview at the beginning of the book, but it quickly goes into a collection of quotes and historical quirks about perfume. I think that the "alchemy" part of the book where the author repeatedly ties perfume making to the thought processes of alchemists gets old fast. While alchemical processes did play a part in perfume's beginning the parallels she draws seem to be more of her own making.

I think this book also didn't quite live up to my expectations of a book to help a beginner start making their own perfume. It did list items a beginner needs and go into a discussion of the different notes and the ratios they need to be in, and it also described the characteristics of a sampling of fragrances as well. However, a majority of these passages seemed to drift into (and worse yet start out as) lengthy paragraphs on the "spiritual" aspects of perfume, while others simply dwell on the intangible and almost go as far to qualify as "purple prose".
The author also has a preference of natural scents over synthetics which I don't have a problem with especially since she explained why, but she does mention that synthetics can cheaply extend natural scents for perfumers on a budget but at no time during the book does she discuss the use of synthetics for scents that cannot be naturally derived such as with the "ozone" smells.

This book did have a few recipes for scents (only about four I think), and it did have a list of beginning supplies as well some website retailers of these items, but no where did it go into a lot of detail as to why someone would want to do this on their own (given the large starting cost) outside of creating personalized scents. I think I would have liked the book better if there was more information or at least if the information contained was more easily accessible. As is, the useful parts of the book are often hidden between the author's comparison of perfumery to alchemy and while I may find the imagery of combining the sun and moon interesting it isn't incredibly relevant to what people who want to start making perfume need to know.

Customer Rating: 

I was very excited when I ordered this book , but on arrival my excitement quickly turned to disappointment !! The cover looks very colorful , but upon opening the book the printing is very very light, and all the headings in the entire book
are so light as to be almost invisible !! It's as though the printer tried to use as little ink as possible !! I have to use a magnifier to read all the headings and titles in the book ! This is very frustrating to say the least ! The subject
material in the book seems to be well done, and I'm sure it's all very informative
with much knowledge on the subject available to the reader if only you knew what the author was talking about in each chapter without having to strain your eyes at
every turn !! Probably a good book , but spoiled by a very very bad printer !

Customer Rating: 

This book has motivated me to create my own fragrance rather than buying one from the department store. It gives a history of perfume throughout history. Since Mandy Aftel has a fragrance shop here in California, I plan on visiting it.

I look forward to beginning my journey into the world of Essence and Alchemy (creating fragrances).

Customer Rating: 

Easy to read and really full of useful information done in a wonderful and passionate style.
It gave me a solid grounding in the how and why of aroma. Plus it is great fun to read!

Customer Rating: 

Essence & Alchemy was a really wonderful adventure in reading. From the history of perfume to the process, old and new, involved in extracting essences, to the follow-along steps to creating your own perfume, I found this book to be entertaining and informative from the first page to the last. The comparison between perfumery and alchemy was insightful. The illustrations were charming and fun. I learned a lot and was engaged the whole way through! Highly recommended to any fan of unusual nonfiction subjects.