![\"Renaissance](\"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/rings-s.jpg\")
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\u201cI wanted to capture the musk-like smell of skin, using all naturals, which was quite a challenge,\u201d Mandy Aftel writes of her latest fragrance, Aftelier<\/a> Memento Mori. At first blush, creating a perfume that smells like skin might seem pointless. After all, aren\u2019t we wearing skin? We should have skin smell already built in.<\/p>\n Think about it a moment, though, and it makes sense. Maybe you look out your window at a mountain, but it doesn\u2019t take away from the pleasure of viewing Cezanne\u2019s Mont Sainte Victoire<\/a>. An artist\u2019s interpretion of her subject adds value. Even an exact depiction of something can be art, because the painting is not the original object \u2014\u00a0ceci n\u2019est pas une pipe<\/em><\/a>. In the case of Memento Mori, this is not skin. It\u2019s perfume.<\/p>\n And now that I am in art theory way over my head, I\u2019ll say that to me Memento Mori is not a headspace-like reproduction of skin\u2019s scent. Rather, it might be Francis Bacon\u2019s<\/a> take on skin for its first several hours, fading to the dried rose petals and maternal flesh of a Mary Cassatt<\/a>.<\/p>\n To describe Memento Mori\u2019s notes, lets go back to Mandy Aftel\u2019s words:<\/p>\n Butter, orris and beta-ionone with their skin-like flat but subtly floral aroma was the perfect entry into the perfume. Phyenylacetic acid combines the animalic with the floral. The rose notes are a soft and intimate bridge to the skin-like tones of the wood violet \u2014 beta ionone \u2014 and the rich but transparent patchouli isolate \u2014 patchoulyl acetate. The luminescent texture of ambreine, civet and ambergris lends warm and sheer notes of musk that linger.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n On me, Memento Mori goes on sharp and slightly fusty, like parmesan cheese brushed with acid. It\u2019s disturbing and not particularly pleasant, but interesting. Over the next half hour, the fragrance seems to incrementally relax, showing a floral heart so gentle that it might simply be the breath of cotton wool stored in a chest with a decade-old wedding bouquet. The fragrance loses some of its metallic fustiness, too, but its queer, acidic skeleton shows its bones for several hours.<\/p>\n Finally, hours in, Memento Mori transforms into a velvet whiff of barely sweet, warm, intimate notes, like smelling the inside of a winter overcoat in the summer. It\u2019s gentle and easy to wear. This is the phase of the perfume I like best.<\/p>\n I sampled Memento Mori in Parfum, and it has amazing staying power. A drop shared on two wrists, applied before breakfast, still goes strong by dinner. It is completely nongendered.<\/p>\n If you like fragrances that are \u201cpretty,\u201d you might not want to go to a lot of effort to sample Memento Mori. But if you enjoy perfume that aims more toward art than easy pleasure \u2014 like, say, Byredo M\/Mink<\/a> \u2014 do give this one a try.<\/p>\n Aftelier Memento Mori is available in 30 ml Eau de Parfum ($180), or in 2 ml mini Parfum ($50), 1\/4 oz Parfum ($180). Samples are also sold. For information on where to buy Memento Mori, see Aftelier under Perfume Houses<\/a>.<\/p>\n Note: top image Renaissance Gimmel Ring with Memento Mori<\/em><\/a> (German, 1631) via The Met.<\/p>\n Read the rest of this article »<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI wanted to capture the musk-like smell of skin, using all naturals, which was quite a challenge,\u201d Mandy Aftel writes of her latest fragrance, Aftelier<\/a> Memento Mori. At first blush, creating a perfume that smells like skin might seem pointless. After all, aren\u2019t we wearing skin? We should have skin smell already built in.<\/p>\n Think about it a moment, though, and it makes sense. Maybe you look out your window at a mountain, but it doesn\u2019t take away from the pleasure of viewing Cezanne\u2019s Mont Sainte Victoire<\/a>. An artist\u2019s interpretion of her subject adds value. Even an exact depiction of something can be art, because the painting is not the original object \u2014 ceci n\u2019est pas une pipe<\/em><\/a>. In the case of Memento Mori, this is not skin. It\u2019s perfume…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[24,25],"class_list":{"0":"post-145767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-perfume-talk","7":"tag-aftelier","8":"tag-natural-perfume","9":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145767\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"aftelier-memento-s\"](\"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/aftelier-memento-s.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPossibly of interest<\/h2>\n
Aftelier Joie de Vert ~ fragrance review<\/a><\/div>Aftelier Violet Ambrosia & Olfactive Studio Violet Shot ~ fragrance reviews<\/a><\/div>Shalini Amorem Rose & Aftelier Antique Ambergris ~ fragrance review<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/p>\n