Cepes and Tuberose
by Aftelier

Cepes. Boletus. Porcini. The epicure’s delight, second only to the truffle in the ranks of noble fungi. Savory, ripe, and even a bit grotty, boletus is a natural for perfumery, and I wonder that it doesn’t show up much more frequently in scent pyramids. Cepes and Tuberose opens with a dry herbal accord, backed by woods and leather. The mushroom takes a bit longer to emerge, and when it does it’s dusky, animalic essence almost begs for handmade pasta, garlic, and olive oil. This culinary moment passes as the white floral notes develop, combining with the tang of mushroom and the soft leather backdrop in a somewhat plumy, buttery mélange. The tuberose here is of the sweet and subdued sort, not the dry heady vapor of Fracas or Carnal Flower. At the center of this fragrance is a deftly choreographed, erotic pas de deux between the fungus and the flower, one and then the other taking center stage as the scenery slowly shifts behind them. The leather gives way ever-so-slowly to woods as the foreground floral notes continue to sweeten and the elusive mushroom slowly melds into the background.

Once the boletus retreats the scent becomes much more conventional, with a drydown of woods and sweet, creamy vanillic notes. The total staying time isn’t much more than two or three hours. It’s a disappointing end to an intriguing development, and I wish the heart persisted more than an hour or so. As it is, Cepes and Tuberose requires constant reapplication to stay interesting. In sum, this is a weird and oddly compelling fragrance that’s let down by a generic drydown that arrives much too soon.

Wonderfully animalistic scent that blossoms into a sexy deep alluring - yet not overpowering - one of a kind exotic perfume.
If you are a tuberose fan but want something a little less "narcotic" then most heavy flory perfumes this is for you!
All of Mandy Aftels perfumes have a good "life" on the skin and last several hours before you need to re-apply.