To say that Mandy Aftel took the world of natural perfumery by storm is hardly an overstatement. Little over a decade ago, while doing research for a novel, she found herself immersed in a collection of ancient perfume books. It was the start of a lifelong passion for natural essences: she put her literary ambitions on hold, and eventually established her very own perfume studio. Her current business, Aftelier, is a flourishing operation based in Berkeley, California. We take a closer look at her book Essence and Alchemy, which played a major role in the recent popularization of natural perfumery…