Mandy Aftel's Level I course

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

I am new to the group and noticed a previous question about Mandy

Aftel's Level I course (the distance learning course) but I did not

see a response. Has anyone taken that course and would like to comment

on it? I would appreciate it! I am such a fan of Mandy Aftel and I am

sure the course is great - my only concern is the distance part. It

is the only option for me since I live in Virginia and rarely travel

to California.

[Guest guest]

At 05:56 PM 2/10/2006, you wrote:

>Hi everyone!

>

>I am new to the group and noticed a previous question about Mandy

>Aftel's Level I course (the distance learning course) but I did not

>see a response. Has anyone taken that course and would like to comment

>on it? I would appreciate it! I am such a fan of Mandy Aftel and I am

>sure the course is great - my only concern is the distance part. It

>is the only option for me since I live in Virginia and rarely travel

>to California.

Hi Lesleen

The course is very popular. The " distance part " is the whole idea - - it's

specifically geard to help people who can't get to her classes in person.

Also, and someone who has taken her course can correct me if I'm wrong --

it's more indepth and gives you the ability to study at your pace. How much

is it, and do you have a complete description of the syllabus and content?

Post it here, and let's see ;-)

Anya

http://.com

The premier site on the Web to discover the beauty of Natural Perfume

/

Join to study natural perfumery

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Anya, for your reply!

The course is $375. It includes a workbook and Fragrance Wheel. The

Workbook Table of Contents is as follows:

Natural Perfume Level One Tutorial Contents

* Level One Tutorial Overview

* Introduction

* Activity 1 Comparing Natural and Synthetic Essences

* Chapter One Perfumery 101

* Methods of Extracting Essential Oils

* The Perfumer's Materials

* Natural Essences

* Alcohol

* Jojoba Oil

* Beeswax

* Chapter Two The Perfumers Toolkit

* The Toolkit Contents

* Storing Natural Essences

* Liquefying solid and semi-solid materials

* A Note about Safety

* Setting Up Your Work Environment

* Chapter Three Perfume Notes

* Top (or Head) Notes

* Bergamot

* Bitter Orange

* Black Pepper

* Bois de Rose

* Cedarwood

* Juniper Berry

* Middle (or Heart) Notes

* Clary Sage

* Clove Absolute

* Jasmine Concrete

* Lavender Absolute

* Nutmeg Absolute

* Ylang Ylang Concrete

* Base Notes

* Benzoin

* incense

* Labdanum

* Oakmoss

* Peru Balsam

* Vetiver

* Chapter Four The Aftelier Natural Perfume Wheel™ and Vocabulary

* Activity 2 Introduction to Fragrance

* Chapter Five Duration -- Top, Body and Dryout Notes

* Activity 3 Essence Duration and Evolution

* Chapter Six Blending Overview

* Chapter Seven Making Accords

* Activity 4 Top Note Horizontal Accords

* Blend 1 -- Bergamot, Bitter Orange, Juniper Berry

* Blend 2 -- Bois de Rose, Cedarwood, Black Pepper

* Blend 3 -- Top Note Accord of Your Choice

* Activity 5 Middle Note Horizontal Accords

* Blend 4 -- Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Clove

* Blend 5 -- Clary Sage, Lavender Absolute, Nutmeg Absolute

* Blend 6 -- Middle note accord of your choice

* Activity 6 Base Note Horizontal Accords

* Blend 7 -- incense, Labdanum, Oakmoss

* Blend 8 -- Benzoin, Peru Balsam, Vetiver

* Blend 9 -- Base note accord of your choice

* Chapter Eight Vertical Accords

* Activity 7 Create Vertical Accords

* Blend 10 -- Peru Balsam, Jasmine, Black Pepper

* Blend 11 -- Bergamot, Nutmeg Absolute, Benzoin

* Blend 12 -- Juniper Berry, Lavender Absolute, Vetiver

* Chapter Nine Accessory Notes

* Activity 8 Accessory Notes

* Chapter Ten Problems in Perfume Structure

* Activity 9 Finding Faults

* Blend 13 -- Cedarwood, Clary Sage, Oakmoss

* Blend 14 -- Bitter Orange, Clove Absolute, Benzoin

* Blend 15 -- Bergamot, Jasmine Concrete, Peru Balsam

* Activity 10 Create Your Own Vertical Blends

* Blend 16 -- Your Choice

* Blend 17 -- Your Choice

* Blend 18 -- Your Choice

* Blend 19 -- Your Choice

* Blend 20 -- Your Choice

* Chapter Eleven Making Solid Perfume

* Activity 11 Make Solid Perfumes

* Blend 21 -- Labdanum, incense, Jasmine Concrete,

Nutmeg Absolute, Bergamot, Black Pepper

* Blend 22 -- Bitter Orange, Juniper Berry, Clary Sage,

Lavender Absolute, Benzoin, Peru Balsam

* Blend 23 -- Bois de Rose, Cedarwood, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang,

Oakmoss, Vetiver

* Chapter Twelve Commercial Fragrance Families

* Activity 12 Be a Fragrance Sleuth

* Appendix A Blank Perfume Blending Worksheets

* Appendix B Additional Essence Note Classifications

* Appendix C Vocabulary

There is also a kit available for purchase for $175 which includes

some of the essential oils referred to in the course.

I do have some experience blending and using essential oils - I

thought this would be a great reference book to have.

Your thoughts are appreciated!!

[Guest guest]

> >Hi everyone!

> >

> >I am new to the group and noticed a previous question about Mandy

> >Aftel's Level I course (the distance learning course) but I did not

> >see a response. Has anyone taken that course and would like to comment

> >on it? I would appreciate it! I am such a fan of Mandy Aftel and I am

> >sure the course is great - my only concern is the distance part. It

> >is the only option for me since I live in Virginia and rarely travel

> >to California.

>

> Hi Lesleen

>

> The course is very popular. The " distance part " is the whole idea -

- it's

> specifically geard to help people who can't get to her classes in

person.

> Also, and someone who has taken her course can correct me if I'm

wrong --

> it's more indepth and gives you the ability to study at your pace.

How much

> is it, and do you have a complete description of the syllabus and

content?

> Post it here, and let's see ;-)

>

>

> Anya

> http://.com

> The premier site on the Web to discover the beauty of Natural Perfume

> /

> Join to study natural perfumery

Hi Lesleen,

I've worked through the Level I course and can give you my impressions.

Mandy Aftel's book, Essence and Alchemy, is so wonderful. I've never

felt so inspired artistically! Now that I've completed the course I

can say that a good amount of the info I read in the manual is

actually covered in her book. (In fact, you'll recognize many sentences.)

The course manual, to me, seems to function as a companion/workbook

with many duplicate pages on which to record activities touched upon

in the book. 160 of the 251 pages are actually just duplicate

worksheets (of several flavors) to use when analyzing the essences,

their durations, and for recording your own perfume compositions

(including how you rate it and why you think it's a success or has

faults). I didn't expect this and felt disappointed. I think Mandy

states that the intention of the course is to learn through

-experience-. Perhaps by filling all of those worksheets, one gets

the maximum benefit from the course.

One set of worksheets consists of several arrays of checkboxes to mark

and some questions to answer to get to know each essence in a

disciplined and systematic way. You categorize the essence as an

absolute, essential oil, concrete, or resin...as a top, middle, or

base note...you find its place on the Perfume Wheel and attach

adjectives, emotions, and memories to the scent. I had gone through

this exercise using index cards while reading the book.

I thought the accord work was very nice. Mandy doesn't provide a

" key " to this " homework " (for most of the accords) so I needed to rely

completely on my own interpretation of scents. I would've liked some

more commentary to help " calibrate " my nose-to-adjective connection,

if that makes sense.

There are several complete solid perfume recipes - instant

gratification.

I hope this is helpful. Would someone else like to give their p.o.v.?

Liz

[Guest guest]

<snipped>

>

> I hope this is helpful. Would someone else like to give their p.o.v.?

>

> Liz

>

Hello Liz ~ Thank you for your review. Do you think the distance

program by Mandy Aftel is a good starter class for the complete

novice? Are there other classes you can recommend? Thank you. /cp

[Guest guest]

At 05:56 AM 3/16/2006, you wrote:

>Hi Lesleen,

>

>I've worked through the Level I course and can give you my impressions.

>

>Mandy Aftel's book, Essence and Alchemy, is so wonderful. I've never

>felt so inspired artistically! Now that I've completed the course I

>can say that a good amount of the info I read in the manual is

>actually covered in her book. (In fact, you'll recognize many sentences.)

Hi Liz:

I have written many academic papers, and I'd like to make two points:

1. It is common for an author to not have to " reinvent the wheel " when

writing a followup, or companion piece. I have done this often myself,

especially when writing for a public presentation (with the proceedings

being published by the professional association), drawing from research and

university papers.

2. Maybe Mandy thought that some who purchased the workbook haven't seen

her book first.

I don't know if it's available at a store, or if someone could just pick up

a copy at a friend's house and start looking through it, but without the

basics, which Mandy did write, how could they get the gist of it all?

>The course manual, to me, seems to function as a companion/workbook

>with many duplicate pages on which to record activities touched upon

>in the book. 160 of the 251 pages are actually just duplicate

>worksheets (of several flavors) to use when analyzing the essences,

>their durations, and for recording your own perfume compositions

>(including how you rate it and why you think it's a success or has

>faults). I didn't expect this and felt disappointed.

When I started teaching myself via the Carles method years ago (and we

discussed this recently, you can look in the archives) I made myself xerox

pages, with all the names and blank spaces for # of drops, etc., much like

what Mandy did, but on a much more amateur level. Mandy's duplicate pages

are there for a reason -- you'll never learn scent associations, intensity,

how to build accords on your own, etc., and all of the rigorous analyitical

methods unless you go through _each_ page. Plus, she worked out a lot of

the associations so you wind up with pleasant accords, not like the

stinkers I came up with on my own, LOL! Right there you've saved money by

not wasting essences.

>I think Mandy

>states that the intention of the course is to learn through

>-experience-. Perhaps by filling all of those worksheets, one gets

>the maximum benefit from the course.

Absolutely. That's what the _experiential_ process is all about. It's as if

she sat you down and made you practice the piano every day until you got

the notes right. Otherwise, you wouldn't, and you'd never advance as a

perfumer. I know some who took her early, early classes in Berkeley and

went away thinking they were perfumers. Not so, you need a rigorous,

challenging, and yes, sometimes monotonous repetitive structure.

>I thought the accord work was very nice. Mandy doesn't provide a

> " key " to this " homework " (for most of the accords) so I needed to rely

>completely on my own interpretation of scents. I would've liked some

>more commentary to help " calibrate " my nose-to-adjective connection,

>if that makes sense.

I'm not sure, but doesn't Mandy include feedback as part of the fee? You

could contact her.

Anya

http://.com

The premier site on the Web to discover the beauty of Natural Perfume

/

Join to study natural perfumery

[Guest guest]

--- Carisha Piton <carishapiton@...> wrote:

> <snipped>

> >

> > I hope this is helpful. Would someone else like

> to give their p.o.v.?

> >

> > Liz

> >

> Hello Liz ~ Thank you for your review. Do you think

> the distance

> program by Mandy Aftel is a good starter class for

> the complete

> novice? Are there other classes you can recommend?

> Thank you. /cp

>

Hi Carisha,

I definitely think the distance program -is- geared

towards the complete novice...especially someone who

enjoys learning in a linear, step by step way.

Essence and Alchemy is such a great book that after I

was finished with it, I didn't feel like a novice. I

had essences within reach and would analyze scents

while I read about them.

Everyone's different of course. I didn't get much out

of the distance program and was actually annoyed to

find text that had literally been lifted from the

book. If I could turn back time, I'd spend that $375

on floral absolutes or the Arctander book. Or I'd

find a class in which I could meet other perfumers and

get opinions on my mixtures.

I think novice natural perfumers can move forward with

confidence and trust their instincts - no class

needed. Making a good perfume isn't hard at all!

Making a truly -great- perfume is considerably harder.

Sorry I can't recommend a good class for beginners.

But I bet there are a lot of people here who can!

Liz

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

> Hi Liz:

>

> I have written many academic papers, and I'd like to

> make two points:

> 1. It is common for an author to not have to

> " reinvent the wheel " when

> writing a followup, or companion piece. I have done

> this often myself,

> especially when writing for a public presentation

> (with the proceedings

> being published by the professional association),

> drawing from research and

> university papers.

Different audience, different format, different

expectations.

> 2. Maybe Mandy thought that some who purchased the

> workbook haven't seen

> her book first.

> I don't know if it's available at a store, or if

> someone could just pick up

> a copy at a friend's house and start looking through

> it, but without the

> basics, which Mandy did write, how could they get

> the gist of it all?

That's counterintuitive. Her book is much more widely

publicized and much, much cheaper. Why serve the

minority while annoying the vast majority?

> Plus, she

> worked out a lot of

> the associations so you wind up with pleasant

> accords, not like the

> stinkers I came up with on my own, LOL! Right there

> you've saved money by

> not wasting essences.

LOL, you're right about wasted essences... I try not

to let it interrupt my focus. :-) As engineers, my

coworkers and I burned up $120,000 pieces of equipment

in a fraction of a second. You become insensitive to

the waste. " Can someone bring me that other laser? I

trashed this one and I've got to finish this

experiment before lunch. " " Yeah, but only if you

trade me a such-and-such (expensive) optic I dropped

and crushed with my boot this morning. " (laughing)

> I know some who took her early, early

> classes in Berkeley and

> went away thinking they were perfumers. Not so, you

> need a rigorous,

> challenging, and yes, sometimes monotonous

> repetitive structure.

You seem like a nice person - don't get elitist on me!

Liz

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

<big snip>

> Sorry I can't recommend a good class for beginners.

> But I bet there are a lot of people here who can!

> Liz

Thank you everyone for your input on Mandy Aftel's Level 1 course. The

healthy discussion has been quite enlightening to me (and other novices

in " lurkdom " I am sure!). I agree that everyone is different and I am

glad to hear that there are a few options for education and training.

Just FYI ~ if you are considering taking Mandy Aftel's advance courses

(in person), you will have to take the Level 1 distance course as a

prerequisite.

Please keep sending information on new classes (beginner and advanced)

as well as books that you recommend are worth reading.

Best regards,

Carisha