I often react to a perfume in a synesthetic way, I see a color or a texture, or more predictably like most people, I react emotionally. A memory is evoked or a certain mood is triggered.
Mandy Aftel’s perfumes make me hear music. It is astounding, but what started with Tango and found its continuation in Haute Claire, also happened and happened in a way that was a revelation to me, with Cepes&Tuberose.
Music filled my head and my heart, coupled with a primordial feeling of love and hate, yearning for closeness and longing for freedom, all at once.
Please listen to the music below, while you read on – this is Cepes&Tuberose transformed into music and lyrics.
Cepes&Tuberose was created by Mandy Aftel and includes notes of rosewood, tuberose, Moroccan rose, cepes absolute and benzoin.
By all means Cepes&Tuberose should not be something that appeals to me, on the contrary, for years I have been afraid of it. Dirty, animalic mushrooms with my most detested floral, tuberose? No, thank you.
But it does work. Somehow I feel like I have vaulted a huge Perfumista barrier with trying and loving Cepes&Tuberose. It just shows me that nothing in Perfumeland is predictable, something to love, to move you, to enhance your life, can be found in the most unlikely of packages.
I found an incredible oud perfume this year (Mona di Orio’s Oud) and in Cepes&Tuberose I found inspiration and a perfume that brings out aspects of my personality that usually lie buried. Buried underneath a mountain of daily drudgery and socially acceptable compromises we make each and every day, just to function and fit in. Layers that also protect us, make us act maturely and responsibly and see to it that we are not burned by our own emotions.
But there are times when we should be true to ourselves, even if it is just for the lenghth of a song, or the two to three hours a perfume fuels our emotions and carries us away on fragrant wings.
As is so often the case with Mandy’s creations, I feel reluctant to try to analyze them and dissect them, they seem like living, organic entities to me, truly created rather than assembled, inspired with life, breathing and being. There is not always a need to dig deeper, sometimes just sitting back and saying: “This is a great perfume, just smell it and you know.” is enough.
But what I am compelled to do, when I sit and feel myself getting drunk almost, with the deliciously intoxicating fumes of Cepes& Tuberose surrounding me, is telling you about the way it works.
It makes me see the best and the worst in myself at the same time. It makes me want two opposites, two extremes, it makes me want what I cannot have and it renders me crazy and angry and sad and deliriously happy at once.
Cepes&Tuberose brings out the base layer of my soul, the one that only knows black and white, good and bad, hot and cold, big and small, and nothing in between. The layer of my soul that wants it all at once and knows it’ll get nothing, because there are no levels of grey for this part of me.
This borderline layer that separates my raw, animal nature from my human makeup that I acquired over the years of growing up, of becoming an adult, trembles with exited tension, because in Cepes&Tuberose it recognizes itself and dares to show its face, kicking and screaming, laughing and giggling, exited, exalted, free.
Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that’s alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that’s alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
I can’t tell you what it really is
I can only tell you what it feels like
And right now there’s a steel knife
In my windpipe
I can’t breathe
But I still fight
While I can fight
As long as the wrong feels right
It’s like I’m in flight
High of a love
Drunk from the hate
It’s like I’m huffing paint
And I love it the more that I suffer
I suffocate
And right before im about to drown
She resuscitates me
She fucking hates me
And I love it
Wait
Where you going
I’m leaving you
No you ain’t
Come back
We’re running right back
Here we go again
It’s so insane
Cause when it’s going good
It’s going great
I’m Superman
With the wind in his back
She’s Lois Lane
But when it’s bad
It’s awful
I feel so ashamed
I snap
Who’s that dude
I don’t even know his name
I laid hands on her
I’ll never stoop so low again
I guess I don’t know my own strength
Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that’s alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that’s alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
You ever love somebody so much
You can barely breathe
When you’re with them
You meet
And neither one of you
Even know what hit ’em
Got that warm fuzzy feeling
Yeah them chills
Used to get ’em
Now you’re getting fucking sick
Of looking at ’em
You swore you’ve never hit ’em
Never do nothing to hurt ’em
Now you’re in each other’s face
Spewing venom
And these words
When you spit ’em
You push
Pull each other’s hair
Scratch, claw, bit ’em
Throw ’em down
Pin ’em
So lost in the moments
When you’re in ’em
It’s the rage that took over
It controls you both
So they say it’s best
To go your separate ways
Guess that they don’t know ya
Cause today
That was yesterday
Yesterday is over
It’s a different day
Sound like broken records
Playin’ over
But you promised her
Next time you’ll show restraint
You don’t get another chance
Life is no Nintendo game
But you lied again
Now you get to watch her leave
Out the window
Guess that’s why they call it window pane
Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that’s alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that’s alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie.
Now I know we said things
Did things
That we didn’t mean
And we fall back
Into the same patterns
Same routine
But your temper’s just as bad
As mine is
You’re the same as me
But when it comes to love
You’re just as blinded
Baby please come back
It wasn’t you
Baby it was me
Maybe our relationship
Isn’t as crazy as it seems
Maybe that’s what happens
When a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is
I love you too much
To walk away though
Come inside
Pick up your bags off the sidewalk
Don’t you hear sincerity
In my voice when I talk
Told you this is my fault
Look me in the eyeball
Next time I’m pissed
I’ll aim my fist
At the dry wall
Next time
There will be no next time
I apologize
Even though I know it’s lies
I’m tired of the games
I just want her back
I know I’m a liar
If she ever tries to fucking leave again
I’mma tie her to the bed
And set the house on fire
Just gonna stand there
And watch me burn
But that’s alright
Because I like
The way it hurts
Just gonna stand there
And hear me cry
But that’s alright
Because I love
The way you lie
I love the way you lie
Olfactoria's Travels 
That was an amazing piece of writing Olfactoria!
And I know just what you mean…
Brilliant review.
Thank you, Maggie.
A perfume that transports you straight into this song must be something truly amazing. 🙂
Great review!
It is an experience…
Thanks, Ines.
Sometimes I have the feeling, that a scent can never live up to your well writen, beautiful and poetic reviews:-)…….you certainly should consider to move into perfume marketing, everyone would buy a perfume scent described by you……
I appreciate the compliment inherent in your words, but I must refute them anyway. Some perfumes, like this one, are such great works of art that nothing I can write can ever surpass them. On the contrary, I feel lucky to be inspired by them.
As for marketing copy, I hope this is the last thing I’ll ever write, since it would all be lies, perfumes with the budget for great marketing campaigns seldom have what it takes to inspire real emotions in anyone, let alone the copy writer.
Some perfumes, and very often natural perfumes speak to us in ways that defy explanation. In my reviews, I attempt one anyway…
I’ve felt the same way as you about tuberose, but I am – just like you – drawn towards Cepes & Tuberose (would have preferred a more poetic name). In this fragrance tuberose is not flesh eating, it’s not aggressive and undiplomatic and blunt – it’s soft and smooth. It’s a stealth tuberose – you don’t realize it, but suddenly you’ve been invaded – seduced.
I feel like this about this turn of events: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPFW4NDp8QQ
Thanks for answering with music!
A different name would indeed be nice, but on the other hand the simple statement of the main players leaves the imagination open and doesn’t lead the mind into one direction. Not that I ever concur with what perfumes want me to think, but still… 🙂
Stealth tuberose – perfect.
Lovely review! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Now, if I could just get my hands on samples all would be well. But as Georgy so eloquently stated above, perhaps I too would be disappointed in the juice after reading your review.
Thank you, Sandra. I was extremely nervous about posting it, since it is a rather personal take, but it seems people are not totally put off…
Mandy’s perfumes (and natural perfumes in general) speak in another language, it is like comparing ancient Greek with the cartoon speak we are used to from some, okay many, mainstream releases over the past decade. But once you know a few words, a few phrases, you are slowly starting to get it, and the stories you decipher, the stories Mandy tells with her perfumes are full of wisdom and wonder. But one has to take the time, fast-food perfume they are not.
Actually that one is the only parfum with tuberose I’m able to handle without being nauseated or getting a bad headache. I can even coexist with it.
Now that is a compliment coming from you, there is a tuberose for you after all! 🙂
You see, you told so just few weeks ago :-)…
Thanks for this beautiful review! C&T is my very favourite of the Afteliers I’ve tried. And I can very much relate to what you say about getting in touch with the “base layer”. I think this is the reason why I find perfumes so captivating in the first place, they somehow reach me simultaneously on all levels. A scent might interact with my inner child, sultry teenager, angry bitch, someone sad and confused who just wants a hug, and all the others. I also think that’s why scents are so fun to write about, I get to draw inspiration from all of these inner personas and in return they get a few minutes out in the light.
Exactly. We are totally on the same page there. I really enjoyed your troll review of C&T!
“they seem like living, organic entities to me, truly created rather than assembled, inspired with life, breathing and being.”
Perfectly said, Birigt, and I understand what you mean about C&T: I too found it very primal, almost disorienting. There has never been anything like it, and it pretty much took my breathe away every time I wore it— I think you’ve captured a piece of that same spirit in this review.
There is definitely a discord within Cepes & Tuberose, a beautiful, powerful discord—and even though I know and dislike this music video (maybe a little too relatable?), I see that it is a very good choice for the place that this perfume takes a willing wearer.
I adore this video, it totally speaks to me (that’s how weird I am 😉 ) and I love Dominic Monaghan. But that is not the topic… 🙂
I’m glad you feel the unusual power of C&T as well.
Amazingly well-written, B!
Like dee, that song makes me feel uneasy but I guess that’s the point. So far I’ve had trouble “getting” Tango and Candide did not work for me at all so I think maybe I should try Mandy’s florals next time round and leave Cepes and Tuberose (as stunning as you make it sound) to a later date.
Thank you, Tara. Maybe Aftelier is just not your thing, maybe it will be someday…
I love this review!
It was great to listen to the song and read your writing simultaneously, it felt like I could almost smell the fragrance!
Bravo 😀
I love this comment! 😀
Thank you very much, T.
Lovely review! I need to reread your review with the music..I absolutely love C and Tand like you felt a longing when I smelled it. It was my initial favorite from the line and the one that I thought was the easiest to love..I see this perfume in color and texture, though..I also couldn’t smell the tuberose separately-it was so smoothly blended- can you?
It is very well blended, I can’t smell tuberose as it usually is presented no, it takes on a completely different character together with the cepes absolute. A character I adore.
Your writing continues to awe and inspire me, Birgit. I love how you connect other creative outlets like literature and music to perfume. This is a beautiful review.
I’m so glad you and others like this review, as I almost didn’t publish it, because it is very “raw”. But I didn’t want to re-write it either, it is what C&T evoked in me, and I’m thankful for that.
Birgit, I absolutely love your review… love being surprised at discovering facets about you that I never would have guessed at. Revealing and gorgeous writing.
I ordered samples in parfum version and edp version of three of Mandy’s scents (Tango, Shiso, and Cepes & Tuberose), and of the three, this is my favorite. I get a song from it too, but it’s a lot more innocent than the one you get. Given my tastes in perfume (which I know I don’t have to elaborate to you), this is not quite deep or animalic enough for me to get what you do out of it. In fact, all three that I’ve tried are quite wispy on me. But they do very much have interesting textures and nuances, and I have decided to live with them for awhile longer and see if I can fall as madly and deeply for them as you, Carrie, Tarleisio, Lavanya, Sigrun and others.
I do very much like the dusty earthiness of the cepes in this fragrance.
Suz, you ordered three really great ones, I hope they open themselves up to you, like they did to me. It took a while, but now I wouldn’t want (couldn’t!) be without anymore.
Politely butting in..:) Suzanne- I didn’t find this as animalic as everybody else seems to either..For me it was almost a comfortable, yummy, slightly edible, happy yet sad (in a ‘oh my god- this is going to end” way) perfume..On me all the earthy, dirty notes serve to add depth more than dirtiness (but then I seem to have a high tolerance for skank these days. Plus I have sweet-amping skin. In recent times only the top notes of Shalimar have smelled ‘dirty’ to/on me..:))
I don’t find C&T skanky at all. Maybe we are talking about two kinds of dirty. Here I don’t mean the sweaty, human kind of dirty, but the earthy kind. That is probably why I love it so. 😉
ok – That makes sense then..:) I need to resniff this again while reading your review (I’ve been saving my few drops for my review which never got written because i couldn’t get my nose off my wrist when i was wearing it..lol)
yeah- I think I mixed up the two kinds of dirty- the Shalimar kind and the earthy kind..But you are right- this was the perfume (of all Many’s Perfumes) that I had a very visceral response to and the one I identified the most with. It felt just right and I couldn’t articulate why..
I meant ‘Mandy’ not Many (ofcourse..arrgh- hate typos..)
Birgit, thank you, I am amazed by your brilliant review! I was so moved to read your deeply personal, visceral response to Cepes & Tuberose, and thrilled that you could get so much of what I wanted to convey. And Eminem is a huge favorite among my musical inspirations that I play when working on perfumes – I can’t believe I’m in the same blog post with him! Now I can dream about seeing him in person someday… Mandy Aftel.
Our admiration for Eminem unites us, Mandy. He is so much deeper that he is given credit for. I admire his clarity and lucid view of himself and his life, seeing everything and still often being unable to change it. We all can relate to that, at least I can… Thank you for Cepes&Tuberose, thank you for your comment and most of all thank you for your friendship!
Wow- I love Eminem and NEVER would have expected that either you, Birgit or you, Mandy, would be a fan- that is SO awesome. I love learning surprises about people I care about. 🙂 Cepes & Tuberose is a really unique fragrance to me, I kind of see it as a child that you know will grow up to be someone very influential, you see the spark of greatness there but it’s a little wild still. This was a really beautiful review, Birgit!
Eminem and I are a bit incongruous I guess, but I do love him! 😉
Your idea of the child is essentially the same as my description of this early layer of our souls, that exists before everything else is piled on top. In children it is still uncluttered and much nearer to the surface.
I am totally floored by your review, beautiful and haunting!
Also the image you chose – it is amazing! The dark forest, the slender figure as the only source of light AND a mushroom. Perfect! Did you find that picture before you wrote the review?
Anna, thank you for noticing and mentioning that picture. I hoped someone would! 🙂 I found it after I wrote the review and googled for fitting images. It is excellent, I love it so much. It works on every level, a lucky find indeed!
Birgit-read this review again with the music and it is beautiful!!! (I read it in a bit of a hurry in the morning before going to work). I know exactly what you mean! (that is the kind of happy, sad, restless yet being in touch that this perfume (and Fig) does for me..That sounds a bit incoherent but C&T does that to me too..:)).
Ok- I seem to be all over the page today. It probably means I should finish my review..lol
It certainly means that Cepes&Tuberose doesn’t leave you cold either. 🙂
Smelling it and listening to that song, is perfection to me, it’s deeply moving.
This perfume either strikes you immediately with it’s overwhelming beauty, or not at all. It’s like being in the right place at the right time. I am glad you tried it when you were in the right place. I don’t think the writing is over the top, as some have hinted at a bit. It is indeed shocking though, when you are used to trying different things, and you may be kind of inured, blase, or even in a low kind of mood to be hit with this amazing beauty all at once. It is very ephemeral but then so is the moment of sunrise and sunset or having a taste of a great wine. Somehow the balance is just so that it includes all the dark and and bright without the decay of the mushrooms and without the cloy of the tuberose. Two things you might not care for separately working perfectly together. I think you did well to do what you could to describe exactly its effect on you. It’s all personal, and the more specific the more accurate it is.
Thank you for your wonderful words, Lucy. That is just how C&T struck me, out of the blue and hard. I am sure glad I was at the right place at the right time.
And as you say, perfect moments are ephemeral…
I love this song, love Eminem, would not have expected it to be paired with a creation that has this name. Your creativity is so impressive! And, you have rekindled (ha ha ha) my interest in trying some of Mandy’s fragrances.
Another Eminem fan! Yay! 🙂
Thank you for that compliment, I really appreciate it!
Birgit, as you know, C&T is one of the most amazing things I’ve stuck my nose in this year, and just like it did for you, it struck me at bedrock level – there is no other word to describe it! I can only wish my review had been half so good as yours! (Although I’m emphatically not an Eminem fan, LOL)
There is nothing like it. At all. Anywhere. For me, it’s gotten to where I’m not dressed until I have a tiny dab of it somewhere on my person, no matter what perfume I wear!
Given your dislike of tuberose, I’m quite surprised it resonated so profoundly with you, but since it’s an Aftelier, then again, maybe not! 😉
You know, I have gotten around to tuberose, not the all-out screamers like Fracas (I guess some things are not to be), but the subtle and ingeniously paired ones, I have started to like.
C&T is a whole other matter, it is a force of nature. And I know how important it is for you, so thank you even more for your kind words, T.
Pingback: This Week | another perfume blog
Pingback: My Favorite Things – The Fall Issue | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: One Year Of Fragrant Travelling – Olfactoria’s Travels’s First Birthday | Olfactoria's Travels
Just a very belated fan note for your review of Cepes & Tuberose. . .
I’m trying it for the first time tonight, and searched the ‘net for others’ thoughts on this fascinating fragrance, and came across your startling review.
The video for the song was a train wreck from which I could not look away. I went to amazon and downloaded the song, and it’s my first from Eminem, who’s always repulsed me before. . .and still does. It’s a bizarrely passionate, sad window into a relationship I hope to never experience, but I’m fascinated to see it as part of the human experience. I know these exist, and both the song and the video explain it to me, somehow. Thanks for the introduction.
You get much more from the fragrance than I do! For me it’s a lovely tuberose, well rounded, perhaps a touch earthy. . .but more sweet than startling. My skin amps sweet notes, and I steer clear of most big white florals The mentholated Carnal Flower is a *rare* exception.
That’s lots of rambling to say. . .I truly admire your writing. You’ve added a haunting song to my playlist, and depth to my understanding of human experience. Amazing. Be well.
Dear Hemlocksillage,
thank you very much for your kind words. Waking up to your thoughtful comment really brightened my day!
This song (and video) is truly haunting, I was kind of sucker punched by it too.
I’m happy that my review spoke to you, that is the best compliment one can receive. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked it!
Pingback: The Gleam In A Mother’s Eye – Review: Aftelier Secret Garden Eau de Parfum | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: The Best Of 2011 – My Favorite Perfumes Of The Year | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: Round And Glowing – Review: Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Carnal Flower | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: Cepes and Tuberose « another perfume blog
Pingback: Escape! – Review: Aftelier Sepia | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: Monday Question – What Is Your Number One Perfume? | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: Smell With Me – Olfactoria’s Travels Turns Two! | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: People In Perfumeland – Mandy Aftel Of Aftelier Perfumes | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: That Smile – Review: Hiram Green Moon Bloom | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: The Best Of 2013 | Olfactoria's Travels
Pingback: Aftelier Perfumes Cepes and Tuberose: Earthy Tuberose | Kafkaesque