A few weeks ago, I witnessed a conversation on Twitter discussing the making of mixtapes. They were discussing the ones we made at home ourselves on cassette tapes filled with slow jams. The ones we toiled over for that girl that made us pay attention to the way we smelled, the girl who for some reason took the words right out of our mouth, our first, second, third and fourth crushes. We made them to communicate our feelings in a way we couldn’t at that time. For some reason, Bobby Brown’s, “I Wanna Rock With You” said it so much cooler than I ever could. Besides, making the mixtape was like writing a letter, albeit imperfect with its abrupt endings and sudden beginnings (those pause and record buttons were never as precise as we wanted them to be). In the end, however, she got the point, and if she blushed, you were the man.
Mandy Aftel’s Secret Garden is a scent that has a lot of energy. It’s sweet, and spicy and animalic. It’s naughty and at the same time, guy next doorish. It can be worn at any point of the day. But when I heard the scent’s name, Quincy Jones’ song “Secret Garden” came to mind and immediately made it a night scent for me. It’s a charming version of the slow jam mixtapes we used to make.
The scent opens with a sweet floral nose and a beguiling rose note. Its there making it’s impression nicely in the background causing you to think, this is interesting. For those guys that run from rose, bergamot and blood orange, which are also in the opening notes, will give it a nose you’re familiar with. The magic, however, happens as the scent opens and transforms to reveal it’s animalic base. Think of it like this, by the time this scent blossoms, its base will give your natural scent a nice lift.
As the song Secret Garden says, “Here in the garden where temptation feels so right passion can make you fall for what you feel…If scent communicates for us in ways words can’t, I’ll choose Mandy Aftel’s Secret Garden to push that temptation for me and you should too.
Secret Garden is available in a 1/4 oz. bottle for $150.
fragrantmoments.net 
You should wear it so i can smell the temptation and get it for my man. 😉 I loved this article!
I’m knocked out by this review – such a smart analogy! The non-verbal communication of feeling is so appropriate – I imagine myself “re-mixing” at my perfume organ until the feeling is just right. I appreciate your terrific, expert writing – you bring such wit and charm to your erudition, and so many of my male customers appreciate your unique viewpoint.
Mandy