Tango by Aftelier

05/08/09 00:13:55

By: Cristiane Gonçalves

"Sally Porter: How did you choose the tango?
Pablo Veron: I didn't. The tango chose me."
The Tango Lesson movie

A breathtaking and sensual tango performance is always a new dance on the floor. Always intense, always unique. A moment of intimacy with the dance partner, so much passionateness in each instant of respiration, in each touch on the skin, in each provocative glance, there is Tango, in all these moments before bodies move on the ballroom in a new controlled dramatic dance liberation, making the audience eyes be surrendered by vibrant passion.

Aftelier Tango, fragrance released in 2006 and created by the natural perfumer Mandy Aftel has a mysterious dance of notes and is so unique as a Tango dance, the inspiration for the perfume composition.

According to Aftelier the fragrance has "sexy and smoky seashells and champaca; a heady floral with spice and honey notes". Each aromatic movement works as new step of Tango, indulging the senses to discover how is to feel this Art dance and how the scent development develops on the fragrance. The imminent initial step is to be surrounded by this peculiar scent which is absolutely surprising to the nose as a stunning Tango legs coreograph part and, then, inhaling this aroma as an essential air to the body that just needs to "live Tango".

The first sniff on Tango and the fragrance presents itself to me as a strange and difficult scent. For some few minutes I thought : "Oh, this will not be my scented Tango". First of all, the fragrance is totally included in other "olfactive" mindset for any sensorial experience because it is a high quality and high-concentrated in natural aromatics fragrance, so notes are naturally more intimate and vivid, very different from the mainstream fragrance pattern of the industry.

Tango is inserted in the natural perfumery and Mandy Aftel is one of the leading and most known perfume designers in this field. Smelling her fragrance was an honour attached to some high expectation, considering that her book, Essences and Alchemy was the first perfume book I read and changed my life forever. Through her didatic lines, also so friendly and closer writing style, I could learn from her experience and believe that perfumery was naturally part of innerself.

After, my expectation on the fragrance was very "red", the main color of my inner image about Tango dance and I kept thinking of rouge lipstick on gorgeous lips of a Tango dancer, an obvious sensuality trace, a red passion, a jeaulous and hot adiction, an extreme feeling of going deeper in red feelings as blooding the heart after losing a "Porteño amor".

During these thoughts, I saw me dancing a Roxanne Tango performed in Moulin Rouge movie in a burlesque and dramatic performance and also the Trio sensual Tango dance, performed by Cecília Narova, Mía Maestro and Carlos Rivarola in Tango movie. An absolute charmous presentation, directed by the director Carlos Saura, from the red Spain and so beloved by me through his Flamenco movies. Then, at least, in my dreamy thoughts, I expected that Tango would be as picturing a black and white fragrance similar to the movie The Tango Lesson with the competent Sally Porter and the charmous and sexy Pablo Veron, having classes and dancing together on stages and backstages involved by that cinematography sensuality aura captured in various takes.

Later, while trying to discover the top main chords, suddenly I realized that Aftelier Tango was more aligned to a lovely fragrance for the Tango of The Scent of a Woman movie (and that unforgettable Tango dance with Al Pacino) and, apparently seems to fit to those timeless songs of Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla.

Before wearing the fragrance, I also had imagined a "dark urban" Tango on my skin, being combined to my favorite songs of a modern fusion Tango, what I call as a Tango(tronic), typical of music groups as Gotan Project and Bajofondo. Any way, for my taste, Aftelier Tango is a pleasant smoky floral to classical Tango moments, sensual and romantic, dancing the captivating "Por una cabeza" song, passionately involved by an intense love during a Tango Romance Day.

The last reason of this fast strangeness was about my poor scent familiarity with Champaca, a fragrant component very expensive and rare in fragrances, only found in some niche or exclusive fragrances as i.e. Tom Ford Champaca Absolute, Ormond Jayne Champaca and some natural fragrances that I don't know yet as i.e Anya's Garden Fairchild and Ayala Moriel Rebellius, consequently I got surprised with this unfamiliar scent at the perfume opening, moreover Champaca is a real hard to define scent. Later I realized that, in order to express very technical and difficult dance as Tango, an unusual floral smell was a key point to differentiate Aftelier Tango.

The start is unconventional to my nose. It has also a weird start, probably because of its complexity.

Tango seems to have a medicinal background, not green and herbal one but very enigmatic in its comfort and warm smell, absolutely soft on skin even when, later, develop slightly some smoky rubbery chords.

At this moment, it is like to imagine a rare man who dances very well and gives a confident and true expression that is able to guide the woman in a demanding but compelling Tango dance.

The Champaca flower is like to vision this dance partner, distinctive from others men, very unique on his "Tango perfume".

Then, the dance goes on... the strangeness lasts a short time when, in a beautiful way, the fragrance starts to develop delicately, slowly and in an inusitate way a floral blooming with sweet buttery smell in an incense aura.

This unsual butter scent on fragrances reminds me of a Body Shop nutty butter I have. Even both scents are not similar, there is some analogy in my senses, something that moistures the skin and let it lovely scented. This continuous warm and smooth aroma makes me think of a new step in the dance, when more and more the woman expresses her gestures, trusting on the powerful partnership of an elegant dance partner, doing improvisations in order to feel his tender arms and his passionate energy to lead her in an incredible performance, able to make her engaging in the dance with her heart, body and soul.

The drydown of Aftelier Tango is inexpressible in words. A gorgeous, delicate and enveloping floral whose scented base aura summarizes a type of nostalgic feeling about Champaca flower and its fragrant rarity. It is like to imagine myself still trying to understand how Mandy Aftel composed Tango.

The same happens when I see a spectacular dance peformance, I tried to imagine how some dancers can be so unique. Moreover, it is also clear on my skin some smoothness like the reminiscenses of some almondy-buttery-like be scent... I admit, Tango is a very well-done composition, very peculiar and very complex, so do not expect an easy-to-smell fragrance. Tango dry down is like an "olfactory" silent moment that may combine with the silence of some Tango audience.

After staring an Art dance as Tango, what are the words that remain? No more words, only Tango.

Sample and purchaise Tango from the official web site of Aftelier

Images: Aftelier, Feet wet, Bichuas, zabara, Moulin Rouge, Scent of a Woman, Tango lesson

Author: Cristiane Gonçalves (crisgonc)
Fragrantica Member

Cristiane Gonçalves (aka Cris Rosa Negra) is fragrance writer from Brazil and has a multilinguistic background and education. She is self-taught in perfumery issues, owner, editor and writer of her two international blogs, Perfume da Rosa Negra (the pioneer Brazilian Perfume Blog) and El Perfume al Aire (in Spanish).

Cris's writings are highlights at Perfumecritic.com as a active contributor writer. Cris is also a Senior Human Resources professional experienced in renowned companies and is involved in the development of the attars culture as a oriental fragrance expert/consultant.

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