Category: Reviews

Elder from Modern Herbal Books, booze, perfumes, flavors, artworks and events involving smell, essential oils, etc.

A serene and somewhat eerie landscape of a graveyard with rolling hills. The scene is depicted in shades of black, gray, and blue, giving it a watercolor effect. Numerous tombstones with crosses are scattered across the hills, some in the foreground and others fading into the distance. Bare trees with thin branches stand among the graves, adding to the somber atmosphere. In the sky, a few birds are flying, enhancing the tranquil yet haunting feel of the scene. Tall grasses and plants are visible in the foreground, swaying gently as if moved by the wind. Created with ChatGPT for this review of Sapphires on the Graves.

‘Sapphires on the Graves’ by Scott Ferry * Review by Peter Mladinic

aromatica poetica April 9, 2025

God and I, earth and sky, and family are all-significant in Scott Ferry’s book of poems, Sapphires on the Graves (Glass Lyre Press, 2024). A book of prose poems stylistically void of capital letters, the lower case g for God, complemented by the lower case i, suggests poetry is more about questions than answers. Ferry’s lower case g suggests the secular, an entity in the universe, a creator of all or nothing. His lower case i connotes we; he writes from …

A soft pink background sets the stage for this layered erotic lit perfumes collage. The base layer features a subtly blurred photograph of an elegant silver tray with curved, ornamental handles extending outward on both sides. The tray rests on a neutral-toned surface, holding an oval-shaped perfume bottle labeled “Les Cahiers Secrets”, with a gold spherical cap. Surrounding the bottle are scattered yellow flower petals, adding a delicate, natural touch. Superimposed on this background are five distinct perfume bottles, each slightly transparent, creating a dreamy, layered effect. These bottles are arranged in a balanced composition: 1. Far left: A rectangular glass bottle labeled “Delta of Venus” (Eris), with a black cap and a pale, translucent liquid inside. 2. Slightly left of center: A vintage-inspired bottle with vertical ridges, a golden cap, and a black velvet bow at the neck. The label reads “Marissa Zappas”. 3. Center: The original bottle from the tray, “Les Cahiers Secrets,” remains clearly visible, reinforcing its role as the focal point. 4. Slightly right of center: Another tall rectangular bottle labeled “Belle de Jour” (Eris), with a black cap and golden liquid. 5. Far right: A modern, minimalist square bottle labeled “Nishane”, featuring a gold cap and a warm amber-hued perfume. The semi-transparent effect of the superimposed bottles gives the impression of a layered memory, a sensual haze, or a soft-focus dream—an aesthetic that evokes elegance, nostalgia, and a sense of intimate luxury. The pink background adds a warm, romantic, and slightly playful touch, while the metallic accents from the tray and perfume caps create a subtle contrast.

“Erotic Literature Hits the Bottle” * Nonfiction * Beatriz Zimmermann

aromatica poetica February 12, 2025

You always remember your first erotic book. That deep unexpected stirring that comes from mere words suddenly pulsating on the page. It’s safe to say D.H. Lawrence’s long-banned Lady Chatterley’s Lover inspired a whole generation of lady of the manor fantasies while taboo tales like The Story of O and Venus in Furs swerved into a decidedly S&M space, immediately taking their place as classics for the whipped-into-a-frenzy crowd. Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying (recently feted for its 50th anniversary) …

A digital collage of the Basenote bitch exhibition in Olfactory Art Keller in all its pink glory: The pink sniffing table with scented scrunchies under domes with coordinated suckers and doodads from the photo installations, some of the bottles of the featured fragrances on a pink vanity, flanked by the four images featured here hanging on the pink walls of the gallery -- Fahrenheit. Dream, Love Spell, Country Apple – all of which get detailed image descriptions below…

Basenote Bitch * Elizabeth Renstrom * Fragrant Photos + Image Descriptions

aromatica poetica March 21, 2024

Hello, it’s Leona, Aromatica Poetica’s founding editor here. I was delighted to lead a verbal description tour and conversation with the artist Elizabeth Renstrom at Olfactory Art Keller last weekend. I wanted to share some of that fragrant, nostalgic fun with you! For the image descriptions, I chose four of the eight fragrant works and organized them chronologically: Fahrenheit (1988); Dream (1995); Country Apple (1997); and Love Spell (1999). For NYC friends, you can check out the Basenote Bitch exhibition …

Spirit Becomes Concrete: Mandy Aftel’s Jasmine Grandiflorum Concrete * Leona Godin

aromatica poetica December 2, 2022

“Is Jasmine then the mystical Morn—the centre, the Delphi, the Omphalos of the floral world? Is it the point of departure, the one unapproachable and indivisible unit of fragrance? Is Jasmine the Isis of flowers, with veiled face and covered feet, to be loved of all yet discovered by none? Beautiful Jasmine! If it be so, the Rose ought to be dethroned and the Inimitable enthroned in her stead; suppose we create a civil war among the gardens and crown …

The festive purple cover of the Purdys Braille Box is pulled aside to reveal the delightfully different-shaped assorted chocolates.

Feel the Deliciousness: The Purdys Braille Chocolate Box * Review by Kerry Kijewski

aromatica poetica November 23, 2022

One adventure many blind people find themselves having at holiday gatherings is choosing a chocolate from an assorted chocolate box. Creamy, chewy, sweet or bitter – we all have our favourites, but those paper legends included in the box, they’re no good when you can’t see to read them. Enter the Purdys chocolates Braille Box… People who like to be surprised, (blind people included) maybe don’t mind so much. It’s those who like to know what to expect looking for …

A collage of Italy photos from Kathleen Fisher: Kathleen’s husband Pete with The Brenta River and the Old Bridge in background, Market in Bassano del Grappa, Aperitivo at Nardini’s Distillery, Close up of Pete with his Aperitivo, The funky bar at Nardini’s, A wall of grappa at Nardini’s.

Grappa Aroma * Nonfiction * Kathleen Fisher

aromatica poetica January 12, 2022

Bassano del Grappa gets one star in the Michelin Green Guide, Italy. It deserves that star for its setting alone which is on the River Brenta in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. I have visited Bassano several times, but my most memorable experience was about 12 years ago when I discovered the Poli Grappa Museum and its room dedicated to the smells of Grappa. On that day, the Alpini (Italy’s specialist mountain infantry) were singing at one end of …

Olfactory Report 8 by AP columnist Catherine Haley Epstein stamp featuring the modern architecture of a greenhouse with hanging herbs.

Olfactory Report 8: Scent and Architecture * Catherine Haley Epstein

aromatica poetica December 9, 2021

For La Biennale di Venezia’s 17th International Architecture Exhibition the curator Hashim Sarkis, Professor and Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, chose the theme “How Will We Live Together?”. Sixty nations participated to respond, where three new countries included Grenada, Iraq, and the Republic of Uzbekistan. The theme was bolstered by five sub-themes all exploring the plurality of human existence socially, politically and in nature. Among the research, the visuals, the haptic …

Three book covers: Infinite Country, Kink, and Little Blue Encyclopedia (For Vivian) set over three photographs of baked goods: Craggy Rye Biscuits, Multi-Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Onion and Sweet Potato Galettes.

Book-Inspired Baking * Reviews + Recipes * Laura Sackton

aromatica poetica September 12, 2021

One of the best things about reading is all the doorways it opens. Reading can be a visual or aural or tactile experience, depending on the kind of reading you’re doing. But beyond the immediate experience of absorbing words into your brain, via sound or touch or sight, there’s all the sensory experiences that reading evokes. Some books elicit a strong emotional response. Others make me feel a particular way in my body — angry or excited or overwhelmed. Often, …

The Smellicopter. Image courtesy Mark Stone and the University of Washington. A drone with plastic fins on the bag, and moth antennae barely visible. “Smellicopter has two plastic fins (shown here in blue) on the back to create drag to help it be oriented so that it is constantly facing upwind.”

The Olfactory Report 1: Smellicopters and the Smell of Old Books * Catherine Haley Epstein

aromatica poetica January 13, 2021

Aromatica Poetica is delighted to present The Olfactory Report, a monthly column dedicated to the business of our noses. In it scent artist and writer, Catherine Haley Epstein, shares news, thought pieces, reviews and opinions from the olfactory landscape. For our first edition of this one of a kind column, she presents a round up of some of the more exciting events and initiatives of 2020. Despite it being, and continually being, a year full of isolation, dissonance and breaking …

Nose Dive book cover and mirror image set on a stylized pink and white orchid wallpaper.

Nose Dive by Catherine Haley Epstein * Book Review

aromatica poetica December 23, 2019

Nose Dive: A book for the curious seeking creative potential through their noses (2019) by Catherine Haley Epstein is an adventure for your nose in art, anthropology, and science. You will be amazed at how much you didn’t know about this oft-neglected sense. Epstein is an artist, award-winning writer, designer and curator. She wrote a great review of Milan’s Esxence for us earlier this year, and I was delighted to receive her book available for purchase HERE! As Epstein explains …