Aftel Archive of Curious Scents

What a wonderful museum! I highly recommend checking this place out. It takes covid precautions, which is fantastic. The history is fascinating. And I love getting to look through books that are hundreds of years old. The family that runs it is incredibly sweet and friendly. This place is a gem. I’ll definitely come back!

A fascinating museum and sensory experience. I loved learning about the history of aromatherapy and perfumery, as well as smelling EVERYTHING! My favorite parts were the cabinets full of raw materials that you could smell and touch, as well the animal essences section (although I hope I never have to smell hyraceum ever again!) They also have an astounding collection of old botanical books. Can't wait to come again!

A wonderful and absolutely unique sensory experience! The archive includes a large number of experiential elements, from containers of raw materials (sourced from travels all over the world), to over 300 natural scents to smell and test. Very eye-opening; highly recommend!

Aftel Archive was amazing! Truly a personalized and intimate experience from beginning to end.. the owner, Mandy Aftel, was incredibly hospitable and educated us on the process and intracacies of perfume-making. Will definitely visit when in town again!

Had a wonderful time visiting the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents.
Having the opportunity to have a sensory experience unlike any other museum, where we got to smell the notes and chords that make up a perfume, to be able to notice the subtle and not so subtle way artificial scents differ from their natural counterparts. And certainly not to be forgotten, the chance to smell natural/animal scents such as ambergris and musk. Where else do you, as an adult, get to have new sensory experiences that make you feel like a child discovering the way your senses work?!?
Everything was thoughtfully prepared and curated and the Aftel family was extremely courteous and welcoming.

This is such an amazing sensory experience. You can smell new versus 100-year old scents of the same material, eat chocolate prayed with your selection of tasting scent, and take home a few dipped paper scents of your own. Totally cool and fascinating experience

I read The Emperor of Scent a few years back, and I was amazed that such a place exists here in the east bay. The passages came to life as I made my way around to some of the extinct aromas or forbiddenly expensive perfume ingredients I had read about in the book! The owner is also the author of several books, which you can purchase at the museum as well. It was a pleasure speaking to her and some of the tourists. We met a couple from Canada that came specifically to visit this museum!!

A gem in the neighborhood. Mostly a self-guided tour, with lots of antiques to admire, hundreds of scents to explore and experience, and the hosts are excellent and welcoming. A must visit if you are in the area.

More about scents and perfume design than you ever knew existed.

This is a very cool experience. I've never been to a museum quite like it. There's the history of perfumes, some fascinating specimen from around the world and even some great old books about the distilling, processing and manufacture of scents. If you want to ask the polite docents about stuff, they're super helpful. If you want to be open ended and just explore on your own, you can do that too. This would be an amazing date.

A deceptively small museum, Aftel Archive is jam-packed with not just scents but also compendiums of information, stored in ancient tomes and the wonderful family's brain! Mandy is incredible - so knowledgeable and sweet - and this is overall an educational, intimate, and wondrous experience.

The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents is an amazing place to visit. I wished I had booked more than one hour to spend even more time with all of the beautiful, interesting and carefully curated exhibits. There is so much to smell and see, and the perfumer and her son are welcoming and knowledgeable guides. If you are even slightly interested in fragrance, chances are you will enjoy it - there are rare scents you've likely never smelled before, and common scents like rose deconstructed into its constituent elements. I highly recommend a visit, and I'll likely be back!

I had a truly amazing experience here. If you like museums and are curious about how fragrance is created, you are in for a treat! They have done a great job with the displays - most items are for you to touch and smell. Since you need quite a lot of time per display (lots of little things to open and smell), it was great that the place wasnt crowded. They likely control this with the tickets that are for specific 1-hour time slots. The hour went by really fast. When we first heard of this place we were a bit concerned the smells might be over-powering, but that was not the case at all - does not smell like a mall for sure! Owners were great, provided a lot of facts / explanations on the displays. Not wanting to give away too much in the review, I would say that I had an amazing time and learnt a lot on perfume making!

A truly magical place that I cannot recommend more. The Aftel Archive of Curious Scents opened my eyes, I mean nostrils, to the rich and rewarding world of scents I had been taking for granted. It’s not just your sense of smell that’s in for a treat as the experience engages all of your senses. The hour long visit would’ve already been especially memorable even if it wasn’t focused on the sense with the strongest tie to memory. The various stations explain and entertain scent in a way that is fun and enlightening. My girlfriend and I smelled a candle the other day and were attempting to break down the scent with what we learned during our visit. And we learned a fair amount as the exhibits are flat out brilliant and positively inspired. You could feel how every detail was lovingly considered. Even ignoring scent, the space itself was decorated and laid out in an exceptionally classy, creative, and cohesive manner. From vintage prints to taxidermy critters, the decorative flourishes were aesthetically beautiful, thematically enhancing and you could tell, arranged just so. Honestly, just inhabiting the space was not only pleasing to the eye, but also elevating to the spirit. As if that isn’t enough, you also get to interact with the hearts, hands, minds and noses behind the archive as Mandy Aftel, the world class parfumier, her husband, Foster, and son, Devon, who all teamed together to create the archive, were there to provide detailed answers and insights. My only complaint, which isn’t a complaint, is that I wish I would’ve had more time to thumb through Mandy’s amazing collection of rare books related to scents. I’m already looking forward to making a return trip!

If you can't resist smelling candles at target or perfumes at Sephora then you should definitely take the time to visit this hidden gem. The owners are experts in their field, friendly, and attentive without being overbearing. You can smell ancient scents and their modern counterparts, transformative scents derived from animals, and browse vintage books about perfumes and smells. The most special part of this experience was remembering the moments of my own life that I associate with specific scents

This place is a gem in the Bay Area. It will show you the details of the art of perfume, that is now lost in the beauty world. You get to smell all kinds of authentic scents, familiar and exotic, and peruse the antique books and whatnot. It was such a wonderful experience, and I definitely want to go again.

What a wonderful place! I learned SO much. It literally changed me ...I know, sounds weird.
Well if you love to smell things please go here.
Also meeting Mandy Aftel was the topper of the day!

This is a fun, but low-key museum to visit and/or take out of town visitors. The curator gave us a quick introduction and turned us loose on the on the exhibits. Smell things from a whale - they got that! Smell things from animals butts - they got that too. Smell 300 different scents in a smell-a-thon - yep they got that. At the end, you can take 3 scents home and eat a couple of chocolates! Great berkeleyian experience for the natives and out-of-towners!

I couldn't think of a scent they didn't have. There were so many interesting things I learned about perfumes and scents and the workers knew so much. They were very friendly and had a great sense of humor! I plan on coming back and showing other people!

AMAZING!! One of the most fantastic experiences ever! I’ve been a perfume fanatic for 40 years and of natural perfumery for 30, and visiting here was a dream come true. It’s unlikely you’d be able to view...and touch, and sniff...such beautiful displays (with descriptions) of antique items related to perfumery...raw materials, finished blends, bottles, books, etc...all in one place anywhere else.

It’s impossible to say which area(s) were my favourite(s): the antique little apothecary and watchmaker’s chests of drawers filled with raw ingredients to touch and inhale; the exquisite delicate flacons, coffrets, and other receptacles; the side-by-side aged and new raw materials for scent comparison; the step-by-step compositions of top, middle and base accords and finished product; the scent organ...it all overwhelmed in the best possible way. I was in ecstasies.

Mandy Aftel is THE doyenne of natural perfumery and it was an unexpected pleasure and a privilege to meet and chat with her. Her husband Foster was also a delight and very knowledgeable. I’m a bit of a fangirl and still have five or six perfumes from Aftel’s line Grandiflorum, dating back around 25 years or so, as well as earlier Aftelier scents that are no longer available. It is my hope to some day take the course she offers from her studio in Berkeley.

You’ll be given an additional treat of two coins of dark chocolate spritzed with Aftel’s Chef’s Essences...as my husband declined his, I got to have four! I chose Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Fresh Ginger and Peru Balsam...all were wonderful. I also purchased four of her perfumes, traditional and solid...it was very hard to choose as there are so many I want! Her books are also available.

If you are interested in perfume, its history, and natural perfumery in particular, do not miss this!! Thank you, Mandy, for sharing your collection!!