Gotta Have It: Aftelier Perfumes Forest Flower Perfumed Bath Oil

Aftelier Perfumes Forest Flower Bath Oil is so, so, so, so, so beautiful, so I hope you will read this entire post.

When I got into the bath after adding a few drops of this perfumed oil, my very first, quick impression was that nothing much had changed. But then, I sank in and closed my eyes. I inhaled the scent and remembered summer camp when I was about seven years old and then, walks through the forest in Samuel P.Taylor park in Northern California. (This happened yesterday.) My mind felt quiet and drifted from thoughts of Albert Bierstadt's paintings of Yosemite and the film "Old Joy," which I love, as I listened to the soft drip of the faucet. Each time I opened my eyes, I half-expected for the tub to be surrounded by a grove of redwood trees and tiny white flowers. Instead, I was just in my little bathroom with faded peach tiles.

I thought of streams and the long and wide blue sky filled with clouds...memories of hiking when I was ten years old too along a path in Petaluma and the pond beside it.... The temperature of the bathtub was warm, but not piping hot and I had to adjust the temperature throughout, furthering the impression that I could be floating in a lake.

Movie still from "Old Joy."

I fancied I could be in a log cabin with windows providing a clear view of the forest. Along the forest floor, brush, flowers, plants, fallen leaves and dry needles commingled. Stillness surrounded me as I inhaled the fragrance and let it dance across my imagination. I paid attention to my hair floating beside me.

If you read this blog regularly, you know quite well that I don't expect to test a beauty product, and then see the vast American landscape unfolding before my mind. The scent was so incredible that I was reluctant to interrupt it. I rested in the bath as long as possible, for at least a half hour, before washing my hair with Andre Walker Keratin Shampoo two times and then applying conditioner.

I finished by sudsing up with lots of Crabree & Evelyn citron soap. It was kind of like sucking on a lemon drop after a magnificent feast. Sweet and delicious! When I finally stood up, I noticed the water in the tub appeared lovely and almost opalescent, and observed the tempered glass window gleaming from the mid-afternoon sun.

Stepping out of the bath, my knees felt weak and strange as I stared at the tiny bottle, no taller than my thumbnail, that had produced such an effect.

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Disclosure: I purchased a small 1 ml sample for $4 through the Aftelier Perfumes website, but full-sized .5 oz bottles are sold for $45. (Recommend investing in the whole bottle if your pursestrings allow it XOXOX.)