![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/arquistelogo.jpg\")
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The perfume line Arquiste<\/a> is the brainchild of Mexican architect\/designer Carlos Huber (a k a Nate Berkus<\/a>\u2019s boyfriend); the name \u201cArquiste\u201d represents the ideas (ideals?) of \u201carchitecture,\u201d \u201chistory\u201d and \u201cart\u201d and the perfumes in the collection reference historical moments, from the meeting of Louis XIV of France and Mar\u00eda Teresa of Spain in 1660 (the fragrances Fleur de Louis and Infanta en Flor) to Alexander Pushkin\u2019s death-by-dueling in 1837 (Aleksandr).<\/p>\n I decided to tackle the two \u2018Mexican\u2019 fragrances in the line first, because Mexico and I go way<\/em> back (and have always had a happy relationship).<\/p>\n Tenochtitlan<\/a>, August 1400<\/em>; perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux<\/a><\/p>\n Mexican tuberose<\/a>, magnolia, plumeria and marigold; \u201cOn the most fragrant festival in the Aztec calendar the rhythm of drums palpitates as a wealth of flowers is offered on temple altars. Billowing clouds of copal (incense) act as a backdrop.\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Flor y Canto is a bright, modern white floral perfume, more Amas de casa del Distrito Federal<\/em>* than Aztec ceremony. Flor y Canto is sweet (and a bit \u201csyrupy\u201d) with aromas of plumeria, gardenia and tuberose (this is a white-floral bomb, no one floral note stands out). The perfume is \u201ccool\u201d in nature, not warm or cozy in the least.<\/p>\n As Flor y Canto dries on skin, I detect a \u201cfruit\u201d scent that reminds me of ripe star fruit<\/a> \/ unripe pineapple; this accord produces an aquatic\/\u201cmarine\u201d vibe without the usual ugly, and cheap-smelling, suspects: ozone or \u201csport fragrance\u201d aroma notes.<\/p>\n Flor y Canto, on my skin, produces absolutely no incense aroma and the marigold I was looking forward to smelling is very \u201cdistant\u201d and appears, and disappears, quickly.<\/p>\n Flor y Canto is a super-feminine Va-Va-Va-Voom!<\/em> perfume that you\u2019ll probably either love\u2026or run from. It is so powerful\/intense and long lasting, it wore out its welcome on me in a couple of hours. But if you adore high-intensity, white-floral fragrances: check this one out.<\/p>\n Ex Convento Jes\u00fas Mar\u00eda, Mexico City, November 1695<\/em>; perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Yann Vasnier<\/a><\/p>\n Chilies, spice, vanilla and chocolate; Huber: \u201cI used ingredients inspired by a Mexican cookbook from the 17th Century.\u201d** (Nuns did the concocting and cooking.) <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If Flor y Canto is cool, Anima Dulcis is warm and toasty\u00a0\u2014 fresh from the oven. In fact, I\u2019ll take that one step further and say the perfume is burning\u2026as if one has made incense sticks out of a spice cake. As Anima Dulcis develops, I smell smoked chiles and cardamom-cumin: an earthy mix. The overall aroma of Anima Dulcis is sweet, but not too <\/em>dense; the scent of cocoa powder emerges during mid-development and the cocoa smells as if it had been tempered in cream. As Anima Dulcis enters its final stage of development it becomes slightly amber-y with a lovely brown sugar-immortelle accord (that smells a bit like L\u2019Occitane\u2019s Immortelle de Corse<\/a>). Anima Dulcis is not a super-complex scent but a satisfying, comforting gourmand fragrance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flor y Canto and Anima Dulcis are well done perfumes, made with high-quality materials. These two fragrances are not \u201chistorical recreations\u201d (old-fashioned simulations of an aromatic place or time), but modern takes on the past.<\/p>\n Niche perfume pricing continues to climb and we all have our limits when it comes to what we\u2019ll buy for how much\u00a0\u2014 whether our decisions are based on personal finances or just plain \u201cIt\u2019s not worth $XXX, so I\u2019m not paying that amount\u2026no matter how much I like it!\u201d<\/em> At $165-175 for 55 ml Eau de Parfum, Arquiste perfumes are on the “high end” of the price scale, but still less expensive than other popular brands like Creed, Amouage, By Kilian or, gulp, Xerjoff.<\/p>\n For buying information, see the listing for Arquiste under Perfume Houses<\/a>.<\/p>\n * <\/em>The Housewives of Mexico City<\/p>\n ** via \u201cArquiste Scents Explore Historical Moments,\u201d Women’s Wear Daily<\/em>, 8\/9\/2011.<\/p>\n Note: top left image of Dolores del Rio<\/a> and top right image of a nun<\/a> (sorry, I was unable to find a perfect match for a Mexico City nun, circa 1695!) via Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n Read the rest of this article »<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The perfume line Arquiste<\/a> is the brainchild of Mexican architect\/designer Carlos Huber (a k a Nate Berkus<\/a>\u2019s boyfriend); the name \u201cArquiste\u201d represents the ideas (ideals?) of \u201carchitecture,\u201d \u201chistory\u201d and \u201cart\u201d and the perfumes in the collection reference historical moments, from the meeting of Louis XIV of France and Mar\u00eda Teresa of Spain in 1660 (the fragrances Fleur de Louis and Infanta en Flor) to Alexander Pushkin\u2019s death-by-dueling in 1837 (Aleksandr).<\/p>\n I decided to tackle the two \u2018Mexican\u2019 fragrances in the line first, because Mexico and I go way<\/em> back (and have always had a happy relationship)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2049,403,609],"class_list":{"0":"post-63614","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-perfume-talk","7":"tag-arquiste","8":"tag-rodrigo-flores-roux","9":"tag-yann-vasnier","10":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Flor y Canto<\/h3>\n
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![\"Arquiste](\"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/arquiste21.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAnima Dulcis<\/h3>\n
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Included in...<\/h2>\n
Best Men\u2019s Fragrances of 2011-2012-2013 (Better Late Than Never)<\/a><\/div><\/div>Possibly of interest<\/h2>\n
Arquiste Fleur de Louis ~ fragrance review<\/a><\/div>Arquiste Boutonniere no. 7 ~ fragrance review<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
![Dolores del Rio<\/a> and top right image of a](\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Dolores_Del_Rio_in_-_In_Caliente.jpg\"){kind=link}