ARQUISTE TROPICAL 100ml
TROPICAL
Paradise Rediscovered
A juicy, decadent take on tropical fruits, flowers and woods. Inspired by a modernist garden in the balmy city of Mérida, Yucatán. A spritz of paradise. With notes of champaca blossoms, ripe guava, fresh ginger, Mexican vanilla and mahogany.
Top Notes
Mexican guava fruit
Yucatan lima
Fresh ginger
White plumeria
Heart Notes
Champaca absolute
Guava blossom
Jasmine sambac
Base Notes
Guava paste accord
Mexican vanilla bean absolute
Radiant woody amber accord
Mahogany
History
New Year’s Eve 2022, Mérida, Yucatán.
Fireworks light up the night sky of old Mérida, their glow reflecting on the rippling surface of a pool. Hidden behind an unassuming colonial facade lies this modernist oasis, where glass and travertine surfaces frame a garden brimming with life: palm trees, bird of paradise flowers, leafy ginger plants bordering the pool. A guava tree, heavy with ripe fruit, fills the air with sweetness, mingling with the heady scent of champaca blossoms and the deep aroma of tropical woods. Beneath the tree, a weathered Mayan idol lies half-buried, silently whispering the ancient stories woven into the everyday of this vibrant city.
Developed with Rodrigo Flores Roux.
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More research
- In 2013, Arquiste was commissioned to create a new scented candle for the prestigious Cire Trudon brand, marking the first time the famous French line had partnered with another perfume brand to create a scented candle. To celebrate the esteemed Franco-Mexican collaboration, Carlos Huber chose to recreate another historical moment of wonder, a balmy night described by Belgian-born Empress Carlota of Mexico on her visit to the city of Merida, Yucatan in 1865. The newly crowned Empress was the first European woman to ever visit the Yucatan, and the city held multiple celebrations in her honour. She wrote several letters describing the region to Emperor Maximilian, her husband, in awe of the welcoming locals, the festive fireworks, the lush flora, and the decadent heat. She wrote under a great guava tree, the air around her saturated with their scent: ripening guava, intoxicating blossoms and foliage. The original candle, created with perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux was as unique as the story itself, with a lush, fruity guava note and gunpowder accord.
- Years later, Arquiste founder Carlos Huber visited Merida and fell in love with a house with surprising contrasts. The original colonial structure, consisting of a singular room facing the street, opened to a lush garden and pool, and in this garden, palm trees, ginger plants, birds of paradise and, once again, a guava tree…a private piece of paradise where the scent of ripe fruit and lush florals anchored the balmy nights. The original owner called it La Tropical, and after several visits, Carlos and his partner made the house their own, inspired by the charm of the historical city, the tropical setting and this modernist oasis.
- One of the elements that makes the villa so appealing is the fact that it was built around the pool. It's a home in two parts – you enter through the living and dining space, and cross the garden to reach the bedroom, which is housed in a modernist-style bungalow. And though the villa is small the garden’s lushness make it feel delightfully excessive. The scent of La Tropical is centred on the pool and the garden. That tropical lush, palm frond smell. The tangy guava fruit, the heady champaca, the buttery white plumeria and lemony magnolia. With the Caribbean heat of the night, it makes for a truly decadent experience. Another distinctly Mexican olfactory note comes from an unusual source. Normally a quiet part of the historical centre, the area brims with life on feast days. On New Year’s Eve, for example, the neighbouring Plaza San Sebastian has fireworks all night, so close you can smell the singed paper, and a hint of gunpowder.