CaFleureBon Profiles in Perfumery: Carlos Huber of Arquiste Parfumeur + Perfume and Preservation Draw

 

 

Profile: I was born in Mexico City, in a family of entrepreneurs. We all do different things. While my grandfather owned a steel factory, my father decided to become a dentist, my brother has a bicycle business and my sister is an art curator. I was personally drawn to history, design and art, so I chose to study architecture and specialize in historic preservation. However, my attraction to perfume has always existed and I have always been very connected to my sense of smell, associating smells to places and people. Olfaction is my most acute sense.

Photo: Yann Vasnier, Carlos Huber, Sophie Bensamou (the Fragrance Evaluator for Arquiste) and Rodrigo Flores-Roux

Since I was five years old, my father began giving me little inexpensive bottles of cologne from the drugstore, which made me very devoted  to the world of fragrance and men’s grooming. I became fascinated with it, even obsessed, going from store to store to discover new scents, new lines, different proposals and different concepts in the art of perfumery. I am both a niche-aholic, and a perfumista, I guess.  When I came to New York, while studying preservation at Columbia University, I met perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Yann Vasnier. After sensing my passion for perfume, Rodrigo offered to mentor me in his knowledge of Perfumery. Then, I started a journey that became all the more passionate for me. At last, it seemed that I could understand and express – in olfactory terms – my ideas on how scents are tied to experiences, and hence to a specific time and place. Luckily, Rodrigo was also very interested in History and Architecture, so I found somebody who could translate my curiosity and research into actual formulation.

 

Photo Courtesy of Carlos Huber: Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City

Arquiste was born out of the experiment to restore a moment long gone or an experience tied to the past to give it a new life. It’s a bit like Frankenstein: reanimating matter through the spark of a scent. This idea is one of the contemporary arguments in experimental preservation: to explore new ways of interpreting the past and launching it towards the future. In essence, restoring a building or a work of art is very radical in itself. Jorge Otero-Pailos, New York based architect and artist, has been a great influence and support in my career. I had the chance to work with him on two different art installations: one for the Venice Biennial in 2010 and one for the Manifesta European Biennial in 2009. Both dealt with preservation as a practice that creates alternative futures for our world heritage.

 Alexander Pushkin’s death-by-dueling in 1837 (Aleksandr)

Arquiste represents the interdisciplinary collaboration of Art, History, Architecture and Perfumery. Among our scents, we have one that goes back to 19th century Russia and another that transfers us to the sensual world of a 17th century convent in Mexico City. Our distribution ranges from Barneys New York and Aedes de Venustas to fashion boutiques. Summer 2012 will find us entering European and other International markets.

 

Photo Courtesy Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates
Eclectic House Series, 1977
Elevations, Robert Venturi

American artist: I love the capacity that America has, as a creative platform, to digest different influences and cultures and renewing them. I find American architecture, in theory and in practice to especially prolific. Architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and Robert Venturi all share a sense of incorporating the classic into the modern by twisting and reinventing it.

 Photo: Guggenheim Museum (Frank Lloyd Wright) diydilettante.wordpress.com

American Perfumery: New York is a very important creative space for Perfumery. You have the world of fashion, media, art and design, both small and large companies, all working hard to create new, unshackled experiences. It’s very much the “New World” of perfume, one which feeds on tradition and develops it into something big, bold and attention grabbing.

 –Carlos Huber, Arquiste Parfumeur

For our draw,  Carlos is offering one bottle of the reader’s choice between Fleur de Louis and Infanta en Flor, both based on the June 1660 meeting of the Royal Courts of France and Spain, which took place in a freshly-built wood pavilion on the border of the two countries (All the notes in these formulas come from the detailed description of the architectural materials, the fashion and the environment of the two sides).  To be eligible:  please leave a comment about  Carlos' profile,  and your choice of perfume. Do you have an idea for a historical place, event or  encounter you would like to see "bottled"?   Draw closes April 18, 2012

 

Fleur de Louis

woody floral

 June 1660, Isle of Pheasants, Basque region, French-Spanish border.

 To ensure peace between them, two Royal Courts converge at a richly-appointed pavilion built of freshly cut Pine and Cedar wood. From the French side, in a golden aura of Iris, Rose and Jasmine, emerges a young Louis XIV, all starched and composed, eager to catch a glimpse of his new bride, the Infanta Maria Teresa.

 Notes include: Orange Blossom, Florentine Orris, Jasmine, White Cedar wood

 Developed with Rodrigo Flores-­Roux

 55 ml Eau de Parfum

 Infanta en Flor

 floral musky amber

 June 1660, Isle of Pheasants, Basque region, French-Spanish border.

 Maria Teresa, the Infanta of Spain, is offered to Louis XIV in exchange for peace between the two nations. Innocently perfumed with Orange flower water, her powdery complexion blushes as the gallant King lays his eyes on her for the first time. She opens her scented fan and steals a look back.

 Notes include: Orange flower water, Spanish leather, Cistus resin, Immortelle

 Developed with Yann Vasnier

 55 ml Eau de Parfum

 Editor's Note: In my Dec 13, 210 inteview with Yann Vasnier and Rodrigo Flores-Roux they share more than a hint of Arquiste, when it was a work in progess.  

 –Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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54 comments

  • d3m0lici0n says:

    I find interesting in how the Arquiste line was born . Trying to restore a moment long gone or an experience tied to the past to give it a new life.
    I think Arquiste is an amazing new line, my wife is a big fan of Flor y Canto and I really love Aleksandr.
    My idea of an event bottled would be The Beatles rooftop concert, it was like the end of an era, the end of the sixties, the end of The Beatles, it was like the end of the innocence, “Get back to where you once belonged”
    Awesome article, awesome draw.

  • My idea would be a scent that celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall. Thanks for the draw.

  • I would like to see a fragrance marking the election of the first African American/multiracial president. Here in the US, we are living this amazing event.

  • Victoria Casey says:

    I think a perfume based on the first crusade would be interesting. I love the idea of using historical events as the idea for scents. Both perfumes sound lovely but if I win I would like Infanta en Flor

  • Scentual healing says:

    Perfume has been part of so many cultures throughout history it seems that Carlos Huber is able to use his background to great advantage
    Obviously he is very accomplished and fortunate to have the guidance of great perfumers and architects
    I loved reading how he went from store to store and he considers himself a niche a holic
    An interesting fragrance would be one inspired by Spain in the 14th century under Moorish rule
    My choice of fragrance is Infanta En Flora

  • Ooo historical fragrances are such a neat idea, and these both sound awesome!
    I would love to see an event commemorating something along the lines of: the rise of the internet. I think it would be neat seeing someone make a representation of things becoming digitalized. A mix of traditional and edgy-modern perfume notes.

    A more traditional historical event I’d love to see done would be the Chinese battle of the three kingdoms. Especially after Lady Sun, and her having her armed hand maidens 😛

    Both sound amazing! Though I think I am going to have to opt for Infanta en Flor, as I have been so curious to see what Spanish leather smells like.

  • I love the idea of a perfume house based around such a collocation of the arts–the synthesis does create such imaginative possibilities!! I would love to try Infanta en Flor, although both scents sound awesome. And as a lover of smokey fragrances, I’d be curious about a perfume capturing the coronation of Queen Victoria or some other Victorian dirt-and-grit-riddled event.

  • I think it’s interesting in Carlos’ life how the love for history and architecture has combined with a lifelong interest for perfume to help him become a better perfumer. Expressing time and place with scent – that’s so compelling.

    I’d like to win Infanta en Flor, sounds amazing.

    Thank you!

  • I like the vision this house has: to create a fragrance for past events, bringing the past to life through smells.

    I would like to see “bottled” the Battle of Waterloo. I know it is a bit strange, but I think that it will have the power to transport you back in time, give you the thrill of the fight, just like you were there in the middle of the fire.

    I would like to try Infanta en Flor. Many thanks!

  • Strangeways says:

    My idea of an event bottled would be the Woodstock Festival.
    I would like to try Infanta en Flor.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • I find his life fascinating and I love the concept behind his fragrance house, Arquiste.
    He leaves so many possibilities for inspiration and composition. I’m a history lover myself, so this connection between historical importance and perfumery is wonderful.
    I loved this quote:
    “Arquiste was born out of the experiment to restore a moment long gone or an experience tied to the past to give it a new life”. Beautiful!

    I would love to see a fragrance capturing the English arrival with James Cook on the New South Wales coast of Australia in 1770.

  • Sorry, please add to post above.
    If I was lucky enough to win, I would like to win a bottle of Fleur de Louis.

    Thanks!

  • Love Carlos and his vision. My choice would be Infanta en Flor. It is beautiful. Would like to see a new creation involving the life and art of Frida Kahlo. That would be an interesting journey!

  • I adored this sentence :”reanimating matter through the spark of a scent”..Preservation through scent is such a brilliant way of experiencing these historical moments and the fact that Carlos is thorough in his research work makes his endeavour all more worthy.
    My choice would be Infanta de Flor.
    A historical event that I wish could be bottled would be definitely the intensely erotic first time when Julius Caesar met Cleopatra.

  • I adored this sentence :”reanimating matter through the spark of a scent”..Preservation through scent is such a brilliant way of experiencing these historical moments and the fact that Carlos is thorough in his research work makes his endeavour all more worthy.
    My choice would be Infanta de Flor.
    A historical event that I wish could be bottled would be definitely the intensely erotic first time when Julius Caesar met Cleopatra..

  • marcopietro says:

    I like the concept of Arquiste that represents the interdisciplinary collaboration of Art, History, Architecture and Perfumery.
    My idea of an historical event bottled would be the Yalta meeting.
    I would like to try Infanta en Flor.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • Thank you for this profile; I loved reading about the boy Carlos receiving fragrant gifts from the age of 5, it seems an obvious road to take from there, really.
    These fragrances do all sound lovely and unique, and I hope they will soon be available in Europe. I particularly like the vision of Aleksandr with the violet leafs, fir and leather, it sounds wonderful.
    I would find many historical places interesting to bottle, but up there as number one, is 1900 Vienna, with the Wiener Werkstätte around Gustav Klimt, the music of Mahler and Brahms and Alma Mahler as the muse of the day. It’s also the last bit of the old world, and the end of the k.u.k.Austro-Hungarian empire. It would make for a fascinating and possibly opulent fragrance.
    Thank you very much for this great and generous draw

  • I have been familiar with Arquiste perfumes by hearing only so far unfortunately. Hopefully I will have a chance to try them soon. Fleur de Louis is more appealing to me than the two offered but I wouldn’t mind the Infanta en Flor either. His vision as an Architect makes the story he needs to tell with his perfume even more intersting. As for the building or historical encounter I would like to see bottled, well that is difficult , I have many images in my head and I always connect them with smells. However one that pops up is the Knossos Palace in Crete as I think would be interesing to Carlos Huber for its architecture also, as well as the colors used in painting the buildings. If you visit at this time of year everything is in full bloom and the smells of nature are just amazing…. Trully inspiring!!!

  • Fascinating his love for architecture, history and perfumes.
    Enjoying fragrances at 5 … I guess it is a good start.

    A moment in history? The fall of Constantinople. 1453

    I would love Fleur de Louis. Love orris.

    Thank you.

  • Farawayspices says:

    I loved reading about Carlos’s childhood fascination with fragrances, the little bottle of scent purchased for him by his father. I would love to enter to win Infanta en Flor.
    It would be fun to smell a fragfrance based on the life of adventurers..an aquatic fragrance for Jaques Cousteau?

  • I think this line to be THE most interesting release of last year. I find it amazing that a renowned perfumer undertook the olfactory training of an architect (I wonder how that works in detail really). My scent of choice would be Fleur de Louis and if I could issue a representation of a historical event in perfume form, it would be the inauguration of Hagia Sophia! A huge domed space filled with the scents of warm orthodox incense, holy myrrh and the perfumed masses of believers- I bet it would make a great perfume

  • To be eligible: please leave a comment about Carlos’ profile, and your choice of perfume. Do you have an idea for a historical place, event or encounter you would like to see “bottled”?

    I find it interesting that he is combining his love and knowledge of architecture and historical preservation with perfume creation. This quote really makes me want to try this line “Arquiste represents the interdisciplinary collaboration of Art, History, Architecture and Perfumery. Among our scents, we have one that goes back to 19th century Russia and another that transfers us to the sensual world of a 17th century convent in Mexico City.”

    My choice of perfume would be Infanta en Flor

    An idea of a a historical place, event or encounter I would like to see “bottled” would be the explosion of Mt. St Helens.

  • The early interest and hunger for new scents is very interesting, esspecially linked with Carlos’ other occupations
    the Arquist concept is a very complex one and I’m looking forward for every bit of info related…
    I would like to see a perfume linked to Cleopatra’s encounter with Marc Anthony
    thanks for the interview

  • I find bringing architecture and perfume together an interesting notion, especially when the historical aspects are added. My choice among these two would definitely be Infanta en Flor, which I think my wife might like.

    A historical moment that might be celebrated in perfume… well, this one will reveal my ultimate nerdishness. When Leonard Euler was old, the Russian princess then in charge of the St Petersburg Academy of Science invited him to a meeting. (He had not gone for a while due to age.) They got there, and there was a lot of jostling to see where everyone would sit, the academicians wanting the top sea next to the princess. She looked at Euler and told him to seat wherever he wanted, because “where you sit will of course be the top seat.” The grand princess, the great mathematician, and the St. Petersburg academy: what would all that smell like?

  • I find the confluence of different arts behind the Arquiste line wonderful, and unusual! A perfume based on the rubiyat of Omar Khayyam might be interesting. His imagery combines wine and hedonism with a lightness of spirit. I would like to be entered into the draw for Infanta en Flor please.

  • Oh, I really liked this article, Carlos has very interesting and different vision of perfumes! I would like to win Infanta en Flor. Perfume based on French Revolution should be amazing!

  • I love that Carlos sees preservation of historical artifacts as looking forward as well as looking back. I’m interested in Fleur de Louis, and if I could perfume a historical place, it would be Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water – he’s own of my favorite architects, and I enjoyed the reference to him in the article.

  • I would love a perfume based on Elizabeth I’s coronation. I would like to be entered into the draw for Fleur de Louis.

  • Ooh, historical frags. I think it would be neat to have a Day of the Dead themed frag. I would love to try Infanta en Flor. Thanks for the draw.

  • Mary Evans says:

    Carlos Hubers involvement with experimental projects in architecture was very interesting to read about as was his long time love of perfumery
    The process of studying history and the olfactive notes of historical moments is fascinating as is his quote about NYC being the new world of fragrance
    A historical event I would like to see captured is the meeting of perce shelley, lord Byron and Mary Shelley meeting in Geneva Switzerland in 1816 during a rainy summer night and telling ghost stories
    Which led to the novel Frankenstein
    “Reanimating matter through the spark of scent ”
    For my choice they both sound wonderful but I will choose Fleur de Louis

  • Thanks for the draw! I find it extremely interesting how he creates scents regarding history.
    I would like to win Infanta en Flor.

  • Tourbillion says:

    I liked that he is inspired by Jorge Otero-Pailos since historic preservation is one of the things that I am passionate about. I don’t know if I have a good idea about scents inspired by history, but I like the idea. I mean I like the idea of exploring the New World, but I think that is too controversial. I think that Infanta en Flor sounds lovely!

  • The combination of architecture and perfume is interesting. I wonder if someone has made perfumes to commemorate now-destroyed buildings like the NY World Trade Center or engineering structures like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

    I think I would like to win Infanta en Flor.

  • So many great ideas! I especially like the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Woodstock festival, and Frida Kahlos life. I would like to suggest the California Gold Rush.
    I think it’s very interesting that Carlos had a background in architecture, he is obviously drawn to creating and building, like building a perfume.
    I would love to win Infanta en Flor.

  • He is so cute!!! I love the idea of his dad giving him little bottles of cologne as a child.

    I am so not a historian. My mind is blank!

    I would be happy with either perfume, but lean toward Fleur de Louis.

  • Another good looking parfumeur or at least olfactory creative director! It was endearing to hear he had a passion for fragrances ever since he was a young boy, going from store to store for a sniffaton! I think i would love a roman empire inspired scent, i can’t think of a particular historic event, i’m not much of a historian myself, but anyway something that would capture something of the sensuos and pagan and wild spirit that i associate with those times.
    I would love to try Infanta en Flor.

  • I would love to try Fleur de Louis! I have always been interested in the extraordinary art of his reign.

    I think a scent based on people gathered to hear Socrates would be fun to see! Or that last sermon before his death with the smell of hemlock ominously in the background.

  • Carlos thinks that scents are experiences that can be linked to time and places and I couldn’t agree more. It’s another form of art that can express our ideas.

    I would be very lucky to win Infanta en Flor.

  • I like his pan-artistic approach to perfumery and his link to History. And he is pretty cute 🙂 I choose Infanta En Flor, were I to win.
    I would be interested in trying a perfume that related to the Fall of Constantinople…

  • I think it was a nice experience for Carlos to have had the opportunity to be mentored by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, who also shared his interest in history and architecture.

    I would loveee Fleur de Louis!!

    It would be interesting to see an interpretation in fragrance of the Age of Enlightenment in Europe

  • Have you noticed how many attractive people populate the fragrance industry? I love how states that “scents are tied to experiences, and hence to a specific time and place.” I frequently find the a smell can transport me a place. I would love to see his interpretation of the spice trade between the East and West in the late 15th century. I am drawn to Infanta en Flor. Thanks again for the draw.

  • I love the whole idea behind Arquiste where history, architecture and perfume come together. Brilliant comment to say it is like Frankenstein reanimating matter with a “spark of scent”! 😀

    Both new scents sound amazing; but I am drawn just a bit more to the woody floral notes of Fleur de Louis!

    I would like to see a perfume created that celebrated the love of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Rich darkly feminine exotic notes of a queen of ancient Egypt meeting classic masculine imperial Roman aromas! *sighs*

  • To be eligible: please leave a comment about Carlos’ profile, and your choice of perfume. Do you have an idea for a historical place, event or encounter you would like to see “bottled”? Draw closes April 18, 2012

    What interested me in the article was Carlos’ obsession with scent from an early age; that seems to be a common thread in the lives of many perfumers written about in Cafleurebon.

    I would like to win Fleur de Louis.

    I want to bottle the scent of the Forest Primeval. The trees, the moss and lichens, the whispering leaves, the hidden springs.

  • I thought it was interesting how Carlos Huber linked his passion for olfaction (hee!) and architecture through historical recreation. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that those fields could be linked at all, let alone so creatively (and fragrantly!)

    I would choose Infanta en Flor

    Hmmm… I would like a scent that somehow captured the collision of the Hellenistic and Jewish worlds (weird I know) and maybe one that captured Indian emperor Asoka’s realization after a major battle that violence was wrong and Buddhism had it right with the emphasis on nonviolence (ahimsa). It would be blood/metal, decay, sandalwood, lotus…

  • I find it interesting that Carlos’ father gave him bottles of cologne at such a tender age…

    Fleur de Louis sounds beautiful to me.

    I’d like to see a perfume produced in honor of the Mesquita in Cordoba…

  • I think that it’s interesting that he has this interes when he was a child.
    I think that Itañy of XVI is inspiring.
    I like Infanta en Flor

  • Great profile! I love how Carlos became enamored of fragrance at 5 years old, through his father. It makes me think of my own 2 year old mimicking me sniffing my wrists! I think she will be a fragrance lover, too. I would love to try Infanta en Flor. One time period I am pretty obsessed with is the Roaring Twenties, and love to see it represented in the art of scent.

  • aside from being very handsome, lol. i had to include that, carlos seems like a pretty interesting guy. i liked that he din’t start with perfume in mind but happened across a way to integrate it and make it a centerpiece of his career.

    as for historical moment… i was always amazed that the US forced Japan out of seclusion in the 1850s. The idea of an untapped culture brings to unencountered smells. It had to have been a pretty exciting encounter.

    i’d like fleur de louis if i win… thanks

  • Kristen Knudsen says:

    I love the way that Carlos entwines scent with time and place, time travel for the mind.
    Having been reading the novel Russka, I can’t help but wonder at the smell of the meeting of cultures in 9th century Kiev, being a hub of trade with the Scandinavians, Middle Europe and ‘the Orient’. The melding of all of those peoples around the monasteries and cathedral MUST have been interesting.
    Its hard to choose between these lovely sounding scents, but I think I would like to try Infanta en Flor if I were to win the draw.

  • I like Carlos’ focus on how scents are tied to experiences, to specific times and places and how that translates into his perfume line. I would like to receive Infanta en Flor should I win the draw. For a (recent) historical place, how about Gaudí’s Sagrada Família? I suppose a perfume in it’s spirit would have to keep changing.

  • Great idea to capture not only places, but specific slots of time… How interesting, a fresh point of vew for the perfumer. I’ve heard about Aleksandr fragrance and would so love to try it!

    Notre Dame de Paris holds many stories. That would be a great place to bottle. 🙂

    Both of these fragrances sound very interesting, I’d probably choose Fleur de Louis.

  • Carlos has such depth. I love how he orchestrates the fusion of scent, history and memory. His father’s gift to him as a child-little bottles of cologne, and a family full of entrepreneurs…what a lasting gift…I adore this.

    I would like to capture choreography in a bottle, specifically a live performance of Set and Reset, by Trisha Brown Dance Company. Translate the movement, stage set, and costumes into a fragrance.

    Infanta en Flor for me. 🙂

  • When it comes to perfumes, I have no visions – that’s why I admire those who have. Most historical events associate for me with smells I wouldn’t want to wear as perfumes.

    If I had to choose one of the two perfumes offered for the draw (thank you for the chance!), I’d choose Infanta en Flor.