Early in the new year, I was fortunate to stay with my family on the Sunshine Coast (Kawana Waters/Minyama area) for a few days. It’s a very laid-back part of the world where many go to retire and where folks while away their days surfing at the beach. The lifestyle centres on the outdoors with fishing and boating being some of the other pastimes of choice. I partook in the fishing (caught nothing) and the swimming.
The outdoor lifestyle certainly impacted my perfume selections. I wore one perfume almost exclusively during my holiday but sampled one other in a department store. I’ll perhaps talk about the perfume I sampled from the department store in a separate post, but today, I wanted to discuss Arquiste’s new scents, Venice Rococo, Almond Suede, and A Grove by the Sea. You can probably guess by the names which one I chose to wear as my holiday scent. The other two perfumes are interesting, though.
Venice Rococo (Rodrigo Flores-Roux) will be the one for devotees of retro fragrances. From the outset, it’s big and bold, and its powdery puff of florals and aldehydes delivers on the promise of the marketing material, which speaks of 18th-century cosmetic formulas. Lovers of Chanel’s Comète may enjoy Venice Rococo. But it lacks the pillowy sweetness of the Chanel. It also fails to deliver, per its marketing material, anything animalic. Cumin and civet are listed in the note pyramid. However, Venice Rococo remains well-behaved throughout but never demure.
Almond Suede (Calice Becker) is arguably the most interesting of the bunch. But its honey and marzipan layers are too cloying at times. In addition, there’s something weirdly medicinal and rubbery (latex glove-like) as Almond Suede dries down that I didn’t enjoy. Perhaps it’s the saffron that drives the rubbery aspect. Indeed, it almost drove me to wash it off a couple of times when I wore Almond Suede. Unfortunately, the bitterness of the almond wasn’t enough to offset the sweetness of the honeycomb. Though, it did mellow a few hours after application into a nice suede dry-down.
The one that won my heart was A Grove By The Sea (Rodrigo Flores-Roux). It’s a peculiar choice because it contains salty notes and a fig accord. Such note combinations usually repel me from a fragrance. However, Flores-Roux manages to keep any nauseating aspects to a minimum. The fig smells leafy, green, and free from sugary interventions. Even more remarkably, the salt note doesn’t make me seasick. Indeed, the herbal notes of rosemary, thyme, and fennel, with its aniseed touch, combined with the coniferous green dry down of balsam fir, pine, and cypress, seemed to work a dream during the very warm early days of January.
Objectively, Almond Suede is the most original of the three scents. I haven’t smelled a scent that I can compare it with. Venice Rococo goes against the trends of the day. Therefore, the brand must receive some praise for such a release. Ultimately, A Grove by the Sea is the one I would wear, though, even if we’ve seen similar things before (Aqua Allegoria, Un Jardin). All three are worth a sample.
Note: Images are my own. I purchased the samples used for this post.
I’m glad you had some time to get away, Daniel. Sounds very relaxing. Out of the three Arquiste you mentioned, A Grove by the Sea sounds the most appealing to me. I’ve yet to sample this one, but will let you know when I do.
Thanks, Flaconneur. Yes, it’s the most appealing of the three for sure. Looking forward to hearing what you make of them.
The houses look quite nice—I like that style with the big windows. A Grove by the Sea certainly sounds fitting and pleasant to wear. Glad you got to spend time with family as well.
Thank you, Nose Prose. Yes, the large windows let all the natural light in, and the houses are very nice and open plan. Everything is designed with the outdoors in mind. A Grove by the Sea was the perfect perfume companion.
Great vacation time you had! Regarding the samples, authenticity in perfumery means, most of the time, weirdness. I’ve been taken by authentic creations in the past, nowadays I prefer to wear something simpler and pleasant. I imagine that “A Grove by the Sea” would be also my choice.
Indeed it was. You make a very good point, Tetê. I am in a similar position to you. Certainly we can enjoy the original, quirky creations, but these days I much prefer wearing something easy, simple and enjoyable.
My family have a branch in WA, yet apparently my cousin’s daughter was Miss Gold Coast in the early 90’s. She was the advertising poster girl or so we were told.
I was looking forward to sniffing Almond Suede, not so much now after you mention latex gloves.
A Grove by the Sea would not have appealed to me but now I’m intrigued.
Very nice, Alityke. I normally get a weird sort of effect from any scent containing saffron. It’s not my favourite note. But, I would say Almond Suede would still be worth a shot. To be honest, it was mainly the sweetness of the honeycomb that turned me off the most.