September 1757, Casino Venier Venice A Lady receives a Cavaliere, by Pietro Longhi, The National Gallery (London)  Arquiste Venice Rococo image from the brand

“In a hidden alley in the heart of Venice lies a small ridotto, a secret apartment for intimate affairs. “- excerpt of brand copy for Arquiste Venice Rococo

Venice,1757: The Lovers’ Rendezvous

Gazing into her gilt looking glass she dresses. Her boudoir is scented with roses of such dark red they are almost black. Gazing in her mirror, she touches her powdered hair, nudging an artful tendril over her left shoulder. A pert ladies’ maid brings a pot of rouge and fastens a nosegay of orange blossom to her lady’s wrist. The tall windows are flung open to the night, candlelight flickers across the gilded ceiling. Fog skims the cobblestones like processions of ghosts as the clock in the Campanile dei Santi Apostoli begins to chime. A man’s footfall on the back stairs and then the soft knock at a door hidden behind the arras…

Arquiste Venice Rococo, a softly animalic, powdery retro-modern floral, surprised me by. Venice Rococo is inspired by cosmetics that were popular in Italy in the 1700s. The fashion of the time was artifice, with whitened skin, often lightened with lead or mercury, painted brows, and rouge made frequently from vermillion or carmine.

Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Carlos Huber

Now, I’ll be frank: powdery fragrances are not usually my thing. So, at  first sniff I shrugged. Venice Rococo initially came across as a very well-done face powder scent but not something I would wear. However, I know that perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux, working again with Arquiste owner Carlos Huber, doesn’t do boring. I sprayed again, rather more generously this time, and gave it a bit more time. And I was glad I did. With its intricate combination of flowers and animalics, Venice Rococo opened into a complex vintage-modern floral, the kind of fragrance for which Flores-Roux has few equals. Not only is it a beautifully composed creation, but Venice Rococo’s evocative recreation of historical makeup, animalics and aldehydes makes this fragrance feel like a time traveling daydream.

… Her heart quickens as she reaches for the crystal bottle on her dressing table and hurriedly touches a scent of orange blossom and jasmine to her décolletage, which mingles with the aromas of powder on her rouge-flushed cheeks. The maid curtsies and slips away, turning back momentarily to smile slyly. He awaits. She crosses the cavernous room, past frescoes of lascivious putti and garlanded goddesses, her silk gown whispering across the floor, and raps at the door three times. He enters, throwing his hat upon a low chair and pulling her into the long embrace of lovers throughout time. As she gives herself to the kiss, nimbly, he begins to unlace her gown, then her corset, burying his lips in the curve of her neck and breathing in her scent.

Arquiste Venice Rococo opens with a huge puff of powder with the specific smell of the kind of finely milled face that cosmetics houses produced pre-war. If you’ve ever got hold of one of those old Guerlain jeweled powder boxes, you might have picked up its linger: rice, chalk, orris powder, perhaps a hint of rose. The iris come out in a silvery filigree of metallic and cool facets. Aldehydes extend the lightness of the opening and aerate the fragrance until the base notes come out. Soon, there are dabs of those sex kitten flowers, orange blossom and jasmine. The animalic threads that run through the perfume start to manifest about now along hawthorn, with its whiff of old-school corn syrup lollipops; sweetish, grassy chamomile, cumin (here, quiet but adding a warm spiciness), and civet. The effect of the old school face powder and iris mixing with these less conventional flower notes is magic – elegant with an edge of eroticism.

Image of Arquiste Venice Rococo courtesy of the brand

At the heart is a truly lovely, fluffy rose that feels as though it is opening in slow motion, eventually joined by dark, velvety violet. The delineation of the flowers is remarkable, each clearly discernable, yet working harmoniously with their sisters. The animalics, which could have overpowered the delicate notes of the top and lush heart, are restrained, bringing an adult sensuality to the composition without ever teetering into vulgarity. The base is ambery and rounded; the drydown unexpectedly long-lasting, the iris and powder notes persisting along with the animalic facets for many hours.

Detail from Casino Venier by Carlos Huber

Venice, 1757 The Lovers Discover’d

A clop and shuffle of buckled shoes outside; a man’s low voice, thick and gruff with authority, orders his manservant to help him from his sedan chair. Suddenly, an urgent pounding at the chamber door; it the pert maid coming to warn her mistress. The master, newly home and a week early, has seen the lover’s horse in the stable and the lady is discovered!  Hurriedly, he throws back the bedlinens and struggles into his breeches. She grabs the garments strewn about the floor and stuffs them beneath her coverlet, stopping only to don a green silk wrapper. Below, her husband calls loudly for her. She turns to her lover, and he, cupping her face in his hands, meets her lips once more before disappearing into the secret passageway.

Today, 2024

I judge my liking for perfumes by whether they evoke a craving. All  day, I have been wanting to reapply Arquiste Venice Rococo to experience its development anew. This is quite possibly the loveliest powder-iris fragrance since Malle’s Iris Poudre. Wearing Venice Rococo late into the evening, I feel a desire to listen to apply a tiny black love patch to my cheekbone, light some mirrored candles and listen to Couperin. If I make it to Carnevale next year, I know what I will be wearing.

Notes: Roman chamomile essence, Turkish rose water (upcycled proprietary production), hawthorn, aldehydes, poudre à la Maréchale powdery accord, Moroccan orange flower absolute, black violet accord, Indian cumin essence, animalic amber, iris germanica extract, civet accord, jasmine absolute “vintage.”

Disclaimer: Sample  of Venice Rococo kindly sent to me by the brand. My opinions, as always, are my own.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

All images courtesy of the brand unless otherwise noted. 

Arquiste Discovery Set

Thanks to Arquiste, we have a A Discovery Set with five samples: Misfit, a Fragrance Foundation winner for best indie fragrance in 2021; the gorgeous Indigo Smoke, sexy Sydney Rock Pool, and two new offerings, A Grove by the Sea and Venice Rococo above for one registered ÇaFleureBon reader in the U.S. only. Please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Lauryn’s review of Arquiste Venetian Rococo. Do you have a favourite Arquiste perfume? Draw closes 08/03/2024.

You can purchase Venice Rococo on the Arquiste website here

Launching officially August 1, 2024

We congratulate Arquiste who won their second Fragrance Foundation Award 2024 for L’Or de Louis in the Indie Category. Arquiste Misfit received a Fragrance Foundation award in 2021.

Arquiste Anima Dulcis is a ÇaFleureBon Modern Masterpiece. Read Ermano’s article.

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