Dedicated to St. Petersburg

The “fragrance–city” parallel is one of the most common themes in perfumery. St. Petersburg is no exception: both Russian and foreign perfumers dedicate their compositions to it. The creation of the Aleksandr fragrance was inspired by Martha Fiennes’s movie Onegin, starring Liv Tyler and Ralph Fiennes. Following this, Carlos Huber, the Mexican founder of the House Arquiste, headed to the former outskirts of St. Petersburg, to the very spot by the Chernaya Rechka (Black River) where the duel between Pushkin and D’Anthès took place. The composition captures the scents surrounding the poet in his final moments: a hint of violet cologne on masculine skin, leather boots, frosty air, and trees in a forest clearing. Leningradskaya Fantasia is an exquisite vintage: created by Elina Arsenieva in√2014 as a tribute to Leningrad’s perfume style, which miraculously survived the closure of the famous Northern Lights Factory. Walking on the Palaces and Rooftops of St. Petersburg captures the city’s romance, while Russian Tea pays homage to the Singer Café, once located on the second floor of the House of Books on Nevsky Avenue (now occupied by René Café). There, Alessandro Brun, the Italian founder of Masque Milano, was served strong tea from a samovar with mint leaves and raspberry jam. This homage to St. Petersburg emerged smoky, warm, and slightly sweet. If white nights have a scent, they undoubtedly smell like Soirees Blanches: the most precise aromatic interpretation of this magical period, created by French perfumer Prudence Kilgour.

Soirees Blanches, Prudence Paris
Notes: bergamot, jasmine, vanilla