Being of the canine persuasion, of course anything olfactory in nature is of particular interest to him. He noticed that perfumier Arquiste, was featured. "A new scent!" Humphrey exclaimed!
And not just any scent! It was called Aleksandr to tell the story of the last day of Russian literary figure Aleksandr Pushkin’s life. At first, Humphrey wondered if this was a real product - but indeed it was!
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| Drawing of Pushkin |
Humphrey was fascinated. Arquiste, it turns out, is curated by an architect who specializes in historical preservation, so their scents attempt to conjure the experience of a specific time and place. Just the kind of thing a dog like Humphrey gets excited about!
Aleksandr features "notes of neroli, violet leaf, fir balsam, Russian leather, and ambrette" to re-create Pushkin's last day of life, before he was mortally wounded in an 1837 duel . The neroli and violet are to evoke Pushkin's morning toilette, the leather to refer to his gloves and boots, and the fir balsam to evoke the winter landscape in St. Petersburg.
If only Humprhey could make his way to Holt's to sample this scent!
How would Aleksandr be different from Humphy's typical olfactory experience? It might start with top notes of chocolate and coconut, like the morning coffee brewing; middle notes of fresh-cut grass and perhaps Russian olive to reflect his time outside. Then perhaps a mellow base of vanilla and honey that evoke his afternoon - and evening siestas. Too bad there's no particular scent to conjure the joy of squeaking a plush duck. But probably only Arquiste could get it quite right.
