Flor y Canto

Covered in blood sacrifice the god of the dawn drew back his bow and with eternal ease shot his arrow over the great city of Tenochtitlan. Thus by his grace first rays of the sun once again touched the top of the temple Mayor. Snaking through the city were the aromas of the chocolate brew and maze tortillas that was the morning breakfast. Mothers up before light roused there husbands and children with laughter and songs. It was a new day in the heart of the Aztec empire. Near the great causeway famers rowed their long boats along the canals to tend their floating flower gardens; they spoke of rumblings from the East. Daily there is news of the approach of strange fair skinned men with four legs who came out of the Eastern Sea. Could they be gods? Or are they demons come to eat alive the inhabitants of the city in the center of the lake? What sacrifice would they demand, flowers or blood? Such thoughts were forgotten when the farmers were met with the brilliant golden shimmer of the god of the dawn’s blessing upon the canal. There hearts leapt to their throats as they always did at the first sight of the gardens overflowing with the blossoms of the gods. These were sacred flowers grown only for the Emperor and the temple of Xochipilli, the god of love, dance and flowers. As the famers worked and sang well into the mid-day they were ignorant to idea that these were to be the last days of the flowers of Mexico, the last days of peace, the last days of their world. They only knew this morning the embrace of the thick intoxicating dream educing aromas of the flowers of Xochipilli. How could anything ever change when the gods had blessed them for eternity? Flor y Canto was created for Carlos Huber, the founder of Arquiste by the brilliant nose Rodrigo Flores-Roux. It was envisioned and created to capture a day in 1400 pre-Colombian Tenochtitlan of the most fragrant Aztec festival of the year. It is a resounding success for this floral is so very reminiscent of the gardens of Mexico I have visited in Guadalajara. It is very linear and stays true to its opening all the way through. The eau de Parfume opens with a brightly romantic and lovely Mexican Tuberose. This is a soft and enveloping tuberose and not at all overwhelming. There is Frangipani of the Plumeria family to add a generous touch of the exotic. A fleshy rich Magnolia lends strength and presence to the mix and all is bordered by a very green note of golden marigold. The splendors of this ancient garden are not epic but rather soft and close to the skin. This perfume draws one in close and like a furtive kiss brushes your cheek with the promise of more. It lasts about four to five hours on my skin and then whispers of memories of that romantic tryst in garden last summer for about another two hours. This is a scent perfect for meetings set outdoors on a warm evening with someone special. Made for a woman it can work on the right man. After all there was no goddess of flowers for the Aztecs, No he was a big sexy tuberose wearing God!

This is a gorgeous tuberose scent with a wonderful, honeyed acacia note. Fresh and creamy and a little buttery, somewhat sunny too thanks to the fruity frangipani note. Rodrigo Flores-Roux has made the tuberose fresh and light with a beautiful accompaniment of magnolia and tagetes, and a generous helping of plumeria and copal. But it is the Acacia that makes me swoon and this is a standout from similar type fragrances. Acacia blooms are described as having a delicious honey sweetness, and that is what I smell here. Blended with the other notes creates a composition that is softly floral, subtly sweet, and feather-light, and wears like the most delicate veil despite some heavy base notes that could, under a less experienced perfumer, have made the scent dense. I love these gossamer type fragrances that surround you in a fragrant veil. It's what Francis Kurkdijan did it for Ellie Saab's Essence No. 2 Gardenia, and Honorine Blanc did for Eric Buterbaugh's Regal Tuberose, and what Rodrigo Flores-Roux has done here. They all took what are normally very heavy floral notes and made them fresh and light without sacrificing the opulence and elegance of those notes. Though all seem to be simple compositions, they are actually quite complex, and absolutely stunning! I really love this, and a fb has already been added to my wardrobe. PS - Must be sprayed with abandon if you want to be embraced in a veil of fragrance all day. 😉

A burning paradise in a bottle. One of the best perfumes I myself have smelled in years. Addictive. And oh! The copal and tuberose combination . . . I can detect every note and then some in this perfume, and the copal and tuberose are the strongest, but it's still perfectly blended. And it lasts. A long, long time. I must confess I over-sprayed it yesterday, and developed a brief anosmia to it. Which is hard to imagine, but noses are funny organs. Note: I wouldn't call this a safe blind buy, unless you, like me, are into bigga time powerful florals. This isn't technically a white floral, but it is one nevertheless. Probably reminds me more of Fracas than anything else, maybe Hope. (Both favorites of mine.) But I'd advise trying a sample first. Unconnected note, except I got these two at the same time: Why the heck isn't Deck of Scarlet's Your Majesty in the database yet?! Please someone, remedy this.

I received a small vial of this from Scentbird. Luckily they give a large enough sample to try several times. This is such a beautiful and unique floral scent. No musks or sharp anythings at all. Just flowers. The marigold was a great choice for them to give this a little more personality. Very high quality and lasts sooooo long. I put it on one evening and in the morning when I woke up, it was still noticeably there. None of that "I just slept for 8 hrs" perfume leftover funk or anything. It smelled great! This has quickly become a favorite and a must have in my collection. This perfume is not for everyone but for someone looking for a very pretty floral, this is well worth trying.

My daughter bought this, but decided it was a bit much for her so she gave it to me, as I had been sneaking sprays frequently. I ended up buying L'Etrog from Arquiste for her to compensate. I love tuberose, it is one of my favorite notes, and this is one of the best examples. Beautiful perfume, very interesting. Keeps you sniffing to discover what it will do next. I experimented and layered it with Island Gardenia because I just love that floral combination and was very pleased. It is clear this is a high end fragrance, there are no sharp edges, no out of place notes, nothing more or less than what is needed for perfect composition. A very good experience.

A happy, bright, and more wearable take on the "big white floral" fragrance. If you love tuberose and gardenia, you should give this a try. The marigold greens and "bitters" it up just a bit, and the frangipani adds something sunny and tropical. I love big white florals. If I had to pick between Flor y Canto and Fracas, I'd have a hard time deciding. My choice would be both. Fracas for evening, and Flor y Canto for daytime. Sillage is medium-strong, and longevity is good. It's definitely a splurge fragrance, but I think worth the expense if tuberose is your thing.

I LOVE Flor y Canto. Everything about it: the name, the story, the bottle, the packaging, but most of all, the absolutely gloriously intoxicating scent. I adore big, heady, interesting white florals, particularly tuberose, and this is one of the very best in my collection. The marigold really makes it magical and ties the composition to Mexico, where I have special travel memories. Blooms fabulously in heat and humidity, can’t wait to wear it a lot this summer. Sexy, alluring, confident.

I absolutely love both the concept and the scent- but I cannot pick out the notes it’s supposed to have. It’s linear, and has a rounded, softened quality, like a lotion scent. It’s hard to describe, but when I see that it’s supposed to have marigold, for example, the sharpness of that flower is the polar opposite of what’s going on here. And I have a lot of tuberose perfumes, and this is not primarily tuberose to me. Quite synthetic, but in a good way. Lovely whatever it is!

In this heatwave in England, there aren't many scents which are well made and stand up to high heat and humidity longer than an hour. This is a tropical floral beauty exactly right for sarongs, beach bars, long cold drinks and sandy toes. I adore it in summer; in winter it just seems like a hothouse flower, out of place. This heat, is where it really lives. I was so pleased to have this today. Now if someone could fan me with a palm leaf, I'd be complete x

Fresh, lovely. Great for hot Texas summer. The floral notes are lovely, like a rainy garden with sweet tuberose and spicy marigold -- very refreshing during a drought. I want more of the copal note -- it is the main reason I sampled. The world needs more fragrances with copal. I wore this while walking on an unseasonably hot day, and it kept my spirits up. I will probably put it up when the temperature drops and save it for hot days. Delightful.

A truly beautiful and powerful, creamy tuberose. Accompanied by lush gardenia and plumeria, it has a green edge that is fresh and lively, alongside a natural nectar sweetness. The copal note mostly evades me - elegant, night blooming florals wafting through the warm dark, caught up in the last swirls of smoke.

A great floral for a hot day. This goes on frangipani heavy to my nose, but mixes really well with the smells of summer (sunscreen, sweat, salt).

Sweet tuberose with a soapy drydown- good longevity and sillage- bears a strong resemblance to Kim Kardashian-

Update: On a hot summer day this is again the perfume I wanted - a light, elegant gardenia scent (with a hint of saliva or sweat). I can picture the white flower and even the green edges of the gardenia stem and bush. Now I realise this perfume is only for hot weather as it behaves totally differently in cooler temperatures. I'm carrying around a travel size bottle to touch up multiple times during the morning and afternoon because it's so light, but you might actually want that in very hot weather. I absolutely love real gardenias and this perfume gives a comforting, sophisticated and inoffensive (if nearly unnoticeable, I'm afraid) air of the flower. Also, I almost seem to get some very distant pineapple juice in the background, as well as a bit of a metallic touch... ——— You should always sample more than once. Have to remind myself of that... I tried this scent on a wonderful, sunny spring-turning-summer day last year and loved the floral and enjoyed what I thought became a bit of unusual note (maybe saliva/body odor/cumin). Also was a bit carried away by the plumeria/frangipani idea of the scent. Then I went on dreaming about it for almost half a year and bought a bottle in the fall. When it arrived, it didn't match what I thought I had ordered. Worse still, when I spray it directly on skin, rather than misting it, something about it rubs me the wrong way and becomes cloying. It might be the grass note that is a bit cloying or the magnolia or marigold (or acacia - don't know what that smells like) or something like amber, which I don't like. :( While there is a brief honeyed flower paradise opening moment for about two minutes, soon the other notes clang and cloy for me. It also doesn't last long which makes the price way too high. :( Then it immediately also has some aldehyde/oakmoss/bitter marigold combo. In some hours it subsides and becomes a very barely-there vanilla with gardenia (and maybe light watery incense) in the distant background - pleasant. Then some hours later nice, slightly animalic - nice. But can hardly smell anything overall. :( My partner used to love wearing this in all seasons but has now tired of it. In the end, I've discovered that if I mist this from a distance I can get the light honey-hay-saliva-on-skin-floral-light-animalic side of the fragrance. Yes, it will remain light and disappear, but it's the only way I can wear this. (Another perfume I have by the same brand, Anima Dulcis, is also one not to overspray.) I still wish I could spray this normally and would expect way more sillage and longevity for the price. By the way, according to Arquiste's website these are the full notes - never sure why Fragrantica doesn't update the correct ones on certain fragrances... • Top: Mexican acacia, marigold, crushed leaf accents • Heart: Tuberose absolute, magnolia grandiflora, red and white plumeria • Base: Copal (Mexican incense), benzoin, Mexican vanilla bean

I loved the opening - rich, creamy tuberose with tropical frangipani and magnolia - simply delightful, it radiated from my wrist and made me very happy, what I loved the most - the marigold greenness and bitterness in the background making this very unique. What I do not enjoy is the heart part, it stays very linear, marigold is gone and I am left with tuberose soliflore and not my favorite kind - at some points it smells even a bit metallic. The scent at this point stays very close to skin and is not what I expected reading what inspired the fragrance. As much as I love tuberose, this is not good enough for me. Might work wonder though if one searches for a crowd-friendly tuberose as it's silage is so soft that even this big flower might work for offices and such.

A scent for women...A scent for ladies who "lunch". This is beautiful, prim and proper. This is big and bold and the wearer exudes a sense of confidence. She can do anything she wants...be anything she wants to be...go anywhere she wants to go...the sky is the limit!!! Gorgeous and dripping wet...creamy and lush...You feel like you are standing outside with your face to the heavens smiling at the sun and feeling its warmth on your face!!! I am a child in the grass in a beautiful white sundress with my arms over my head twirling around and laughing without a care in the world. Beautiful, lush, drenched tuberose!!! Worth every single last penny!!!! You are a visionary Señor Flores-Roux!!! Muchisimas Gracias!!!!! xoxo

Quite an opulent scent, it smells high end quality. I get the Magnolia & Tagetes mostly as top notes, more than the Tuberose, in fact I do not pick up tuberose. There is an underlying tropical flower medley, maybe it's Tiare and star Jasmine..flowers more along these lines, and the magnolia gives it a humid watery vibe, just enough to capture the equatorial tropical summer in a bottle. My initial spray of this perfume from a tester is I got this honeyed jasmine floral, but now that I have a bottle I no longer get that, not sure what happened?

This scent starts out with a strong magnolia scent I'm guessing--it's very close to gardenia which is one of my least favorite scents. It's strong and a bit soapy. I thought I would continue to dislike it but let it sit on my skin, and I have to say, I loooove the way this scent develops. Tropical frangipani starts to come out, which softens the scent and helps make way for tuberose. I won't buy the full size of this because I don't like the top notes, but I might have if it were softer to begin with.

I got this through Scentbird, and I like it quite a bit. The opening has a green, leafy, herbal quality to it, which gradually slides into the background (but never fully disappears) as rich, heady white flowers (tuberose, magnolia, plumeria, and perhaps honeysuckle and gardenia) warm up on my skin. The overall effect is a very natural summer garden scent, sweet and creamy, and grounded by a faint green astringency. Lasts for around 7 hours, and isn't heavy or loud at all.

really nice floral here, not too headache inducing either. frangipani & tuberose parade over a light sponge cake (not in a gourmand way but like a texture way idk how else to explain it). very very nice in hot weather and doesn't read as soapy at all! there's a liveliness to this that isn't like yknow a giddy type of pep in your step liveliness but one that knows how to let loose. someone you know who is somehow always very pleasant to be around probably smells like this.

this reminds me a lot of what older mexican woman in my life would smell like. very old school cool, probably on account of the tuberose. it's inoffensive but noticeable, and carries an almost soapy smell to it but not quiet there. it was hot when i wore the sample of this and it bloomed beautifully throughout the day. ~ tuberose, white flowers, and soap. the marigold was somewhere in there but i couldn't pick up on it too well

Flor y Canto is linear after the brief opening when I pick up other florals (namely frangipani), this is Tuberose dominant from start to finish. Very good performance all around. It’s very pretty and would make a good introduction to white florals for most people. With a large collection, I would need a new addition to feel more unique and it doesn’t check that box. I like this scent but it’s a pass.

An enormous blast of tuberose, gardenia, and sambac jasmine. A very sunny, heady, indolic white floral; borderline sweaty at times, but mostly about its floral side. A must-try if you like big white florals, but there isn't much of a twist here, either. Your appreciation of Flor will depend on how much you enjoy those three notes.

Nothing totally special. A natural, uninspired tuberose. The type I wouldn't normally go for. Beautiful, but not exactly fabulous or interesting. Sorry. You can get the same thing in a $30 fragrance. Sort of reminds me of Chloé (original, Karl Largerfeld version) A bit skanky, a bit powdery.

I got a sample of it from Scent Bird and I love it! Its a very masculine type of floral. A very full type of scent. I think its perfect for the fall but honestly it works for the warmer weather too. Perfect for date night.

It's gorgeous for what it is, and is incredibly well-made and realistic in my opinion, but it definitely reminds me of the old hat ladies at church with their brooches and shoulder pads. It's loud, classic, and classy, but it veers toward dated. I just wish there were a wood or amber note to give it some more complexity. It smells kind of wet and dewy, like a hot, humid summer day, and I actually really dig that quality, but it needs *something* I can't quite put my finger on. Despite all of that, if you're into big, classic florals, this is your gal.

I've smelled this before but can't pinpoint it, but it's not Amouage Honour. I will have to test this side by side with Honour but offhand I think they probably are more likely to be cousins and not closer. This has a cloying note that makes me only "like" and not "love". It actually might be the tagetes that's bothering me. I'm glad I only got a decant and didn't blind buy this as it's not unique enough or easy of a wear for me.

It has a very exciting first impression; like walking through a verdant garden with blooming white flowers. Tuberose persists throughout the wear-time, but after a few minutes the dry down is definitely soapy on me. It is, as others have mentioned, very clean and inoffensive; like a very nice white-florals laundry detergent. I won't be getting a full size but I will finish out the little sample bottle.

Not a helpful review notes-wise, but Flor y Canto strongly reminds me of the late 90s/early 2000s. "Livin' La Vida Loca" is playing on the radio at the local pool. This is the lingering perfume hanging in the humid air in the ladies' locker room. This is the smell of my friends' moms.

Flor y Canto by Arquiste transports you to a tropical paradise. It opens with the smells of fresh-cut grass and acacia. In the heart, it reveals an opulent blend of tropical flowers, mainly tuberose. The drydown exudes a comforting richness akin to luxurious body lotion.

I find this to be pleasant, but unremarkable. It's pleasant enough for fans of simple and elegant floral scents, but lacks much depth and complexity for my taste. The frangipani note overwhelms the others and reminds me of overpriced hand soap.

I always like to try fragrances that feature tagetes. Flor y canto is dominated by fruity white florals, and the aromatic part is only accessible by sniffing up close. Maybe it works better in summer? Until then, not a love for me.

this is definitely a warm day scent, ideally sprayed ONLY on my skin, because otherwise it smells more like a candle than a perfume. sweet and floral and not very complex.

The tuberose in this is narcotic and gorgeous, but like with most Arquiste perfumes I've tried, it's very soapy, and when combined with animalics, it just feels very...disjointed and odd. Trying to find out if it's Arquiste I don't jive with or if it's Rodrigo Flores-Roux (feels very sacrilegious to say). Glad I didn't blind-buy it.

I’m not sure what it is in the mix but this is soapy soap soap on me~. I’m guessing the frangipani? If I could get past the hand soap suds it would be pleasant, but it’s too much like dishwashing liquid on me I’m afraid

With this I finally found out what people mean when they say certain perfumes smell like saliva or like a dentist's office. The tuberose is bubblegummy which I also dislike.

I’m very sorry, this is just my opinion. This smells like a bargain fragrance, but it has a high price tag. I’m sure no flowers were harmed in the making of this perfume.

Flor Y Canto by Arquiste is a stunning dew-kissed white floral fragrance. It is the epitome of feminity and elegance and would make a perfect bridal scent. Of all the niche fragrances I've sampled over the last few weeks, Flor Y Canto has the best longevity and sillage. One spray of this fragrance is enough to cloud you in this beautiful aroma. I love white florals and although they don't always love me and my skin chemistry, I have great admiration for those that have been composed beautifully. Flor Y Canto is one of those hauntingly beautiful white florals with just the perfect amount of sweetness and buttery, lush blooms. When I smell Flor Y Canto, I think of Europe in Spring. It evokes a sense of fresh blooms and a crisp breeze in a lush, green garden. Despite its above average longevity, Flor Y Canto is not at all overwhelming. I would consider it to be a bit of a crowd-pleaser and would not be surprised if it was one of Arquiste's best sellers. I am very fortunate to have tried this beautiful fragrance and am very lucky to have a stockist of Arquiste not far from where I live. Highly recommended to those that love white florals, especially lovers of dominant tuberose scents.

I have a huge love for tuberose, it being one of my favorite floral scents. Here is a perfume which correctly honors the beauty of tuberose, in all its creamy intoxicating glory. Flor y Canto by Arquiste is not afraid to be unabashedly floral, one that is as natural as picking up a flowering stem and placing it to one's nose. I must admit, most all of what I could denote from the fragrance's robust tuberose predominance were subtle facets of the other said included flowers. Magnolia blossom (another of my favorites) seems to be utilized to counterpose the buttery richness of the tuberose, offering a piquant, lemony floral note. Plumeria lends a peachy sweetness, further creating a velvety and suede-like texture to the scent. Lastly, marigold's bitter and slightly musky, pungent floral note helps to balance the intensely creamy tuberose. This decadent perfume should be worn with caution ladies, as it is surely able to conjure up carnal desires in the opposing sex. (159)

I used to be a tuberose and white floral fanatic. Carnal Flower is still one of my all time favorites, and I think that’s in a class of its own, but about 5+ yrs ago I began preferring the quirky niche versions of white florals (such as Strange Invisible Perfumes Epic Gardenia and Mona di Orio Tubereuse, etc). Arquiste Flor y Canto is really lovely and it’s something I would have swooned over 10+ yrs ago. Flor y Canto is mostly clean and bright, with very little animalic aspects, and it’s not bubblegummy nor do I find it especially soapy. It might be just the exact thing someone else is searching for but I’m no longer looking for a basic, clean & bright white floral. Seems like a great selection for mother of the bride for an outdoor wedding. Good longevity and a decent bit of silage. Smells natural and of high quality. Overall it’s not moving me emotionally at all though.

Very vivid scent with great radiant aura. “Summer festive occasion!” – said all ladies in my office, not knowing the historical background of the scent. Radiant sillage is bursting first minutes but not shocking: it is like you open the door of a south town hotel, going out, and immediately find yourself in an epicenter of a holiday full of flowers and happy women. Nice fragrance for open veranda party, for evening restaurant terrace and for any day or night summer saunter. The best longevity among all three women’s scents.

Tuberoooooose! My first proper introduction to tuberose, having smelled it before in perfumes and not knowing what it was. This is a deep, deep white floral scent with a creamy, almost wax-like thickness -a common feature of Arquiste perfumes. I agree with the review below that it smells very "prim and proper". Only a mature, well-to-do lady could pull this off.

Soooo beautiful. The perfume is very full bodied. I'm getting loads of tuberose but also amber and other flowers. This one is truly unique. It's blended well enough that nothing stands out in a really strident way. This is tuberose done correctly. It's rich, creamy, spicy at times. I wouldn't call this a mature fragrance but it smells like a confident woman.

A pretty white floral, with the great addition of tropical notes via the frangipani. It's a lovely introduction to frangipani if you are not familiar with this flower. I would buy a travel size bottle if I didn't already own a number of white florals and a frangipani scent that I love.

It’s a nice bubblegum tuberose, nothing special in my opinion. The notes are exactly as the perfume smells. If you have another bubblegum type tuberose, I’d skip this one. This perfume actually reminds me a lot of room 1015’s jasmine freak but without the mango.

Very floral and expensive smelling. Rich ladies wearing long white dresses and big sunhats wandering in a steamy greenhouse. Turn of the century porcelain, lace gloves, and bouquets. Mature, close to funereal. A lucky find at Goodwill. Willing to sell or trade.

I got this when Barneys was going out of business, and while it is a lovely and well-crafted tuberose, I have others I prefer and reach for more often. As others have mentioned, this is adequate but not a standout in the field.

Beautiful white floral, soft and not over powering. Not always a fan of tuberose on my skin because it always turns into some floral bouquet glade bathroom spray. Will hold on to my sample and try it again in the spring.

Great tuberose and copal fragrance with just a touch of marigold's green freshness. More accessible than Xinu perfumes with similar scent profiles, plus very easy to wear in spring/summer.