Arquiste Anima Dulcis is part of a line of fragrances inspired by history. Created by architect and designer Carlos Huber and perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Yann Vasnier, Anima Dulcis is November, 1965, and is inspired by the Royal Convent of Jesus Maria in Mexico City, where nuns once prepared chocolate with a blend of chilies and spices. It features notes of coco absolute, Mexican vanilla, cinnamon and chili infusion. It is an eau de parfum, edp.
Arquiste Anima Dulcis Reviews
From EAUMG - "Anima Dulcis is a sweet and spicy Mexican hot chocolate. In the top I get a little bit of citrus with a “vanilla orchid” floral. The cocoa is present from the beginning. It’s dry, dark and delicious. The heart of this fragrance gets creamier with vanilla scented steamed milk and cocoa powder. And I swear I get ylang ylang. The dry-down is spicy, dark and delicious."
From Kafkaesque - "The chocolate note, however, is the real star. It’s unusual and nothing like the typical sort of chocolate notes which, to me, often feel more like powdery cocoa. At the same time, it’s also not like purely dark chocolate. Here, it’s more like the richest chocolate flourless cake covered with ganache made from bitter chocolate, covered by a dusting of smoky powder, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, decorated with faint slivers of Madagascar vanilla pods, and then set on a plate of spicy, cinnamon red-hot candies. The richness almost has the feel of a British Christmas plum pudding, only tinged with incense. It’s an incredibly cozy scent that is, at the same time, very sexy. There is a rich, meaty, chewy, dark aspect to it that can certainly be called “baroque” but, to be honest, aristocratic Mexican nuns descended from the Conquistadors are not really what comes to mind when I smell it."
From Basenotes - "Anima Dulcis, however, is everything I could hope that version of Femme would transform to on my skin and better. The cocoa plays greater role in the ad copy (a Mexican theme of chocolate and chilli) than in the perfume: it's merely in the background, creating a layer of soft-focused dusting to complement the powdery orris, indolic jasmine and liberating hedione, and leading to a sensual, earthy finale of dark patchouli of the best kind and the bitterness of arcane myrrh resin."
From Bois de Jasmin - "I find Anima Dulcis to be deliciously baroque. The dazzle of cinnamon, pepper and orange gives way to a beautiful heart of sweet amber. It evokes the warm and sticky resin of freshly cut wood and the softness of melting caramel. The layer of chocolate appears soon thereafter. It is sweet and creamy, but the strong animalic accent—a mix of tanned leather, dark musk and salty skin—transforms chocolate into something far more sensual. A splash of smoky incense gives an unusual somber twist to Anima Dulcis, becoming both a reminder of its austere roots and a relief from indulgence."
