The Scents of Fueguia 1833

While in New York last week, I stumbled upon a beautiful, little fragrance boutique in Soho. On the corner of Crosby and Grand, it was hard not to be lured into the shop with glittering bottles perched on wooden blocks neatly organized on an oversized table. I discovered the lovely world of Fueguia 1833, a perfumery based in Buenos Aires inspired by the nature and culture of Argentina, specifically Patagonia.

Each scent, created by Julian Bedel, the founder of Fueguia 1833, is a formulation of blending precious essences from native species sourced in South America. By making small batches with the best ingredients at the time of production, a unique scent is created for each run of 400 bottles, which sort of assures your signature scent won’t be repeated on anyone else.

Although the fragrances are unisex, I gravitated towards a grouping of several interesting blends that had leather, musk, tobacco and green undertones. I ended up with Cactus Azul – a mix of cactus flower, cedar wood and mint – which is one of their top sellers in Argentina. They kindly offered me a couple of samples of other fragrances to try – Amalia, a floral with jasmine layers and El Dorado, a citrus, neroli blend. I’m hooked.

The Soho location is their only freestanding US boutique and I’m sure I’ll swing by again on my next visit to New York.