The Buenos Aires Story
“I vividly remember watching Magenta de Vine on the BBC Rough Guide to Buenos Aires in the summer of 1990 and deciding this was a place I wanted to go.
Fast forward a year to the summer of 1991, and still a teenager, I flew (alone!) to Argentina. I have such a strong
memory of arriving at Ezeiza Airport and being hit by the smell of leather and that cologne that the Spanish and Latin Americans put through their hair. That was the start of a life-long love affair with the city, and its residents, called porteños.
I’d seen the musical Evita as a child – so some of the panache, drama and glamour of the place had marked my younger self. Buenos Aires promised adventure: the glamour of slicked-back black hair and dark glasses, dinners at midnight and discotecas. Fur coats, horseback bravado, intellectuals and psychotherapists. Lazy mornings in Parisian style cafés. Grand boulevards. The smell of asado smoke permeating the city. And of course, dulce de leche! The vanilla/almond-like smell of it being made, wafts of it coming from workshops in the local confitería! And my favourite: alfajores – the best biscuit
you’ve never heard of!
Isn't fragrance memory amazing? The places it takes you back to .... So this is a love letter to Buenos Aires, its passions, the memories it’s given me and the warm embrace of its beautiful people.”
The perfume notes:
Top: this Eau de Parfum opens with a novel grape accord, in a playful nod to the vineyards and wines, a dash of zesty optimistic citrus notes, and Paraguayan petitgrain
Mid: the heart of this scent includes a flamboyant floral note: the ceibo, Argentina’s national flower, from its cockspur coral tree. The iconic yerba maté adds a grassy, hay, smoky tobacco-like dimension. An impression underscored with a classic fougère accord
Base: the base of the composition celebrates the much-loved tonka bean, with its creamy, woody, spicy, nutty aspects - in concert with dulce de leche and leather - think indulgence and the romance of the gauchos
meet the maker
For the creation of the Buenos Aires fragrance, founder Nick Steward called on Karine Chevallier.
Parisian Karine, has more than two decades of experience as a perfumer, including at Guerlain. She's the creator of Berlin, the much-loved modern amber Istanbul, Art & Olfaction Awards Finalist London, and our award-winning 'Best Niche Fragrance' Los Angeles.
Nick, the founder of the brand, is proud to work with a group of true artisan markers. And the most original, fun and interesting perfumers in the fragrance business.
GALLIVANT's products are all handmade in Britain. In East London, Kent, and the Cotswolds.