Leather
Woody
Notesanimalic notesatlas cedarblack pepperblack shoe shine accordbulgarian rosecastoreumcedarwoodcivethyraceumincenselatexleatherpapyruspatchoulirosestyrax
Tags
#sexy
Style
unisex
As featured on The 2025 Esquire Grooming Awards
A latex and leather 'oud-style' scent. A perfumer’s take on neon-soaked nightlife, the leather scene and raw, nocturnal behavior. With notes of latex, neoprene leather, black shoe shine, hydrocarboresin and styrax.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
A dark room, a low pulse of music, the rubbery smell of latex against polished leather: Nocturnality belongs to nightlife experienced at close quarters. Its animalic edge suggests physical confidence and an atmosphere where conversation gives way to proximity.
How to wear
Start with one or two sprays on skin, allowing the latex, leather and animalic facets to settle before adding more. Cooler evenings are a natural fit for its dark woody profile; in warm, crowded rooms, keep application restrained so its provocative texture does not dominate the space.
Who it’s for
For wearers drawn to animalic leather, rubbery accords and dark woods rather than sweetness or conventional freshness. It will particularly interest those who enjoy oud-style textures and deliberately synthetic effects, with sensuality expressed through friction and contrast.
Release year
2025
The nose
Rodrigo Flores-Roux is a Mexican-born perfumer whose work spans niche perfumery and major designer houses, including Arquiste, John Varvatos and Tom Ford. Known for vivid florals, nuanced citrus and richly textured compositions, he brings an equally expressive approach to leather. Nocturnality places his affinity for that material at the center of a tribute shaped by his friendship with Arquiste founder Carlos Huber.
Collaborators
Carlos Huber shaped the fragrance’s creative concept as a tribute to his mentor and friend Rodrigo Flores-Roux, drawing on the perfumer’s love of leather and New York’s queer nightlife. His contribution anchors the composition in a specific cultural setting and personal relationship.
Arquiste’s story
Arquiste treats perfume as olfactive restoration: reconstructing places, moments and stories through scent. Founder Carlos Huber’s background in architecture and historic preservation informs a house identity built around historical research and evocative, precisely situated narratives.
Nocturnality’s concept
Nocturnality’s narrative is set in downtown Manhattan in October 1996, following a young perfumer through clubs and an alluring late-night encounter. Conceived as Carlos Huber’s tribute to Rodrigo Flores-Roux, it translates the atmosphere of queer leather bars and warehouse parties into latex, polished leather and animalic accords. The 1996 date belongs to the story, not the fragrance’s release.
Extra info
Although described as “oud-style,” Nocturnality does not list oud in its published note pyramid. Its unusual effects include latex, neoprene and black shoe shine, while civet and castoreum are explicitly identified as accords rather than confirmed animal-derived ingredients.
Notesanimalic notesatlas cedarblack pepperblack shoe shine accordbulgarian rosecastoreumcedarwoodcivethyraceumincenselatexleatherpapyruspatchoulirosestyrax
Tags
#sexy
Style
unisex
As featured on The 2025 Esquire Grooming Awards
A latex and leather 'oud-style' scent. A perfumer’s take on neon-soaked nightlife, the leather scene and raw, nocturnal behavior. With notes of latex, neoprene leather, black shoe shine, hydrocarboresin and styrax.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
A dark room, a low pulse of music, the rubbery smell of latex against polished leather: Nocturnality belongs to nightlife experienced at close quarters. Its animalic edge suggests physical confidence and an atmosphere where conversation gives way to proximity.
How to wear
Start with one or two sprays on skin, allowing the latex, leather and animalic facets to settle before adding more. Cooler evenings are a natural fit for its dark woody profile; in warm, crowded rooms, keep application restrained so its provocative texture does not dominate the space.
Who it’s for
For wearers drawn to animalic leather, rubbery accords and dark woods rather than sweetness or conventional freshness. It will particularly interest those who enjoy oud-style textures and deliberately synthetic effects, with sensuality expressed through friction and contrast.
Release year
2025
The nose
Rodrigo Flores-Roux is a Mexican-born perfumer whose work spans niche perfumery and major designer houses, including Arquiste, John Varvatos and Tom Ford. Known for vivid florals, nuanced citrus and richly textured compositions, he brings an equally expressive approach to leather. Nocturnality places his affinity for that material at the center of a tribute shaped by his friendship with Arquiste founder Carlos Huber.
Collaborators
Carlos Huber shaped the fragrance’s creative concept as a tribute to his mentor and friend Rodrigo Flores-Roux, drawing on the perfumer’s love of leather and New York’s queer nightlife. His contribution anchors the composition in a specific cultural setting and personal relationship.
Arquiste’s story
Arquiste treats perfume as olfactive restoration: reconstructing places, moments and stories through scent. Founder Carlos Huber’s background in architecture and historic preservation informs a house identity built around historical research and evocative, precisely situated narratives.
Nocturnality’s concept
Nocturnality’s narrative is set in downtown Manhattan in October 1996, following a young perfumer through clubs and an alluring late-night encounter. Conceived as Carlos Huber’s tribute to Rodrigo Flores-Roux, it translates the atmosphere of queer leather bars and warehouse parties into latex, polished leather and animalic accords. The 1996 date belongs to the story, not the fragrance’s release.
Extra info
Although described as “oud-style,” Nocturnality does not list oud in its published note pyramid. Its unusual effects include latex, neoprene and black shoe shine, while civet and castoreum are explicitly identified as accords rather than confirmed animal-derived ingredients.