Fueguia 1833, Patagonia is a tribute that Julian Bedel, founder of the perfume brand, pays to his naturalist and writer ancestors.
Julian Bedel, founder of Fueguia 1833, Patagonia.
The brand’s name comes from the story of Fueguia Basket, a girl who was captured and taken to England. She was returned to her home, Patagonia, by Robert FitzRoy, Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy who became famous for captaining the ship that took Charles Darwin on his famous voyage around the world (1831-1836). The name of Julian Bedel’s aromatic literature is written by European technological pen, with ink extracted from native elements of South American flora and fauna.
One of Bedel’s exclusive boutiques can be found on Alvear Avenue in the exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood of Recoleta. Surrounded by luxurious, historic buildings and art galleries, Fueguia invites us on an extrasensory journey.
The front of the boutique is presented as a French luxury store. "Fueguia 1833, Patagonia. Laboratory perfume" written in gold on the outside of the shop, along with a select family of products displayed in the window, is more than enough to catch the eye of wandering passerby. Once inside, a spotlight is placed on the fragrances, candles and diffusers arranged across a curtain-framed table. The atmosphere is luxurious simplicity. The few decorative elements: antique-style chairs, scientific illustrations of native plants and wood-framed maps, create an environment ideal for the journey of the nose.
Bedel uses conceptual elements to baptize each of the seven lines. The three main ones are: Literatura, based on the world-renowned writer Jorge Luis Borges, Destinos, which takes its name from the iconic landscapes of Argentina, and Personajes, which is a recognition of the celebrities that helped construct the motherland. The other four lines are: Fabula Fauna, a dreamlike reconstruction that references local fauna, Linnaeus, in honor of the naturalist and botanist Carolus Linnaeus, Armonias, which encapsulates the romanticism and melancholy of tango, and finally Proyectos Especiales, which was developed with artists and architects in mind.
The musical alchemy of aromas sought by Bedel can be represented by a sequence of three-note arpeggios that develop over time. The fragrances are staged. The scents develop over hours after application in relation to the oiliness of the body and different weather conditions. Base notes are those that feel of wood, musk, moss, and resins. Middle notes are flowery and fruity. Output notes give fresh character to the scent and are usually citrus, marine and menthol.
Alvear Avenue, boutique interior.
The 'Laboratory of perfume' slogan is not fortuitous. The company offers differentiated services for customers with special needs. In general, these customers are companies looking to give their image a special touch by creating their own Fueguia-developed aroma. The lab opened its doors to customers such as County of Milan, Chamber NY, and Yacht Club of Monaco. The line also offers amenities for luxury hotel chains, such as the Four Seasons Buenos Aires, Park Hyatt Moscow, Taipei Mandarin Oriental, Rosewood London, Sofitel Montevideo, and Fasano Rio de Janeiro, among others. Fueguia develops shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, shower gel and textile spray in 100% natural compounds, except for synthetic animal extracts, for the hotels.
The bounded family of products sold by the company allows them full control over the quality. It is necessary to highlight the social and environmental commitment that goes into making value products. Sustainability is reflected in the collectible boxes handmade by young carpenters out of wood from fallen trees in Southwest Argentina’s Valdivia forest. The company also offers a refill service for customers who return their glass containers. The clients get a discount with the refill and the company helps stop glass pollution. There are sixty-one fragrances offered in a variety of quantities and products. The controlled scale allows them to offer a differentiated product with a high level of craftsmanship intervention. Each label is handwritten in Spanish with soil ink on organic paper, and every item is hand-wrapped, further testifying to the company’s passion for craftsmanship.
Each of the fragrances packs a lot of personality. The brand is not interested in gendered scents. Both men and women alike are invited to explore the earthy, floral, fresh and spicy flavors that are offered. As a result of the uncommon combination of essences, the fragrances’ aromas are singular and unique even to expert noses.
Through certain materials and chemicals, Bedel whispers a story into clients' ears that reconstructs images from their own memories. Robert Jastrow, who founded the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA in 1961 explains, "in humans, the sensations of smell are the only signals that go directly to the cerebral cortex. All other sensations go first to a reception center called the thalamus, for a preliminary review. This fact goes back to the days when the cortex was evolving from the olfactory centers of the brain of our ancestors in the forests. The direct connection from the man's nose the cerebral cortex explains the fact that a scent can evoke extraordinarily vivid memories of past events".
Fragrances ordered by families (woody, sweet, hot and spicy) and ready to be sampled by customers.
Each fragrance is meant to be an experience in itself, with its materials and forms of presentation. This experience is also shaped by the way the scent reacts with the body. The acidity or alkalinity of sweating completes a perfume’s chemistry. Just because a perfume smells good in the bottle does not mean it will smell good on people. The body chemically transforms each fragrance based on the pH, which measures the amount of acidity (oiliness) and alkalinity (dryness) of the skin, body temperature, and the amount of water in the skin and sebum. When the skin has an average level of acidity, it remains hydrated and retains aromatic perfume particles longer.
Fueguia 1833, Patagonia is an invitation to new experiences. Each one of the fragrances will take you to places you have never been. We suggest you accept the invitation to explore the wide range of aromatic destinations and build your own adventure with your imagination.