Santos Cartier 1981 Eau de Toilette

Alberto Santos Dumont. Brazilian aviation pioneer and inventor, born on July 20, 1873, in Minas Gerais. The child of a French coffee baron and a Portuguese mother shows interest in mechanical processes from an early age and enthusiastically rides steam tractors and trains through his father's plantations. The boy also enjoys observing native birds and often loses himself in the fantastic worlds of Jules Verne. His father recognizes his son's talents and sends him to study physics, chemistry, and astronomy in Paris.

+++++Santos by Cartier starts exuberantly and powerfully, the spicy spectrum of soap, moss, and leather immediately unfolds its vehemence and takes possession of the world with wild abandon.+++++

On a return trip from Brazil to France in 1897, Alberto Santos Dumont immerses himself in a book that proves to be a revelation. It tells of a failed hot air balloon expedition to the North Pole. Immediately after arriving in Paris, he contacts the designers who developed the balloon at that time and undertakes his first balloon flight. His enthusiasm and innovation now know no bounds. In the following years, Alberto Santos Dumont dedicates himself to the development and construction of propeller-driven airships. Numerous awards and accolades underscore his reputation and make him well-known far beyond French borders.

+++++Following the unbridled opening of Cartier's Santos, a structured, albeit no less powerful, dynamic unfolds. The soapiness maintains its dominance during this phase, but at the same time, fine bitter tobacco notes flow into the fragrance, and the green accord receives an aromatic sweetness from vetiver.+++++

At the beginning of the 20th century, Alberto Santos Dumont focuses his interests primarily on the construction of airplanes. The pioneer undertakes the risky first flights of the prototypes mostly himself. During this time, he achieves the first motorized flights on European soil over distances of 25 and 100 meters. A pilot wristwatch created together with his friend Louis-Francois Cartier for the purpose of timing during flights is considered a milestone in the development of men's wristwatches.

+++++The essence of the fragrance now transforms. The spicy fragrance palette is clearly caressed by coconut, without drifting too much into the sweet. A waxy softness emerges, Santos by Cartier loses its weight and becomes overall relaxed and close to the skin. On a color scale, I would assign the fragrance to sepia tones. The milky, slightly sweet scent spectrum with its gently leathery notes has something melancholic about it.+++++

The last phase of Alberto Santos Dumont's life is marked by misfortunes. The visionary pioneer turns his back on aircraft construction in 1910 and completely withdraws. The reasons can only be speculated upon at this point; some sources consider a crash from 25 meters to be decisive, while others speak of nervous breakdowns due to overwork. However, it is likely that this period coincides with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a disease that forces him into months of stays in sanatoriums and leads to depressive moods. On July 23, 1932, Alberto Santos Dumont takes his own life.

In his biography, Alberto Santos Dumont writes that the dream of flying was born in him while he was a child in Brazil, observing the magnificent heavenly performance on his father's coffee plantations during long sunny afternoons. When looking at portrait photos of Alberto Santos Dumont, one immediately notices the large eyes in his otherwise gaunt facial features. With a steady gaze, they seem directed at a distant point on the horizon, awake yet full of melancholy.