Upon wearing Archives 69, I initially thought of it as a regular fruitchouli: ripe sweet plum, rosy fruity pink pepper over a slightly medicinal and earthy patchouli base. However, to my surprise, it doesn't become gooey jammy in texture like many gourmand fruity patchouli does, and it's got a few tricks up its sleeves as well.
Christine Nagel's "rotten fruit" note: an overripe, almost sour mandarine lurks underneath the ripe plum during the opening phase of Archives 69. Its ripened sweetness is a natural extension of the succulent plum, while its sour aftertaste helps to balance the potentially over-the-top fruity sweetness.
Another interesting addition is the camphor. Personally, I don't find it manifests as a distinct element. Rather, it feels like a refreshing breeze blown out of patchouli into the otherwise thick fruity fog. The same goes with the orchid and incense accords. Smell-wise, they feel more like an extension of the fruity notes into floral and woody territories, but texture-wise, they help to maintain a powdery, relatively dry one in order to limit the saccharine sensation.
Besides all of the above, the most interesting part for me, is a prominent balsamic and even slightly cumin-animalic muskiness in the dry down. Combined with the camphor tonality, it actually reminds me of the camphor-cumin pairing of Cadavre Exquis. This combination in Archives 69 is of course a far cry and is extremely diluted and tamed compared to that of Cadavre Exquis, but it still adds an unexpected sensuality to the dominant fruitchouli centerpiece.
Archives 69 has a moderate to soft sillage and a 12h+ longevity on me.
Overall, I still regard Archives 69 primarily as a fruitchouli fragrance, because the sugary plum and the earthy patchouli largely overshadows the other elements on my skin. However, even though these supporting elements only tangentially show themselves, they effectively keep the sweetness at bay. Being usually wary about the syrupy nature of many gourmand fruitchouli, I actually find the slightly powdery texture of Archives 69 much improves its wearability to me. I'd definitely recommend it to those who enjoy fruitchouli combo but would like a few subtle twists embedded within.
