Christian Petrovich is an American of Italian and Russian descent whose modelling career lasted more than twenty years, from runway shows in New York, Milan and Paris to romance novel covers, with film and television roles and property development in Dallas alongside. He taught himself perfumery. His first client, a Greek shipping businessman, let him put his knowledge of Greek mythology to work, and in 2014 he started Argos alone in his Dallas apartment, selling to local boutiques.
Each Argos perfume retells one legend, usually through a single painting: Klimt for Argos Pallas Athene and Argos Danaë, Botticelli for Argos Birth of Venus. Mysore sandalwood runs through much of the range. Blending and maceration happen in Nice and production in a private lab in Grasse, while he designs the metal relief set into each heavy bottle and models for the brand himself.
Argos Triumph of Bacchus opens on saffron, green apple and rum over tobacco, amber and vanilla, and the extrait pushes the same idea further. Argos Birth of Venus sets peach and narcissus beside raspberry and chocolate. Argos Adonis Awakens follows Waterhouse with rose, chestnut and raspberry, Argos Fall of Phaeton takes Rubens as the cue for cardamom, labdanum, agarwood and leather, and Argos Neptune's Trident draws on Rottmayr's sea god for green tea, orange blossom and iris.
