Carlos Huber knows how to create worlds—both big and small. The Mexican-born creative studied architecture before getting a degree from Columbia in Historic Preservation. His innate talent and good taste landed him a job at Ralph Lauren, where he designed the beautifully-layered shops the brand is known for. But while working in luxury fashion, he developed a love for fragrance and how you can conger memories and feelings with just a few whiffs of an amazing scent. As a fragrance developer, he's the man brands come to when they want to capture their essence in a bespoke scent. He's worked on brands like Cire Trudon, helped distill the St. Regis hotel into a signature candle, and is the reason why Vacation's products evoke such fond memories of our youth with their retro tropical aromas.

Of course, when he's not hired out to other brands, he's working on his own line of fragrances, ARQUISTE. The meticulously researched colognes are crafted with the rarest ingredients and are made to be rich, transportive and layered. Which is to say, Huber is a busy guy, but is well-liked in the industry and beyond. We caught up with him recently to see how he starts his day and what he smells like—which, at the moment, is a mix of clary sage, warm white pepper and leather.

I’m definitely a morning person.

Though, I admit, I'm a little slow in the morning. Funnily enough, when I'm on holiday or working out of town I find it easier to wake up early and head out fairly quickly for a morning run. What's that about?

I do prioritize my sleep.

I try to get a good seven to eight hours of sleep each night. You can tell a difference when you do. But, usually, I'm waking up around 7:30 am.

I don’t know if it’s good or not, but I use my phone as my alarm.

It's convenient and always with me. But I never hit snooze. When the alarm goes off, I'm up.

My nightstand is pretty orderly.

I've got a book to read on nights when I'm not too sleepy (currently, The Stones of Venice by John Ruskin), a tray with my watch, a picture of my partner Andrew and my phone.

You can’t start your day with an unmade bed.

Honestly, making the bed is the first thing I do every morning.

The first app I fire up ...

It's usually WhatsApp, to check if any messages came in overnight.