Peach is a very particular note; something many of us do think is delectable and is memorable handled by skilled hands (or should that be noses?). But, it also has a bad rep as one of those notes often used as cheap facsimiles of the real thing in the kinds of cosmetic products beloved of unsophisticated teens.
So, we were rather excited when nose Chris Maurice, a nose who has produced some of the house’s bestsellers, agreed to a peach-led fragrance as his next project for us. Chris is primarily known as a “master of oud” and he’s certainly proven that in the gorgeous oud fragrances he’s created for our house. We also noticed that he is also particularly good at fruit fragrances. We had every confidence that he would rise to the occasion in taking on one of perfumery’s trickiest notes.
How could we be disappointed? After all, the result, Peach's Revenge, has turned out to be this year's runaway hit, something that happened almost immediately upon its launch at Esxence in Milan earlier this year.
The Peach Trilogy
We’re thrilled at the arrival of The Peach Trilogy, an exclusive collection of three 30ml bottles in a luxurious presentation box. The difference between it and The Oud Trilogy, which we launched as a limited edition of existing fragrances, is that only Peach's Revenge is currently available individually. The other two — Pastel Rumours and Rococo Pie — are only available in The Peach Trilogy.
So, if The Oud Trilogy was a collector’s item, with only 100 boxes produced at the time, then The Peach Trilogy takes the concept further since you can’t get your hands on the other two fragrances anywhere else except in this collection. (Incidentally, watch out for The Oud Trilogy, which will be making a comeback.)
Peach's Revenge started life a little differently from our other fragrances. It started with the name, that just came to Sarah one day. There had been some discussion in the studio about peaches: their seductive, slightly sexual appearance so beautifully captured in Renaissance and 17th-century still life paintings; the fuzziness of the skin of the peach that can seem more mammalian than fruit at times…
And, for an artist-run brand, images can spark an entire story. In this case, that notion of peaches ripening under Italian Renaissance skies evoked that underlying anxiety or frisson that makes some of the greatest Italian works of art so enduring. Yes, Italian peaches are warmed under the same sun that has seen its fair share of vendettas and vengeance—think, for example of Artemisia Gentileschi’s ‘Judith Beheading Holofernes’ (circa 1612).
But it also applies to classic literature. Think of Boccaccio’s ‘The Decameron’ with its dark tale of a woman keeping the head of her lover who her brothers have murdered buried in the soil of a pot of thriving basil. And, who could forget the philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli captured in his book 'The Prince'?
There was no doubt that the house’s peach fragrance was going to have some revenge in it.
The story of Peach's Revenge
Our first scented tale that is Peach's Revenge is a darkly comic tale of an unsuspecting young woman who inherits an Italian peach orchard. It, like she, is all succulent, fruity sweetness at the start— peach, guava and prunella, pursuing fruit into the full gourmand of creamy vanilla and caramel.
But there is something as hard as amber daggers in this orchard. Bark, wood and spices; cardamom, ginger and cinnamon. Perhaps it’s the handsome young villain who works this terroir with love and whom she finds annoyingly attractive.
Little does she know that he plans to rescue her from the clutches of a vulture working for a global corporation wanting to buy her birthright out from under her feet. He knows that with one sip of amaretto you’re reminded that even a sweet peach’s stone can be poisonous…
The story of Pastel Rumours
In Pastel Rumours, the revenge is softer, with its tones of peach mixed with milk, caramel, vanilla and custard cream, the gourmand here takes an almost childlike turn with its powdery fruit loops and spiced cookies baked with ginger and cardamom. You've scandalised a sleepy, ancient Calabrian town. But, with a nod to the Italian 1980s dripping in Fiorucci, Versace and Memphis Design, who could care less? You jump onto the back of a Vespa defiantly with exactly the person you’re not supposed to be with, gripping tight. A rude gesture as you take off down cobbled streets, the smell of musk lingering around your exciting lover who steers the scooter as colours whizz by.
The story of Rococo Pie
Rococo Pie whisks us off to the Venice of Casanova and legendary courtesans hidden behind elaborate masks at Carnivale. Sandalwood and musk as you cast off scented sheets, rising late. Reflections off the Grand Canal turn the scene of nymphs and satyrs on the ceiling into a kaleidoscope. A gourmand aftertaste of the feast served on a night of epic indulgence: peaches and walnuts infused with fruit and spices brought from distant lands to the famed port.
A fleeting glimpse of a naked figure in the mottled ornate mirrors. Then gone. You retrieve your fine filigree, ring the bell and ask the footman to bring you some vanilla gelato. Outside cries erupt. A chase over bobbing gondolas. The problem with this city, you muse, is that infidelity can never remain a secret. But who has betrayed who, exactly?
Three times once more
Showcasing these unique creations, The Peach Trilogy brings all three fragrances together in a presentation box. And, just as with The Oud Trilogy, you should think of them as a trilogy of novels or films. But, in this case I think we could say it’s more accurately a quartet.
Each of our presentation boxes contains a specially created mini film script that encapsulates the spirit of the fragrance, tells at least part of its story. But, we were so pleased with how the audience at our media event at Jovoy responded to the staged reading of the script for Peach's Revenge that we thought that it warranted a sequel. What exactly is happening with Gaia and Mauro one year after he turned his hand to a little poisoning in the tradition of the Renaissance revenge drama? Guess you’ll have to buy The Peach Trilogy to find out.
Pick a peach
Like us, fragrance writer and expert Sebastian Jara (aka The Perfume Guy) just loves a trilogy. Following last year’s review of The Oud Trilogy, he took the opportunity to review The Peach Trilogy when he met up with Sarah in Cannes in October and his review has just dropped. Be sure to check it out if you want to work out which one will make you take a bite out of the peach.
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