40 Days and 40 Nights of Fragrance Notes: Peach

Cavewoman and The Giant Peach
by Patti F

If you start talking about fruity notes in fragrances with your perfume pals, you'll most likely get a smirk and a groan. With a new fruity-floral scent being launched so often at the perfume counters, it's usually just more of the same, nothing interesting or special, and they go as quickly as they come. Hundreds of fragrances are launched every year. So few still remain after a year or so, even fewer stand the test of time.
But most of the scents that we love do indeed contain a fruit or two, sometimes a citrus, sometimes a stone fruit, or dried fruits. They add immediate interest and an impression of things to come, a lightness before the depth comes in mid and base notes, and sometimes a certain fruit just seems to go hand in hand so perfectly with a specific floral or base note.

I have come to realize this in gathering up some perfumes to write about as I review the peach note in perfumes. Many of the scents that I own that have peach in them seem to also have oakmoss in them too! I was surprised to discover this, but sure enough, Guerlain's Mitsouko, Lady Caron, Cartier's So Pretty, and Deci Dela by Nina Ricci all contain both notes. The peach note in Shu Uemura tempers the jasmine and bergamot in the top. It softens them without disguising their sparkle. I have only seen this fragrance in one store, and I hardly ever hear anything about it. I've loved it since the day I sniffed it, at the newly opened Sephora in Cleveland. Remember when the Sephora stores had a huge wall of fabulous fragrances, many that you couldn't find anywhere else? That's where I found my Shu. I am hoarding what remains. It hasn't turned on me yet. Lady Caron was another instant love for me, and although it seems to be one of the most hated Carons on the fragrance chat boards, I adore it. I love the bottle, and yes, it might seem cheesy to some, but it holds special meaning to me as well as holding a lovely white floral chypre.

I Profumi di Firenze may be the best example of a true peach scent. Florentia #22 Pesca e Fiori is so lusciously pulpy juicy that it is almost mouth-watering. The peach note is as fresh as could be, as if you've never had a peach this perfectly ripe and fragrant. Most of the I Profumi di Firenze fragrances contain iris, the flower of Florence, and the peach keeps this iris from becoming too earthy. It's a must-try. Envy Me by Gucci is a fizzy peach with other fruits, including mango and lychee. It's a fruit-blend blast of fun and freshness. Peach blends with the lovely white florals of Ricci's classic L'Air Du Temps, one of my first grown-up perfumes, a gift from my Mom from her first trip to Grasse. And my Mom and I both absolutely adore the new Violet Eyes by Elizabeth Taylor, her last perfume and my favorite of all of her scents. The peach note is well-defined in this pretty rose-and-woods scent. Before you smirk and groan at me, at least give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

On a trip to the mall with Ms. Bergdorf a few months ago, we noticed the new Tresor In Love at the Lancome counter. We were bored, I admit, with all of the recent scent launches, and we left blotter cards all over the counters as we were testing. Nothing was special enough to even ask for a sample. But I took a chance and sprayed Tresor In Love on my wrist. I was In Love in an instant. It seemed totally different from anything I already owned. Was this peach I was smelling? And roses? I bought it. I wore it for ten days straight, in the dead of our miserable Ohio Winter, a breath of fresh air, a lifting of the snow-weary spirit, a genius launch for Lancome to bring forth a Summery scent as a Fall launch. I understood it immediately. As with so many other Lancome scents that I have loved over the years, its complexity and balance show that this company takes its perfumes very seriously.

Since Tresor In Love had totally captured my heart, I started to wonder why I had never really tried the original Tresor. I found a little mini spray hidden in the back of my perfume cabinet and sprayed it on. I found out that Tresor was created over 20 years ago by the master perfumer Sophia Grojsman, who has created some of my other favorites, including YSL Paris, Calyx by Prescriptives, Christian Lacroix in the gorgeous hand-blown shell bottle, Champagne (Yvresse) by YSL, and my Mom's favorite White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor. Luscious peach notes escorted me right into the velvety rose heart of this beautiful scent. Recently, Lancome has hired the beautiful Penelope Cruz to star in a Tresor commercial, bringing Tresor back to a well-deserved spotlight at the counters. I was surprised at how long the peach note lingered in this scent on my skin, still present at the end as it is in the beginning, a credit to Grojsman who has a way with fruits in scents that I admire and respect so greatly. I bought the biggest bottle I could find.

Of all of the peach scents that I own now, I would have to say that my favorite is indeed Tresor In Love. Again, Lancome delights and surprises me. With both Tresors, Mille Et Une Rose, and Peut-Etre, some of my very favorite scents have come from this often-overlooked perfume counter. I will always stop by to see what's new there, remembering my discoveries and the delights that they have brought to me.

Do you have a favorite peach scent? Which one is it? Tell us all about it!

Disclaimer: All scents in the photos and in this review were purchased by the reviewer.
Reviewer: Patti F
Graphic Credit: Melanie Parker