Stolen Kiss (Kyosei Seppen) from the Enasaki series of post cards, late Meiji era, 1908, artist unknown]
"A bite of fuzz and velvet skin,
The sweet, tart juice runs down my chin…" – "The Peach Lover's Guide" by Gail Gross
On this cold winter day, as dark clouds threaten to dump their loads of heavy wet snow on the Pacific Northwest, nothing sounds better than a taste of summer delight in the form of ripe, squishy, luscious peaches – and nothing entices like the juicy kiss of Shay and Blue's new fragrance, White Peaches.
Luther Burbank, California "plant wizard" photo collage with silver birch by Gail Gross ©
During the late19th and early 20th centuries plant hybridizers, like the California "plant wizard" Luther Burbank, experimented extensively with the peach and her cousins, the almonds and plums. Burbank and his contemporaries were able to improve upon and create many novel (and sometimes strange) stone fruits, including new kinds of peaches, but it wasn't until over a hundred years later that the public really fell in love with the tastes and textures of the sweeter, less acidic white peach.
Peach Bowl by Gail Gross ©
Today we enjoy many varieties of white peaches, some from America, other from Korea and Japan, but my favorite has to be the Stark Saturn Peach.The original variant was imported from China to America in the late 1860s. Eventually improved upon and made popular in the 1990s, the pale flesh of the Saturn has a unique, not quite crisp, firm texture. The taste and fragrance is bright, floral and fresh with nuances of sweet almond.
White Peaches Bouquet and Bottle I by Gail Gross ©
I adore eating peaches – and I love smelling like peaches too! Perfumers have used Undecalacton (Adlehyde c14) and other aroma chemicals like Veloutone™ and Nectaryl ® to create the fruity, fleshy, oh so peachy notes that define and infuse a host of our most cherished fragrances – Guerlain Mitsouko, M. Micallef Ananda Dolce and Viktoria Minya Hedonist to name but a few. When I discovered that Shay and Blue, was offering a perfume called White Peaches I found myself salivating at the very mention of the name and wondering just how Shay and Blue creative director Dom De Vetta and perfumer Julie Massé of Mane would bring the multi-sensory experience of white peaches to life in perfume.
(l)Dom De Vetta and Julie Massé (r)
"There is something so unique in the delicate, aromatic peach that really captures the essence of summer." – Dom De Vetta. From the very first bite, Shay and Blue White Peaches promises a fragrance I will enjoy all year long. With the initial breath I recall tastes and textures of juicy, slightly crisp Saturn peaches, cooled by aromas of iced green tea and new-mown hay. The wet, fragrant chill quickly blossoms into classically rich, lusciously smooth peachy nectar that I find so addictive, nectar colored with hints of almonds, spices and budding narcissus. At the heart of Shay and Blue White Peaches I discover elderflower granita – a refreshing, melt-in-your-mouth dessert-ice, imbued with the sweet, grassy scent of elderflowers and enlivened by a kiss of lemon zest. White Peaches continues to evolve through the dry down, the velvety, ever-present peach nectar transformed, at last, by earthy woods and whispers of wintergreen distilled from the bark of the Silver Birch. Shay and Blue White Peaches is a perfume for all seasons, offering velvety warmth on cold, dreary winter days and promising a refreshing perfumed respite when summer finally comes again.
Notes: Soft peach, elderflower granita and silver birch wood.
Disclaimer: would like to thank Dom De Vetta for my cherished bottle of Shay and Blue White Peaches. My opinions are my own.
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Shay and Blue White Peaches Bottle and Box – Photo by Gail Gross ©
Thanks to Shay and Blue, we have one 100 ml bottle of White Peaches for one registered reader in the EU, USA, and Canada. Be sure to register if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what appeals to you about Shay and Blue White Peaches, based on Gail's review, where you live and your favorite Shay and Blue Fragrance Draw closes February 9, 2019
We announce the winners only on our website so like Cafleurebon and use our Blog feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.