Bottle of Robert Piguet Visa, photo by Nicoleta
On September 22 of 1819, instead of killing himself, John Keats ate a nectarine.
Consumed within a depression, haunted by the same troubles that would drive him, a year later, to try to poison himself, the poet wrote a letter to his friend Charles Dilke and abruptly said: “Talking of Pleasure, this moment I was writing with one hand, and with the other holding to my Mouth a Nectarine—good God how fine. It went down soft pulpy, slushy, oozy—all its delicious embonpoint melted down my throat like a large beatified Strawberry.”
What’s the fruit that reads sheer sensory pleasure to you? From the tactile fuzz, the blushed color, the softness of its round flesh that perfectly fits your palm, to the smell, taste, and drip of the pulp’s juice to the sticky aftermath on your hands and chin – for me it is the peach, in all its variations, is a glorious sensual experience.
Bruised Peaches, Petrina Hicks photography
In Chinese mythology, the peaches were said to grow in the orchard of a goddess, and are believed to confer immortality on to those who consumed them. The legend said that when the peaches ripened every 3000 years and the event was celebrated in a banquet held by the Baxian (The eight immortals). In the western world, no other fruit is more charged with sexuality and seduction symbolism (from classical art to modern day peach emojis).
Vintage Visa ad circa 1947 de Robert Piguet via Hprints
Joe Garces, former CEO and Creative Director of Robert Piguet said: “The original Robert Piguet Visa smelled like it and would not work for a contemporary audience. My first experience with a perfume department store buyer was something I will never forget, he told me: “we love classics and the history but this store is not a museum; if the fragrance does not sell, we do not want to carry it”. Wow, that was a powerful reminder that this is all about business and staying relevant. My verbal brief to Aurelien was: “you are Germaine and I am Robert; we have to make something so modern that they would have made it today.” He added peaches and pear that made it an Oriental Gourmand and at the end of the dry down kept the original. Success! Success! Robert Piguet Visa is the Piguet fragrance most recognized in the world today next to Fracas.” (read the whole interview here)
Robert Piguet Visa is breathtakingly seductive and unapologetically punch-in-your-stomach beautiful. (Excuse my lack of grace and poise – but, the first time I smelled it, I had a similar reaction to the famous wolf below).
Tex Avery’s MGM cartoon “Red Hot Riding Hood”
The start of Robert Piguet Visa is a cornucopia overflowing with ripe, juicy fruits: soft white peaches, sparkly pears, mouthwatering mandarins, sweet dripping plums. Even if the top notes are effervescent and as over the top as a display of slow exploding fireworks, the perfume never crosses the border to the mainstream ubiquitous fruitchouli genre, remaining classical in structure and exuberantly elegant in mood.
Basket of Fruit (detail) Caravaggio painting
After finishing painting the bowl of fruits, the artist placed a bouquet of sweet-smelling flowers nearby and zoomed out our perspective. The juiciness of the fruits is drying, and the sweetness has a new found vanilla depth. The still life is slowly darkening at the corners with the chiaroscuro of the earthy notes of patchouli and moss, and the creamy sandalwood adding new dimensions, turning the fragrance into a seductive and mysterious chypre. A delicate hand, wearing light suede gloves hangs the picture and signs it with a perfectly calligraphed “V”.
Top notes: white vineyard peach, pear, violet leaf, Italian bergamot, yellow mandarin; Heart notes: ylang ylang, rose, orange flower absolute; Base notes: patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, moss, vanilla, benzoin, leather, civet, musk, castoreum, cistus
A note from the brand: Robert Piguet’s Visa was originally created in 1945 by Germaine Cellier as a celebration of a new era of travel and exploration, just after the end of World War 2. The perfume was re-introduced in 2007, faithful to Robert Piguet’s original concept, but with a new few charms added in by its new nose – Aurelien Guichard, and now it’s sold under the name “V”.
Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Contributor
Disclosure: My own bottle, opinions are my own
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We have 30 ml decant of the 2007 Visa for a registered reader in the US, Canada or EU (be sure to register or your comment will not count). Please be sure to register. To be eligible please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Nicoleta’s review, where you live and if you have tried Robert Piguet Visa, or any Piguet fragrance. Draw closes by 6/9/2020.
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