If you’ve never been to the French Riviera before, allow me to transport you. The ocean is a staggering cerulean, placid and all but wave-free. Houses are stacked like Legos on top of each other, nestled in the coastal peaks. The vegetation is nothing short of sublime—palm trees and flowers in every color—and like an earthbound Eden, heaps of fresh, aromatic fruit can be found in every nook.
Lemon, the national fruit of Monaco, is a symbolic fruit in the Riviera. Citrus, in general, reigns supreme. Every year, Menton holds the Fête du Citron, a carnival celebrating the fruit. All throughout France, peaches are also ubiquitous.
“Louis the 14th was a big fan of peaches, and he had peach trees in his garden in Versailles,” says Ben Krigler, a fifth-generation perfumer for the iconic Krigler luxury fragrances. “That was a big trend in France, to have a peach tree, because it was the fruit of the king.”
Peach is the main note in Krigler’s latest launch, Mediterranean Peach 15. The fragrance is a revival from 1915, but it’s been reinterpreted with a modern twist. The fragrance house has been making scents since 1860, and they have been worn by the likes of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. Krigler explains that while the original Mediterranean Peach was a bit more of a dead ringer for peach juice dripping down your chin in mid-summer, the newest iteration has a little bit of everything—it’s fruity, it’s woody, it’s fresh, and it’s floral.
Don’t let that fool you. The fragrance is still decidedly peach forward. It’s peach in its most sophisticated form, though. It’s not saccharine or artificial. Rather, it’s a reined-in, perfectly ripe version of the fruit. The peach notes are balanced with lemon and fougère. (For those wondering, fougère is a fragrance family that translates to “fern-like” in English.) The fougère in Mediterranean Peach is an aggregate that has unexpected notes like lavender and sandalwood, which add a woodsy touch to the fresh, fruit-heavy fragrance.
It still has the spirit of the original scent, which was meant to be reminiscent of summer vacations. “There is something about the Côte d’Azur when you come here in the summer,” says Krigler. “The fruits are the best, really the best. They have the best taste. They have the best flavor. That’s the idea with this perfume. Sometimes in the summer when you eat fruits, they drip on your body, and then you have the scent of it. That’s the idea. It’s like having the fresh squeeze or the fresh peach on you.”
At its core, the fragrance is like the Riviera in a bottle—it’s an homage to the pristine water, the cobalt skies, the tree-lined coasts, and the fresh fruit. All of the ingredients are sourced from Monte Carlo, and it’s the next best thing to hopping on a plane and spending a day there. “This perfume is so special because it’s a perfume that you would wear in Monaco when you come in the summer or when you come in May for the Grand Prix and want to wear something that will go against the car race and smell and want to wear something natural,” says Krigler. “If you want to feel like a princess in Monaco attending the Grand Prix, this is a perfect scent for that.”
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