Acqua di Parma - Peonia Nobile

Peonia Nobile (“Peonia”) is characterized as a floral.  Right off the bat, I want to say that to my nose this fragrance wears more as a fruity floral on my skin. 

That said, Peonia opens with a fresh, tart, rose-tinged peony dipped in a succulent sweet raspberry.  Acqua di Parma characterizes the opening as one with a vibrant black pepper accent with soft raspberry; on me it’s quite the opposite.  The initial few hours of wear feel decidedly “pink” and luminous.  There is an authenticity to the raspberry note; there are no artificial leanings at all.  While certainly I get nuances of black pepper, the opening is all about the decadently rich fruity floral.

This juice wears as the same fruity floral for roughly 3 hours when I begin to get a boost of brightness from the geranium.  The geranium, and in fact the heart of this juice, seems quite short-lived as by the 4 hour mark, the moodier base notes seem to rise.

Without losing the fruity floral characteristics, Peonia treats us to a smooth amber and clean notes of patchouli and musk.  While the opening and heart of Peonia are pretty, the additional notes I get in the drydown add a beautiful complexity to the fragrance.  Whereas the opening and heart feel very sweet and flirtatious, the drydown carries the scent from flirtation to a still sweet but now sexy vibe. It’s here in the last few hours that I feel Peonia becomes elevated beyond other fruity florals on the market. 

Peonia wears on me for roughly 9 hours with a moderate projection.

Notes:  Raspberry, Black Pepper, Peony, Rose, Geranium, Amber, Patchouli, Musk