The latest fragrance release from Jo Malone is Peony & Blush Suede, a fruity floral developed by perfumer Christine Nagel. Its official description reads: "Peonies in voluptuous bloom, exquisitely fragile. Flirtatious with the juicy bite of red apple and the opulence of jasmine, rose and gillyflower. Mingling with the sensuality of soft, blush suede. Luxurious and seductive."
Peony & Blush Suede does open with apple, but it's a pleasantly cider-y apple, not anything like the Jolly Rancher green apple note that shows up in so many mass-market perfumes. The rest of the fragrance is a soft floral with musky underpinnings. The peony is honeyed and a touch dusky, not the lemony-bright flower that some other peony fragrances have tried to evoke. There might be a touch of pink pepper in the fragrance's heart, as well, because something is a bit nose-tickling. The "suede" is not actually leathery; it's a slightly powdery musk that merges with the rose and peony to deepen and extend the fragrance.
Peony & Blush Suede might not win over anyone who was really looking forward to a fruity fragrance, or who likes her florals to be very airy and clean, but it will probably appeal to wearers of feminine florals who have just browsed the Chloé and Balenciaga counters and not found anything quite to their liking. (Weirdly, something about it also reminds me that Jo Malone is an Estée Lauder company — perhaps I'm being reminded of Pleasures, which also features a peony note?)
Overall, Jo Malone's recent launches have made a favorable impression on me. Wild Bluebell left me cold, but I enjoyed Blackberry & Bay and I thought the London Blooms trio was very pretty and right on-target for the Jo Malone brand. Peony & Blush Suede gets another nod from me: it's well-made and it does exactly what it promises, and it carries on the Jo Malone tradition of infusing English-garden themes with a contemporary sensibility.
Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede is available in 30 ($60) and 100 ml ($115) Cologne and in matching bath, body and home fragrance products. For purchasing information, see the listing for Jo Malone under Perfume Houses.
But I don’t get the combo of Peony and APPLE? That just seems weird to me, there is no natural connection of season, scent family or logic. Peony with a true suede sounds lovely, the apple bit throws me off. Plus I’m personally sick of fruity scents, schoolgirly and safe. Of course I’m an oud fanatic and many of you are sick of that! LOL
I think Jo Malone has been known for their note “combinations” since the early days — I’m not sure of the exact reasoning behind apple + peony, but it works better than I would have expected.
I actually really like it. I wear it with either the JM Orange Blossom or Grapefruit lotion. It is good for fall, but would probably be a pretty light frangrance when the snow starts flying. I personally think it smells more like apple than peony and the suede I couldn’t smell at all. That part was disappointing.
I love the Orange Blossom body line!
For colder weather, Pomegranate Noir is my favorite JM!
Lovely review! This sounds like a must try for me. With a few exceptions, I prefer light florals and the fruit note just adds to its appeal. Besides, the retail sizes are friendly and therefore, easy to add to my collection.
It’s pretty and easy-to-wear, but not one of those light-and-sheer floral fragrances that vanish in five minutes. And yes to the smaller bottles!
Tried it last week and I was too pleasantly surprised at the softer and elegant nature of the fragrance when I was expecting some tough leather notes.
I absolutely agree that it resonates with the London trio! Especially with them being a LE, it’s nice to have something that we can use without restrain.
I agree — that’s the problem with limited editions. I have a small sample of the Iris one from the trio, thanks to a sweet friend.
I really don’t like apple in scent but love Peony ..I will sniff it.
I’m not usually an apple person, but this interpretation seems pretty pleasant to me!
Thanks for the great review, Jessica! Your description makes this one sound very pretty, and at least worth sniffing. I do love those 30ml bottles, too, especially with the LE ones. I bought one from the tea series which I certainly wouldn’t have bought otherwise, had it been a bigger bottle.
Yay for 30 ml bottles!
Second that! I love the smaller-bottle option. And those tea fragrances really were nice.
Sounds very pleasant.
I’m really interested in this one. I loved Rose D’Ete in the Rosine series, except for the blah drydown and nearly instant disappearance of the top and middle notes. So I’d like to try this for the apple. And I say bravo too to the smaller bottles! At last they listened!
As everyone already knows, I am a huge Jo Malone fan. I have probably one of every bottle of perfume she has made. I am a fan of her fruity, clean scents. I know the review says that most of her fans of the fruity scents may not like this one, but it is honestly one of my favorites. I think I am a fan of “Peony”. One of her limited editions had peony in it and it was AMAZING! Needless to say, the SA said they wouldn’t be bringing it back. So, this is satisfying that addiction for me. Love it! It is a seductive, romantic fragrance!
– ScentFromAbove