The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The name says it all. Apricot Uppercut was built around a single gesture, the fruit landing hard, unexpectedly, after an opening that shouldn't work. Jean-Charles Sommerard reached for white truffle, rum, and incense to start, a combination that reads more like a kitchen accident than a perfume brief. The idea was contrast: make the apricot earn its place by arriving late, after the rough stuff, after the smoke. Osmanthus and jasmine sambac were chosen to carry the heart, florals with enough weight to stand up to leather without disappearing. The Copper collection's theme of desire runs underneath: apricot as temptation, leather as consequence, truffle as the thing you didn't see coming.
What makes this structure unusual is the truffle's staying power. White truffle isn't typically a top-note player, it tends to appear briefly and vanish. Here, its earthy, almost fungal character lingers through the heart, adding an almost savory undercurrent to the dried apricot and osmanthus. Osmanthus itself is peculiar: a floral that smells more like stone fruit than flowers, with a metallic edge that cuts through sweetness. Jasmine sambac brings its own animalic warmth, making the heart read as both fruity and deeply textured. The leather-sandalwood base does what bases do, it grounds and extends, but the Tolu Balsam adds a resinous warmth that keeps the drydown from going flat.
The evolution
The opening hits like a bar fight, truffle, rum, incense, all at once. Sharp. Almost aggressive. The truffle has that earthy, underground quality, the kind of smell that belongs in a forest floor, not a perfume bottle. Rum adds spirit without sweetness. Incense lingers in the background, a thin line of smoke. Then the apricot arrives. Not fresh, dried, concentrated, caramelized. It sweetens the whole thing, but it's sweetness with weight. Osmanthus joins a few minutes in, bringing its own apricot-adjacent fruitiness, a sharper, more metallic note that prevents the heart from going syrupy. Jasmine sambac softens the edges. By the drydown, leather and sandalwood have taken over. The apricot doesn't disappear, it stays, woven into the leather, sweet against worn skin. White musk and Tolu Balsam extend the wear for hours, close and intimate, the kind of scent that lingers on a sleeve long after the wearer has left the room.
Cultural impact
Apricot Uppercut is one of four fragrances in Maie Piou's Copper collection, released in 2025 alongside Blind Whisky, Honey Queen, and Ambery Glove. The collection's theme of desire finds its expression here in the collision of sweet apricot and animalic leather, something approachable enough to wear daily, unexpected enough to remember. As a newer release from a young house, it's still finding its audience among fragrance enthusiasts drawn to compositions that refuse easy categorization.
