THE HANDOFF
EDITION #1
FEBRUARY 2026
Editorial
To inaugurate this first issue, what could be more fitting than to speak of transmission? 2026 promises to be fruitful — literally.
Fruits, long relegated to adolescence, were dismissed as overly sweet, holiday-only, forgettable fragrances. Now they’re back — reborn. And they’re not coming quietly.
It took audacity to pick them anew. Like Eve offering the apple, today’s perfumers pass forbidden fruits hand to hand: carnal mangoes on raw leather, brazen durian smoldering beneath sacred incense, tropical fruits thriving in shadowed ecosystems… What was once kitsch becomes conceptual. What was innocent turns erotic.
This is transmission too: reclaiming a legacy — the fruity — and subverting it. Tom Ford with his Figue Erotique (January 2026), Pernoire with its shocking durian — each perfumer passes the torch of a bold new vision. The garden of Eden has never smelled so dark.
The Fruit of Knowledge
In perfumery, fruity accords were long considered forbidden in their own right: too frivolous, too cheap, too juvenile to be taken seriously. A sin of taste, not of Eden. Forbidden and enticing, the Fruit of Knowledge awakens curiosity. From dark, exotic notes to playful surprises, it carries a hint of sin, teasing the senses and opening the door to fragrance’s next audacious expressions. Overview.
The Olfactory Edit
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Dark Tropicana
Forbidden Harvest
In recent years, niche perfumery brands have boldly reclaimed tropical fruits, transforming their expected gourmand, edible facets into dark, luxurious signatures […] -
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My Strawberry Nights
Sweet Nostalgia
Strawberry scents tap into a nostalgic return to neo-gourmand pleasures — soft, fruity, comforting, and sometimes slightly mischievous […]
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Bananarama
Girls just wanna have Fun
Banana has always carried a playful irreverence — a fruit no one would expect in perfume. Its phallic shape, sunny hue, and twisted silhouette spark laughter and a hint of subversive sexuality […]
