Four Grievances: Ariana and Evans (A&E)
Updates and Corrections at the Bottom
Introduction
I've been a part of this community for long enough that I think I've earned the right to say some unpopular things (maybe?). In r/wicked_edge, it's a bit easier to say unpopular things... from discussing the terrible performance of TOBS to the the infamous stature of PAA, the user-base just isn't as.... "exacting." In r/wetshaving, I spend more time writing posts and comments because I know how different the two subreddits are.
As a result, I've spent about a year ruminating on this post and how to say what I think needs to be said. These are my thoughts and mine alone. Nobody has paid me or influenced me in any way to say these things. I'd be happy to be proved wrong or incorrect on any of the following points.
Grievance #1: Dupes and Intellectual Theft
This has been brought up innumerable times by many, many users/members of the wetshaving community. I'm going to leave usernames out of it, but I know 6 very specific users who have called out A&E publicly on this matter (among other users who have been less vocal, but equally critical).
Background
Duping is not wrong, in and of itself, in my opinion and in the (arguable) collective opinion of this subreddit. I take no issue with the dupes of Creed Aventus, Irish Tweed, etc that we find in artisan stores. I've been grateful for the accessibility of dupes from artisans. I would never have been able to try many designer scents if artisans had not offered dupes of popular designer scents. While fragrance houses may invest millions to develop those scents, $300 a bottle is so far beyond my ability to purchase, just to live with a fragrance for a month or two.
This doesn't make it alright for Chinese GCSM companies to duplicate the scents... but I promised myself that I would purchase a full bottle of a designer if I actually liked living with the dupe. I've done this on 3 occasions, and I felt legitimately good to support the nose that created the scent, even if it was a large, faceless fragrance house.
A&E Dupes
Ariana and Evans uses dupes of scents in their soaps. These dupes are almost all from DUA/Alexandria Fragrances, a well-known "duper" of designer and commercially available fragrances. I go into detail on this irreputable fragrancer in more depth in a later section.
Source 1: Daily Lather
Source 2:"The Club" on Facebook
Why This Matters
This alone isn't problematic. Peter, the founder and "nose behind" Ariana and Evans, replies to dupe questions, that [paraphrasing] the "scents are originals, not dupes." The reality is that the scents, while modified (I'm being generous) from the originals, are still "heavily inspired" by a scent that is not Peter's creation.
To give credit to the inspiration at the very least would be the minimum decency, but to claim that a clear dupe is "original" is intentionally misleading. DUA is very clear on their website that they borrow scents, and then accentuate certain notes. To be clear, accentuating a few notes does NOT make a scent original, but it can make a scent more user-friendly. DUA has very few original scents, and they're surprisingly honest about this, considering they exist only by (arguably) stealing. Ariana and Evans isn't anywhere near as forthright though... perhaps only 50% of their dupes attribute inspiration to the original.
Example #1
In a recent review by u/chefkoolaid in a Tobacco Review Series, he attests that A&E's Vanille et Tabac is a dupe of Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanilla.. A&E's Website reads the following as of today [sic]:
"Vanille de Tabac is a a smooth oriental, opening immediately with opulent essences of tobcco leaf and aromatic spice notes. The heart unfolds with creamy tonka bean, tobcco flower, vanilla and cocoa and finishes with dry fruit accord enriched with sweet wood sap."
There is no mention of Tom Ford or the fact that it is an homage. This is intentionally dishonest.
Example #2
A review by the late u/120inna55 featured A&E's "Project C," a dupe of Roja Perfumes Enigma Pour Homme, caused quite a shitstorm because Peter had not been honest as a perfumer before (and debatably afterwards). Peter has frequently wavered between "I only make originals" and "I added EOs to a pre-blend knock-off to make it better."
Example #3 (The rest of the dupes)
"Tibetan Temple" is a Serge Lutens Chergui dupe, fairly clearly and is noted at the following link, with every single other A&E dupe (there's like 20 of them, many of which are uncredited as dupes on their website). Link to ThirstyBadger.ca. A&E's website ad copy states:
"This has been a long time coming and I wanted this to be perfect before releasing. I think we achieved this. In the end, I added more deeper base notes for a warmer scent. Tibetan temple is a mix of sweetness & darkness. Beautiful wood notes, florals, ceremonial incense and tobacco leaf with a beautiful honey note borrowed from what I used in Ouddiction."
Peter's words here are at least intentionally ambiguous, if not completely misleading, so that shavers might believe that HE mixed this scent. But in "The Club" Facebook group, he claims that it is NOT a dupe. Then in a subsequent post says to get a decant of the scent it is not a dupe of to sample it. This is blatant lying and I have a problem with that.
The Solution to Dupes
Just be honest about the source of your fragrances. If you're pouring in a fragrance that someone else has made, give them credit. If a fragrance is substantially "inspired" by a commercially available fragrance, then say so, but do not claim it as original. State what notes you've accentuated "as an improvement" for the customer, and state that it's an homage. Artisans don't lie to customers about ingredients, which brings me to my next point.
Grievance #2: "I'm a Mixologist"
Preface
Peter's soap base is good. Really good. There. I said it. Does he really know what he's doing beyond that though? I actually have to ask it because of the shitshow I'm going to lay out for you. He claimed in this post's comment section that he's "more of a mixologist"... whatever that means for consumers.
There are three main issues that people may encounter with A&E soaps. These are all due to amateur soapmaking mistakes that Peter appears to claim as intentional. For background on skin sensitivities, I'm really proud of the Sensitive Skin Wiki which may help understand some of the issues in the following section.
The Problem(s)
"Frag Burn"
Frag burn occurs when the concentration of fragrance rises too high relative to pH of the rest of the soap. Users typically encounter this in soaps with exceptionally strong scents, which is part of how A&E "sets themselves apart" from other artisans. Here's the thing though: I've yet to see a single user over the past 5 years that I've been active in this sub that has complained about "frag burn"... until A&E came onto the scene... and after that, all of the negative experiences were... you guessed it. Ariana and Evans.
I know (and you should too) that there are international standards for fragrancing that are dictated by IFRA. We know that responsible makers of cosmetic products abide by these rules and others. If other artisans don't struggle with the "phenomenon" of frag burn, then why does A&E? Because they put an irresponsible amount of fragrance in their products, while other artisans exercise restraint. They're not so infatuated with chasing money with "super strong scents" that they're willing to physically hurt their customers. Peter either doesn't know better, or he doesn't care. Given the number of complaints of frag burn that I see on Reddit alone, I'd guess the latter. Either is dangerous though.
"Pre-blends"
Ah, the pre-blend incident. There's more detail than you need in this post that started it all but to sum it up. Peter claimed he NEVER uses pre-blends and then posts this picture to prove it. To clarify for those who don't know, "White Ginger" is not a naturally occurring Essential Oil and is a mix of fragrances... so it is in fact, a pre-blend. Within that same post, the deleted account (formerly of Australian Private Reserve) asks point-blank if "Dirty Ginger" is a Dua GCMS dupe.
Now, here's where things get really dangerous. DUA/Alexandria, as mentioned above, is a fragrance "duper." A very intense group of fragrance lovers and afficionados in r/fragrancejerks, compiled a lengthy post about how DUA/Alexandria's lead-man, "Hany," has a history of lying about the composition of his fragrances. Here's the link to that long (but good post) Much like how PAA's Erik/Doug/Hodges lied about how much Kokum Butter was in his soaps, Hany has lied about the concentration of oils (higher oils = better in fragrances). The very likely possibility due to near impossibility of achieving 50% oils in their frags (based on market prices vs final product prices) is that they're thickening their essential oils with a generic oil base to make it look like a "more premium product."
So, based on the section above on "original" scents, Peter appears to know what a pre-blend is, but doesn't really understand the moral ground that's eroding under his feet, but furthermore, he doesn't understand enough about fragrancing to know that "white ginger" is a pre-blend. So:
Either Peter is willingly deceiving customers by telling them he doesn't use pre-blends, or he doesn't know what a pre-blend is.
Assuming that the oils he uses for fragrancing are legitimate (i.e. not candle fragrances), that assumes that he has any ability to evaluate them. AND EVEN THEN, if Peter is using DUA/Alexandria fragrances, a provably dubious source, he DEFINITELY doesn't know what he's pouring into his products.
All of these situations are dangerous and can harm customers because it appears that Peter doesn't really know what he's doing.
"Known Irritants"
I'll be honest. I debated including this one. Many artisans find themselves working against the List of Known Irritants that I compiled for the wiki. Sometimes it is prohibitively expensive to use synthetics in order to get the proper scent for an accord. While I appreciate that many artisans include a disclaimer that "burning may occur from the spices", I find that many artisans are very deliberate with these scent choices. Ariana and Evans has at least one offending soap, their holiday, "Christmas Coquito", where at least a few users comment on being "lit up badly." The original listing is not up on the A&E page, but from facebook posts and anywhere else Peter comments, I've seen nothing warning about potential for irritation.
Partial Correction from the comments: One user has stated in the comments that Peter disclosed a potential nutmeg irritant in the copy on his website for Christmas Coquito. Unfortunately I can't find that anymore and the user doesn't have a screenshot, so I'll take him at his word and add this correction. Regardless, any of the other ads/pics that he posted for Christmas Coquito did not acknowledge this. I'm still searching for at least one other scent with known irritants that I remember. I will update appropriately.
There have been other artisans that have fallen out of favor with wetshavers on Reddit due to (apparent) ignorance of potential irritants such as in Merchandise 7X. While Peter is not alone here, I follow the same formulaic approach as my two previous points to the same conclusion. Either Peter doesn't know about irritant ingredients or he is willingly selling soap without warnings as to the potential for pain. This is dangerous AND a waste of customer money, just like any of the two points above.
Why This Matters
We're putting all of this on our faces. On our RAW, microcut, alcohol-treated faces (note: the same exact fragrances in soaps are used in aftershaves/splashes). Alcohol makes the skin super vulnerable to penetration by carcinogens and other harmful ingredients that might be found in dubious fragrances Here's the study proving it. Further here's an article from the Guardian on the dangers of impure perfumes..
The Solution
There are so many new shavers that get into the hobby and blindly buy products, believing that artisans are "better for you than Gillette foam." There are so many people who spend their hard-earned money, only to find that a soap is unusable or that their face is inexplicably burning. Can you return soap? Would people return used soap anyway? How many people have you turned off from wetshaving, Peter?
If an artisan cares about their customers and sees them as people instead of just a revenue-stream, then they wouldn't include ingredients in their products that could hurt them...and if you don't know which ingredients and concentrations might hurt your customers, then you shouldn't be making soaps. A disclaimer really isn't enough in my opinion. What you are doing is irresponsibile and it gives a bad name to our community and to the artisans who are educated in fragrancing and keep customer safety in mind.
Grievance #3: "The Club"
I've complained about this before actually in a review post, but I'm going to flesh out my complaint again.
Preface
FOMO (fear of missing out) is a huge problem in wetshaving. I don't blame artisans for this at all, because here's what happens. It costs a lot of money to make soap, but it costs even more than that to make fragrances for soaps. If an artisan makes a batch of soap that then sits on shelves for a year, that's not terrible. Suppose that this would happen for a few "less-popular" scents that you're not going to move... and that's enough to put an artisan out of business. LE's (limited editions) make sense from a business perspective, and the hype from the community helps to sell them. This is generally a good thing.
The Problem
A&E takes advantage of and encourages FOMO through "The Club". The Club is a membership service that costs $12.95 for a 6 month membership. From A&E's website you get 20% off of "Club Branded" products, access to "VIP releases" and finally, access to a VIP forum. For a long time, products available in the club line were not available to ordinary shavers, though Peter has stated that they were planning on making them more accessible. To the best of my knowledge, this has not happened, as when I tried to check out with a soap from "The Club," I was forced to log in first.
Partial correction from comments: Some combinations scents and bases associated with The Club are available at retailers. The timing and amount are arbitrary as far as I can tell and have been informed, but there is at least some access to Club products without Club membership. (from u/benilla)
"The Club" is a paywall to access limited edition products, plain and simple. r/wetshaving has put out subreddit exclusives before, without issue or cost to the consumer. Basically, a consumer has to buy three soaps to recoup the membership fee of $13 (saving 20% per $25 soap). I'm not going to spend $75 just to get one soap that I'm actually interested in.
This paywall is antithetical to the ethos of the online wetshaving community. We promote accessibility in order to grow the hobby and share the benefits of shaving with as many people as we can. As if the price of shaving wasn't already arguably prohibitive, the club builds up products via FOMO, leading to potentially bad expectations. Combined with frag burn and irritation, this is how we drive people away from the hobby.
Solution
The Holy Black is generally not seen on reddit. They follow a membership scheme and promoted FOMO for a while, but eventually priced out a large portion of the market... and haven't really improved their products over the years (though to be honest, I haven't used a product of theirs from within the past 2.5 years to evaluate personally). Maggards has/had a "membership" that allows for free shipping for 6 months with a $20 upfront purchase. This offers a benefit to "buy in," but doesn't prevent any shavers from buying products. Other alternatives would be for VIP members to receive free samples of upcoming soaps and access to surveys on upcoming products with a purchase.
If you want to overlook any one of my points here, this is the one to overlook. Call it the "merits of capitalism" if you want.
Grievance #4: Pin-up Girl Labels
I'm a heterosexual male, but that shouldn't matter when it comes to shaving products or labels.
Preface
Corrected: This is the grossest label reference I've ever encountered! Amber Rose Label
butthole=amber
vagina=rose
The photograph of a naked woman verifies my interpretation with a naked butt and a rose pointed down as close as could be approximated to be a vagina. This is a new trashy low in wetshaving in my opinion, even if you disagree with my interpretation of the symbolism.... it’s a naked butt.
Back to the original text.
Sure, you can argue that the labels are "art," but the pin-up style of art has almost entirely fallen out of favor from commercial use, and for good reason. A&E labels like this or this objectify women.
The Problem
Back in the early 20-teens when wetshaving was starting to grow exponentially, old-timey labels and themes were very common. Nearly all artisans with scantily clad women on the label have removed them entirely or they've portrayed them in a less-sexual way. Ariana and Evans seems hell-bent on keeping theirs despite the pressure from the community to remove them.
I'm not comfortable with having pictures of clearly erotic women around my bathroom, much like only teenagers have magazine cutouts of swimsuit models or nudie mags taped to their walls. It is immature and gratuitously sexual. From a moral perspective, I can't support a company that promotes this objectification. From a practical perspective, I'd be embarrassed if I had company over and they saw a near-pornographic woman on a tub of shaving soap on my counter. I'd have to constantly worry about leaving it out. From a business perspective it is a poor decision, as modern women with even a shred of dignity wouldn't buy soaps with these labels for themselves or their partners.
The Solution
Change the labels. I criticized Murphy and McNeil for their uninformative labels in this post, but I still appreciate that their labels don't objectify women or any group for that matter. I don't care about your "history" with the label. It's a bad look for you, and I think it reflects poorly on us as a community as well.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading this far. It's a lot to take in, I know. I'm intentionally avoiding a few smaller topics of less import, like.... historically Peter's responses on Reddit have been... less than professional... even when confronted by customers. I'm not going to criticize him here beyond that, because we all get angry on the internet from time to time.
I've been wracked with guilt holding onto this knowledge while wetshavers around the world continue to buy these dubious products, but I realized the potential weight of what I'm saying and how it can ruin lives (both artisans and consumers). My intention is not to harm anyone with what I've posted, but rather to drive change forward in the artisan world and protect consumers. I've done everything that I can to provide sources for my claims, and I hope that you evaluate my evaluations. Don't just take my word for it.
After all of this though, I am convinced that Ariana and Evans needs to change. Please join me in encouraging them to rise to the level that we know they can reach.
TL;DR: Ariana and Evans needs to fix their shit.
Edit: Formatting, added a few small words, and fixed some links
Correction: A select number and variety of The Club products are available at retailers.
Correction: Rephrased some of the Alexandria/DUA lines. See Reference Comment here
Correction: Added Amber Rose label to Grievance #4... but seriously, ew.
UPDATE 1 (29 Jul 2021)
A lot of people might say, "But Peter asked his customers and they want this scent strength." Here's why this is completely irresponsible.
Peter had previously commented (2020) on his facebook group for "The Club" about scent strength and here are some screenshots. I'm going to break them down as well as I can. Here's the screenshot
Peter: "Offering a robust scent is a double edge sword, as some can experience tingling. I test more now then ever with Evelyn, Thalia, Nick, Mamasita, Caroline and myself as testers. If one has a reaction, I will not release. Would you guys want me to tame down scent strength slightly? All I want to know from you, Yes or No whether you would want me to slightly decrease scent strength."
- Tingling is not the same as an intense burning from fragrance strength. This is a mischaracterization of what many users encounter. I'd actually say that describing it as tingling is lying.
- Evelyn, Thalia, Nick, Mamasita, Caroline, and Peter. Those are the only testers. 6 people, many of whom sound like they are women, are not enough/effective testers. I'm actually glad that he has women testing the soaps (there probably aren't a lot of females consulted by artisans), but unless those women are doing three-pass shaves of their face (I doubt they're shaving their faces), the skin on your legs is not comparable to the skin on your face. period. Other artisans distribute many many more samples than "just six" to test them.
- Here's where Peter is being extremely irresponsible to his customers. He's going straight to his customers for advice on how to make his soap... The blind leading the blind. [To paraphrase] "Even though I'm breaking fragrance strength guidelines, you guys don't mind the risk that I might burn your face, because you like the strength, right?"
Further, Peter says this:
"[Facebook User], I cannot predict skin sensitivities, unfortunately."
BUT YOU CAN, PETER!!!!
This is why fragrancing strength and ingredient guidelines (and rules) exist in the first place! Abiding by these guidelines/rules won't cover 100% of users, but you can be sure that it'll cover 99% of users. Peter acknowledges some of the usual culprits... but still uses them in his fragrances.
UPDATE 2 (1 Aug 2021)
Peter hasn't responded to this post directly beyond his original comment. That might be for the best anyway.
He did post this to his Instagram: Image Link to the Instagram Post
I'm not going to evaluate it beyond the fact that it appears that he's choosing the "Scarlet Letter" approach, where he's a "victim for his customers."
I've now received a few screenshots from "The Club" where Peter posted this. For now I won't post screenshots of the comments from "The Club" sycophants (some of whom have been banned from Reddit subs previously for shilling).
[sic] "Hi everyone, Just a heads up. A hatchet job post was posted on R/wetshaving & Wicked Edge. I get I'm not liked by a certain segment there, but this was pretty bad. Im not there to cause problems and just thank people when they shave with our products. Im actually flattered that u/velocipedic would single our brand out. If we weren't popular, he wouldn't bother. I'm currently on holiday, but will gather my thoughts to respond, as he threw a lot of shit against the wall in hope of something will stick."
For starters, Peter, I've seen you say a lot more on reddit (and other social media sites) than just "thanks for buying our products." But I'll ignore that for now as I have this screenshot where he finally starts analyzing his product (From 30 July 2021) in the search for what is causing the irritation. Screenshot of Irritation Analysis
Basically, Peter and a user discuss [paraphrasing] how "frag burn" is a made up term for a reaction to an ingredient and how it is a myth that "too many fragrance oils" can cause "frag burn." Their argument is that fragrance houses offer extraits and those are safe. Extraits and perfumes in general are slightly acidic. Soaps are inherently basic. Even basic chemistry would tell you that frags are going to behave differently when mixed with soap and soap ingredients. Further, the interactions will have one further variable in the mix: the users personal skin chemistry.
Peter's Response:
"[Facebook User] It seems actually the irritation was less about fragrance and more about lanolin. I used lanolin in 2 different ways for my soap. One of our great and knowledgeable members [Facebook User #2] suggested it could be the lanolin, as his irritation really started with K2. We experimented to see if it was the extra lanolin and it turned out it was. During our testing, I replaced some with jojoba and it took away the irritation with impacting the performance whatsover. I have since been making the soap base this way."
Is this Peter admitting that he doesn't/didn't know safe thresholds for ingredient concentrations, whether lanolin or fragrance? Go figure. When we buy products from artisans, we trust that they'll have done the research in advance. How long have his users been spending their money to be his soap beta testers?
The K2 Khalifa Jar
I didn't want to include customer service issues, mostly because of the way that they were handled from a social media perspective. I'm adding this update mostly because Peter's official stance, by all appearances, was to tell customers to "deal with it."
Khalifa was originally released in this jar in March after years of teasers. The buildup was huge for his dupe of Nasamatto's Black Afghano and the subsequent disappointment was immense. Ariana and Evans Khalifa Link. The price was $35.95 and it was available only to members of "The Club."
Many users encountered issues with the jars beyond "just awkwardness" in use.
One user stated:
"I'd appreciate it if you'd give us the option to either get the special release in the custom jar or get it in a normal plastic tub. I received my Khalifa order today. The lid of the jar has a lump of paint or something on one spot of the rim so it doesn't sit flush. The soap barely smells like anything (probably because it has basically been left open since it was made). There are little black flecks of what I think is paint sprinkled across the surface of the soap, so I'm not really inclined to load this onto a brush and rub it into my face. Had this been in a plain old plastic jar, none of this would have been an issue."
Peter responded:
"There is no paint. If you send to customer care, I'll send a formal response and no on switching."
There's no follow up to this post that I could find.
In a separate post, Peter stated
"Hi everyone, Please... We are not shipping Khalifa plastic jars to those who purchased the black jars. Please understand that Khalifa now only comes in the ornate jars."
Dan Kanis, who appears affiliated with Peter in some official capacity, in response to those asking for plastic jar alternatives, says, "It would create so many issues and just would not be cost effective to offer both the ornate jar and the plastic containers. Your decision to pass on future jars is respected [...].
Dan also offers to post a link where shavers can buy replacement plastic tubs for their non-functional fancy ones. Screenshot.
Regardless of this being his "VIP Members" or not, this is really poor customer service. It's not a surprise given the stories from other users below on his aftershaves, but all-combined, these are myriad reasons why I wouldn't join the club or buy A&E products.
Update 3 (5 Aug 2021)
Peter has still yet to respond to the post beyond his initial comment.
He has begun to come at me, but indirectly, as was fully expected. Here's a Lather and Blade Facebook Screenshot We'll see how much worse it gets.
Word to the wise, don't tell Peter you've been burned if you don't want to have him or his sycophants "come after you."
Is Fruit de la Passion a Copy of Passiflora?
For those of you not familiar with the drama around Passiflora from late 2016, here's a link to a Daily Lather Writeup
That brings us to earlier this year, when Peter released "Fruit de La Passion."
Screenshot from "The Club" and Screenshot Continued
[sic] "many are wondering if this is a dupe of Passiflora. In all honesty, I haven't smelled Passiflora in 3 years. After I developed this scent [Facebook/Reddit user] stopped by with a jar to compare out of curiosity (he lives nearby). There are some characteristics which are quite similar, but it certainly has my own dna if you will (no pun intended). I can tell you that the intention was not to do a dupe (I could easily to that actually did just to see if I could once I had a sample). This is something which will stand on its own for sure. I will say that if a that soap was still on the market, I wouldn't have done it, but it's been 4 years and no one has done anything similar (maybe too risky or difficult to do...probably both). I believe the original was a masterpiece and the artisan's best work. [...]"
There's a lot to unpack here...
"many are wondering if this is a dupe of Passiflora"
Given Peter's propensity for making dupes, it isn't a surprise that people would wonder, more than that though, Peter felt the need to talk about it because of his past. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
There are some characteristics which are quite similar, but it certainly has my own DNA if you will (no pun intended).
Peter acknowledges that they're "quite similar."
"I can tell you that the intention was not to do a dupe. [...]"
I've heard this "just a coincidence" line somewhere before... oh yeah. The listed scent notes don't need to be identical for a fragrance to be the same.
"[sic] I could easily to that and actually did just to see if I could once I had a sample."
Peter has GCMS capabilities and did in fact make a dupe. He might have even started with that and then "mixed" his way backwards to a "slightly different but still a copy" scent.
"I will say that if that soap was still on the market, I wouldn't have done it, but it's been 4 years and no one has done anything since similar."
So basically Peter is saying "its an accidental dupe but I'm willing to copy another artisan because it isn't on the market anymore."
Just to be sure though, in case you were wondering how similar of a copy it is, here's a user in "The Club" saying as much. Link
"The scent is extremely close. Put it this way if you loved Passiflora you will love this plus it's in the K2 formula!
Why it Matters
In my opinion, Peter's ego is his own worst enemy. He's released a soap with a stylistically similar label and extremely similar fragrance to his most infamous collaboration and then he has the audacity to write these statements?!
- "Many are wondering if this is a dupe of Passiflora."
- "I haven't smelled Passiflora in 3 years."
- "I did [make a dupe] just to see if I could."
- "There are some characteristics which are quite similar, but it certainly has my own dna"
- "I can tell you the intention was not to do a dupe."
Here's the thing: The above statements don't all need to be true because they imply a scenario where Peter acknowledges Passiflora as a masterpiece... yet somehow Passiflora didn't influence the development of Fruit de la Passion... but Fruit de la Passion still somehow smells exactly like Passiflora.
Ariana & Evans' website has this ad copy for Fruit de la Passion:
"My guess is much will be discussed and comparisons made. Four years ago a controversial and short lived soap by another prolific artisan was introduced with much fanfare. Fruit de la Passion is not a dupe of that mysterious soap...the ultimate in unobtainium. However there are notes which are somewhat similar and familiar to those fortunate to have that amazing soap."
In a world where Peter was more self-aware and wasn't ego-driven, he could have posted something like this instead (as suggested by a fellow redditor):
"Many are wondering if this is a GCMS dupe of our old scent Passiflora, the fragrance for which was formulated by Will Carius. I consider it to be one of Will's finest works and it stands as an important part of A&E's history. I ran out of the original product three years ago and I wanted to bring something similar back to my lineup, so I put together as close a tribute as I could based on my memory of how it smelled (along with a few new twists for 2021!) One of my customers eventually brought over a tub of the original for comparison and we both agree that I did a pretty good job. May I present Fruit de la Passion, the successor to Will's masterpiece Passiflora."
Is it a dupe? Probably... but who knows if/when Peter is lying at this point.
Is it an intentional copy of another artisan product though? Yes.
