Louis Vuitton New Fragrance Releases – Review

Louis Vuitton apparently had some fragrances a long time ago, but it’s been many decades.  This fall, they have released seven new fragrances.  You know, because it’s never enough to just have one. But this makes more sense for them than anyone because it gets them back in the fragrance game.

Of course I’ve tried them all.  You know, at first I just wasn’t sure, they seemed fleeting in parts, and then I got it. They are wafters.  Every time I walked through the house, the fragrances billowed and shimmered, and I’d walk back through a cloud of smells.  It was pretty fantastic.  As fragrances prices have gone, I was expecting these to be pretty ridiculously priced.  $250’ish for 100 mls and $350 for the big 200 ml bottle.  You know what?  That’s not the worst pricing I’ve seen – I mean, it’s not great, but I was bracing myself for 300-plus for the 100 ml. They also have a 7-scent coffret for like $290. I’m doing some of this pricing from memory, but this is close.

These are understated fragrances. They aren’t big or bold. Turbulences comes the closest to being a statement fragrance, but it has a subtlety to it as well.

Turbulences – notes of jasmine from Grasse, tuberose, musk, magnolia, rose and leather.  Loved, loved, loved this one, the tuberose does open ripe and bold and stays far into the drydown, aided by some slightly indolic jasmine.

Contre Moi – notes of vanilla, orange blossom, herbs, rose and magnolia. Loved this one as well.  It feels gourmandish with an almost sweet open of vanilla and orange blossom.  It worried me a wee bit then, but the saccarine’ish aspect got much more wispy (a good thing!). I never really discretely smelled the herbs in this, but I had some smell sense of them ironing out that sweetness.  The longer this is on, the more the magnolia blends into the vanilla and comes out a really creamy magnolia.

Dans le Peau – notes of leather, musk, jasmine, daffodil and magnolia.  I really liked this, it feels a little less defined than some of the others. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just more blended into a musky leather.  How can that be bad? It’s not.  It stood out less in a series of seven fragrances, but I’ve got a reminder to come back and smell it completely on its own in the future.

Apogee – notes of Grasse jasmine, lily of the valley, rose, magnolia, guaiac wood and sandalwood.  This is a gorgeous, crystalline lily of the valley.  If you hate LOTV, well, skip right on by it.  With the jasmine and the guaiac, I expected this to be warmed, but it’s a colder muguet.

Rose des Vents – May rose from Grasse, with two additional types of roses, iris, cedar and spices.  A beautiful, woody rose that isn’t just about the rose.  The iris plays a major part in this, and the spices give it a charm in the drydown I wasn’t expected. I was ready to write it off as “just another rose fragrance,” but I wound up liking it a lot!

Mille Feux – notes of leather with raspberry and osmanthus.  Another one that i was completely charmed by. I think leather and raspberry are a great combination to begin with, but adding in the osmanthus?  Oh, yum, just gives that little apricoty, buttery aspect that is perfect with leather.  It’s elegant and just smells like the inside of a Vuitton bag of a perfumista.  I didn’t expect this to be my absolutely favorite, but it was by a small margin.  I’d happily wear this one every day, there just enough interesting bits as you wear it, that it keeps me entertained.

Matiere Noire – notes of cyclamen, narcissus, jasmine, blackcurrant, patchouli and oud.  This one is the least made for me. I liked it, but the patchouli wound up being a little more dominant in the drydown, and I’m just not a patch fan-girl.  The open was amazing for me – lots of bright, jammy blackcurrant swirled in cyclamen and narcissus.  If it would have held there, it would have quickly became my favorite spring/summer fragrance.  But the patchouli and oud become more dominant. It’s nice and will be a great fit for other people, and I feel like I’m not doing it justice since it’s just not my thing personally.

With this many releases at one time, smelling these all at once, it is easy to get these mixed up or confused, so I’m hoping that people spend some time with them. They are subtle and well-made.  If the notes of any interest you, probably smell just that one or try one at at time.  Though, I have to say, having them all on at one time is amazing and is actually my very favorite of all of them. They really are made to go together, and I think anyone could wear a couple of them at one time and have something even better than one alone.  I’m picking Mille Feux and Turbulences as two I want to wear together without the other five accompanying them on their date like they are right this minute up and down my arms.

I do have some winners from two weeks ago for the Tom Ford Vert D’Encens and Vert Boheme. I just have those two, I only had one small sample vial of the third, which I can’t find.  Okay, winners are – snarkyshiba, mikasminion and carob.  Just click on Drop Us a Note at the top, send me an e-mail, remind me of what you won and get me your mailing address. I’ll send you a quick e-mail to let you know I got your e-mail and it didn’t land in a spam filter and then get it on the way to you.  I only check Posse e-mail like once a week, so it can take a few days sometimes to respond there.

So let’s do a giveaway!  BTW, missed you guys the last couple of weeks.  I had a DNS problem that turned out to be my fault, and it just took me a few days to figure out what I had done wrong.  Let’s do sample sets of all seven fragrances to three commenters drawn at random. Which one of the seven interests you the most, or are you just going to give it a miss because it’s too many at one time?