Hey there Posse. Skyrocketing costs of buying perfume, you know my thoughts. Currently Myriad by Louis Vuitton sits at AUD$1,040 for a 100ml bottle. Yes, it’s extrait. I just deleted a LONG rant that was boring as… Suffice to say I prefer EdP/T large and extrait small. So I was already annoyed when first using my Surrender To Chance 1/2ml sample.
The Myriad bottle is designed by architect Frank Gehry and fragrance signed by Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud. Most of us know him as Jacques Cavallier and if we don’t know the name then we definitely know a bunch of his previous work. L’Eau d’Issey woman and man, Trouble by Boucheron, YSL M7, Stella for Stella McCartney, Kingdom for Alexander McQueen and JPG Classique. This is just a smattering of a glittering career. Since 2012 he has been Vuitton’s house perfumer. They’ve all been very nicely done but I’m yet to put my credit card on the counter for one.
Patty reviewed the original seven Vuitton line up back in 2016.
Myriad by Louis Vuitton 2023
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Assam oud, French Rosa centifolia, Saffron, Ambrette, Moss, White musk, Bulgarian rose, Cocoa
I’m not spritzing Myriad today because there’s only 1/2 of my 1/2ml sample left. If I get to the Louis Vuitton store I’m definitely going to give myself a few fat spritzes to see if quantity changes the ride. Being an extrait is does feel more in keeping that I dab and splash anyway.
The opening smells like berries for just a moment and then that tried and true Rose/Saffron/Oud combo makes its entrance. Yes, it’s beautifully crafted. So smooth and streamlined that the lightly barnyard oud smells like new leather and dappled shade. This is definitely rich peoples perfume and so elegant I feel like an imposter just wafting it.
If you were ever looking for an oud based fragrance that could be worn to a ball then I think we have found a winner. The berries come back during the heart and I think it’s part of the Bulgarian roses. They always have a jammy sweetness to my nose. It serenely cuts through the underlying skank in a perfect ‘look over there’ move of misdirection.
Later, towards dry down the chocolate arrives, dark, unsweet and a perfect compliment to the roses and vegetal musk.
Myriad was definitely not made for me. Of course, should LVMH call and offer me a bottle I’d jump at the chance but honestly I can’t think of anywhere I want to be smelling like this. Give me a much dirtier, more medical oudh any day. Pair it with a scratchy saffron and earthy patchouli or leather. This wears like elevator music sounds compared to a symphony.
Have you tried Myriad? What were your thoughts? If not, does it call to you?
Portia xx
I’m Emergency Renovating my en-suite and it’s a ‘Must’ v. A Budgeted Expense- so every day is an exercise in hyperventilation
I’ll take that $1000 for a shower base, thanks!
(apologies for So Many Caps but this is….. yikes!!!!!)
Oh Musette, I hear you. Bathrooms are money pits. We were so lucky to have tradesman friends during the apartment renovation. Demolition, plumbing, tiling and electrical were all covered. We paid them but it was SUPER mates rates and we knew they were doing their absolute best work.
We are also fortunate to be living in the city where there is real choice for buying appliances and everything needed.
GOOD LUCK
Portia xx
This does not speak to me (not an oud fan, to start with, nor an LV fan in general). My wallet and husband are relieved!
HA! Happy husbands are very important MaggieCat,
Portia xx
Absolutely crazy price. I’m not a rose-oud person anyway, but I can’t imagine spending anywhere near that much money on a perfume. Or really anything other than a durable good! I’m clearly not their market with my $150 max budget for just about everything…
Plenty of excellent perfume for under $150 MMKinPA. We are definitely not their market.
Having said that, if you’re not a rose/oud person this could definitely be the gateway for you. So smooth and refined.
Portia xx
Frank Gehry is too much style over function in my opinion; there was a gallery that did NOT get built in DC a couple decades ago and I can’t say I’m sorry. Also unpopular opinion that LV logo bags are vulgar. I don’t want some designer’s initials all over my stuff. Annnnnd I’m not a lover of rose/oudh so I guess I’m a total pill today hahahahaha. If I had $1000+ to drop on perfume I’d get some Chanel Exclusifs, or Amouage, love those bottles.
From personal experience through work, I can say that Mr. Gehry is a very unpleasant individual. Also don’t care for his design aesthetic.
No LV bags, for me, either! Another old pill here, grouchy from the 90 degree heat. ??
Happy to have all comments MzCrz, the gamut of them. No judgement on where they fit on the line.
So interesting about Gehry.
Portia xx
March, a friend used to say of logo items, “I am NOT a billboard.” I’m on the fence. Logos, like perfume, are often a way for someone to buy and display a piece of aspirational luxury that they will probably never get the lifestyle and ready cash to live.
Yeah though on the Gehry and $1000 perfume. Right now if I had a spare wad of cash it would not be going on Myriad.
Portia xx
This doesn’t call to me at all and I am fond of the perfumer, Jacques Cavallier. The price is obscene (even in USD) for a scented liquid. I also dislike Louis Vuitton bags and totes. I don’t like their logo pattern, so nothing LV interests me.
You are in an enviable position Maya.
I do love some LV. Had a Thierry Mugler catsuit in the 1990s that had riffed the LV as TM. Wore it till it fell apart. That Mugler had been so naughty always made me laugh.
Portia xx
I can easily imagine you having sassy fun in that catsuit! It’s making me smile. Thank you.
YAY for making Maya smile.
Never thought I’d call Memo Luxor Oud cheap, but it’s wayyyy less expensive than this Vuitton! The Memo is just about the rose/oud trope that I enjoy.
HA HA HA HA HA!! Alityke, you made me LOL.
It’s all about perspective, eh?
Portia xx
Way too expensive for me I’m afraid! I prefer my jammy roses without oud or saffron, so I’ll stick with Lush Rose Jam and save $1000 dollars! Hahaha It is a pretty bottle.
That’s a LOT of Rose Jam DinaC. Do you ever layer RJ with and amber, like forearms RJ, chest amber? It’s bloody gorgeous.
Portia x
I’m not much of an amber lover either. I almost always stay on the ethereal side of things in order to avoid migraines. Wah-wah. I’ll break out a bit of amber during winter.
BUMMER! Headaches and migraines make life feel unlivable. Doing without amber is a very small price to pay for doing without them.
I’m not feeling that bottle design. And that’s an awful lot of juice for an awful lot of dosh. I think if I want rose-oud I’m going to fork out for the Dior thing — I reviewed it fairly recently but don’t have the will to look for the sample to find the name. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect medicinal-skanky oud. One day…
Oud Ispahan Cinnamon? I think you might like JHaG Midnight Oud.
Portia xx
Well, it sounds interesting but I have a suspicion that I would feel the same was as your last paragraph. And the price is nigh unto obscene. And I dint buy the argument “It’s Vuitton.” (I could be very sniffy answering that.
I am likely one of the only people who is not impressed with Old FOG either. Yes, the Disney is cool, but it’s also kind of Bilbao revisited, and had to be sanded down on its west side because it was reflecting the sun so hard it was melting patio furniture on the balconies of the condos next door. And ask MIT how happy they are with their Gehry “masterpiece.”
Goodness I’m being snippy. I’d better get to bed..
Would not have you any other way. Sniffy and snippy is your calling card. Have at it Tom.
Portia x
Holy cats and crackers!! That’s a helluva design ‘misstep’
Good story though!