We've heard the phrase 'summer in a bottle' a million times, but we're yet to encounter a perfume that actually captures that intangible mix of warm skin and sunlight, with a dash of fresh air and pure joy. Which makes sense, because that seems pretty impossible, right?
Not according to Louis Vuitton.
The legendary fashion house have expanded their recent foray into high-end cologne with a triptych of summer-ready scents. Combining the brand's signature glass apothecary bottles in juicy mediterranean shades of blue, green and yellow, with the perfumery talents of Jacques Cavalier Belletrud, packaging designed by LA native, artist Alex Israel, and a generous whack of citrus, Vuitton's scents have high end beach bum written all over them.
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Whether you go for the orange blossom fuelled Sun Song, the herby Cactus Garden packed with lemongrass, or the nostalgically titled Afternoon Swim, just one spritz will transport you from your dismal April Wednesday in the office direct to the coast of California.
'Los Angeles is the inspiration for this project. It’s a magical town and California is a fantastic place. The blue sky, especially in winter, has a special light that creates a special mood,' explains perfumer Jacques Cavalier Belletrud.
Adopting the LA theme and running with it was artist Alex Israel who riffed on his own work to create the individual box designs and bouji leather case for the colognes. 'I chose my Lens sculpture for the packaging of Sun Song. It’s an eight-foot-tall sunglass lens, made of UV protective plastic just like those in my sunglasses.'
Dare we say LV just achieved 'summer in a bottle'?
Sun Song
'All the fragrances I create are close to my heart, but this one is really special because most of the inspiration for Sun Song come from my childhood. I was born in Grasse, on the French Riviera, a city sheltered from the wind by mountains and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. For Sun Song, I wanted to bottle my Mediterranean world.'
Notes:
Orange blossom, neroli oil, orange blossom absolute, lemon, musk
Cactus Garden
'Cactus Garden is another vision of freshness. I wanted to create a fresh perfume with a lot of intensity, but that was also soft and natural.'
Notes:
Matè, bergamot, lemongrass
Afternoon Swim
'The Afternoon Swim bottle is blue, the colour of life. It’s the ocean, the sea, and it’s also the colour of the sky. This perfume is like a vitamin-packed shot of energy. I wanted it to have the same uplifting effect as a Vitamin C tablet.'
Notes:
Orange, mandarin, bergamot
Get your hands on the new Louis Vuitton Les Colognes from 4th April
ELLE Edit: The Best Spring Perfumes For The New Season
George Driver was the former Senior Beauty Editor - Digital at ELLE UK.
