Les Colognes Louis Vuitton.
Those words taken together should strike terror into Andy’s heart, because the last time I experienced a Louis Vuitton obsession he was generous enough to gift me with one of their classic Keepall bags at a price point which shall remain absent on this site. The fact that they have been doing fragrance for a couple of years was not lost on me, but I never ventured into any research or experimentation because, well, money.
With the Les Colognes collection, a trio of summer-inspired scents looked as if the House of Vuitton might be making a more mainstream attempt at fragrance at a slightly more affordable level. (And it turns out that at $250 one gets 100 mL, which is roughly the same cost of a Tom Ford Private Blend, only with twice as much product.) Enough vulgar cash conversation, we are here to determine the merits of the scents themselves, not a financial lesson which I have no business giving.
Jacques Cavalier Belletrud is the perfumer behind the three offerings: Afternoon Swim, Cactus Garden, and Sun Song. Artist Alex Israel was tapped to design the flacons and packaging – brilliant, colorful works of art in vibrant shades of blue, green and yellow – ideal for the sunny, beachy, summery feel of the set. It sounds heavenly, as much for the specific notes as for the season they portend. Sun Song offers the sweet citrus of orange blossom; Cactus Garden gives off a green, lemongrass effervescence; and Afternoon Swim, on paper at least, sounds like my perfect cup of summer sun tea, with its mandarin and bergamot breeziness.
Citrus is notorious for its fleeting nature, gone too soon like summer itself, but this is the one season of the year where I don’t mind so much. Heavy, cloying, monsters of sillage have no place in the lighter days when heat and humidity strike down all in their path. Besides, a re-application during the day is a welcome boost when the afternoon starts lagging.
Of course, this throws a sweetly-scented wrench into the spring/summer cologne proceedings, which up to this point have been dominated by selections from Hermes and Diana Vreeland and possibly Tom Ford. Will Louis Vuitton topple such venerable favorites? Only the summer knows…
