On the Beach by Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton went from having a spotty history at releasing scents to going full court press with its releases over the past few years. On the Beach was brought out by the design house in 2021. I grabbed a sample of this, as a part of my catching up with LV’s newer perfumes. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it worth a try?

---

What does On the Beach by Louis Vuitton Smell Like?

Notes include: yuzu, neroli, cypress, rosemary, sand, pink pepper, thyme, cloves

---

My Full Review

Here’s how Louis Vuitton describes it: The ecstasy of the sun, the rhythm of the sea and the gentle warmth of sand on the skin. Master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud blends the infinite emotions of a day spent on a sunny beach. Yuzu, a rare citrus from Japan, is a burst of bliss on the skin. Its surprising freshness and brightness glides into the softness of neroli. Thyme, rosemary, pink pepper, cloves… a sandy note of aromatic herbs perfects the olfactory landscape, while a veil of cypress brings generous, woody shade to a pure summer day.

The opening act is a blast of the yuzu and neroli notes. Sharp and has an herbal spiciness to it from the notes sitting underneath. Not a big punchy spice, just a good baseline amount.

Definitely get more of the rosemary and pink pepper. However, early on I do detect a tiny amount of thyme, that will fade away thereafter.

The other note that really plays a big role here is cypress. Lots of Tom Ford and some Acqua di Parma fragrances use cypress a lot in their summer scents, so it is interesting to see Louis Vuitton doing the same for On the Beach.

The cypress, herbal notes, and that ‘sand’ element thrown in really do give this a warmth and dryness versus that bright and juicy yuzu start.

The rest of the way is pretty straightforward. Neroli, cypress, yuzu, and that mix of green/sand. This really does have a sandy quality to it, which is kind of strange. Not bad, just unusual.

---

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, it is pretty moderate like most scents of this type. However, it isn’t weak. You can absolutely get a nice scent trail with On the Beach, with a pretty normal amount of sprays.

The projection isn’t massive, maybe 4-7 feet from the skin, at it’s peak. A nice amount of time, with its power still intact. For a summer perfume, it does well at holding up.

The longevity is pretty average, though. It’s different, as it doesn’t quickly turn into a skin scent on me. While at the same time, it doesn’t last extremely long. It’s more of an abrupt ending versus a slow decline, maybe it’s just my skin though?

I get 5-6.5 hours of wear from On the Beach. Not terrible. Not great. Though, one would probably expect more from an expensive perfume like this.

Seasonally, spring and summer. Definitely lean much more towards summer. As the name suggests, this embodies being on the coast or on the beach itself. I want to wear this outside in the heat, as it seems wasted being stuck inside all day.

This is a unisex fragrance. All really are welcome with On the Beach, not straying too far one way or the other.

Casual to maybe semi-formal events outside. Daytime perfume all the way. Attractive and interesting, but not a fragrance that is going to be confused with being sexy.

---

Overall Impressions of On the Beach

Overall, do I like On the Beach? I like it, but I don’t love it. I would sooner go with Afternoon Swim or Cactus Garden or Imagination from this house, as far as pure warm weather plays.

This is fine. The sandy note here is interesting, but really doesn’t do much for me, as far as enjoyment. Citrus, herbal notes, green woods. On the Beach isn’t super complex, but isn’t jaw dropping good, in its simplicity. Especially for $280 per bottle (update: now, $300).

The yuzu is very nice and I also like the cypress here. Though, it’s not really enough to completely sell me on this Louis Vuitton perfume. The thyme and other touches do help this to have a unique kind of aroma, while being a familiar type of summer fragrance.

The performance is okay. 5-6.5 hours is about what you get with a lot of summertime fragrances, so it’s not too much of a knock on Louis Vuitton. These aren’t really heavy notes that we’re dealing with.

On the whole, I wouldn’t recommend most people acquiring On the Beach for their fragrance needs. It’s nice, but expensive and has a limited use case. There will be people who love the scent, but outside of them, there are better options.

But, samples aren’t too expensive, so I’d go that route before blind buying.