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City of Stars and Pacific Chill have ended up being two of the more popular Louis Vuitton fragrances since their releases a few years back or longer. That being the case, they can often be the final choices that people have to make a decision on, in terms of which they should buy.
I have reviewed and tested each of these perfumes and in this post, I will compare and contrast each, and share which one of them I prefer.
Tale of the tape: City of Stars vs Pacific Chill
City of Stars
Notes include: red mandarin, bergamot, lemon, lime, blood orange, musk, tiare flower, sandalwood
My full review: City of Stars
Pacific Chill
Notes include: blackcurrant, lemon, orange, ambrette, cedar, coriander, basil, carrot seeds, peppermint
Read my review: Pacific Chill by Louis Vuitton
Opening
Pacific Chill opens cold, sharp, and intensely fresh. Citrus leads the charge, but there’s also a strong greenish quality running through it.
Peppermint, coriander, and basil shake things up, making for a really distinctive first impression.
On my skin, peppermint takes control among those three, with the others playing more of a support role. This shifts as time goes on and the basil starts pushing forward and eventually takes over from the mint.
Blackcurrant brings out the sweet and tart side that Chill projects and stays pretty strong for a decent stretch. But both the mint and blackcurrant eventually begin to fade
Pacific Chill transforms into something more citrus and basil-driven. On me, orange and citron come through clearly, joined by this apricot-like smell that develops.
The opening of City of Stars is obviously going to be citrus-heavy just from the listed notes. Lime really jumps out as the main focus. You can pick up some blood orange and bergamot too, but it mostly reads as a blended citrus mix for most of the wear.
The citrus here doesn’t completely take over like it does in Afternoon Swim, for example. Instead, the tiare accord and musk claim their own strong territory right from the start.
Louis Vuitton calls this a nighttime fragrance, but it honestly feels quite beachy. I guess night could work too. The citrus and tiare give it this tropical vibe that seems more sunny and daytime to me.
One thing you’ll notice during the wear is this ongoing balance between powdery and creamy qualities. The musk, tiare, and sandalwood keep trading off to create that effect.
Which do I prefer? I like what’s going on early with Pacific. It’s cool and fresh, which plays well off of the fruits.
But, I think Stars has the better opening between these two Louis Vuitton fragrances.
Edge: City of Stars
Projection
City of Stars has pretty moderate sillage. It does hang in the air and creates a nice scent trail behind you for about the first hour.
The projection probably peaks around seven feet. After that, it settles into a 3-4 foot range for most of the wear. It’s a personal bubble of fragrance for you to enjoy.
I think that Chill is slightly more substantial and has a further reach than does City of Stars. At least, initially. Pacific Chill is stronger out of the gate then it compatriot.
It doesn’t blow out City of Stars, but it has an advantage.
Edge: Pacific Chill
Longevity
With City of Stars I get in the 6-7.5 hour range. It’s capable of hitting that upper band, but doesn’t always do so. It’s pretty mid with how long it lasts.
Pacific Chill I also get around 7.5 hours, but it seems to be more consistent with that outcome versus City of Stars. I didn’t notice this LV fragrance quitting very much before that and it might be more capable of going into the 8-ish hour range.
Not a huge difference, neither is spectacular, but I think Chill takes this category.
Edge: Pacific Chill
Versatility
Seasonally, both of these are in spring and summer territory. Definitely warm weather fragrances, that aren’t overly serious.
Pacific Chill is unisex, but leans more feminine. It doesn’t go completely into that zone, but those fruity shampoo qualities certainly push it that direction.
It also feels much more youthful than the other LV summer fragrances. Not particularly mature.
This one’s more for daytime casual wear anyway. Not something you’d reach for during nightlife or even formal summer occasions. So even if it reads somewhat immature, it shouldn’t be much of an issue.
City of light is also unisex territory, leaning feminine. Tiare usually shows up in women’s perfumes, so, it does lean that way.
Again, I’m not sure why this gets marketed as nighttime wear. Maybe for warm summer evenings out, but this really reads as casual to semi-formal daytime territory.
It’s pretty and appealing. Not super seductive or attention-grabbing. More about clean powder and musky cream.
I might give a slight edge to Pacific Chill for its shampoo-like clean in the dry down. But, there’s not too much of a difference here.
Overall Scent
Overall, which of these two LV fragrances do I prefer?
I was excited to try Pacific Chill back when it came out. I was looking forward to the perfume based on the notes and came away somewhat underwhelmed. I like the fragrance well enough, but I am somewhat puzzled as to why it became so popular.
I guess I’m more in the minority who just thinks that its fine. The early stages are interesting, but it’s nothing special in the back half.
I’m going with City of Stars versus what I get with Pacific Chill. Since the performances are basically the same, it comes down to how each smells and City is just better to me.
The mix of the citrus and the tiare flower is fantastic. I really enjoyed wearing this one while I made my way through the sample.
That’s my pick. They’re extremely close in every other way, but the scent itself really separates them, in my opinion.
Now, if you don’t want something that has that creaminess or that more traditional beachy sort of aroma, you should probably go with Chill versus City of Stars.
Winner: City of Stars
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Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with the different fragrances that I’ve owned, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, that new hobby grew into a consistent passion, helping millions of readers along the way. I have personally written reviews for well over 800 perfumes and colognes for both men and women. This is along with writing hundreds of other in-depth fragrance guides.