louis vuitton

Apogée by Louis Vuitton

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The Louis Vuitton review train keeps chugging along. Today, I am going to cover a 2016 entry from the women’s line, Apogée. This has been a best seller among the LV perfumes, but is it actually worth it? Does it smell good? How long does it last? When should it be worn?

What does Apogée by Louis Vuitton smell like?

notes include: lily-of-the-valley, guaiac wood, sandalwood, jasmine, magnolia, rose, citrus

My Full review

How Louis Vuitton describes this perfume: The lily-of-the-valley ascends to blissful heights
Some getaways let us reconnect with ourselves by placing us before the immensity of nature. The chance to commune with the planet feels like a renaissance.

Apogée opens up with a nice dose of lily-of-the-valley and a bright citrus accord that is highlighted by tangerine. The opening has a very zesty quality and I completely dig how this LV perfume starts things off.

The layer right underneath that is inhabited mostly by the jasmine, at this stage. I get some magnolia, just a hint, and no rose during the opening.

Apogée will be a white floral for much of the wear, with a strong citrus accord, and sitting on guaiac wood. Again, this is the highlight of the entire experience for me.

Then, the citrus goes away. The rose also emerges and the other non-lily floral notes fade into the background. It’s a lily-lead musky floral sitting on top of a base of sandalwood. So, the final dry down sees the citrus, guaiac, and jasmine all weaken significantly.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Apogée does have a strong sillage at first. That citrus accord hits pretty darn hard up top. I applied some to a shirt and could pick it up from across the room.

However, after that initial burst, it’s pretty middle of the road. You’ll know that the fragrance is there, but it’s not going to venture too far from the skin thereafter. It comes out of the gate swinging, but doesn’t sustain that high level of power.

During testing, I got somewhere around 7.5 hours of wear. This isn’t a scent that’s going to break any records, but it does provide a solid performance. I never felt that Apogée was a weak scent or something that was going to disappoint.

Apogée does have the strength of being extremely versatile. It’s not a complete bomb or something that will be really offensive to those around you. No, it does have an easygoing presentation and can certainly be crowd pleasing.

Seasonally, this is going to be mostly the spring and summer months. From temperate weather to much warmer temperatures, Apogée can find a place in your lineup, if you so choose.

More of a daily wear. It’s more pleasant than sexy. More of a clean, no-brainer grab than something that’s going to be a nightlife powerhouse. This Vuitton scent has enough class to be worn dressed up, while not being stuffy.

Overall Impressions of Apogée

I really like the citrus and lily opening act. Very pleasant and uplifting. While the citrus can obviously be pretty sharp, I think it adds a dynamic energy to this fragrance. It pairs very well with the lily note and the early floral balance is near perfection.

The rest of the way? Just didn’t hold up for me.

The musky floral and woods dry down is nice, not crazy good. Overall, it’s an above average fragrance with some real enjoyable moments for the first hour or two. That back half really drags things down.

Is it worth the price of admission? Probably not for most folks. It is a very popular entry from this line, but you’d probably want to try before committing to a full bottle.

Not because it’s a bad fragrance or anything weird. Rather, to see if you’d want to spend that kind of cash on something this simple and not super unique. Or, just see if you’re one who still enjoys the dry down.

Turbulences by Louis Vuitton

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Still working my way through review write ups of the Louis Vuitton collection of fragrances. The number is beginning to narrow down, but of course the brand has now released some more that I’ll have to get to. Anyway, today’s selection is from their women’s collection and was brought out in 2016, Turbulences. What does it smell like? How long does it last? Is it worth a try?

Key Takeaways

  • Tuberose-centric perfume
  • Light leather and a nice jasmine note
  • Good performance, not great
  • Discontinued

What does Turbulences by Louis Vuitton Smell Like?

Notes include: tuberose, leather, jasmine, may rose, musk, sandalwood

My Full Wear Review

Let’s see how Louis Vuitton describes it: An extreme tuberose to stir the heart. Discovering faraway lands can sometimes feel like soaring among the clouds. Inspired by a feeling akin to love at first sight, the perfume Turbulences pays tribute to the most narcotic of flowers: the tuberose.

Turbulences opens up with a strong tuberose note and jasmine, creating an aroma with some green-ish qualities. To me, I get plenty of musk in the opening act. Much more so than in the latter stages.

From there it will start to become a creamier and smoother experience. The Louis Vuitton leather note is introduced, after the initial wave passes.

The tuberose note begins to take more of the share from the jasmine. At this point, the jasmine feels like an impression of generic white floral notes. The perfume is somewhat dewy at times. The style of the floral accord is very much like a better version of Gucci Bloom, to my nose.

The dry down is mostly about the tuberose with some additional jasmine hanging around. The leather is going to still hold down the second spot and it is my favorite aspect of this perfume. It pairs very well with the floral notes, like it does with the jasmine in Ombre Leather.

Beyond that, the musk is in its much lighter state, and there is a dry woody/creaminess from the underlying sandalwood in the base. Turbulences is not all that complicated.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage is pretty moderate overall. For the first hour or two, Turbulences will project nicely off the skin, just not dominate the room. It gets lighter, but is never a complete skin scent for me until it is time for it to evaporate.

Not huge, but a very solid performer all around.

On my skin, I get 8-9 hour of wear from this Vuitton perfume. Again, not a marathon runner by any means. It never quit early on me during testing. At this price, I’d usually want to hit double digit hours of wear, but it is pretty close to that.

Seasonally, anytime outside of the summer or late spring. It isn’t super heavy, but it has enough of a body to make it feel a bit off in the heat. In a more temperate climate, Turbulences really gets to shine. Even better, when it is chilly.

I don’t find this to be sexy. More of a cozy and fragrance to enjoy personally. It can be worn safely to work and during the daytime. Just not a club beast or romantic wear. It is a well put together white floral, with a semi-formal vibe.

Probably going to work best for women in their mid-20s and up. Can be unisex, but definitely leans more towards the feminine and that’s how it was marketed, also.

Overall Impressions of Turbulences

Very good, if you’re a tuberose fan. Pleasant enough, if not. I like it well enough, but I’m not crazy about it, since I’m not a major lover of white floral perfumes. It seems like you’d have to be, if you’re going to fork over this much for Turbulences.

It’s pretty simple in its presentation, but does what it was designed for well. Not one of my personal favorites from Louis Vuitton, but well worth a shot, if this is your style of perfume.

The quality of the tuberose is definitely there and I did enjoy the pairing with the leather note. Performance is good and it’s not too unusual to prevent it from being a blind buy.

Louis Vuitton has discontinued this fragrance. So, you’ll probably have to pick up one of the remaining bottles on eBay or something along those lines.

Rose des Vents by Louis Vuitton

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Louis Vuitton has been putting out a ton of new fragrances over the past five years or so. Over the past months, I’ve been working my way through most of them with testing and full reviews. Rose des Vents was released by the luxury brand in 2016. The rose in the name should tell you what it’s all about, but how does it smell? Perform? Is it worth a try?

What does Rose des Vents Smell Like?

Notes include: Centifolia rose absolute, Turkish rose, Bulgarian rose, cedar, Italian iris, pepper, peach, black currant

My Full Review

Before I jump into my thoughts on this fragrance, let’s see how Louis Vuitton describes it:  An olfactory guide, Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud transports us to the middle of a field of roses in Grasse. Buffeted by the wind, this singular flower seems to breathe. Sleek and stately thanks to iris and cedar, this perfume takes on glazed accents as it comes into contact with pepper. Gradually, the composition becomes as delicate as the skin of a velvety fruit.

Rose des Vents starts off with its roses taking center stage. It’s familiar, a well done rose that smells quite nice. This is joined by a fresh spiciness and greenish aroma that sitting underneath the top petals.

The fresh spice is from the pepper note. It doesn’t stay around for the entire wear, but it plays a fairly prominent role in the beginning.

There are some fruity notes in here, peach and black currant. However, this leans heavily to the rose floral side of things. The fruits add a sheer juiciness to the underlying composition, but the actual weighting of these notes is pretty small.

While the roses dominate things, the perfume does have a delightful sweetness and fresh exuberance about it.

The overall composition isn’t too complicated. The dry down sees more of that rosy/green combination of the top. There is a light powdery aroma from the iris note and it’s all sitting on top of a fresh woody cedar.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage of Rose des Vents starts out strong. During testing, it was capable of projecting itself pretty far from where it was applied. It’s not a monster fragrance, but the start is very noticeable.

This Louis Vuitton dries down into a moderate perfume. You’ll know it’s there, but it isn’t constantly grabbing attention.

On my skin, I got 8-9.5 hours of wear before it finally faded for good. The performance isn’t incredible by any means, but it does its job well.

Seasonally, this is a lighter rose scent that is best in the spring and summer months. Moderate to warmer temperatures is wear it’ll shine. Though, year round wear is certainly possible for some folks.

Rose des Vents is a very versatile fragrance. It’s not a super sexy night life wear, but it can go casual, semi-formal, to work, etc. I wouldn’t worry too much about getting use out of this one, it’ll be fine in plenty of scenarios.

Overall Impressions of Rose des Vents

Overall, do I like Rose des Vents? I like the smell. I don’t think it’s an amazing perfume, but it’s certainly above average. It’s definitely a scent for lovers of rose as a note. If that describes you, this Vuitton scent is worth a try at least, and one you’ll probably appreciate .

I think the opening with the rose and pepper spice is interesting and attractive. The greenish aroma isn’t great, but it doesn’t diminish my enjoyment too much.

The sheer quality of the fruits doesn’t allow this to get too overwhelming, but I might have liked some extra strength from them. The sweetness is an aspect of Rose des Vents, which I found appealing.

The performance is also solid for what this is.

Rose des Vents isn’t a fragrance that I think that you can particularly go wrong with. Nothing about it is bad or subpar. Is it worth the money? Well, Louis Vuitton says it’s currently their best seller. So, I guess plenty of people dig it. It’s a pretty safe buy at least and probably won’t offend anyone.

Dans la Peau by Louis Vuitton

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Louis Vuitton has really ramped up their perfume releases in the past couple of years. I’m still working my way through the collection and posting up reviews. Today’s entry is one of their earliest scents from back in 2016, Dans La Peau. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it worth a try?

What does Dans la Peau Smell Like?

Notes include: apricot, musk, leather, magnolia, narcissus, jasmine sambac

My Full Review

Let’s see how Louis Vuitton describes this perfume: An infusion of leather, an invitation to explore the senses. Traveling often has the power to embolden desire. Dans La Peau imprints on the skin like indelible ink. 

Apparently, Dans la Peau wasn’t a very popular offering from Louis Vuitton, as it’s already been discontinued by the brand.

It opens up with its apricot note, leather, and the narcissus/magnolia blend. The narcissus actually comes across as somewhat spicy in the mix. Initially, I get more of the magnolia and some narcissus. Later, the jasmine comes through a bit more.

However, the floral notes aren’t the lead here. They stick around for the initial stages and then it just becomes a non-descript floral impression.

The apricot and leather are the main stars early on. Then, it’s a musky leather with sweet apricot for the finale. The apricot is almost candy-like here and not a naturalistic aroma of the fruit itself.

I’m used to the usual raspberry and leather combo, but the apricot works very well with this scent.

It’s clean and smooth, with somewhat of a soapy quality. The musk adds to the clean sort of smell in that final dry down period. Sweet fruity/floral sitting on top of musk with the remaining leather still hanging around.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, this is a lighter to moderate fragrance. Dans La Peau sits close to the skin without a huge radius of projection. Probably, 4-5 feet away from where you applied it, at its peak.

However, the longevity is pretty good, at just over 8 hours of wear. It’s not a powerhouse, but it sticks around and doesn’t quit early. It should be enough for most purposes.

Seasonally, it doesn’t strike me as being stuck in one season. I don’t know about the hottest days of the year, but Dans La Peau would be fine during the rest of the way. I’d say more of a spring or autumn wear than anything.

It does have really nice versatility because it is so inoffensive. You can wear it pretty much anywhere without issue. It’s attractive, not particularly sexy, but I enjoy the aroma. More of a daily wear to semi-formal kind of perfume.

Overall Impressions of Dans la Peau

Overall, do I like Dans la Peau? I do. I’m not super impressed with this one, but I did enjoy wearing it. The leather note has its moments, but it isn’t a pure leather fragrance. My favorite part is when it does shine and is paired with that synthetic apricot note.

The floral and musk notes are the usual ingredients that you’ve smelled a million times. The musk and apricot is nice, but the floral notes didn’t particularly stand out to my nose. It’s a nice perfume that isn’t elite in anyway.

Performance is decent, but it should be for this price point. It’s not a must have from the Louis Vuitton lineup. Just a nice fragrance with some unique qualities thanks to the fruity pairing with the leather note.

Since it’s been discontinued, if you still want it, you should probably get a decanted sample off of eBay before buying a bottle from the remaining stock. It’s too expensive for most folks, just to do a blind buy. Though, Dans la Peau is a solid scent all around.