Les Parfums Louis Vuitton

Les Parfums Louis Vuitton have served like a library of scents for the modern traveller who, no matter where they lay their hat, will reside in the romantic ritual of the long voyage; the fog of a steam train as it leaves the station, bell boys and beaten-up tobacco brown trunks. Until now, that fantasy was reserved for Vuitton’s female adventurers, but Jacques Cavallier (owner of the same nose that distinguished the debut) now dedicates five intrepid scents for men.

Curiosity guides each pillar to evoke airs left off the map. Nouveau Monde is an homage to the legendary 19th century explorer, and one of the brand’s earliest loyal clients, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. He who lent his name to the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, informed the heart of his honeyed cocoa scent, bitter darkness broken by the glint of leathery oud and the amber lilt of saffron. Sur la Route recalls the tingly tickle of butterflies one feels on the way to a tender encounter, a bracing citrus zest blended with blades of fresh-cut grass and cedar to speak of excitement, energy and optimism.

Greeting his arrival, Attrape-Rêves extends the women’s offering with the magical wonder of an awe-inspiring experience. Lychee, bergamot and ginger dance upon a base of Turkish rose and patchouli, lightly spiced with the whimsical world of a dream-catcher. In-line with the men’s new five fragrances, each color-kissed jucie occupies a radiant bottle designed by Mark Newson, available as generous 200ml refillables, carry-on compliant 100mls, and for the most avid globetrotters, as a leather-cased assortment of each, complete with a black 7.5ml bottle and four magnetic new-gen refils that fasten to the bottle with a satisfying click.

But that’s not all. Man and woman finally meet within the unisex essence, Ombre Nomade. Concocted from the rarest raw ingredients, this is the tonic of olfactory connoisseurs. That most precious resin of the Middle East strikes like a plume of smoke, the unmistakable musk of oud tamed by the slight bite of raspberry. Rosat geranium and benzoin chase the tail of intensity, this enigmatic edition encased in a flacon that’s fittingly marked with mystique. Its glass takes a night-dark wash, hot-stamped in patinated gold-finished metal, engraved with the signature interlaced LV.