There is a hazard to naming a perfume “Imagination”. Should a fragrance lover expect something unique and different? Or does the name point out a lack of it? With Louis Vuitton Imagination I can make a case that two-thirds of it lives up to its name.
Longtime readers know I have struggled with the fragrances under the Louis Vuitton brand. I have desired leathery variations. Perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud who has been the perfumer of all 28 perfumes released over the last five years wants a broader collection. One part where he has begun to stake out some interesting territory is in the fresh style of fragrance. Even though they are the opposite of the leather I want I am coming around to enjoying these types of entries within the collection. Imagination falls into this group.
Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud
The opening is a juicy orange given some shadow and texture through tea. M. Cavallier-Belletrud turns the orange from the sunlight surrogate into something a little less bright. I found it an appealing alternative.
The heart is a soapy mixture of neroli and ginger. When it first appears it is as if you’ve just unwrapped a fine milled soap. It takes over for a short period before the citrus accord comes back. A slight sizzle of cinnamon completes this part of the perfume. Right here is a nice take on a fresh summer fragrance.
What happens next is something which happens all too often, ambrox blots out the sun. It eclipses everything that came before in a dry woody torrent. I’ve got enough examples to know it doesn’t have to be this way. There are more restrained uses of ambrox which can be appealing. I continue to believe that it is used in this quantity, so the perfume lasts a long time which is prized by some consumers.
Imagination has 12-14 hour longevity and average sillage.
Combination of luxurious soap and shadowed citrus did show some of what the label promised. Too bad the final stages are the antithesis of that.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Louis Vuitton.
–Mark Behnke
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