![]() ![]() It feels celebratory and hopeful, mainly because there’s so much in front of you, so much left to experience. Youth, or the illusion of a life free from the drags of adult responsibility, has a distinct punch. The fragrance hits you with a heady brightness that’s sweet and feminine (from the citrus and flowers), then over time reveals other layers (musk and sandalwood) that are dense, grounded and almost spiritual. There are multiple variations to choose from on the palate: the citrus quintet of blood orange, lemon, red mandarin, bergamot and lime with Tiaré flower and sandalwood. The scent starts as one thing and matures until it is another scent entirely. It evolves and unfolds in the same way a day or night in L.A. On skin - at least on my skin - City of Stars reacts to the body’s chemical output naturally. And City of Stars grounds you in awareness of a moment - and, most important, serves as a reminder that it’s fleeting. Manufactured scents like perfumes also can anchor us to the present. The City of Stars energy is more aspirational, idealized, sanitized, but essential nonetheless. ![]() There are no hints of bacon-wrapped hot dog topped with grilled onions and peppers, no traces of burnt air from fireworks. Nor does it smell like a romanticized night of bad decisions. It does not smell like structural failures. Louis Vuitton’s new fragrance, City of Stars, is the latest attempt to bottle up Los Angeles - the idea of it and what it inspires. ![]() Birria truck parked right in front of it.Īt the base: the runoff from Phillips Bar-B-Que on Crenshaw the cigarette smoke on your friend’s hair when you hug them goodbye after the rave remnants of veggie tacos on your fingertips from the Crazy Tacos truck that’s sometimes parked on 9th and Main late-night Korean barbecue the polarizing stench of Le Labo Santal 33. There would be a mix of Suavitel wafting out of the 24-hour coin laundromat on Adams and consomé from the L.A. The heart notes would be jasmine from peak-season walks with your dog through East Hollywood after sundown summer fire season freshly cut flowers - or, more specifically, fumbling out of a warehouse party in the early morning, the sun barely peeking out, and walking home through the Flower District. that exists in memory and experience, the top notes probably would include the sour hit of someone’s blunt on a windless day when the air is hot and thick, leaving the smoke to wrap around you like a hug the smokiness of mezcal on breath when you’re on to your fourth deep conversation of the night the dank of still water at Echo Park Lake. If you were to craft a perfume of the L.A. There is something distinct about the air. A person’s house can have a specific scent oftentimes, it goes unnoticed day to day, but some days - when a person returns after a long time away, when a friend walks through the door for the first time - the smell announces itself. Los Angeles is such an expanse of diverse geographies, microclimates, neighbors, businesses, cultures the city smells like a lot of different things, at different times, in different places, to different people. What, exactly, was I smelling? Scent and sense of place are interconnected. As soon as I saw the downtown skyline - driving north on the 110, or south coming down the 5 - I’d roll down all my car windows, take the deepest breath I’d taken all day and utter the words: “Smells like L.A.” Read the full issue here.Įvery time I left and came back, it was the same. This story is part of Image issue 10, “Clarity,” a living document of how L.A. ![]()
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