City Of Stars

I gotta say, my first impression of this was not a good one. I thought it was just a screechy, sharp citrus. But man, did my opinion ever change after a few minutes. The drydown is so good! I'm not a fan of Louis Vuitton at all. I don't typically ever step foot in their stores as I just don't vibe with any of their products, but I ended up going in with a friend and noticed they had a perfume section, which I didn't even know they offered! The bottles were absolutely gorgeous, especially City of Stars. The packaging, the name, the colours... it's all such a vibe in and of itself and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I loved the smell as well. I got a few samples of different scents and this one and Imagination are my top two favourites. For $500 though, I don't think I'll get a full bottle because let's be real... That's insane for what it is. All of the scents are really nice, but I'd rather spend that money on groceries for the next 4 weeks. That's just me though, that's just my opinion and I don't judge anyone for their spending habits. Maybe one day I'll cave and purchase a LV fragrance, who knows! But anyways, this perfume opens very citrusy, like a bug spray or citrus cleaning product, but that doesn't last long. It eventually starts to soften and becomes a really smooth, powdery, summery, vacation type of scent. It's really, really nice. It's in the same realm as Beach Walk and Soleil Blanc, both of which I have, and another reason why I don't feel like I need to spend $500 on a bottle at this time. I think this could be a signature scent for someone who likes to smell fresh, clean and beachy. Although it's got that luxury sunscreen vibe, I imagine it would work well during all seasons, day and night. I love the powdery note in here. It gives it a little something special. I like this more than Beach Walk and way more than Soleil Blanc. Overall I'd give this perfume a 9/10. I took one point off for the price. If it wasn't Louis Vuitton it would probably be much more affordable, but you're paying for the name, and that's fair. I feel really happy when I'm wearing this! It's a bright, fresh summer scent, but also very comforting and relaxing.

City of stars compiles in a bottle impossible LA midnights, sodium-vapor halos, laughter ricocheting off stucco walls, citrus trees trembling under moonlight, and god is it sublime. The fragrance begins with a sigh of bergamot and blood orange, not screechy but silken, faintly sweet and edged with something rounder, less volatile. Like fruit oil aged in memory. But quickly, a creamy gardenia-like florality steps in. Tiare, I suppose. It's powdered, yes, but never chalky or stifling. More like pollen drifting in warm air, the bare whisper of makeup on a velvet cheek, a haze. A shimmer. Tropical petals as illusion: creamy without weight, photorealistic but softly so. The musk is perfectly tuned, not laundry-fresh nor animalic, just present as breath behind the ear. Not loud, not creamy, just a smooth hum, underpinned by a touch sun-warmed wood beneath bare feet. Now, powder and citrus is usually a no-go for me. Something about the pithy brightness clashing with the softness, like lemon zest stirred into talc usually reads to my nose an uncanny valley of textures. But here, wow—it works! Maybe because the citrus leans into fruit, not rind or zest. Maybe because the powder isn’t dry, but lush. Or maybe the whole thing is just so flawlessly emulsified it doesn’t matter. The transitions simply melt, like the emergence of spring. That first warm night you don’t need a jacket. That half-smile of maybe. In short: this is how you do florals with brains. And citrus without ego. And powder without cloy. It’s warmth, privacy, mirage and vibrancy in chiaroscuro. It’s the reflection of glowing neon on damp concrete, the refraction of colour, hope, love onto shimmering stars. And one of these stars have definitely landed on me.

I love city of stars so much. The bottle, the name, the luxury sunscreeny lightly tropical vibe brings my mind straight to Los Angeles, the city where I took my first solo trip to see a friend. This fragrance reminds me of a warm night on the coast, after you had your early evening shower while on vacation. This definitely could be perceived as a more feminine leaning dna, but if you ask me, I think it’s perfectly unisex, using recognizable notes from masculine and feminine fragrances. But it’s not perfumey like people make it out to be online, it’s got hints of like what my sisters would put on as like a skin cream or tanning lotion, even more of a reason why it makes me think of the beach, but it’s not too womanly to rock as a guy who’s secure in himself and wears scents for his own enjoyment. This fragrance has the freshest powder/musky accords I’ve ever smelled, like a portion of the citrus from the top hangs around for a few hours. It’s so uplifting, kind of like imagination and afternoon swim, my other two LVs, the only LV fragrances I found good enough to pay that stack of cash... So yeah, I love it. I traded this small full initio musk therapy, which was from a blind trade, I got a good deal on it for what I traded to them, but it was too feminine leaning for me, reminding me of my ex girlfriends signature scent 🙁 I would’ve given it to a girl if I had one around, but I don’t so I traded it to a guy on marketplace for this 80% full city of stars, I’m going to rock the hell out of this one all summer, and layering it with imagination SPARKY OUT

Currently own fragrances more expensive than this one, niche and designer... but genuinely nothing is able to beat City Of Stars for me. My only scent that I can say was love at first sniff. Walked in to LV to smell different hyped fragrances, mostly thinking about getting Imagination or Les Sables Roses but I smelled City Of Stars and KNEW I had to buy it right then and there. Scent: Very sunscreen-y and citrusy which isn’t suited to everyone’s personal taste but it’s mass appealing, fresh, slightly powdery and smells absolutely DIVINE in the air while also being unique as I’ve never really smelled another perfume that’s similar or as high quality to this. Performance: Citrus scents don’t tend to have good performance but on my skin City Of Stars lasts quite a long while, around 5 hours before becoming a skin scent before vanishing after 8 hours. Projection is also good though nothing crazy, decent scent bubble and people around me have been able to smell it whenever I’ve used it. Versatility: MONSTER versatile. Genuinely feel that it’s suitable for every season, weather and situation just because you’ll smell fresh and clean, almost like when using a blue fragrance but with much more sparkling personality. Scent: 10/10 Performance: 8/10 Versatility: 10/10 Personal Score: 10/10 🤩 THAT’S WHY HE’S THE MVP. THAT’S WHY HE’S THE GOAT. THE GOAT.

Yes, it's me again, the greatest reviewer of all time (self proclaimed). Initially I absolutely loved this. But I think that was because I kept on mixing Symphony and AS with this (I kept testing the three together). But after testing it out a few more times individually, and on skin, I've decided that it really isn't that great.100% agree with the people that said this should've been named On the Beach instead. The opening is a massively bitter citrus that lasts for a whole 10 mins and goes into the middle notes, which smell exactly like sunscreen. There's a bit of citrus bitterness in the background still, and the sandalwood starts to show, but the sunscreen scent is undeniable. And yes, I unfortunately also get Soleil Blanc from this - smells like smoother SB with sweet/bitter citrus. I also did not like Soleil Blanc much... It's a powdery, soft dry down that very quickly becomes a skin scent. You'll probably honestly get more projection with sunscreen. It's very pleasant, and I do really like it. But for the same price, the other LVs are just a lot better. This does incredibly well when layered with other LVs. like Afternoon Swim and Symphony, but I simply can't justify buying this when AS, PC and Imagination exists. For now unfortunately, this will be removed from my to-buy list :( 7/10