Travel With the Perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud

It takes just a few molecules of aroma to transport us instantly to far-off, exotic locales—a deep jungle, a lush valley of bright flowers.

A good perfume makes explorers of us all.

Almost a century ago, Louis Vuitton released its very first fragrance, Heures d’Absence to convey the essence of Parisian spirit to the world. The scent celebrated the Roaring Twenties, a decade renowned for its arts, music, fashion, as well as breakthroughs in areas such as aviation that seemed unimaginable a generation before. The smell carries the joie de vivre of the time, and that innovative spirit comes through in the form of an airplane etched onto the bottle.

Now Louis Vuitton brings the zeitgeist of those old days back to life for a new age in need of that same spirit.

The formula for the 1927 Heures d’Absence scent has been lost to time. The name comes from the country home of the Vuitton family in the Seine-et-Marne region of France. They acquired the property in the 1920s, and it became part of their history right away.

Louis Vuitton’s master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud has rekindled the scent from embers of notes still hanging in the company’s laboratories. He’s created his own formula and given new life to a fragrance of the same name debuting in 2020.

Cavallier-Belletrud’s 2020 Heures d’Absence fragrance presents a bouquet of fresh jasmine from the French town of Grasse, and sambac jasmine from China, which recalls may rose and Pittosporum flowers that bloom along the French Riviera. The floral notes are underscored with the green facets of mimosa from the Tanneron, raspberry, and the rich vanilla notes of Peruvian balm. The scent finishes with a sensuality evoked by Sri Lankan sandalwood and musk.

While the bloom of Chinese jasmine only lasts a few days, the top note in Heures d’Absence captures its essence for a lifetime. A single drop takes you from the south of France to South America to Asia, all in a single breath.

The sillage, or lingering aura, of Heures d’Absence fills the air around you with Louis Vuitton’s trademark elegance. It speaks to world travel and endless possibilities, just like its bygone origins.