Louis Vuitton Stellar Times is an extrait de parfum1 launched in 2021 and composed by Jacques Cavallier Belletrud2. It wears as bright, slightly fizzy orange blossom over creamy, resinous amber, and wear-time reports run from modest to days on clothing. It is also divisive: fans call it radiant, while critics find it soapy or animalic.
In short
- Notes: white amber, orange blossom and Peru balsam3, with no top, heart or base split4.
- Wear time: from “doesn’t last all that long”2 to still faintly there the next day on skin2, with one Parfumo reviewer reporting 10-12 hours5 and days on clothing.
- Style: listed for women and men2; many wearers say it leans feminine but is fully unisex5.
- Best for: special occasions and date nights, at a maximum of 2-3 sprays5.
- Try it first: Scento sells Stellar Times in 2 ml, 5 ml and 8 ml vials.
Key figures
Stellar Times at a glance
These are the verified facts about the perfume, with the source of each.
Curious? Try Louis Vuitton Stellar Times as a decant, from €19.90Try it| Detail | What we found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| House | Louis Vuitton | 2 ,3 |
| Perfumer | Jacques Cavallier Belletrud | 2 ,4 |
| Launch | 2021; in Louis Vuitton stores from 7 October 2021 | 1 |
| Collection | Les Extraits (launched with five perfumes) | 1 |
| Concentration | Extrait, 30% | 1 |
| Family | Oriental Floral (Fragrantica); floral-sweet (Parfumo) | 2 ,3 |
| Gender | For women and men | 2 ,3 |
| Key notes | White amber, orange blossom, Peru balsam | 3 ,7 |
| Bottle | Frank Gehry’s first perfume bottle, refillable at perfume fountains | 8 ,9 |
The notes, and why there is no pyramid
Louis Vuitton lists three notes: white amber, orange blossom and Peru balsam3 ,7. Fragrantica words it as “Orange Blossom, Amber and Woody Notes”2, which is how many wearers describe the soft wood under the amber. Louis Vuitton’s own copy calls the perfume “An amber odyssey through time and space.”7
You will not find a top, heart and base here, and that is deliberate. The perfumer said: “I wanted to deconstruct the very architecture of perfume. That’s how Les Extraits Collection was born: five perfumes with no top, heart or base notes, in order to reveal the quintessence of each olfactory family.”4 Read the three notes as one list rather than as stages.
- Orange blossom
- The bright floral at the front of the scent. Louis Vuitton describes it as “filled with orange blossom that whirls on its effervescent freshness”.7
- White amber
- A soft, pale amber accord that Louis Vuitton calls “soft, woody white amber”.7 Fragrantica’s news report adds that Stellar Times is “a deep, woody fragrance with a touch of orange blossom and amber”.1
- Peru balsam
- A resin with vanilla-like sweetness: “The delicious vanilla notes of Peru balsam add a finishing touch”.7 FormesDeLuxe also reports ambergris in the formula.9
On the amber, Jacques Cavallier Belletrud said: “With the ambergris that floats in the oceans, and classic amber that is very vanilla and resinous, I decided to make a soft, white, woody, deep amber.”4 If amber is new to you, our explainer on how amber warms a fragrance and our ambergris guide cover the family. Because Stellar Times is an extrait, the concentration explainer shows where it sits.
How it wears from first spray to drydown
The opening is the most commented part. A Fragrantica member review (September 2026) says: “The orange blossom has a fizziness/effervescent feel to it making it somewhat airy but also insanely long lasting.”2 Another (August 2026) says: “It smells like luminous citrus melting into creamy amber”.2
The body turns creamy and resinous. A Fragrantica member review (August 2026) calls it “resinous, creamy orange blossom with some woodiness to it.”2 A Parfumo reviewer (April 2025) puts it as “an orange blossom dipped in resinous peru balsam”, with white amber acting “as a veil for the contrast between light of the flower, and dark of the balsam.”10
The drydown is soft and woody. A Fragrantica member review (July 2026) finds it “Floral and woody with a slight bit of smoke in the drydown”.2 A Parfumo reviewer (August 2024) sums up the path: “Clean orange blossom, lightly sweet amber nestled on very fine, soft wood. Notes of Peru balsam truly masterfully round it off.”5 The same reviewer adds that “somehow it remains linear, but somehow it becomes finer and more luxurious over time.”5
Longevity and sillage
Wear-time reports disagree, and that is worth knowing before you buy a full bottle. Parfumo’s summary says “The longevity is above-average.”3 Individual wearers range much wider, as the table shows.
| Source | What they report |
|---|---|
| Parfumo reviewer, August 2024 | 10-12 hours on skin, and on clothing “even longer, for days”5 |
| Parfumo reviewer, April 2025 | “a very strong, sweeping sillage and longevity for literally weeks (on clothes anyway!)”10 |
| Fragrantica member, May 2026 | Applied at 17:00 and still faintly detectable on the hand at 13:00 the next day, even after washing2 |
| Fragrantica member, June 2026 | One spray on a paper strip still noticeable “Four days since I sprayed this”2 |
| Fragrantica member, May 2026 | “It’s quite strong but doesn’t last all that long.”2 |
| Fragrantica member, October 2026 | “I adore Stellar Times but I don’t find it has the exceptional performance people claim it does”2 |
| Parfumo summary | “The longevity is above-average.”3 |
The pattern is that clothing holds it far longer than skin, and skin varies. If you want a strong result, try a decant on your own skin before committing to a bottle.
On projection, the Parfumo reviewer says “It is perfectly perceptible, always present, but never too intrusive.”5 A Fragrantica member review (August 2026) agrees it does not build a wall: “The fragrance doesn’t surround you in a dense bubble; instead, it lingers in the air and leaves behind a delicate, captivating trail”.2
Occasions and how many sprays
The Parfumo reviewer places it “For special occasions (wedding, date night, special client meeting …)” and recommends “a maximum of 2 - 3, in exceptional cases 4 - 5 sprays.”5 A light hand matters. A Fragrantica member review (August 2026) warns that “if you aren’t an oversprayer like some of us then it might be too strong upon first wear.”2 Another says “the sharp opening can be overwhelming if oversprayed.”2
Who it suits, and who should skip it
Who it suits
Stellar Times suits wearers who love orange blossom or amber and want a polished, radiant extrait for evenings out. On gender, the Parfumo reviewer says “The tendency clearly leans towards the feminine. Nevertheless, it is 100% unisex.”5 A Fragrantica member review (July 2026) says it is “definitely a little feminine leaning, but I think a guy could still definitely pull this off with no issues”.2 Under a Parfumo statement, replies read “I find it very wearable as a man.” and “I think it’s perfectly unisex.”11
Who should skip it
Fragrantica lists animalic and soapy among its main accords2, and several wearers notice them. One member review (September 2026) says: “The soapy quality can feel a little dated” and “Some may also find its animalic undertones a little challenging, while the sharp opening can be overwhelming if oversprayed.”2 Another (June 2026) says: “To my nose, it’s extremely leathery, animalic … The opening is incredibly strong and overwhelming”.2 A third (September 2026) puts it simply: “It’s very animalic on me.”2
Two more reasons to hesitate. The September 2026 reviewer finds that “Stellar Times feels rather linear.” and that it “leans quite feminine to my nose, despite being marketed as unisex.”2 A Parfumo statement from August 2023 calls it “A well-groomed but unspectacular orange blossom scent and very feminine.”11 So skip it if you dislike soapy or animalic facets, want a perfume that changes a lot as it dries, or find strong openings overwhelming.
Where it sits in the Louis Vuitton line
Les Extraits launched with five perfumes in 2021: Cosmic Cloud, Dancing Blossom, Rhapsody, Stellar Times and Symphony, each representing a different olfactive family1. Frank Gehry designed the bottles, which Louis Vuitton calls his first perfume bottle8 ,9. For the wider range, see our guide to the best Louis Vuitton perfumes and the Louis Vuitton brand page.
Symphony by Louis Vuitton
Symphony is the sister perfume from the same collection, “made of fresh ginger zest with bergamot and grapefruit.”1 It suits readers who want the extrait format without orange blossom. Try Symphony as a decant. Among unisex perfumes bought on Scento in Europe, Symphony ranks #6, and #15 across Europe, from October 2025 to September 20266.
Ambre Levant by Louis Vuitton
Ambre Levant, launched in 2026, is an Oriental Woody amber with cinnamon and mandarin on top, incense and white pepper in the middle, and ambergris, amber, oud and labdanum underneath12. It is darker and spicier, for readers who want amber without the orange blossom. Try Ambre Levant as a decant.
Across Europe on Scento, Imagination is the most-bought perfume of any house (#1) and Ombre Nomade is #46. Louis Vuitton is the house with the largest share of paid decant units, at 9.5%6.
Layering it
One Fragrantica member (July 2026) suggests: “Layering combination — Grand Soir by MFK as a base layer with this over the top”.2 Grand Soir is an Oriental from 2016 by Francis Kurkdjian, with Spanish labdanum and orange on top, lavender and Siam benzoin in the middle, and amber, vanilla, tonka bean, musk and cedar underneath13. The idea is a deeper amber floor with Stellar Times’ orange blossom over it. Our Grand Soir review covers that base in detail.
How to try it before a full bottle
Louis Vuitton’s own product pages say a complimentary sample comes with a bottle order8. Given how much skin chemistry changes the reports above, a wear test is sensible. Scento sells Stellar Times in 2 ml, 5 ml and 8 ml vials, hand-poured from the original bottle with no dilution. Most people start with a 2 ml: 76% of paid decant units at Scento are 2 ml, with 5 ml at 11% and 8 ml at 9.5%6.
How we compiled this
We read the sources below on 30 October 2026. Fragrantica and Parfumo reviews are quoted as attributed members and reviewers, never by username, and the reviews cover posts up to 27 October 2026. Louis Vuitton’s own Stellar Times page was not readable, so its description is quoted as reproduced by ScentAdvice, and collection facts come from Louis Vuitton’s page for a sister perfume in the same collection. Scento figures are shares and ranks from our own order data for Europe, October 2025 to September 2026.
Sources
- Louis Vuitton Les Extraits Collection ~ New Fragrances, Fragrantica news, Sanja Pekić, .
- Stellar Times Louis Vuitton perfume - a fragrance for women and men 2021, Fragrantica, member reviews up to .
- Stellar Times Louis Vuitton 2021, Parfumo, updated .
- Louis Vuitton Unveils New Fragrance Collection Les Extraits, A&E Magazine, Lindsay Judge, .
- Parfumo review “complete perfection”, .
- Scento Fragrance Index, Europe, paid decant units by share and rank, October 2025 to September 2026.
- Stellar Times (2021) • LOUIS VUITTON, ScentAdvice, quoting Louis Vuitton’s own description, .
- Myriad, Louis Vuitton Singapore product page (Les Extraits collection copy), read 30 October 2026.
- Louis Vuitton taps Frank Gehry for flacon design, FormesDeLuxe, Katie Nichol, .
- Parfumo review of Stellar Times, .
- Parfumo statement on Stellar Times, .
- Ambre Levant Louis Vuitton, Fragrantica.
- Grand Soir Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Fragrantica.
Your questions, answered
- What does Louis Vuitton Stellar Times smell like?
- Wearers describe a bright, slightly fizzy orange blossom over a creamy, resinous amber, with soft woods and a vanilla-like Peru balsam underneath. Fragrantica members and Parfumo reviewers use these terms. Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud calls it a soft, white, woody, deep amber, according to A&E Magazine.
- What are the notes of Stellar Times?
- Parfumo and Louis Vuitton's own description list white amber, orange blossom and Peru balsam. There is no top, heart and base split: the perfumer told A&E Magazine that Les Extraits was built with no top, heart or base notes, so the three notes are best read as one list.
- How long does Stellar Times last?
- Reports vary. A Parfumo reviewer reports 10-12 hours on skin and days on clothing, and a Fragrantica member could still smell it faintly the next day. Another Fragrantica member says it doesn't last all that long. Parfumo's summary calls the longevity above-average. Skin type makes the difference.
- Is Stellar Times for men or women?
- Fragrantica and Parfumo both list it for women and men. Many wearers say it leans feminine, but a Parfumo reviewer calls it 100% unisex and a Fragrantica member says a man could pull it off with no issues. Another Fragrantica member finds it leans feminine despite being marketed as unisex.
- Is Stellar Times an extrait?
- Yes. Stellar Times belongs to Louis Vuitton's Les Extraits collection, which Fragrantica news describes as concentrated at 30 percent. The collection launched in 2021 with five perfumes, each representing a different olfactive family, and Stellar Times was composed by Jacques Cavallier Belletrud.
- Who made Stellar Times and when?
- Jacques Cavallier Belletrud composed it, and it launched in 2021, according to Fragrantica. Fragrantica news reports that Les Extraits reached Louis Vuitton stores from 7 October 2021. FormesDeLuxe reports that the bottle was designed by architect Frank Gehry, his first fragrance flacon for the house.
- When should you wear Stellar Times?
- A Parfumo reviewer suggests special occasions such as a wedding, a date night or an important client meeting, at a maximum of 2-3 sprays. A Fragrantica member warns that the sharp opening can be overwhelming if oversprayed, so a light hand works best.
- Is the Stellar Times bottle refillable?
- Yes. Louis Vuitton's own Les Extraits product copy says the bottle is refillable in stores equipped with a perfume fountain. The bottle was designed by Frank Gehry and is topped with a hand-polished metal cap, according to Louis Vuitton and FormesDeLuxe.
Cite this page
Scento (2026). Louis Vuitton Stellar Times Review: Who Should Wear It. Updated October 30, 2026. https://www.scento.com/blog/louis-vuitton-stellar-times-review
