Released in 2012, La Vie Est Belle from the Lancome house has been a top-seller since it was launched with a timeless marketing campaign headed by the actress, Julia Roberts.
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The Inspiration and Production
The idea and inspiration behind the scent were to create a timeless, classic fragrance that would appeal to women for its simplicity and ease of wearing throughout the day and night.
The process of production was not a fast one as the skills of three perfumers were combined to work on a scent that is fruity and floral with a sense of Oriental mystery to its finishing notes.
The Fragrance Notes of La Vie Est Belle
Top Notes
The construction of Lancome’s La Vie Est Belle is based on a series of simple, sweet top notes which provide a crisp, clear starting point for this floral fragrance.
The top two notes of the scent are pear and black currant, which are first noted when the scent is sprayed for the first few minutes.
The fruity top notes of the scent allow for a sweet start to the fragrance with the pear odor drifting across the start of the fragrance followed by a surge of blackcurrant scent.
Middle Notes
Following the emergence of the top notes, the middle layer of this effortlessly sweet and fruity fragrance comes through a few minutes after the first application.
This layer is where the floral nature of the fragrance bursts into life and heads to the fore. In the middle layer of La Vie Est Belle is the point when the combination of fruity and floral comes together in its major form with the use of orange blossom as a key ingredient.
The orange blossom slowly gives way to other floral scents including hints of jasmine and iris which push toward the top of the scent in its middle layer.
Key Note
To many experts, the use of an iris is the key ingredient in La Vie Est Belle as this provides the bridge between the top, middle, and base layers.
Base Notes
Finally, the base layer of this fragrance from Lancome emerges with more layers of sweetness with praline included at this layer for a long-lasting level of sweet scent.
The sweetness which runs through each layer of this scent continues at the base layer with vanilla adding to the classic sweet style of this timeless scent which has been expertly created to reflect the classic nature of the brand.
At the base layer of this scent, the final odors to emerge are those which add a little Oriental mystery to the fragrance. The final scents to emerge are tonka bean and patchouli as they maintain their scent throughout the day.
The Perfumers
Lancome’s La Vie Est Belle was created as a team effort with three expert perfumers working together to create this stunning fragrance which brings together many timeless scents.
Among those who worked on the more than 5,000 attempts at creating La Vie Est Belle was Olivier Polge, who is now the head of perfume creation at the legendary Chanel.
Prior to his move to Chanel, Polge worked with the International Flavors and Fragrances group where he developed fragrances for Lancome, Dior, and Paco Rabanne. Experienced perfumer, Dominique Ropion also aided in the development of the fragrance to add to his own impressive list of clients which includes Dior and Givenchy.
La Vie Est Belle’s Achievements
The awarding of the Master Perfumer name is something reserved for only the best fragrance developers, of whom Anne Flipo is one. A consistent collaborator with Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo has worked with Burberry, Chloe, and Jimmy Choo to develop high-quality, best-selling fragrances.
Longevity
Lancome La Vie Est Belle is a long-lasting fragrance that can make its mark throughout the day and evening without the need for consistent reapplication.
Lasting over eight hours, the fragrance was created for women and is a scent suited to daily wear around the office or for lunch meetings. Not only is this impressive scent well known for its easy daytime scent, but it also has enough complexity and floral scents to its formula to allow it to be a hit at more formal, evening events.
By crossing over the border of day to night, this scent becomes a popular option for any time of the day or night.
What’s Behind the Marketing?
The marketing campaign for the launch of Lancome’s La Vie Est Belle was one of the most popular and has been fronted by the actress Julia Roberts since the launch of the fragrance in the Fall of 2012.
The impressive nature of the marketing campaign was aided by the inclusion of the respected photographer and film director, Tarsem Singh who has been working with the brand since the launch of the fragrance.
Not only has the marketing campaign for the fragrance been developed to reflect the timeless nature of the scent and the brand it represents. Lancome has remained true to the initial perfume bottle design it developed in 1949 with its heavy base and a large metal stopper covering the spray applicator beneath.
The Packaging
The design of the bottle has been developed to reflect the classic nature of the scent within with its clean lines and heavy base showing the impressive nature of the scent within.
The feminine aspects of the scent are also reflected in the fact the bottle provides a pink color to the liquid within which allows the user to feel they are part of an impressive brand developed over a long period of time.
Perfecting the fragrance, marketing, and packaging of the fragrance for over three years, the La Vie Est Belle fragrance has been a success since it was first launched in 2012 and relaunched in 2017.
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Annie is a self-motivated, ambitious, enthusiastic individual and a self-proclaimed "people person." Her passion for communication and problem-solving is evident in a variety of media. She currently lives with her family in Washington DC.