The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
By Invitation launched in 2016 as Michael Bublé's first fragrance, a direct translation of the singer's love-song sensibility into scent. Bublé partnered with fragrance veteran Mike Edwards that summer, and together they brought in French perfumer Karine Dubreuil-Sereni to shape the composition. The brief was simple: craft a story, let the audience feel it, keep it recognizable. The result is a floral-fruity fragrance built around the idea of invitation, an intimate moment extended, a door opened. Thirty markets worldwide received it at launch, positioned not as celebrity perfume but as a personal gesture.
What makes By Invitation distinctive is its structure: a bright, tart opening that signals freshness, softening into a powdery floral heart that feels familiar and warm, then settling into a base that refuses to let go. The praline and vanilla anchor the composition, keeping the florals from flying too light. It's not trying to surprise you. It's trying to stay. That restraint, the willingness to be sweet, to be soft, to be exactly what it is, is what separates it from fragrances that hedge their way through a pyramid.
The evolution
The first spray hits red fruits and bergamot, raspberry and something almost cherry-like, bright and lifted. Bergamot keeps it from becoming jam. Thirty minutes in, the florals arrive: peony first, then jasmine, then lily of the valley settling into a powdery warmth that reads as clean skin, not loud perfume. The handoff from heart to base is where it earns its reputation. Praline and vanilla arrive together, not competing, the praline adds a nutty sweetness, the vanilla adds depth. Sandalwood smooths everything. Musk keeps it close, intimate, the kind of sillage that someone next to you notices before you enter the room. Six to eight hours on most skin types, with a drydown that smells like warm skin and a hint of something sweet.
Cultural impact
By Invitation occupies a specific space: sweet enough to appeal broadly, soft enough to wear daily, romantic without being naive. It sits alongside other floral-fruity women's fragrances that prioritize warmth and intimacy over projection and drama. The line has grown to include Rose Gold, Peony Noir, and Crazy Love, each built around a clear emotional accord.
