Météore.

Météore arrived in 2020 from Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud. The official copy calls it 'a magnetic name that evokes power and light.' Cavallier-Belletrud built the composition around a citrus pyramid, layering three top notes and a warm heart. The base is lean, just Java vetiver, but that's the point. The top opens with a bright, shimmering quality that demands attention. The citrus carries natural tartness and luminosity, a crisp immediacy that feels both modern and timeless. The warm heart provides balance, something for the brightness to rest against without ever becoming heavy or dull. Vetiver anchors everything at the base, its earthy, root-like character keeping the composition grounded. There's a cleanliness here, a sense of forward momentum that feels effortless.

What makes Météore unusual is its restraint at the base. Most citrus fragrances anchor themselves with woods, ambers, or musks. Here, Java vetiver does the work alone. The result is a fragrance that stays clean but not thin, warm but not heavy. The cardamom and nutmeg in the heart don't announce themselves, they soften the citrus edge and give the neroli something to blend into. The vetiver is the quiet foundation that turns 'fresh and citrusy' into something that lasts a full workday without becoming a woody oriental in disguise.

The opening hits sharp and immediate. Sicilian orange, mandarin, and bergamot arrive at once, bright, insistent, awake. A hint of pink pepper and nutmeg adds a spice that cuts through the citrus rather than sweetening it. Within twenty minutes, the neroli begins to bloom. The scent shifts from sharp to warm, from energetic to clean. The cardamom keeps things grounded without ever going heavy. By the third hour, the Java vetiver takes over. The citrus recedes, the spice settles, and what remains is an earthy, slightly smoky drydown that stays close to the skin but refuses to disappear. Eight to ten hours. On some skin types, it reappears the next morning, faint and clean, like a trace the meteor left behind.

Météore arrived in 2020 during a cultural reset in masculine luxury, when men started wearing vintage bags and vintage sunglasses with new haircuts. Before Météore, citrus-vetiver compositions had been relegated to casual fragrances since the 1990s. Cavallier-Belletrud reclaimed these materials as luxury markers, creating a scent that read as distinguished rather than generic. The 2020 launch coincided with Louis Vuitton's broader expansion into lifestyle luxury, and Météore became a gateway fragrance for buyers entering the house's universe.