It’s overcast and a bit chilly in Malibu—and I packed lightly. Too lightly. I’m outside on my back taking part in a sound bath, the audible vibrations of the signing bowls mingling with the shrill call of seagulls in a such a way that it almost seems as if the tones were purposely composed together as some sort of odd symphony. When it’s over, I head down to a Reiki session, lounging on a heated (thankfully!) bed while my healer—a softspoken woman with a studio in Los Feliz—puts her hands on me and quietly mumbles something about ancestors. I couldn’t quite make it out. But I had to go: Yogic breath work was starting in 15 minutes.

If all of this reads like a retreat for tightly wound Apple executives or overscheduled Valley types, you might be surprised to learn that I’m at the official launch event for Pacific Chill, the latest parfum de cologne from French luxury house Louis Vuitton. Like the brand’s other four other scents, Pacific Chill is inspired by California. But it’s the first in the collection that Vuitton master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud has deemed a “wellness fragrance,” inspired by the detoxifying green smoothies you’ll find on nearly every corner of LA County’s 4,000 square miles.

It doesn’t take long to observe the obvious parallels—Pacific Chill’s note profile reads like a juice bar menu. Carrot seed essence mixes with blackcurrant, orange, lemon, mint, and basil to create a bright, fruity, slightly herbaceous blend that is indeed immediately evocative of a health tonic. “The choice of the ingredients was so crucial—carrot is not used very often in fragrance,” says Belletrud.

The idea came to life as he and frequent Louis Vuitton collaborator, multimedia artist Alex Israel, were having a morning green juice together. Israel has painted landscapes to accompany the outer packaging of all five of Belletrud’s scents for Vuitton, and the two were meeting to discuss their next project. In between sips, inspiration struck: “The taste of the smoothie was so nice—I had such energy—and the ingredients were so simple: carrot juice, ginger, and squeezed fresh orange,” Belletrud recalls. “And that’s when I said, ‘The starting point of the next scent will be this detox smoothie.’”

Louis Vuitton Pacific Chill

Pacific Chill

Louis Vuitton Pacific Chill

$300 at Louis Vuitton

Of course, the worlds of commercial fragrance and wellness have been colliding with increasing frequency over the past several years. Consumers accustomed to zealously scanning food labels have turned their attention to beauty products, giving rise to a crop of “clean” fragrances that eschew certain chemicals deemed “toxic.” Neuroscience was next: In 2019, The Nue Co. launched an entire category with its Functional Fragrance, a blend of green cardamom, bergamot, and cilantro that meant to influence the well-established connection between cognition and our sense of smell. Others followed from brands such as Brown Girl Jane, Edeniste, and Heretic, and now major fragrance manufacturers such as IFF, Firmenich, and Givaudan all have programs dedicated to developing scents with mind-body benefits. It’s aromatherapy for the Lululemon set.

Pacific Chill feels different, the first fragrance to be directly inspired by a hyper-specific facet of popular wellness culture. Belletrud admits his approach is more intuitive than prescriptive; rather than studying brain waves, he was interested in creating an experience that elicits the feeling of taking care of yourself. “I’m not a scientist,” he says. “Some people will say this ingredient makes you feel this way, another ingredient will make you feel another way. I don’t know about that. For me, when you wear a fragrance, you are connecting with your childhood. We’re capturing moments and putting them in a bottle.”

His words couldn’t be more resonant right now: 2023 is the moment for a fragrance that pays homage to juice culture. Spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global wellness market has reached a staggering $1.5 trillion, with an annual estimated growth of 5 to 10 percent, according to global management consultants McKinsey & Company, which finds that consumers view wellness through a broader lens than ever before. Is this just the beginning? Is a hot yoga fragrance next? Will Peloton begin pumping a signature sillage into its studios the way many luxury hotels do? Could happen.

In truth, I’ve never been much of a green smoothie drinker—I’ll have a large Dunkin’s iced with milk and two Splendas, thank you—but when I spritz on Pacific Chill, I find its appeal undeniable. It’s crisp and bright and…happy. And that’s enough for me.

Pacific Chill is available today at select Louis Vuitton stores and on louisvuitton.com.

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Brian Underwood

Brian Underwood is the beauty director at Women’s Health. He is an award-winning journalist with more than 15 years of experience covering beauty and lifestyle for several national media outlets and previously served as beauty and wellness director at Oprah Daily. His work has appeared in Woman’s Day, Life & Style Weekly, Good Housekeeping, and many more. He also serves as a member of the Skin Cancer Foundation’s gala committee and lives in New York City with his daughter.