Contre Moi

Louis Vuitton does not break Contre Moi down into tiers and prefers to name its materials: an infusion and an absolute of Madagascar vanilla, a Tahitensis vanilla, orange blossom, centifolia rose from Grasse, magnolia essence and ambrette seed.

Top

Green notes with an herbal edge, cited as early as the launch announcement, are placed at the top. Kafkaesque, wearing the fragrance in September 2016, smells vanilla straight away, edged with a few rose petals, the orange blossom keeping to the side.

Heart

Magnolia, orange blossom and centifolia rose form the bouquet, which the house likens to a tulle of petals. According to Kafkaesque, the orange blossom gains ground after about twenty minutes and gradually pushes the rose to the edges.

Base

Vanilla dominates the base in its three forms, with ambrette seed and its musky accents, and bitter cocoa. The press kit credits the Madagascar vanilla infusion with animalic, leathery facets.

What stays out

Widely repeated lists add bergamot and lemon at the top and a pear among the flowers; the house does not name them. Wikiparfum keeps the pear and a musk, which Kafkaesque perceives as a clean, sugary white musk.

What the label declares

The ingredient list opens with alcohol, fragrance and water. It declares several allergens, including linalool, limonene, citronellol, geraniol, farnesol, citral, benzyl alcohol and eugenol.

It also lists three UV filters, including octinoxate and avobenzone, two antioxidants, BHT and tocopherol, and three colorants: red CI 14700, yellow CI 19140 and violet CI 60730.