My LA LA LOVE Story

Perfumehead: LA LA LOVE

Scent Profile: Gourmand / AmberyKey Notes: Vanilla Absolute · Smoked Amber · Cognac · Saffron

Randy Newman nailed it back in 1983 — “I love L.A.” Even though it would be another 15 years before I lived there, I can still say it now: I love L.A. — always have, always will.

When I first learned about Perfumehead, a luxury fragrance house born in Los Angeles and dedicated to exploring what founder Daniel Patrick Giles calls “The Osmocosm” (osmo: smell, cosmo: universe), I knew I had to experience it.

I ordered The Icons Discovery Set — nine delectable vials promising one heck of a scented adventure — and dove right in. Up first? LA LA LOVE, obviously.

And just like that, I was 22 again. The scent catapulted me straight back to the late-’90s, early-2000s Los Angeles — a blur of people, places, and long-forgotten nights. A time when caution was thrown to the wind, and life in the City of Angels was wild, free, and gloriously unfiltered.

My LA LA LOVE Story

In 1998 I transferred to USC and somehow landed a two-bedroom flat in Hollywood — second floor, tucked between Canter’s Deli, Erewhon, and Pink’s Hot Dogs. LA LA LOVE dropped me right back into those years when I wore bubblegum-pink python pants, smoked Marlboro Lights, and drank cheap Trader Joe’s white wine with my roommate.

I was two blocks from CBS Studios, and everything I loved was within walking distance — Urban Outfitters on Melrose, the original Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax, and the Melrose Trading Post every second Sunday in the Fairfax High School parking lot. Living in LA at that time was grabbing milk next to Marisa Tomei at Ralphs on La Brea, parking next to Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus himself) at Fred Segal, and standing in valet lines with Ed Norton and Courtney Love outside the Rainbow on Sunset.

Nights meant platform heels, bars with a single light bulb, and the Cahuenga Corridor — my playground Monday through Thursday. Fridays were for Cherry, a 70’s-glam fever dream where I once watched my statistics TA making choices that guaranteed me an A. Sundays were martinis and punk at Liquid Kitty, weekends at Spaceland in Silver Lake for $30 live sets, and glitter-filled blow-dryer chairs at Beauty Bar. SkyBar was vodka (probably Absolute because at the time their ads were iconic) and cran by the pool, and a chance to feel like someone might recognize you — even if they never did.

If you weren’t stepping through a dimly lit doorway into a dark Hollywood bar, were you even living in L.A. in the late ’90s?

By day, I was a 3.89 student and kickboxing at my neighborhood gym seven days a week (sometimes twice a day) because my instructor was super-hot and a working actor — I was in the best shape of my life, and let’s be honest, I was a borderline star-f*cker.

I’ll never forget sitting 3^rd row at the Henry Fonda Theatre, close enough to touch Chris Cornell as he performed Euphoria Morning, then heading to Toi on Sunset for 2 a.m. Thai food.

Those were golden, reckless, unforgettable years — and LA LA LOVE took me right back there.

The Fragrance

So yes, I love it. Of course I do. Vanilla has always held a special place in my heart, but LA LA LOVE is no ordinary vanilla. It’s a smoky, sexy blend of vanilla, amber, and cognac — sweet and boozy with a saffron-kissed heat that lingers. As Perfumehead describes it, “it’s the morning after.”

For me, it’s that familiar L.A. haze of wild nights, slightly regrettable decisions, and city lights — a little messy, a little magical, and entirely unforgettable. Just like my L.A. years.