Guides
La Vie est Belle: the seven versions Lancôme sells in France
Lancôme's French store lists seven versions of La Vie est Belle, and the 2012 La Vie est Belle sets the frame: iris and vanilla. Intensément adds raspberry and pink pepper, and L'Elixir swaps iris for violet and cocoa butter. All seven are sold as Eau de Parfum, Intensément and Very Cherry as an Eau de Parfum Intense, so they differ more by character than by concentration; the table sets out launch year, perfumers, key notes, Lancôme's own intensity rating and the bottle price per 100 ml for each.
| Version | Launched | Perfumers | Key notes | Intensity (Lancôme) | Bottle price per 100 ml |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Vie est Belle | 2012 | Olivier Polge, Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo | Iris pallida concrete, gourmand accord, orange blossom, jasmine sambac, vanilla accord, patchouli | ••• | €150 |
| Intensément | 2020 | – | Red iris, raspberry accord, pink pepper, orange blossom, jasmine sambac, red vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood | – | €169 |
| Iris Absolu | 2023 | Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion | Fig-blackcurrant accord, iris pallida, Bali patchouli | – | €165 |
| Rose Extraordinaire | 2024 | Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion, Caroline Dumur | Bergamot, orange essence, green stem accord, three roses, gourmand accord, moss, ambroxan | ••• | €150 |
| L'Elixir | 2024 | Christophe Raynaud, Antoine Maisondieu | Liqueur-like raspberry accord, violet leaf absolute, cocoa butter absolute | •••• | €165 |
| Vanille Nude | 2025 | Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion | Solar jasmine, Bourbon vanilla infusion, white musks, sandalwood | ••• | €150 |
| Very Cherry | 2026 | Antoine Maisondieu, Christophe Raynaud | Black cherry accord, velvety violet leaf absolute, warm oud accord | •••• | €165 |
Intensément vs L'Elixir vs the original
Read the three note lists together and the family likeness holds while the centre shifts. The 2012 original is built on iris pallida concrete, with orange blossom and jasmine sambac absolutes over a vanilla accord and patchouli. Intensément keeps the iris but makes it red, adds a raspberry accord and pink pepper at the top, and finishes on red vanilla and sandalwood. L'Elixir changes the centre to violet: violet leaf absolute, a raspberry Lancôme describes as liqueur-like, and cocoa butter absolute at the base.
The labels say less than Lancôme's own intensity scale. On it, L'Elixir is rated four dots and the original three; Intensément does not appear on that scale, though Lancôme labels it an Eau de parfum intense. Price separates them only slightly at 100 ml: €150 for the original, €169 for Intensément, €165 for L'Elixir. Intensément was out of stock on Lancôme's French store on 2 November 2026.
Two perfumer camps divide the line. Olivier Polge, Dominique Ropion and Anne Flipo created the 2012 Eau de Parfum; Christophe Raynaud and Antoine Maisondieu signed L'Elixir. The bottles tell the same three stories: two grey ribbon wings for the original, a fuchsia juice for Intensément, and an engraved bottle for L'Elixir, by designer Suzanne Dalton.
La Vie est Belle, the 2012 original
Lancôme calls the 2012 scent le premier Iris Gourmand, created by three perfumers: Olivier Polge, Dominique Ropion and Anne Flipo. Its pyramid starts on iris pallida concrete and a gourmand accord, passes through orange blossom and jasmine sambac absolutes, and closes on a vanilla accord with patchouli heart essence. The bottle is the Sourire de Cristal, a crystal smile with a sparkling grey ribbon tied around its neck to form two wings.
Sizes run from 15 ml at €49 and 30 ml at €75 through 50 ml at €110, 75 ml at €132 and 100 ml at €150, up to 150 ml at €205, with a 100 ml refill at €129. The 150 ml bottle works out at €136.67 per 100 ml.
Lancôme
La Vie est Belle
Eau de Parfum · 2012
Iris pallida, orange blossom, jasmine sambac, vanilla and patchouli: the frame every other version answers to. Lancôme calls it the first iris gourmand, and the two grey ribbon wings on the glass are its signature. A 100 ml refill at €129 keeps the bottle in use.
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Intensément, the 2020 intense Eau de Parfum
Intensément arrived in 2020 with a note list that rearranges rather than replaces the original. Red iris, bergamot, pink pepper and a raspberry accord open; orange blossom and jasmine sambac absolutes stay in the heart; red vanilla, patchouli heart essence and sandalwood close. For the first time, the bottle holds an intensely coloured juice: fuchsia.
The label reads Eau de parfum intense, alongside Lancôme's description of an intense, gourmand trail. Intensément launched in 30, 50 and 100 ml; the French store now lists only the 100 ml, at €169, and showed it out of stock on 2 November 2026.
Lancôme
Intensément
Eau de parfum intense · 2020
The iris stays but turns red, with raspberry and pink pepper on top and red vanilla and sandalwood underneath. It was the first La Vie est Belle with an intensely coloured, fuchsia juice. Lancôme's French store lists the 100 ml only, out of stock on 2 November 2026.
Iris Absolu and Rose Extraordinaire: two florals
Iris Absolu followed in February 2023 and pushes the note furthest: Lancôme says it is ten times more concentrated in iris than the original Eau de Parfum. A fig-blackcurrant accord opens it, iris pallida fills the heart, and Bali patchouli closes it. Its bottle repeats the engraved Sourire de Cristal across its surface.
One size on the French store, 100 ml at €165. Labelled Eau de Parfum, it bears the work of Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion.
Lancôme
Iris Absolu
Eau de Parfum · 2023
Fig and blackcurrant at the top give way to iris pallida, then Bali patchouli. Lancôme's figure is ten times the iris concentration of the original Eau de Parfum, the iris-led choice among the seven. Lancôme's French store sells it in 100 ml only.
Rose Extraordinaire, the rose version
Spring 2024 brought Rose Extraordinaire, built on three roses: rose water, rose absolute and a rose Lancôme calls Rose de l'espace. Bergamot, orange essence and a green stem accord sit above them, with a gourmand accord, moss and ambroxan below. Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Caroline Dumur are named as its perfumers.
A sculpted rose decorates the crystal smile. Sizes are 30 ml at €75, 50 ml at €110 and 100 ml at €150, so it matches the original per 100 ml.
Lancôme
Rose Extraordinaire
Eau de Parfum · 2024
Three roses form the heart, with bergamot and green stem above and moss and ambroxan underneath. On the bottle, a sculpted rose blooms inside the crystal smile. At €150 per 100 ml, it sits below L'Elixir's €165.
L'Elixir, violet and cocoa butter
L'Elixir reached the shops in September 2024 as the version that steps away from iris. A liqueur-like raspberry meets violet leaf absolute, and cocoa butter absolute closes the base; Lancôme calls it its first delicious violet. Christophe Raynaud and Antoine Maisondieu are the perfumers, a different pair from the original.
Suzanne Dalton designed the bottle with its engraved smile. Sizes run 10 ml at €29, 30 ml at €82, 50 ml at €122 and 100 ml at €165, with a 100 ml refill at €140.
Lancôme
L'Elixir
Eau de Parfum · 2024
Raspberry with a liqueur edge, violet leaf absolute and cocoa butter absolute replace the original's iris centre. Lancôme's comparison gives it four intensity dots, alongside Very Cherry. A 100 ml refill costs €140.
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Vanille Nude and Very Cherry: the latest additions
Vanille Nude went on sale in August 2025 with solar jasmine and a Bourbon vanilla infusion over what Lancôme describes as an overdose of creamy white musk, sandalwood in the base. The house calls it its first musky vanilla. The bottle wears an opal-pink lacquer.
It comes in 10 ml at €29, 30 ml at €75, 50 ml at €110 and 100 ml at €150; the 10 ml was out of stock on 2 November 2026. On the intensity scale it sits at three dots with the original.
Lancôme
Vanille Nude
Eau de Parfum · 2025
Solar jasmine, glazed Bourbon vanilla and a heavy dose of white musk, with sandalwood underneath. The house bills it as its first musky vanilla. Opal-pink lacquer coats the bottle, and the 100 ml costs the same as the original.
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Very Cherry, the 2026 release
Very Cherry is the 2026 addition: a black cherry accord, a velvety violet leaf absolute and a warm oud accord. Described by Lancôme as its first woody cherry, it has two labels: the collection page files it under Eau de Parfum Boisée, the product text labels it an Eau de Parfum Intense. Antoine Maisondieu and Christophe Raynaud are again the perfumers, and the bottle has a deep black-cherry gradient with sparkling cherry wings.
Sizes are 10 ml at €29, 30 ml at €82, 50 ml at €122 and 100 ml at €165. Soleil Cristal, once part of this line, no longer has a product page on the French store, so it has no row in the table above.
Lancôme
Very Cherry
Eau de Parfum · 2026
Black cherry accord meets velvety violet leaf absolute and a warm oud accord in the newest version. Lancôme describes it as its first woody cherry. The page text labels it an Eau de Parfum Intense, and its bottle has a black-cherry gradient.
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Which La Vie est Belle to choose
- Iris and vanilla, the founding character: the 2012 Eau de Parfum, with orange blossom and jasmine sambac over the vanilla and patchouli base.
- Iris with fruit and spice: Intensément, which sets raspberry and pink pepper against a red iris.
- The most iris: Iris Absolu, ten times the iris concentration of the original by Lancôme's own figure.
- Rose: Rose Extraordinaire, on rose water, rose absolute and Rose de l'espace.
- Violet and cocoa: L'Elixir, one of the two four-dot versions on the house scale.
- Vanilla and musk: Vanille Nude, with solar jasmine and a Bourbon vanilla infusion.
- Cherry and oud: Very Cherry, the 2026 launch and the woody end of the line.
What the prices show
Across the seven, the price per 100 ml falls into three groups: €150 for the original, Rose Extraordinaire and Vanille Nude; €165 for Iris Absolu, L'Elixir and Very Cherry; €169 for Intensément. Only the original and L'Elixir offer a refill, at €129 and €140 for 100 ml. Lancôme was running a site-wide promotional code on 2 November 2026, and the figures here are list prices before any code.
For the wider range, see all Lancôme perfumes. Two more house comparisons follow the same pattern: Miss Dior versions and Prada Paradoxe versions.