Le Labo was founded in 2006, so they are a very young brand on the market. Yet, they are competing with the top fashion houses. In this article, we have gone through the best Le Labo scents, to help you find the perfume that fits you the best.
Le Labo is a special brand, they are new – but they have an experience that only a few have.
The brand was bought in 2014 by Estée Lauder Companies. If you don’t know who they are, they are the owners of Jo Malone London and Tom Ford. Giants in the fragrance business.
So it’s only natural that Le Labo has come to be a well-known and popular brand with a broad range of fragrances.
We decided to try them out, to see what they are all about.
Best Le Labo Scent
Le Labo is an exclusive and luxurious brand. These are not perfumes that you go for when you are trying to save money.
Rather, these are scents for people who can afford it and only settles for top quality.
If you want to feel like a movie star for a moment, then these are the scents to go with it.
We have gone through Le Labos best scents to help you find the ones that would suit your personality and taste the most.
Before we begin, we gotta say: the performance of Le Labos scents are amazing! Only a few brands and compete with Le Labo when it comes to how long they last on your skin. Simply fantastic!
Le Labo Santal 33
Time: Day, night
Season: Fall, spring, winter
Signatures: Woody, powdery, leather, warm spicy
Keywords: Unisex, unique, dominating, strong
This is marketed as a unisex fragrance. There’s no information on how the notes are stacked, but it uses sandalwood, Virginia cedar, cardamom, violet, papyrus, leather, amber, and iris, in its formulation.
From the opening, the leather is clear. As the scent lives on your skin a little longer, the woodiness comes in, thanks to the cedar and sandalwood.
The iris, violet, and amber give some soft sweetness to the fragrance, which is a little bit powdery.
We definitely see this as a good unisex scent.
When applying this, go easy on it. The performance is intense, and this will easily fill up a room. Some might find the scent to be a little brutal in the opening, but it settles down into something rather tasty.
It’ll last over 12 hours on the skin, so this is clearly a strong performer.
Le Labo Rose 31
Time: Day, night
Season: Spring, fall
Signatures: Woody, rose, aromatic, musky
Keywords: Classy, expensive, rare, exotic
Launched in 2006, Rose 31 comes in the typical plain bottle that Le Labo scents arrive in. From its name, you expect rose, and you get that. In fact, you get it in two layers.
The top notes are rose and cumin, while the middle has rose again, with vetiver and cedar for some woodiness.
The base is made of musk, guaiac wood, olibanum, labdanum, and oud.
The rose is clear in this. The first note we got was the rose, which is sweet, clean, and soapy. It’s very pleasing.
However, as you let it rest for a bit, that’s where it really gets the chance to blow your mind. The woodiness of the heart notes and the ‘masculine’ nature of the base notes give the rose a dirty edge.
We haven’t smelled anything quite like it.
This is a unisex fragrance, undoubtedly. It tows the line between masculine and feminine so delicately that anyone can apply this and smell amazing.
It smells classy, like something you can’t just get anywhere, and we love that.
The performance is the only weak point of this exceptional fragrance. It lasts about 6 hours on the skin before it fades away. The projection is just okay, and if it was a bit stronger, it’d be a perfect scent.
Le Labo Bergamote 22
Time: Day
Season: Summer, spring
Signatures: Citrus, woody, aromatic, fresh spicy
Keywords: Inoffensive, unisex, modest, balanced
We aren’t lucky enough to be granted the insight on how Le Labo arranged the notes in this, but that’s fine. The fragrance is what really matters.
You get amber, musk, grapefruit, vetiver, petitgrain, vanilla, orange blossom, cedar, and of course, bergamot, as it lends the scent its name.
The citrus element here is clear, which isn’t surprising considering the name. Bergamot and grapefruit come together to give a nice opening to this fragrance.
As it lingers a bit longer, vetiver becomes clear, as the secondary character in this scent, with cedar adding to the woody tone.
The white florals make the blend more dynamic with their sweetness.
It gets to a point where all the different tones settle and balance, creating a very pleasing fragrance.
It has the sharpness of citrus, but the woody tones give a broad end to it, with a little sweetness from the flowers.
This is a perfect unisex, everyday fragrance.
The performance is bang average here, if not below. It’ll last a maximum of 5 hours on the skin, and you’ll either need to get in close or apply a lot to get it to extend beyond 2 feet around you.
Le Labo The Noir 29
Time: Day, night
Season: Fall, spring
Signatures: Woody, fresh spicy, aromatic, sweet
Keywords: Modest, different, safe, dapper
Le Labo said that the scent of The Noir was inspired by black tea. It’s a relatively new fragrance, and despite the inspiration, you won’t find tea leaves as a note in this.
The top has a sharp fruitiness, thanks to bergamot, fig, and bay leaf. The middle gets masculine with cedar, vetiver, and musk. The base is hay and tobacco.
This is a unisex fragrance, but it leans a little masculine, thanks mostly to tobacco and musk. The tobacco opens The Noir. It’s not a smoky tobacco, but something more akin to green tobacco. We want to think this is where the tea tones come in from.
The mix of the top notes give a sweet, aromatic tone as it begins to dry down.
This fragrance feels like one for the introvert coming out of their comfort zone. It’s a bit different, but not in an extreme way. It’s gentle in the way it comes out.
The Noir performs well in warm weather, we noticed. The performance is okay, lasting about 8 hours at a go. It’ll form a little aura around you as regards its projection, and its reach leaves little to be desired.
Le Labo Iris 39
Time: Day
Season: Spring
Signatures: Powdery, woody, floral, warm spicy
Keywords: Different, confident, raw, complex
Le Labo Iris launched in 2006, and when you receive this, it’ll come in the relatively non-descript glass bottle that their scents have made their trademark.
We like how it leaves a little mystery to what is inside. Well, beyond the fact that the name lets you know what to expect.
This is one of the fragrances that doesn’t have much on the tiers for the notes. What you do have is floral scents, spices, and musk; if you were to divide them into broader strokes. Iris, rose, violet, and ylang-ylang are the flowers here.
Ginger and cardamom are the spices, and civet and musk give a animalic edge to it.
Like most of their scents, Iris is unisex. The floral parts are strong, iris and violet in particular. The floral sweetness isn’t cloying, and we could breathe it in all day.
With the musky notes, it gets a bit more complex, and the floral nature is made a bit more unique and raw by that.
This is a gorgeous, fresh fragrance. It is sweet in a powdery way, yet the musk just gives it some much needed masculinity that provides it its own identity.
This is a very good performer. It’ll last at least 8 hours on the skin, and it projects confidently.
Le Labo Vetiver 46
Time: Day, night
Season: Fall, spring, winter
Signatures: Woody, balsamic, fresh spicy, warm spicy
Keywords: Sexy, intimate, mature, daring
There’s no hint to the formulation here, but the notes here lean more towards spicy and woody, with just a bit of sweetness.
There’s vetiver and cedar which make it distinctively woody. You have cloves, pepper, and some bergamot, for that aromatic spiciness. Amber, vanilla, and incense give a thick sweetness.
As we spritzed this, we’d opine that it can indeed work as a unisex fragrance, but the ladies will need to try harder to carry it. There’s a rebellious nature to it. The spice and wood gives it a manly edge, but not enough that we’d say its exclusively masculine.
It’s a sexy perfume. The smokiness of the incense blends nicely with the woods and spices, and we imagine this to be perfect for the smouldering man.
It’s somewhat daring with its composition, so we’re afraid that it might not go on well for everyone.
This is a mature scent, and we love it. The longevity is good, lasting at least 8 hours. The projection and sillage are a bit more intimate. It stays close, but perhaps it works in its favour. This way, you’ll have people moving in closer to take in more of that gorgeous scent.
Le Labo Another 13
Time: Day, night
Season: Year-round
Signatures: Musky, woody, animalic, amber, balsamic
Keywords: Unique, synthetic, unisex, balanced
Another 13 was a collaboration between Le Labo and AnOther Mag. It goes down the simplistic route as regards its notes.
It has only 6 constituents to its formulation, and no look into how they were arranged in the perfume pyramid. There’s Iso E Super, ambergris, ambrette, musk, pear, and amyl salicylate.
It’s hard to describe exactly what Another 13 smells like, but one word we can attribute to it is ‘industrial’. That might sound off-putting for a perfume, but to be honest, it works rather nicely.
We’d say it smells like a mix of new magazines and some musk. It smells rather synthetic, but not in a bad or overwhelming way. Like we said, ‘industrial’.
This is a unique scent, and to be honest, it’s hard to say there’s a specific type of person to wear this. It’s perfectly unisex, and if you pull it off, you’ll be sure to get compliments.
It performs well, so you need not worry on that account. It’ll last all day, and go easy on the application, it’ll fill whichever space you’re in.
Le Labo Baie 19
Time: Day
Season: Spring
Signatures: Woody, patchouli, musky, aromatic, ozonic
Keywords: Intoxicating, modern, unique
Baie in French, refers to a bay. A bay, of course, should spur images of water. That’s the same image that you get when you apply Le Labo Baie 19. But before we get to that, you have 6 notes in this.
There’s patchouli, juniper berry, ozonic notes, musk, green leaves, and ambroxan.
This fragrance launched in 2019, so it is still a very new scent. If you’re looking to jump on the train before it gets full, then this is a fantastic choice to go with.
Baie 19 goes strong with the concept of rain on soil, nailing it perfectly. It smells earthy, wet, and green. There’s a scent reminiscent of menthol balm in there too.
This is one of those fragrances that you’ll honestly need to try to fully understand. It is very unique, and if you take a whiff, you’ll find yourself intoxicated by it. It’s fantastic.
It’ll last over 7 hours on skin, so it has that going for it too.
Le Labo Fleur D’Oranger 27
Time: Day
Season: Summer, spring
Signatures: Citrus, white floral, aromatic, fresh spicy
Keywords: Feminine, sweet, pure, inviting
Fleur D’Oranger is a unisex Le Labo scent, as usual. It comes in the typical plain looking bottle, though there’s a slight yellow tint to its contents.
Orange blossom, petit grain, bergamot, and lemon, are the notes in this, so it is an exclusively citrus-formulated fragrance. You should already have an idea of what to expect.
If you’re not about the aroma of citrus, then this isn’t for you. It leans heavily in that direction, as is to be expected, but in a very aromatic and sweet manner.
It’s bright, and sharp, and the white floral nature of the orange blossom really cools it down with the pure sweetness.
We’d look at this as working a lot better for those trying to embrace their femininity. It’s a beautiful fragrance, but it’ll be tough for men to pull off. There’s nothing to lend it a rougher edge.
Regardless, this is an amazing fragrance from Le Labo. The performance is average, but considering how strong citrus can be in quantity, it gives the wearer better control over how much projection they get.
Le Labo Ylang 49
Time: Day, night
Season: Fall
Signatures: Woody, earthy, yellow floral, patchouli
Keywords: Retro, dominating, strong, gorgeous
Ylang 49 put ylang-ylang, Tahitian gardenia, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver, sandalwood, and benzoin in a bottle and mixes them together nicely, giving us this scent.
There are a lot of earthy notes here, with some florals to offer it sweetness.
The florals are not shy, and they lead the way in this scent. The powdery floral sweetness is to die for. The oakmoss, vetiver, and sandalwood add a ‘dry’ base to the fragrance, and the synergy between these two tones is such a nice combination.
This is an absolutely solid performer of a fragrance. It will last you the entire day, at least 8 hours, but probably more, and it is not afraid to dominate the crowd.
There’s a bit of a vintage element to the way this was formulated, as it makes us nostalgic about the 80s and 90s.
Le Labo Patchouli 24
Time: Night
Season: Fall, winter
Signatures: Leather, balsamic, woody, smoky, vanilla
Keywords: Masculine, raw, strong, intense
Patchouli, from which this fragrance gets its name, makes up the top tier of this scent’s pyramid on its own. There is birch and styrax in the heart, and then vanilla as the sole base note. 4 notes, and that’s about it for the formulation of Patchouli 24.
The one thing you need to know about this scent is that it is quite different from most. It’s not a good choice for a blind buy, and we can see a lot of people not liking it. However, if you do like it, we’d guess you’ll like it as much as we do. It’s amazing. It’s a dirtier fragrance, with a dark woody tone, almost smoky.
This is marketed as unisex, but it goes heavily masculine. With the kind of raw edge it has, that’s to be expected.
The patchouli is there, but despite the name, it seems to take the bench in this fragrance. That’s a little funny considering there are only 4 notes in this.
If you’re looking for something few people will be rocking, Patchouli 24 is a terrific option. It is raw, and dirty, and a perfect choice for the man’s man.
It performs powerfully, just as you’d expect from this sort of perfume.
Le Labo Lys 41
Time: Day
Season: Spring, summer
Signatures: White floral, tuberose, animalic
Keywords: Feminine, beautiful, cozy, sensual
Le Labo Lys 41 was formulated with women in mind, which is a change of pace from the unisex perfumes that we have been seeing from them.
There are 6 notes here, mostly white floral. There is tuberose, jasmine, lily, vanilla, and musk and woody notes at the other end, to balance it out.
As expected, you get a soft, sweet, white floral scent from the start. The vanilla makes it a creamy sort of sweetness, and it is absolutely delicious.
The flowers blend into one another nicely. They each lose their identity to become a great white flower, the smell of which is blissful.
The musk and wood balance it out very sensitively. They don’t act strong enough to bring it close to masculine territory, but well enough to give a bit of a complexity to this.
Thankfully, this brilliant scent doesn’t wane in the performance field. It’ll last a full 12 hours, and projection is nice enough to give you a Lys 41 cloud wherever you go.
Le Labo Tonka 25
Time: Day, night
Season: Fall, winter
Signatures: Balsamic, musky, woody, powdery, aromatic
Keywords: Dynamic, fun, pleasant, attractive
Tonka 25 is new, having launched in 2018. It mixes tonka bean, atlas cedar, musk, vanilla, orange blossom, and styrax. As expected, the bottle is nothing different from the rest of the line.
Tonka doesn’t disappoint the title of this fragrance, as it’s clear in the opening with its sweet, nutty tone. There is some of the cedar in the opening too, so it starts off masculine.
As it dries down though, you begin to get the white floral scent of the orange blossom – a powdery sweetness. The vanilla adds to that as well, creamier in its performance.
This is a dynamic fragrance, changing rather nicely through its lifespan. We’d easily say its unisex, so we agree with Le Labo on that accord.
It’ll last for over 10 hours on skin, and projection is good, but a little modest.
