Le Labo Ylang 49

By Tom By and Large I like the fragrances from Le Labo. Some of the marketing I could do without (the expiration dates for instance) but on the whole I've loved the scents. So the other day when I was in the neighborhood I popped in to Barneys and sauntered over to the Le Labo counter. I noticed Ylang 49 and remembered that I hadn't tested it. Ylang 49 is flat out gorgeous. Lovers of white flowers will be very happy here: after a rather astringent oakmoss blast in the beginning, the gardenia and ylang start to come to the front. Then I start to get the incense and at it's base it has that wonderful Le Labo sandalwood/Benzoin thing going on. The only downside is that for me the lasting power is only average: 6 hours or so. But that's a reason to re-apply, right? I usually wouldn't wear a white flower scent because I usually find them overpowering, but applied sparingly it really whispers. My Scent Twin also loves this one and I love to smell it on her. I can imagine on a woman (who could get away with heavier application) it would be absolute heaven. Luckily, this is one of the "classic" collection so if you have a Le Labo counter or store nearby, you can get it. My samples were from Barneys and the Le Labo store on 3rd Street. Image: Barneys

Winter Favorites

By Tom Winter is a great time of year for me. Mainly since in the Los Angeles area of California the temps are usually fairly gentle in the day and the worst we get at night will be in the high 30's. (The downside of that is that most buildings here aren't very well insulated, so you're going to have to have quite a few blankets on hand..) One of those "blankets" can be scents. Wearing some of the ones that I really like in Winter in Summer would feel like wearing a down coat and boots. I'm just going to list three, off the top of my head: Rahat Loukoum: Cherries, almonds and musk. Gorgeous, and gorgeous on, but would feel like drowning if I wore it outside in August. Back in the day I wrote: " It opens with a hit of bright, boozy cherries that remind me of (oh god, here he comes with the stories again...) my first job after college. I worked at Dean and Deluca in New York, and one of the things we sold were incredibly boozy fruits in, well, booze. Raspberries in framboise and cherries in cherry marnier. The opening of Rahat Loukoum smells exactly what it smelled like taking the cork out of the wide mouth of that big 8 quart jar. Rich cherries, almond and spikey booze."Yup, and still gorgeous. Available in the US via Barney's on Madison Ave and the Serge Lutens website in the bell jar for $300. Le Labo Patchouli 24: Tarry, smoky, leathery and wholly delightful, this is one that I'd still do on a summer evening when the temps drop, but just the barest touch. I wrote back in the day: "As Le Labo states 'patchouli is not easy to detect in this formula'. That's an understatement. Patchouli is almost nowhere to be detected in this one. I'd be seriously upset by this, but what is there is so wonderful, I don't much care. The patchouli is in fact there, but it's very dry and somewhat dusty, like ancient leaves of the plant combined with sweet smoky birch and bone-dry leather. I only get the merest hint of the vanilla that Colombina gets, which is fine with me." Available at Le Labo's website, Luckyscent, and most Barney's now at various sizes and prices (I love that they will do a beensy baby-sized one that's affordable) Parfumerie Generale Musc Maori: I'd better like this one, we named is one of our top winter scents of a few of years ago. I first smelled it on a trip to LuckyScent with my Scent Twin (an experience I hope to repeat very soon). I subsequently wrote: "It's a divine comfort scent with an edge: scalded cream over dark, coffee infused chocolate with a generous helping of white musk in the drydown. Like Daniel Craig bringing you a nice steaming cup after he.. you get the picture. Gaia recommended it as one that always gets compliments.." Divine, yes, but on a hot summer day cream tends to curdle on me and if even Daniel Craig tried to touch when the temps hit the triple digits I'd brain him with the nearest lamp. $100 for 50ml at Luckyscent. So, Tonstant Weader, what are your favorites in winter? Let us know in the comments, and feel free to discuss! Image: Wikipedia

Pencil Shavings: Le Labo Santal 33

By Tom First off, a reminder that Le Labo is supporting Japanese disaster relief by releasing its Tokyo exclusive Gaiac 10 in all of Le Labo stores and online, with all profits going to the Japanese Red Cross. There is also a new release in Le Labo land: Santal 33. I admit I do have some issues with Le Labo. The whole mixed-fresh bit is sort of lost on me and the expiration dates I think are just silly. Then there's the maddening idea of the city exclusives, which means that their lovely Aldehyde 44 is in Dallas, where I am almost guaranteed never to set foot. Luckily, the one of that series I like best is the Los Angeles one. Santal 33 starts out with another hallmark of Le Labo, in that it initially doesn't smell anything of its eponymous ingredient. Instead, I get leather. The Le Labo website has a lot of blather about cowboys and horses and prairie fires and whatnot, but I get more ladies handbag. In a good way mind you, if it's a saddle it's one from Hermes. There's smoke, but it's a Marlboro red, and I swear to god a bit of mint. The drydown is where the titled woods make their appearance and they're very nice. A bit like a pencil, but the nicest pencil you can imagine. Maybe a Hermes pencil to go in your Hermes agenda. I guess that I'm saying is that it's a lot smoother and elegant than the rough-and-tumble description would lead you to believe. If you really want the hot cowboy and his campfire then I would go for Lonestar Memories. If you want a hot guy named Pierre in designer chaps, then go for this one. There's room in my life for both.. $50 for 1/2 ounces, $145 for 1.7 ounces and $220 for 3.4 ounces at Le Labo boutiques and at Barneys. My sample was from Barneys.

Le Labo Synesthetic Series - a creative workshop (for our UK readers)

"As part of Le Labo’s mission to increase customer’s knowledge on perfume, synesthetic provocateur Nicola Pozzani will introduce you to a one-of-a-kind series of creative workshops. This is a unique workshop experience currently offered only in Le Labo London. Le Labo Synesthetic Series is a series of 5 syneshetic workshops about perfume, which will take place once a month, on Sunday afternoons at Le Labo Devonshire Road’s boutique in London. Students will experience perfume by using the 5 senses with a synesthetic approach, which means they will explore the connections between the sense of smell (the one directly related to scent) and the other senses (vision, touch, sound and taste). Students will then develop their perfume knowledge through their sensory perception and their creativity. Le Labo Synesthetic workshops will be 100% interactive. Working in small groups, Students will learn about Le Labo fragrances and the finest perfume ingredients they are made of. Students will then engage in practical sensory exercises and by doing so will become actively involved in experiencing the connections between perfume and other sensations. This synesthetic experience will help them expand their knowledge of scent. Furthermore, by exploring the sensations perfume can transmit, students will have the chance to experience perfume as an art form, as a creative language and become aware of the creative scenarios that lay behind fragrance creation. They will eventually become more sensitive to scent and gain a newly discovered perception of perfume. Nicola Pozzani is a perfume professional and Cambridge CELTA qualified English teacher who has combined his passion for perfume and teaching experience to create these workshops. He studied sensory languages and synesthetics at Università dell’Immagine in Milan, where he studied Perfume Science with Jean Claude Ellena. He has worked on sensory and research projects for a variety of beauty and perfume companies. He lives and works in London. Le Labo Synesthetic Series When : Every last Sunday of the month from January to May 2011 Time : 4 pm to 6 pm Where : Le Labo London – 28A Devonshire Street, London W1G 6PS Price : 45 Pounds Number of places : maximum 6 per session RSVP : lelabolondon@lelabofragrances or +44 20 3441 1535" (From a Press Release)

Le Labo Jasmin 17

By Tom This long weekend was filled not with resolutions (since they'd be broken in about 10 minutes anyway) but with random wandering. I saw two movies with my BFF Sue ("Nine", which got a 3 and "A Single Man" for which Colin Firth should win the Oscar) and wandered around the neighborhood. Shockingly I wandered into Le Labo. I was randomly sniffing and noted that I had never tried on their take on Jasmine, so I partook. Jasmine isn't something that I would usually wear, any more that I would red lipstick or a push-up bra. This one (like quite a few of Le Labo's scents) seem almost tangentially about the name ingredient. So while there is jasmine (a lovely, soft one) it's comfortably nestled into orange flower, sandalwood and citrus. While it has pretty good longevity it's not a big projector so a man could perfectly well get away with it. Since Le Labo does those cunning little 15ML sizes I can't think of a particular reason that I shouldn't eventually indulge.. At LuckyScent (larger sizes only), the Le Labo website or at their stores and selected Barneys. 15ML for $52, 50ML for $130 and 100ML for $200. Ancillary products also available at the stores and website. I tested mine in the store. Image source, Le Labo.

Le Labo Oud 27: Perfume Review

By Tom Oud is a note that I am loving more and more in perfumes, whether it's one that I've tried, like Montale to ones that I one day hope to try. Le Labo has released the first new non-exclusive (available everywhere, and thank them for it) since the company started, and Oud is right there in the title. Much like some of their other scents, Oud is not immediately apparent as the star of this show. The initial blast is woody and rather leathery, almost tarred in the vein of their Patchouli 24. There's also immediate cedar, sweetened with a lovely saffron note and a fair bit of skank. This one packs a punch, adding in ambered heat, and is sure to be polarizing until the opening calms to the post-coital woody drydown. The Oud is more a unifying theme than a stand-out ingredient for me and that's a good thing; it's always discernible, but at sexy whisper rather than a hoarse shout. I was (I'm sure you, tonstant weader, are shocked by the revelation) immediately so smitten that I bought a bottle, and am happy to report that for some reason this one is ready to go from the first mixing. For those of you who are curious about how the whole fresh-mixed ethos is going to work out with them being available at LuckyScent. I know I did. LuckyScent actually will carry no stock of the perfume at all. All orders are mixed fresh at the Le Labo store on 3rd & Sweetzer in LA, hence the extra day processing the order on LuckyScent's end. Pretty neat. Of course you can order it direct from Le Labo, but if you want, say a Le Labo and a Perfumerie Generale, you can do one-stop shopping. Nice! Available in 50ML for $130 and 100ML for $200 at LuckyScent Additionally available in 15ML travel size for $53, 10ML silicon balm (which is FABULOUS) for $80, and 4oz oil and 8oz lotion for $60 at Le Labo's website

Perfume Review: Le Labo Poivre 23

Poivre 23 is somewhat of a standout in Le Labo line in that, unlike quite a few of their scents (looking at you first and foremost, Tubereuse 40 and Patchouli 24) it does prominently and obvisouly feature the title note declared in the name. It was created by Nathalie Lorson, who is also the author of Lalique's sublime Encre Noir, so we know that she can do wonders with earthy-balsamic notes (she is also the nose behind another of my favorites, Lancôme's dainty Peut-Être, which is...nothing at all like Poivre 23 or Encre Noir, but I digress). The beginning of Poivre 23 is at once creamy, spicy and mentholated. The contrast of piquant coldness and sweet creaminess is incredibly attractive to me. When I smell Poivre 23 in the first stages of its development, I think of pepper ice-cream served on a sandalwood plate...with incense burning softly in the background. After the ice-cream is gone, we are left with wood and incense, and with a lingering and very pleasant peppery aftertaste. In the base of Poivre 23, patchouli is fairly pronounced, and of course patchouli goes so well with incense and pepper. I couldn't help but compare the new Le Labo to two other of my peppery favorites, Poivre Piquant and Piper Nigrum. Poivre 23 is less sweet and less creamy than Poivre Piquant and much less mentholated than Piper Nigrum. It seems more resinous and overall "darker" than both. As a fan of pepper note rendered in a non-sharp way and a fan of spicy-creamy contrast, I need all three. Poivre 23 is Le Labo's exclusive to Liberty London. Lucky Londoners!

Sweater Girl...Le Labo Musc 25

By Tom About eight months ago I had the pleasure of meeting Fabrice Penot, one of the creators of the whole Le Labo concept. He then told me that he was working on an LA specific scent, and I contributed my two cents about things he could do to get a taste of LA. In the article in this past weekends LA Times, he mentioned attending Elton John's Oscar party as having been part of the inspiration by what he calls "angelic whiteness with a dark core of sin". They succeeded in a way that far outstrips my hopes. Reading the formula (aldehydes, civet, muscone) you would be forgiven for thinking that it's something along the lines of the Dallas exclusive, Aldehyde 44. Musc 25 opens if possible more sparkly and decidedly less creamy than the Dallas scent. The super-sparkly dry opening is joined by a faint rosiness, a whisper of vetiver and although it's not listed, I smell a bare touch of citrus. Angora-soft musk comes in fairly early and stays strong but sly, with enough powder to keep it on the lady-like side. There's also what the Le Labo people call "ingredient X"- mentioned in The August Times as "a synthesized representation of human semen". I smelled the raw material and, well it does a bit. For those of you were put off by Etat Libre's godawful secretions fear not: it's a hint, and when mixed with the ambergris, smoke and a hint of eucalyptus (also not listed) becomes a "did she or didn't she" hint of sexy bare skin that's gloriously besmirched. It's an ingenue whose lipstick has been kissed off and she's reapplying, humming to herself, her Kool burning away in the ashtray. Or is it the scent of her driving home through the canyons? I was wearing this driving along Mulholland and had the startling scent mimicry of the exact smell of the trees and the late day air coming off my arm as well as into my open window. Bravo! While completely modern, the only image I can conjure that perfectly encapsulates it is of a young Lana Turner: Icy white-blond beauty, dark eyes and a darker heart. Musc 25 is $260 for 50ML and $400 for 100ML. Being a 25% concentration I think that's fair. What's less fair is that it's only available at the Le Labo store on 3rd Street in Los Angeles. Luckily for me that's just a hair over a mile from my hovel, so I can drop in and spritz. If you're in LA, you should make a point of doing so too.