Heather Taylor of L.A. in Bloom, one of my absolute favorite blogs, visited the Le Labo boutique in Los Angeles and made a wonderful new webisode. Her favorite Le Labo perfume: Fleur d’Oranger 27.
Click here to see the video.
Photo: L.A. in Bloom
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July / 18 / 2011
How did they get the horse into the bottle? No joke, sometimes I can smell this horse barn note also in Kelly Calèche by Hermès. It is something about the leather that produces this effect I think. Highly subjective, of course.
Santal 33 was inspired by the American myth of the Marlboro Man, sitting by the fireside, leaning on a worn leather saddle, lighting a cigarette, “an icon so powerful that every man wanted to be him and every woman wanted to have him“. Sounds good so far. I would add “a horse in the background“.
Santal 33 opens up clean and woody with sandalwood, cedar, cardamom and ambrox. It smells rather fresh, a little bit like camphor, masculine.
At the next step the scent is getting warmer, softer, you get iris, which smells like having been extended with carrot seeds and this aspect reminds me of Iris de Nuit by Heeley. A soft and in a way feminine combination sweetened with violet. The base is dominated by leather, rather suede, soft and brown. But in combination with the musk it turns into something animalic and that’s what evokes this association of a warm horse. This is not too crazy, because I have asked a friend of mine who horse rides regularly and she just said “absolutely!“ So, just to be safe.
But in the end Santal 33 turns out to be an intense leather scent with loads of sweet musk and sandalwood. I find it too strong and the next morning after I had used it, it even annoyed me. Due to a high concentration of essential oils the scent has a huge longevity.
I would recommend this perfume to men, or did you ever hear about a Marlboro Woman? Howdy?
Category: unisex
Perfumer: Frank Voelkl
Year: 2011
Notes: cardamom, iris, violet, ambrox, sandalwood, cedar, papyrus, leather, musk, amber
April / 15 / 2011
Gaïac 10, Le Labo’s Tokyo city exclusive perfume, will exceptionally be available in their NY, L.A., London, and internet stores until May 15, 2011. All profits will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society to support their earthquake disaster efforts.
Gaïac is a very hard greenish wood that isn’t as dry as cedar and that is subtle, profound, and stable. Le Labo’s Gaïac 10, a perfume extract that has been developed in partnership with perfumer Annick Ménardo, is a tense formula built on gaïac wood and surrounded by muscs (4 different types in all), with hints of cedar and olibanum (incense).
50ml cost 260 US $
Category: unisex
Perfumer: Annick Ménardo
Year: 2008
Notes: gaïac wood, cedar wood, olibanum, musk
December / 02 / 2010
I’d like to start a new column today. It is called „Smells like…“ and will present creative people around the globe, who share their favorite perfume with us. Here we go!
May I introduce you to Kwannam Chu, a very talented young photographer from New York? I found his blog we could grow up together by accident. Now I visit the website regularly to get inspired by his ideas or just have some fun by watching what he is doing. By the way, he takes photos of very beautiful male models. Kwannam is an esthete and he has a great sense of style. Like a truffle pig he finds the best fashion pieces, interior stores, coffee shops or just the best French fries in the neighborhood. And he loves perfume, especially with tuberose, like Dô Son by Diptyque.
November / 08 / 2010
I love this photo! I found it in Kwannam Chu’s wonderful blog we could grow up together.
More roses for you…
Le Labo: Baie Rose 26
Baie Rose 26 is Le Labo’s “new city-exclusive fragrance for Chicago” and an homage to the 1920s – Al Capone, jazz, prohibition. “Bang, bang, he shot me down…”
I would say that Baie Rose 26 is like the milky-white Borsalino, Al Capone used to wear – a halo for a murderer. He is the embodiment of sex, crime and murder and one of the most famous Mafia bosses ever.
The opening of Baie Rose 26 smells like a rose after the rain. Or it’s like smelling only one of those delicate transparent petals between your fingers. Yes that fits most: transparent. But still waters run deep: you get a spicy pink pepper note (by the way ‘Baie rose’ is the French term for pink pepper) and lots of Ambrox and aldehydes play with the main theme. An uplifting and I would even say restless scent – like the rhythm of jazz. It remains a rose scent but it has something I would call an underworld touch, a backroom flair with wild dancers and naked flesh – in a way also unnatural. Nothing smoky or dark, rather a huge amount of energy.
If you want to get a feeling for Baie Rose 26 check this out…click here
Baie Rose 26 will only be available at Barneys New York.
Category: unisex
Perfumer: Frank Voelkl
Year: 2010
Notes: ambroxan, clove, pepper, pimento berries, rose, baie rose, musk, cedar, aldehyde
Parfums DelRae: Coup de Foudre
Lemon rose. Coup de Foudre means ‘love at first sight’. It is said that Coup de Foudre should be the impression of smelling a rose live and instantly falling in love with it.
Coup de Foudre is a little bit too sour in the opening for my taste. The pink grapefruit and lemon create a very young, modern and dynamic rose, which gets a certain creaminess in the drydown. I love the dominance of geranium, which brings some freshness, a little bit like mint or even menthol. A really interesting formula with a spring like feeling. Perfect for the daytime – pure, clean and light. Gorgeous!
Category: unisex
Perfumer: Yann Vasnier
Year: 2010
Notes: spicy pink peppercorn, bergamot, Italian lemon ‘sfumatrice’, pink grapefruit, Rose de Mai France Orpur absolute, purple peony, Egyptian jasmine absolute, creamy magnolia Orpur, geranium bourbon, tonka from Venezuela, vetiver, white moss, velvet musks
Photo: Kwannam Chu
