a reader turned me on to le labo perfumes a few months ago (thanks, j!), raving about how fabulous the fragrances were, and insisting i had to try them.  i was lucky enough to get in touch with the perfumers in france, and after several chats about the various options, they sent me a beautiful little box of fragrances to try out.  quite honestly, i’ve never been so utterly bowled over by a perfumer, and i couldn’t wait to share my discovery!

i’ve been spraying le labo’s scents all morning to write this post, and dear readers, my house smells a-ma-zing!  the thing i love about le labo is their ability to blend fragrances to really enhance the essence of a single scent without overpowering it or creating just a single-note fragrance.  their scents are complex, but light and incredibly easy to wear – i have a hard time committing to some scents for an entire day, but i still find myself surreptitiously sniffing my wrists on my way to bed when i wear le labo.

my hands-down favorite from the line is their anis 24 fragrance. it’s technically only available as a home scent, but they were kind enough to make me a test sample that’s wearable (how amazing is that?!).  i love it so much that i have to be cautious when i wear it, because i’m terrified i’m going to run out!

for die-hard fans of vetiver (like me), bergamote 22 is a perfect specimen, blended with grapefruit and just a touch of amber.  the results are light, maybe a bit sweet, and so easy to wear.  if you’re a floral person, you’ll undoubtedly fall for fleur d’oranger 27 – a honeyed floral that smells exactly like the orange trees i remember from california.  and if it’s a sweeter scent you’re after, i’d suggest calone 17, another home fragrance.  they say it smells like the sea…i’d say maybe popsicles on the beach:  cool, sweet and irresistible.

if you happen to be near a store, i’m jealous.  if not, le labo will create a custom set of scents for you as well!  choose their discovery set, and you’ll get your choice of three 5ml perfumes custom packaged and personalized just for you (they even put your name on the box…it’s very exciting)!  for $52, it’s a great way to test a few of their fragrances with less commitment…and trust me, you’ll be glad you have a few to choose from!

otherwise, nab their scents on le labo’s website or from the happiest place on earth (aka barneys).

(shopper’s note: do make sure you page down on le labo’s site to get to the buying options for each fragrance.  it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure that out…)

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