What Le Labo is known for
A New York perfumery founded in 2006 by Fabrice Penot and Eddie Roschi; each fragrance is hand-blended and freshly labeled in-store. Its Santal 33, developed by perfumer Frank Voelkl, launched in 2011 after debuting as a 2006 candle and room spray.
Le Labo opened in a deliberately raw space in Manhattan's Nolita in 2006 with a pharmacy-counter conceit: fragrances mixed to order at the lab bench, hand-labeled with the client's name and date, in bottles styled like laboratory supplies. The names are formulas — Santal 33, Rose 31, Bergamote 22 — counting the ingredients in each composition. Santal 33 became a genuine cultural phenomenon, the scent of a certain creative-class decade, recognizable in cities worldwide. The house grinds against perfumery's conventions on purpose: no celebrity campaigns, city-exclusive scents sold only in their home cities, interiors of reclaimed wood and exposed brick. The freshness ritual is real — bottles are compounded when ordered. Santal 33 is the famous door in; Another 13 and Thé Noir 29 are where regulars land. The personalized label remains the best souvenir in niche perfumery.
Ask for the personalized label even on a standard bottle — the compounding-to-order is genuine, and the dated label is the house's best ritual.
In the press
- Vogue 2017
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Santal 33 and lab minimalism.
Compounded fresh in each boutique using the finest raw materials.
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Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement