Le Labo (
French: "the lab") is an Estée Lauder
perfume
Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
brand based in New York City. The Le Labo "Manifesto" states that "the future of luxury
..lies in craftsmanship" and includes a line from
Hafiz and mentions of
Wabi-sabi
In traditional Japanese aesthetics, is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature. I ...
and
Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and hi ...
.
History
Le Labo was founded in 2006 in New York City by Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot.
Le Labo was purchased by
Estée Lauder Companies in 2014. The brand is now overseen by Esteé Lauder's Group President, John Demsey, alongside other fragrance brands including
Jo Malone
Joanne Lesley Malone CBE (born 5 November 1963) is a British perfumer and founder of the companies Jo Malone London and Jo Loves. Malone founded Jo Malone London in 1990 and later sold the company in 1999 to its current parent company Estee ...
and
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directe ...
. The acquisition has contributed to overall growth in the fragrance category, as Esteé Lauder report increased net sales from Le Labo "reflecting growth from new and certain existing products, as well as targeted expanded consumer reach."
Products
![Benjamin D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Benjamin_D._Maxham_-_Henry_David_Thoreau_-_Restored_-_greyscale_-_straightened.jpg)
Le Labo produces 18 fragrances and 9 ambient room scents. The formulations do not include animal products,
paraben
Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Chemically, they are a series of parahydroxybenzoates or esters of parahydroxybenzoic acid (also known as 4-hydroxybenzoic acid). Parabens are effective p ...
, preservatives or coloration, and are not
tested on animals
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...
. Fragrances are compounded at the time of purchase with the client's name printed on the labels of the boxes and the perfume bottles. Le Labo also retails items such as tote bags, detergents, and note books online. The brand produces 13 City Exclusive scents which are available only at specific locations. For example, Vanille 44 is sold in Paris and Gaiac 10 in Tokyo.
Perfumers who have created fragrances for the brand include Michel Almairac (Ambrette 9),
Annick Ménardo Annick Ménardo is a contemporary perfumer who has worked for the fragrance firm Firmenich since 1991.
Education
Ménardo has a background in biochemistry and medicine. She studied perfumery and is a graduate of the French perfume academy ISIPCA. ...
(Patchouli 24) and
Maurice Roucel Maurice Roucel. Photo: Guillaume Luisetti.
Maurice Roucel is a contemporary French perfumer who has worked at the companies IFF, Quest, Dragoco and presently Symrise. Roucel began his career in perfumery on February 19, 1973, while working as the ...
(Jasmine 17 and Labdanum 18). Le Labo creates a
black tea
Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...
essence fragrance for
Edition Hotels.
Fragrances
Le Labo use a standard naming convention for each of their scents. Each fragrance is named after the primary scent note and given a number, which indicates the composition's total ingredient count. Another 13 is an exception to this convention, as it was named after
''Another'' Magazine.
*Another 13
*Baie 19
*
Santal 33
*Rose 31
*Thé Noir 29
*Bergamote 22
*Vetiver 46
*Lys 41
*Fleur D'oranger 27
*Thé Matcha 26
*Neroli 36
*Iris 39
*Patchouli 24
*Ambrette 9
*Jasmin 17
*Oud 27
*Labdanum 18
*Ylang 49
*Tonka 25
City exclusives
*Aldehyde 44 Dallas
*Baie Rose 26 Chicago
*Benjoin 19 Moscow
*Cuir 28 Dubai
*Gaiac 10 Tokyo
*Limette 37 San Francisco
*Mousse de Chene 30 Amsterdam
*Musc 25 Los Angeles
*Poivre 23 London
*Tubereuse 40 New York
*Vanille 44 Paris
*Tabac 28 Miami
*Bigarade 18 Hong Kong
*Citron 28 Seoul
*Cedrat 37 Berlin
Locations
The first store opened on
Elizabeth Street in New York's
Nolita
Nolita, sometimes written as NoLIta and deriving from "North of Little Italy",Roberts, Sam"New York’s Little Italy, Littler by the Year"''New York Times'' (February 21, 2011) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. No ...
neighborhood. The brand has standalone boutiques and counters in
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s in countries and regions including the US, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Hong Kong, UAE, Kuwait, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
In popular culture
In
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
's 2016 visual album ''
Lemonade
Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage.
There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...
'', the singer was depicted burning two Le Labo Santal 26 candles during the sequence for "Sandcastles".
[Brennan Kilbane]
Beyoncé <3s Le Labo
intothegloss.com 2016/04
See also
*
Diptyque
St Germain Diptyque is a luxury French fragrance brand.
Based in Paris, the company produces eau de parfum, eau de toilette, scented candles, and perfume oil diffusers.
Its original boutique is still located at 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain in t ...
*
Byredo
Byredo is a Swedish company producing fragrances, leather goods, and accessories made in Sweden. Byredo is a portmanteau of "By Redolence". It was founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Ben Gorham.
It deals with leather products, perfumes, and the fi ...
*
Francis Kurkdjian
Francis Kurkdjian (born 14 May 1969) is a French perfumer and businessman of Armenian descent. He is best known for creating the men's fragrance Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1995, which has become one of the world's best-selling perfumes. ...
*
List of perfumes
This is a list of some of the most widely known commercially available perfumes from the fourteenth century onwards, sortable by year, name, company, perfumer, and the authority for its notability.
See also
* Perfume
* List of celebrity-brande ...
References
External links
Instagram
{{Perfume
Luxury brands
Perfume houses
Estée Lauder Companies
Niche perfumes