Le Labo

Le Labo is a fragrance and lifestyle brand founded in 2006 by Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot. Although its name means “the laboratory” in French and its creative identity is strongly associated with French perfumery, the brand was established in New York City and is based there. Its story combines the traditions of Grasse, France, with a deliberately urban, workshop-like retail and product experience. The brand’s central proposition is a form of “slow perfumery.” Rather than presenting fragrance primarily through celebrity endorsement or seasonal fashion collections, Le Labo emphasizes composition, raw materials, the work of the perfumer, and the sense that each bottle is prepared as an individual object. Its fragrances are generally identified by a principal scent note and a number indicating the total number of ingredients in the formula. This naming system gives the products a technical, laboratory-inspired character while also making the scent profile part of the brand’s identity. Le Labo’s first boutique opened at 233 Elizabeth Street in New York’s Nolita neighborhood. The store format helped establish the brand’s distinctive retail language: restrained interiors, visible preparation and labeling, apothecary references, and an emphasis on direct interaction with the product. The company subsequently expanded through standalone stores and department-store counters across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Australia. Its portfolio includes eau de parfums, candles, body products, grooming products, home fragrances, and related lifestyle goods. Signature fragrances include Santal 33, Thé Noir 29, Thé Matcha 26, Another 13, Bergamote 22, Rose 31, and Vetiver 46. Santal 33 became particularly associated with contemporary niche fragrance culture and helped make Le Labo recognizable well beyond specialist perfume circles. Another 13 originated from a 2010 commission by Another Magazine and became one of the brand’s best-known compositions. A major extension of the brand is the City Exclusives collection. Each fragrance is linked to a particular city and is normally sold only in that associated market. Examples include Gaiac 10 for Tokyo, Myrrhe 55 for Shanghai, Bigarade 18 for Hong Kong, Cuir 28 for Dubai, Tubereuse 40 for New York, and Osmanthus 19 for Kyoto. The collection uses geographic scarcity and local association as part of its positioning. During the annual City Exclusive event, the fragrances are made available more broadly for a limited period, while September is associated with in-store availability across the collection. Le Labo was acquired by Estée Lauder Companies in 2014. Under that ownership, the brand has continued to operate with a specialized, artisanal identity while benefiting from the international infrastructure of a major beauty group. Its distribution has broadened, but the brand’s differentiation remains rooted in fragrance authorship, minimalist packaging, personalized presentation, and a premium niche-perfumery image.

Le Labo emerged in 2006 from the collaboration of Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot. The founders framed the brand around a return to the craft and sensory specificity of perfumery, using the laboratory as both a literal and symbolic reference. The French name evokes technical experimentation, while the company’s operating base and first retail expression were firmly connected to New York City. The brand’s first store at 233 Elizabeth Street in Nolita established many of the features that would become central to Le Labo’s identity. It presented fragrance in an environment closer to an apothecary or working studio than to a conventional luxury cosmetics counter. Packaging was intentionally restrained, and labels conveyed formula information and preparation details. This approach made the act of buying perfume feel more personal and less standardized, particularly when compared with highly visual designer-fragrance launches. Le Labo’s product architecture also distinguished it from mainstream fragrance brands. Many perfumes were named for a leading note followed by a number representing the formula’s ingredient count. The system gave products names such as Santal 33, Bergamote 22, Rose 31, and Vetiver 46, combining a readable olfactory reference with a technical code. The resulting language supported the brand’s laboratory theme and encouraged consumers to engage with the scent itself rather than with a conventional narrative built around a fashion house or celebrity. In 2010, Another Magazine commissioned Le Labo to create an exclusive scent. The project produced Another 13, which later became one of the brand’s important commercial and cultural references. The fragrance helped demonstrate that Le Labo could move beyond its original boutique audience while preserving an editorial and niche-perfumery character. The company developed a broader portfolio around its perfumes, including candles, body products, grooming products, and other home and personal-care items. Its candles became particularly visible as extensions of the fragrance identity, allowing the brand to occupy both personal scent and domestic scent categories. Le Labo also developed the City Exclusives collection as a distinctive form of geographic merchandising. Each composition was associated with a particular city and ordinarily restricted to that city’s stores or market. Tokyo’s Gaiac 10, Shanghai’s Myrrhe 55, Hong Kong’s Bigarade 18, Dubai’s Cuir 28, New York’s Tubereuse 40, and Kyoto’s Osmanthus 19 illustrate the model. The collection created a relationship between fragrance and place while also introducing controlled scarcity. The annual City Exclusive event temporarily broadens access, allowing the fragrances to be purchased online during a defined period and in stores during September. Le Labo expanded internationally through its own boutiques and department-store counters. Its footprint came to include markets in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. This expansion made the brand an internationally recognized name in premium fragrance, while its stores continued to communicate an independent, workshop-oriented identity. Estée Lauder Companies acquired Le Labo in 2014. The acquisition gave the brand access to the resources and distribution capabilities of a global beauty company. Le Labo nevertheless continued to be presented as a specialized fragrance house rather than being absorbed into a mass-market portfolio identity. Its growth under Estée Lauder has been associated with maintaining its signature packaging, formula naming, city-based exclusivity, and premium positioning. The brand’s cultural visibility has also extended beyond the perfume industry. Le Labo Santal 26 candles appeared in Beyoncé’s 2016 visual album Lemonade, and Santal 33 was referenced through the wardrobe and character styling of the film Red, White & Royal Blue. These appearances are examples of the brand’s wider cultural recognition, although they do not replace its core emphasis on fragrance composition and retail experience.

1. 2025Osmanthus 19 is identified as the latest City Exclusive

   The City Exclusives range includes Osmanthus 19, associated with Kyoto.

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2. 2014Acquisition by Estée Lauder Companies

   Estée Lauder Companies purchases Le Labo and adds the brand to its international beauty portfolio.

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3. 2010Another 13 is created

   A commission from Another Magazine results in the Another 13 fragrance.

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4. 2006Le Labo is founded

   Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot establish Le Labo in New York City, drawing on French perfumery traditions and a laboratory-inspired concept.

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5. 2006First boutique opens in New York

   The brand opens its first boutique at 233 Elizabeth Street in the Nolita neighborhood of New York City.

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Premium niche perfumery with an artisanal, laboratory-inspired identity. Le Labo emphasizes distinctive fragrance compositions, named formulas, visible craftsmanship, personalization, urban boutique design, and scarcity through city-specific releases.

• Santal 33Eau de parfum

  One of Le Labo’s best-known fragrances, Santal 33 is built around a sandalwood-led identity and became strongly associated with the brand’s rise in contemporary niche fragrance culture. It is sold as part of the regular fragrance line and is also available in related product formats.

• Thé Noir 29Eau de parfum

  Thé Noir 29 is a prominent regular-line fragrance named around black tea. It represents Le Labo’s approach of using a principal scent reference and a numerical formula designation as the product’s central name.

• Thé Matcha 26Eau de parfum

  Thé Matcha 26 is a regular-line fragrance associated with matcha and the brand’s understated, ingredient-led naming system. It is among the scents frequently identified with Le Labo’s current core offering.

• Another 13Eau de parfum2010

  Another 13 originated in a 2010 exclusive commission from Another Magazine. It subsequently became part of Le Labo’s recognized fragrance portfolio and illustrates the brand’s connection to editorial and cultural collaborations.

• City ExclusivesLimited-distribution fragrance collection

  The City Exclusives collection assigns individual fragrances to cities around the world. Examples include Gaiac 10 for Tokyo, Myrrhe 55 for Shanghai, Bigarade 18 for Hong Kong, Cuir 28 for Dubai, Tubereuse 40 for New York, and Osmanthus 19 for Kyoto. The scents are generally restricted to their associated markets, with broader access offered during the annual City Exclusive event.

• Le Labo CandlesHome fragrance

  Le Labo’s candle range extends its fragrance identity into the home. The candles use the brand’s recognizable scent vocabulary and minimalist presentation, making them an important lifestyle category alongside eau de parfum.

• Body and grooming productsPersonal care

  Beyond fine fragrance, Le Labo offers body-care and grooming products that carry its scent-led, apothecary-inspired design language. These products broaden the brand’s relationship with customers beyond perfume and candles.

• 2016Cultural visibility through Lemonade

  United States · International

  Two Le Labo Santal 26 candles appear in a sequence of Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade.

  Outcome. The appearance contributed to the brand’s visibility in popular culture.

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• 2010Another Magazine collaboration

  International

  Le Labo created an exclusive fragrance for Another Magazine. The collaboration produced Another 13, which later became part of the brand’s regular recognized portfolio.

  Outcome. Another 13 developed into one of Le Labo’s best-known fragrances.

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• City Exclusive annual event

  International

  Le Labo periodically opens access to its normally city-restricted City Exclusives collection. The event allows online purchases during August and September and in-store access across the collection during September.

  Outcome. The program reinforces the collection’s scarcity and city-based positioning while creating a recurring international sales moment.

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• 2014Join the Estée Lauder Companies portfolioM&A

  Le Labo had developed as an independent-feeling niche fragrance brand with a New York base and international ambitions.

  What changed. Estée Lauder Companies acquired Le Labo.

  Aftermath. Le Labo continued to operate as a distinct premium fragrance brand while gaining access to the parent company’s international resources and distribution network.

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• 2010Launch of Another 13Product launch

  Another Magazine commissioned Le Labo to develop an exclusive fragrance.

  What changed. Le Labo created Another 13 for the publication.

  Aftermath. Another 13 later became part of Le Labo’s broader fragrance offering and a frequently recognized product in the portfolio.

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• 2025Le Labo expands its City Exclusives collection with Osmanthus 19 for Kyoto

  Osmanthus 19 was identified as the newest City Exclusives fragrance, extending the collection’s city-linked model to Kyoto.

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• 2014Estée Lauder Companies acquires Le Labo

  Estée Lauder Companies purchased Le Labo, bringing the niche fragrance brand into its portfolio while retaining Le Labo’s distinct artisanal positioning.

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• 2010Le Labo develops Another 13 for Another Magazine

  Le Labo created an exclusive fragrance for Another Magazine. The resulting Another 13 later became part of the brand’s recognized fragrance range.

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1. Le Labo