Most of us began our trek into niche perfumery through the doorway of our local purveyor of these kinds of fragrance. That is all well and good for those of us who live in major cities where those establishments are readily available. A trend I’ve noticed lately, is that of a niche sensibility extending to fragrances that are much more widely available. Marc Jacobs Bang’s use of pepper is an example of what I’m talking about. When I received the press release announcing the collaboration between Le Labo founders Fabrice Penot and Edouard Roschi with the chain store Anthropologie I was thinking here is another step up the stairway to niche finding a wider audience.

The five fragrance collection comes in two forms, EDP and solid, and is sort of unclearly labeled. There is the name of each fragrance and then another label glued over the name which says “By the Creators of Le Labo”. I’m not sure what the right names for these are but I’m just going to call them Le Labo Anthropologie with apologies to whomever needs apologizing to. The names and aesthetic each wants to hit are: Belle du Soir (spice), Bouquet Blanc (floral), Chant de Bois (spice), Orange Discrete (fruit), Poudre D’Orient (fresh). Nowhere in those descriptions do you see fruity floral and where you do see “fruity” I could easily have changed the official wording to citrus. You do see “fresh” but it is fresh as seen through the eyes of Le Labo which for those of you familiar with the line means, not like everyone else sees fresh. It is that view of perfumery being cautiously proposed to a more mass-audience that makes this collection so interesting to me and I wonder which, if any, of these fragrances will be the big breakout of the bunch.

 

Belle du Soir is more floral than spice to my nose. The top notes are dominated by neroli and waterlily. Galbanum is listed but I don’t pick it up until the florals in the heart have come to the fore and the mix of gardenia, rose, and jasmine can use the attenuation the galbanum provides because they are a quite powerful floral mix. It is when the promised “Soir” arrives, behind the sunny opening notes, that Belle du Soir turns more niche-like. An animalic musk accord mixed with an earthy patchouli dominate the closing stages and provide a nice contrast to the floral aspects of the heart. There is some wood floating around but it is the musk and patchouli that hold the center. As I said don’t be fooled by the description of Belle du Soir as spice it is floral with an earthy musky base.

 

Bouquet Blanc is described as floral and that almost seems an understatement. Bouquet Blanc might be the strongest fragrance I’ve ever encountered from Le Labo. This feels like one of the niche tuberose powerhouses as it starts loud and stays that way. There is a claim that there are top notes of cassis and bergamot and it is probably true but they last so fleetingly because the floral chorus wants to take the stage.  Tuberose is the soloist in this chorus but joining in harmony without getting drowned out are ylang ylang, orange blossom, and jasmine. It stays aggressively floral until very late when vetiver and sandalwood arrive to help usher the chorus offstage after they have sung themselves out. Bouquet Blanc is the smallest step away from mainstream of the five Le Labo Anthropologie scents. It is in the more rounded but aggressively loud tuberose laden heart it comes closest to feeling niche.

 

Chant de Bois is described in the press materials as a “femme woodsy combination” I very much disagree with the “femme” part of the description but completely concur with the “woodsy”. I think the femme description comes from the aldehyde that is in the top notes. Note to press release writers just because there are aldehydes present it doesn’t mean it is Chanel No. 5. Chant de Bois starts with grapefruit and aldehydes and it is a nice opening. The mix of jasmine and pink pepper in the heart is quite beautiful and really shows the kind of intensity that can be found in the spicy sweet contrast found in many niche fragrances. The base of Chant de Bois brings in the woodsy aspect in the presence of ambrox. Ambrox contributes its long lasting high pitched woodiness but it seems less problematic here than in other fragrances. I’d still prefer it to be replaced but it doesn’t take over the fragrance like it does in so many others.  Patchouli is there and it stands up to the ambrox quite nicely and keeps Chant de Bois on the right track.

 

Orange Discrete comes closest to what I think of when I think of a Le Labo kind of fragrance. The typical Le Labo fragrance like Patchouli 24 ends up not having anything to do with the titular note. Orange Discrete definitely has orange in it but it is not the central facet of this fragrance.  Galbanum and petitgrain open Orange Discrete this gives a mostly green opening with just a hint of orange from the petitgrain. The heart repeats the same pattern with orange blossom adding a hint of orange but jasmine and cyclamen take Orange Discrete down the same green path the top notes did but with a floral flourish. It comes to an end with a sharp edged vetiver matched with cedar and sandalwood. As I said if I found this fragrance in a clear apothecary bottle labeled “Orange 11” I wouldn’t even blink.

 

Poudre D’Orient is the one fragrance in the collection that is the most niche feeling to me because of the notes chosen and the overall feel of it. The beginning is the sharp almost metallic green quality violet leaves impart to a fragrance. This persists for a long enough time it might make someone who doesn’t care for unusual notes uncomfortable. I am someone who enjoys the razor sharp aspect of violet leaves and so reveled in the opening. Iris follows the violet up with its own cold majesty and sharp edges, of its own, in the heart. The opening half of Poudre D’Orient is an unapologetic coldly floral pas de deux which has a stark spare beauty. The base brings you in out of the cold as a mix of cashmere woods, vanilla, musk and sandalwood scrapes the ice off your olfactory windshield. Poudre D’Orient could be sold next to any niche product and not suffer by comparison.

All of the Le Labo Anthropologie fragrances have excellent longevity and moderate sillage in both EDP and solid forms.

I really hope for this kind of sensibility to be successful because I think it bridges mass-appeal and niche fragrances in a way that I think is good for the industry as a whole. I also have to comment on the price point at $62 for the 50mL EDP or $28 for the 4.5g solid perfume you could have all five of the EDP’s for a tad over any one of the regular Le Labo fragrances at the same size and I think that is a fantastic deal.

 

In the end, as a fragrance critic, the ones that really hit home with me were Orange Discrete and Poudre D’Orient as they are the biggest leaps for a mass audience to make. I believe that all of them allow for a modern perfume consumer to decide how big of a step they want to take up the niche stairway.

Disclosure: This review was based on a combination of samples obtained at Anthropologie stores and fragrances purchased by me.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor