Le Labo
Soy wax and cult perfumery, hand-poured
The candle arm of the most quietly influential perfume house of the last twenty years. Soy wax, apothecary styling and fragrance compositions that translate the Santal 33 sensibility into a room.
The Le Labo review
Fabrice Penot and Eddie Roschi left Giorgio Armani Beauty to open Le Labo in New York’s Nolita in 2006, with a proposition that felt genuinely new at the time: fragrances blended in front of you, labelled with your name and the date. Santal 33 went on to become one of the defining scents of the 2010s, and the candle line carries the same DNA.
The candles are poured in soy wax, which matters. Soy burns cooler and cleaner than paraffin and carries fragrance oil well at lower temperatures, and Le Labo pairs it with a generous fragrance load. Santal 33 as a candle is unmistakably the perfume: sandalwood, cardamom, leather and that distinctive dry violet accent. Figue 15 and Pin 12 are seasonal standouts.
Design is deliberately anti-luxury: brown apothecary glass, a plain typewriter label, no gilding. Whether that reads as refreshingly honest or as underwhelming for the money is a matter of taste, and it is the one place the brand loses ground to Trudon and Byredo. Sustainability scores well thanks to the soy wax and the brand’s refill and recycling programmes in its own boutiques.
Signature scents
- Santal 33
- Figue 15
- Pin 12
- Baie 19
- Palo Santo 14
The verdict
What we like
- Soy wax burns cool, clean and slow
- Candle versions genuinely match the perfumes
- High fragrance oil load for excellent throw
- Refill and recycling programmes in boutiques
- Personalised labelling available in store
Worth knowing
- Apothecary styling looks plain next to rivals
- Large format prices climb steeply
- Some scents are polarising, Santal 33 especially