LE LABO

In Le Labo is a A New York-based perfume house which has become iconic for its collection of handmade perfumes and home scents.The store aesthetic is very sleek and modern, feeling very Scandi inspired. Personally, Le Labo is my favourite and most unique brands out there with the development of their handmade fragrances and in-store experience. When researching in London, I headed to the concession in Liberty's in order to try find some insights! I knew of the brand and their aesthetic but didn't really have much deeper knowledge, or knew what they stood for so this was important to me. WHAT DOES THE NUMBER AT THE END OF EACH FRAGRANCE NAME MEAN? "It stands for how many notes are in the fragrance. Ylang 49 has the highest number, and it’s one of our bestselling scents – there are 49 notes in there, 49 ingredients, 49 things going on – it’s super complex."

I suppose today the brand isn't as niche as it once was as it has grown so much in the past couple of years, however the unique aesthetic continues to stand out in the mass market. The brand focuses around the ingredients and all products being handmade. I love the minimal packaging - I think it reflects the brand image and the naturalness of the ingredients. But aswell, the brand is such a blank canvas I think this gives the customer the ability to create their own story and connection with the brand.

Personalisation is also something Le Labo prides itself in, allowing the consumer to have a message, name or date engraved on the bottle - further creating a connection with the customer on a more personal level.

Something else I really like about Le Labo is the unique scents they have for all the cities Le Labo have stand alone stores in: Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Moscow, San Francisco and Dubai. They rarely release new fragrances, making newness from them ever more covetable, but these are only sold in the city they are made for and theres no way to get hold of them any other way!

The brand strive to be not luxury but affordable for people who want to be part of the community. Le Labo wants people to understand that perfumery is approachable, and not elitest, and they want to invite people into their family. As a fragrance brand, it is presented to keep prices at an average level allowing younger consumers to join the community of Le Labo. The smallest bottles are £57 which means they are around average, allowing more people to be able to purchase.

In terms of the store aesthetic, all stores follow the same vision. There is a lot of reclaimed, vintage looking wood and steel which a cosy but industrial feel throughout. The message the store interior tells is that its okay to reuse and recycle and again I think this is a huge part of the brand and their story. This links to the idea of refilling: in-store you can update your fragrance by bring in your empty bottle but re-purchasing the perfume for a reduced price allowing consumers to maintain their fragrance history with the brand and continue the idea of renewal.

Over the years, the success of the brand has grown profoundly, with even the like of Justin Bieber tweeting about the famous Santal 33. The brand has established itself over the last couple of years through influencers and word-of-mouth, the bottles and stores 'instagrammable' look, has acted as promotion as people snap a picture and post it due to its aesthetic. I thoroughly feel that Le Labo as a fragrance brand, work differently to classic perfume companies. They have found a gap in the market which was needing something individual and conceptual, reaching the hearts of the new subculture of ‘hipster’. Slowly they have grown throughout the years creating something new and different.