Okay I fell: Le Labo Aldehyde 44

So there are perhaps only a few of you out there who aren’t aware that Le Labo has these things called City Exclusives: Ones that are meant to be a representation of the city in which they are housed. I am lucky in that I live in Los Angeles, which has, I think, the best of the bunch and that I was given a gigantic bottle of it. You’re likely aware of how I feel about the whole idea, especially since these exclusive-to-the-city can’t be had anywhere else indeed can be had, every August online and into the end of September at any Le Labo store. So it’s “exclusive” except when it isn’t. While I am pointing out the inherent dippiness in this, at least for one month out of the year I don’t have to go to Shanghai, Dubai or Miami to be disappointed or elated. So I was putting off and putting off caving in and just going to Le Labo and getting a damn bottle of this stuff. I don’t NEED it- I have enough perfume that, spritzing liberally, would take me well into mid-century to exhaust. It’s much more expensive than the non-exclusive scents and it will of course be available next year and I kind of do want to get a new phone.

All of which meant that on the last day of September I high-tailed it over to 3rd street and purchased a teeny bottle, which I have left sitting in it’s packaging for a month to macerate before using.

So how is it to live with and not just spritz from a decant? The same, but different. When I am reviewing something I tend to be rather, shall we just say, liberal in application? I am trying to discern notes and things so it’s spritz, spritz, spritz to the wrist and the crook of the elbow so I can bury my nose in it. When I am wearing it like I normally wear something then it’s a couple sprays on my chest before getting dressed- I don’t ascribe to the “spray, sashay, and walk away” school since that gets in on your clothes, not you. I like it when you need to get seriously in my space to smell what I am wearing. (It also helps in getting away with many scents that aren’t “office friendly” in most people eyes.

Dallas

So Aldehyde 44 does go on with Big Texas Airs upon first spritz- it’s all aldehydes, all right. Sweet and just this side of cloying, with a slightly bitter undertone that I think could be off-putting to some. Chanel No 5 seems brittle and constrained by comparison: she would be chauffeured around town in a plain black S-Class while miss Aldehyde would be driving her own SL-65, at about the speed of sound. Like Ms. Chanel, Ms. A gives flawless dinner parties, hosts all the correct charity events, and is a good and true friend. Unlike Ms. Chanel, she’d consume a Boilermaker with the same ease and panache as she would Bollinger, and while she has never ridden a mechanical bull, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. While wearing it the scent calms down quite a bit there’s still a bit of that “Boy, Howdy” aspect ready to kick up it’s heels whenever you move.

I’m really glad I bought a bottle, but am afraid that I might need a bigger size by the time next year rolls around. Winter’s coming and I think I’ll need some bottled “Boy, Howdy” to perk it up.

Well I won’t need another iPhone next year soooo…

My bottle was purchased at the 3rd street Le Labo.

Photos: my iPhone, Pexels, and Wikimedia Commons.