I’m not convinced that Santal 33 is the ideal perfume choice for fall.
Dozens of TikTok videos and Instagram posts will tell you just that. The product and Le Labo, the luxury fragrance brand that makes it, have a cult-following.
I’m not part of that group. I tried the unisex fragrance last year and found it to be sharp, overpowering, and reminiscent of pickle juice.
That said, I can put my personal dislike aside. My real issue with recommending Santal 33 for fall is that I believe a different Le Labo scent is far more fitting.
That fragrance is Le Labo’s Thé Matcha 26.
A $240 perfume with notes of fig and cedar
With a name like Thé Matcha 26, you might think this Le Labo scent smells exactly like a cup of the Japanese drink.
It’s similar, but mixed with other unexpected notes.
On Le Labo’s website, the brand says the fragrance is made with “creamy fig” and “enticing bitter orange,” as well as “soft vetiver and textural cedar woods.”
Together, the ingredients create a scent that stays close to the skin. It’s meant to be smelled only by “those individuals lucky enough to be very close to the wearer.”
An average 50ml bottle of the perfume retails for $240. There’s also a smaller $110 option, and larger bottles that retail for $340 and $1,125 each.
In addition to perfume, Le Labo sells the scent as a $48 hand cream, a $65 shower gel, and an $85 body lotion.
Thé Matcha 26: calm, cozy, and subtle
From the minute I first smelled Thé Matcha 26, I knew it would become one of my favorite scents of all time.
Each note seems to be layered evenly, allowing me to smell matcha, cedar, fig, citrus, and the complexities of vetiver simultaneously.
I spray it each morning, and then get whiffs throughout the day. Each time, it feels like I’ve been transported to a brisk walk outside with colorful trees around me.
That said, it’s not just the scent of the perfume that reminds me of fall. It’s the calm and cozy energy it creates whenever I wear it.
On its website, Le Labo says the fragrance is meant to evoke feelings of home, familiarity, and “welcomed solitude” — all of which I’d also associate with the fall season.
In my experience, it does exactly that.
Maybe most importantly, though, I’ve found Thé Matcha 26 to be the perfect perfume to complement the fall scents I already love.
I want to smell pumpkins and apples when I visit my local farm. I want to embrace the way my house smells when autumn treats are baking in my oven.
I don’t want any of those scents to be overpowered by my perfume.
Luckily, this Le Labo scent coexists with all of the above. It’s the kind of perfume people don’t notice until they hug me, and then they want to know all the details.
I can’t say that would be the case if I wore Santal 33.
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