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This unique perfume is my favourite summer scent
Its versatility warrants the hefty price tag
Finding the best perfume for your summer of barbecues, beach days and Aperol spritz soirées can be a task and a half. Indeed, between your body sprays, eau de parfums and solid perfumes, there’s a myriad of scents to choose from and even more floral-woody-musky notes to contend with.
Le Labo, with its 20+ celeb-adored (Paul Mescal and Ryan Reynolds are among fans) fragrances, is perhaps best known for its signature Santal 33 scent (£168, Johnlewis.com), but the brand has been on the market for more than 15 years now and has quite the offering beyond the warm confines of santal’s spicy seduction. Certainly, a mere two-second search on TikTok for Le Labo’s thé matcha 26 (£168, Cultbeauty.co.uk) will bring you face-to-face with more than 4 million posts.
While the team has tested many of the brand’s scents, I’m confident that thé matcha 26 – a release from 2021 – will be a mainstay in your summer beauty bag. Naturally, a £168 perfume isn’t something you’re likely to impulse purchase so I wanted to test it from top to toe and give you all the intel before you part with your money. Read on to see how it fared.
How I tested
I spent three months testing thé matcha 26, both as a solo spritz and an element in my perfume layering experiments (it pairs wonderfully with the signature Chloe eau de toilette). When testing, I took note of how long the scent lasted on my skin, whether or not it complemented different temperatures and occasions, and if I’d reach for it on a day-to-day basis. Keep scrolling for my honest thoughts.
Le Labo thé matcha 26
- Sizes: 50ml or 100ml
- Notes: Matcha tea, fig, vetivier, cedar and orange
- The scent in a nutshell: Like a fresh garden
- Why we love it
- Not overpowering
- Minimalist and travel-friendly bottle
- Can be layered with other perfumes
- Take note
- Perhaps not a year-roundscent
Thé matcha 26 comes packaged in an apothecary-style minimalist bottle that’s travel-friendly (no bells and whistles) and, I’m pleased to say, leak-proof. It adds a lovely mid-century modern feel to your beauty #shelfie and, at its premium price point we’d hope so, too.
As for the scent, it really encapsulates that ‘dewy grass on a crisp morning’ smell, with both earthy undertones in the matcha and lighter, airier notes from the vetiver. Frequently friends and passersby have commented on the scent I’m wearing, including at later points in the day when I couldn’t even detect it. The fragrance layers with heavier (read: sweet and musky, think Valentino uomo born in Roma) evening scents brilliantly, keeping it in my perfume rotation for longer. While I might not reach for it come December, I wouldn’t rule it out as a nighttime fragrance either.
Read more: I’m going to be spritzing the Rituals sakura hair and body mist all summer long
Thé matcha 26 has a unique scent, erring on both the citrusy and floral ends of the spectrum, and is unlikely to compare to anything you’ve smelt before. Still, even with this differentiation, it’s a perfume that I want accompanying me nine times out of 10, especially given how little of a spritz I’d need to feel fully encapsulated. The latter is somewhat of a must with a scent this high on the price scale.
The verdict: Le Labo thé matcha 26
Le Labo thé matcha 26 offers a new take on the traditional daisy-rose-lily experience of floral female fragrances of yore. It’s refreshing, light and botanical with a touch of sweetness for that subtle soft element. I loved how many people could distinguish the difference between this scent on my skin. It was also a *must* that it didn’t lead all over my toiletry bag. I’ll be taking this with me from morning to night and, in my opinion, its versatility warrants the hefty price tag.