Dip-Dyed Silk: Le Labo Aldehyde 44

When the news first bombed about Le Labo discontinuing their city-exclusive to Dallas, Texas, Aldehyde 44 (due to Barneys closing down the store which carried it), the collective wonder was palpable. Why not carry it elsewhere? Surely, it had enough fans to guarantee its sales quota within the range.

Perhaps the fact that it's was a Dallas city-exclusive (only Dallas inhabitants and visitors of the city's Le Labo boutique at Barneys could partake of the sprakling waters!) is not totally random as imagined nevertheless. I admit I am among those who are rather annoyed by the city-exclusivity trick of Le Labo, if only because my line favorites happen to be...exactly, city exclusives: Poivre 23 (only available in London) and Gaiac 10 (only available in Tokyo). And if one is within easy reach, the other requires a trip round the globe for me. Still, this incident with Aldehyde 44 allows me to see how there's some rhyme and some reason behind the choices.

Aldehydes are not city or country specific, of course. They comprise a large group of usually synthetically recreated ingredients with varying scents, incorporated within perfume formulae. The aliphatic aldehydes or "fatty aldehydes" in particular (i.e. the string of aldehydes C10, C11 and C12, named after the number of carbon atoms contained in their molecule) present in Chanel No.5 have become "code" for the perfumery trope of "aldehydic floral," in which Le Labo's specimen nicely fits. Largely Le Labo's take in Aldehyde 44 is more inspired by the sweeter, soapier, snowy-capped mountains seen flying above in lesser-known (and more American-geared) Godzilla-aldehydic Chanel No.22 and the equally American "sharp clean" White Linen by Estee Lauder than the muskier-sexier-dirtier (aka Frenchier) Chanel No.5. Aldehyde 44 is a clean, rested, posh fragrance; depilated, smoothed and hosed and full of energy, not languor. It's so Dallas! One could argue that there is also the New York City Tubereuse 40 and the Los Angeles Musc 25 to speak of America to the Le Labo clientele, but those are also attuned to the specific "feel" of the cities in question—one high-strung, the other laid-back. Again, there's rhyme and reason.

What is characteristic is there is no powderiness in Aldehyde 44, as associated with other retro fragrances that utilize orris and violet notes to denote cosmetic products and old-school face powder. Instead the citrusy waxy-soapy-fatty core makes me think it's what a hypothetical child between Ivoire by Balmain and White Linen would be like: the green sudsy oiliness of the former meets the fatty sweetness of the latter, the rosy facets taking on a peppery bite with lots of buds' green, a hint of pear fruit in there too.

If you read that Aldehyde 44 contains woods and vanilla and imagine a comforting scent, you will are in for a surprise: the woods only come from the C12 aldehyde and the silvery refracting amber synthetic, while the citrusy touches are reminiscent of bitterish, tangy orange rind. The floral notes cannot be taken apart; it's an abstract blend where no note rises above the rest. Aldehyde 44 possesses "sweetness" of another kind altogether and it can only be compared to that encountered in No.22 (especially in its less incense-y modern incarnation as part of Les Exclusifs in Eau de toilette) or the classic Lauder referenced above. The sillage is civilized, but definitely there, and the lasting power very good. Lovers of the elegant polished genre, rejoice! This is a well-crafted specimen—cool, soft and not for everyone.

Aldehyde 44 will be available for purchase online at the Le Labo store for a while longer, till the end of March 2013. After that, kaput!
 

Elena Vosnaki Elena Vosnaki is a historian and perfume writer from Greece and a Writer for Fragrantica. She is the founder and editor of Perfume Shrine, one of the most respected independent online publications on perfume containing fragrance reviews, industry interviews, essays on raw materials and perfume history, a winner in Fragrantica Blog Awards and a finalist in numerous blog awards contests. Her writing was recognized at the Fifi Awards for Editorial Excellence in 2009 and she contributes to publications around the world.