WhatScent

OliveEyes@oliveeyes94

· Edited

Wear

City Exclusives Sampling Round III

Coriandre 39 by Le LaboLe LaboCoriandre 394.37 ratings

Well, someone couldn't wait until the weekend... I've popped in a few times this week - a little spritz here, a little spritz there. As always, they've all been tested on skin and given the whole day to develop.

Aldehyde 44: A burst of clean, sparkly, laundry-detergent aldehydes, bringing Acne Studios to mind. It soon loses its sparkle and settles into a pleasant combination of powdery white florals and vanillic musks. After a while, I start getting whiffs of a sharp, industrial soap, nudging this into dislike territory. 4.5/10

Cedrat 37: What a beautiful citrus. Not sharp like lemon or sweet like orange, but an elegantly rounded, tart citron, warmed by spicy ginger and wrapped in suave musks. This stays more citrusy than Imagination, and doesn't have the same level of smooth, ambrox-richness, but it's close. I'm not a citrus guy, but this is gorgeous. 8.5/10

Coriandre 39: A bright, stemmy, lime-infused leafiness that barely resembles coriander. The stemminess dries out, becomes a little woody, and takes on a subtly sweet, figgy-floral creaminess. The lotion-like finish reminds me of Thé Matcha and Philosykos, though not as good as either. 6.75/10

Cuir 28: The opening brings a clean, bright leatheriness, but it's short-lived. This is really a vetiver fragrance: dry, woody vetiver with a touch of smoky, vanillic sweetness. The leather provides more smoothness than scent. I'm reminded of Sultan Vetiver - a crisp, classy, and overall superior take on leather-textured vetiver, but the wafts of sweet roots and clean musks that emerge in Cuir's drydown are very pleasant indeed. 7.75/10

Osmanthus 19: Insultingly light. A ghostly, supple suede, a vague, fizzy incense, and a dusky-orange floral. I'm clutching at straws, though - even after three wears, unless my nose is against my wrist, I barely smell a thing. The drydown of dusty woods and sticky suede is only marginally more perceptible, but does last all day. Far from unpleasant, but extremely underwhelming. 5.75/10

Wore it on September 9, 2026

  • Afternoon
  • Rainy
  • Warm
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Comments6

  1. MoMarie@momarie

    · Edited

    I don’t think I’ve ever been more frustrated by a fragrance until Osmanthus 19. The scent itself is a total love for me; a not overly-sweet osmanthus atop the whispery incense base is a DREAM that I have yet to find something else that scratches that itch. But, having to overspray a million times to find that scent is unacceptable at the ridiculous City Exclusives price point. If it performed, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Sigh.

    1. OliveEyes@oliveeyes94

      · Edited

      I thought it was a 'me problem' at first. But after trying it three times, on three separate days, with three sprays each time, and still barely getting a thing, I realised it's just some criminally weak juice. So hard to rate highly when it's that faint, despite having so much potential. Have you tried Le Labo's Benjoin? Smells somewhat similar to Osmanthus to me, with that fizzy, suede-like muskiness, but certainly much stronger. I'm wearing Diptyque Kimonanthe tonight, and the osmanthus note here blows the Le Labo completely out of the water. Any ghostly suede/floral/fruit/incense facet we smell in Osmanthus 19 is turned way up. Certainly much sweeter, but not off-puttingly so. Discontinued though, so there's that.

    2. MoMarie@momarie

      Replying to @oliveeyes94

      I have tried (and much enjoyed!) those similar base notes of Benjoin 19, but it’s lacking the floral open I like in Osmanthus 19. I haven’t tried Benjoin Boheme yet from Diptyque but heard it might also be in a similar camp. And I saw your post about Kimonanthe! That sounds incredible, but I don’t want to set myself up for further heartbreak chasing a DT, lol.

    3. OliveEyes@oliveeyes94

      · Edited

      Replying to @momarie

      A little too coca-cola-like for my personal preferences too - I much prefer benzoin to smell rich, resinous and golden, rather than the more fizzy, citrusy, frankincensey feeling of Benjoin 19's resins. Benjoin Bohème is my favourite fragrance of all time!! I feel very fortunate to have one of the old 100ml bottles. It doesn't remind me of Osmanthus 19 at all though, it's a much richer, sweeter (but not really sweet), more luscious affair.

  2. Curlyhen@curlyhen

    Ah nooo, the Osmanthus 19 sounds really disappointing 😩😩😩 but thanks for reporting back lol. The Cedrat sounds really promising!

    On the story

    1. OliveEyes@oliveeyes94

      So disappointing, Curly! Very rarely does a perfume behave in such a way. All the elements of something that should be beautifully present, but it's just not. Cedrat has made me feel optimistic about the three City Exclusives citruses I'm yet to try.

      On the story

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