Why is the 'Santal 33' fragrance so incredibly popular?

New York's Le Labo perfumery created "Santal 33" in 2011, a niche fragrance that has since become a global phenomenon, particularly among a young, urban, and art-conscious demographic. The scent, characterized by notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, cardamom, leather, iris, and violet, is described by professionals as dry, warm, creamy-woody, spicy, and slightly powdery, with a raw, cool, and earthy quality. Some even detect hints of pickles or dill in its complex aroma.

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Santal 33 is one of the most famous niche scents in the world. The brand Le Labo created it.

The fragrance's journey to becoming a bestseller is unusual. It began as a candle that initially struggled to sell. However, the woody scent appealed to the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan, which purchased a large batch. After gifting a candle to a beauty journalist, who then shared it with others, demand grew from hotel guests and the journalist alike for a perfume version. Le Labo initially released a room spray, "Santal 26," before being inspired to create "Santal 33" as a personal fragrance after encountering a man wearing the room spray as cologne and being captivated by its scent on his skin.

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Hipsters around the world recognize each other above all through a specific Le Labo creation. "Santal 33" is the name of the brand's most important scent.

Founded in 2006 by Edouard Roschi and Fabrice Penot, Le Labo was acquired by Estée Lauder in 2014. Despite its global expansion to over 100 stores worldwide, the brand maintains its image, shaped by its New York creative origins, as unconventional, trendy, and slightly eccentric. The opening of a new Le Labo boutique on Tuchlauben in Vienna's city center highlights the brand's continued allure, with customers like a young woman entering the minimalist store specifically to experience "Santal 33," reinforcing its status as a bestseller and a recognizable code for a specific subculture.

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She is here because she wants to smell Santal 33.