Quick answers
History
Since 2006, Le Labo has tied a fragrance to a city and, for the rest of the year, sold it only in that city's lab. The City Exclusive Collection now runs to nineteen scents, from Gaiac 10 for Tokyo to Vanille 44 for Paris. Shiu 25 is the newest entry, and the first in several seasons.
The perfume debuted in spring 2026 at the house's Beijing lab, in the He Yuan district, where it remains available year round. Everywhere else it follows the program's rule: the house opens a window in August and September, discovery sizes first, then full bottles, and closes it again until the following year.
The number attached to the name follows house convention: it states how many materials the formula contains. Twenty five here, for a perfume built around a single lead material, shiu.
Fragrance notes
Scent profile
Ho wood is a material niche perfumery rarely puts on the marquee. Distilled from Cinnamomum camphora, it carries a natural linalool that makes it floral and woody at once, with a camphor edge that recalls freshly cut timber. That slightly cold clarity holds the centre of Shiu 25.
Iris works as texture more than as note. Rooty and powdery, it thickens the wood without truly softening it, and sets the matte grain the house has cultivated since Iris 39. Olibanum, dry and resinous, pulls the whole toward incense rather than balsam.
The warm woods close without weight. This stays in the register Le Labo handles best: a legible, steady fragrance with no sillage effect, worn like a garment rather than announced.
Key characteristics
When and where to wear
Shiu 25 is a pale woody for the shoulder seasons. Its restraint makes it a daytime fragrance more than an evening one, and a solid choice where you want to be dressed without being noticed.
How to wear it
Seasonal fit
| Season | Fit | Critical notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | ★★★★ | Ho wood finds its clarity here. |
| Summer | ★★★☆ | Wearable, the camphor edge helps. |
| Fall | ★★★★ | Iris and olibanum gain body. |
| Winter | ★★☆☆ | A little short against the cold. |
Context fit
| Context | Fit | Wear recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Office | ★★★★ | Discreet and clean, no risk. |
| Everyday | ★★★★ | The house's natural register. |
| Evening | ★★☆☆ | Too restrained for a dressed evening. |
| Travel | ★★★★ | The discovery format suits it. |
Similar perfumes
The pale wood and powdery iris of Shiu 25 place it near the house's dry woodies and a few niche irises.
| Perfume | House · year | Why it is close |
|---|---|---|
| Santal 33 | Le Labo · 2011 | The house's other signature woody, milkier and more leathery. |
| Iris Nazarena | Aedes de Venustas · 2013 | The same crossing of iris and incense, in a more mineral reading. |
| Encens Japonais | Aedes de Venustas · 2021 | A woody incense of comparable restraint, built on pale wood. |