Le Labo City Exclusive Gaiac 10 + Memories of the Past

Longtime readers of Messy Wands would know that I'm terrible at identifying scents. I smell a thing, but I can't describe what the thing is, not knowing the difference between the smell of cedar or oak or musk or any of the floral varietals. I've always admired perfume bloggers who seem to be able to identify different notes with precision, whereas my approach to fragrance resembles a weak hand-flapping motion. I can tell you what I like, but I can't tell you what it smells like.

For that reason, I've written about perfumes maybe twice in the entire history of the blog. Today though, I invite you to experience something truly special: Le Labo Gaiac 10.

Gaiac 10 is one of Le Labo's city exclusives, which are limited edition scents usually only available for sale in its inspiration city. Perhaps unsurprisingly if you know me, Gaiac 10 is the Tokyo edition. I remember chancing upon the collection at the Williamsburg Le Labo store. By then, I've heard of Gaiac 10 being spoken about with reverence by other beauty bloggers, so it was the first one I spritzed on. It drew me in a way no other perfume has ever done, and to this day remains the only perfume I would wear.

Since I have no vocabulary to describe this smell, in Le Labo's own words:

Gaïac is a very hard, greenish wood that isn’t as dry as cedar, but is as subtle, profound and stable. Le Labo’s Gaiac 10 is a tense formula built on gaiac wood and surrounded by musks (4 different types in all), with hints of cedar and olibanum (incense).

To me, it smells like a walk in a clean forest, like this:

This was me in Mount Kōya in 2015

As the label indicates, I purchased it for myself almost exactly two years ago. I recall writing those specific words down to serve as a reminder of time gone by. In September 2017, I was in my third semester at Columbia University and was taking my first notoriously difficult undergraduate CS class. I was desperate to do well, knowing that the outcome would affect my chances of getting into the master's program. That fall, I met some of my best friends at Columbia, which finally gave me the college friendship experience I've always craved (I didn't have a lot of friends in undergrad because of a controlling ex, but that's a story for another day). I also learned a lot about myself when my boyfriend wanted to take a break — I descended into an anxious wreck because it was a situation that wasn't under my control. I was a shell of a human being because I kept spiraling, going over what-ifs and plausible scenarios that could happen, wanting to be prepared when it did. What to do if he broke up with me, what to do if he asked to get back together, and every decision spawned more branches. Part of it was a normal reaction to a breakup, but most of it was anxiety as I have never experienced it before.

We eventually made up, but I also committed to a lot of introspection and self-therapy because I didn't want to be the kind of person who falls apart anymore. My particular form of therapy is journaling and asking myself the hard questions. If I go down five levels of why, I would usually get to the root of the problem. I think it's easy to identify that I'm angry or unhappy, but it's much more difficult to admit that the emotion I'm feeling is due to some sort of insecurity I have with myself. I've found, however, that being truly honest with myself is mentally and emotionally freeing.

I'm glad I decided to label my bottle in such a way, otherwise I would have forgotten about the minutiae of a time that was pivotal in my life.

Le Labo city exclusives are available worldwide in the month of September. That means you are able to smell every single city exclusive at your local Le Labo store. If you're not close to one, you can purchase discovery sets (and full size bottles) on the website. Also, if your city exclusive bottle runs out, you can refill it at any Le Labo store at any time.