Le Labo Santal 33 Review
Illustration, not a product photo.
Le Labo Santal 33 is a woody fragrance (sandalwood, cedar, vetiver and smoky woods) from Le Labo, marketed as unisex. Le Labo is a niche house.
Price varies (no price snapshot observed)
Based on 53 Reddit owner comments (26 with a clear rating) · Top 77% of tracked fragrances by overall score
Is Le Labo Santal 33 worth it?
Owners are often disappointed: 3.1/5 overall from 26 rated owner comments, with an average owner rating of 3.8★. Owners talk most about value (5 mentions).
Who it suits
- You want unique: 3 owner comments praise it.
- You want compliments: 3 owner comments praise it.
- You want value: 2 owner comments praise it.
- Summer wear: the season owners mention most (2 comments).
- Everyday: the occasion owners mention most (2 comments).
Who should skip it
- Synthetic / harsh matters to you: 2 owner comments raise it as a downside.
- Projection matters to you: 1 owner comment raise it as a downside.
- Sweetness matters to you: 1 owner comment raise it as a downside.
Longevity, projection and compliments
| What owners report | Positive | Negative | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longevityi | 1 say it lasts well | 0 say it fades fast | 3.7 |
| Projectioni | 0 say it projects well | 1 call it weak or a skin scent | 2.9 |
| Complimentsi | 3 report compliments | 1 report none | 2.9 |
Counts of owner comments that describe this fragrance's performance on their own skin. "Not rated" means no owner described it.
When owners wear it
Seasons
Occasions
Number of owner comments mentioning each season or occasion alongside this fragrance (positive or negative).
What Reddit owners say
2/5 SweetnessFresh & clean“On fragrantica folks compare it to Santal 33, JHAG NAP, Commodity Paper - I don't get any of that.”
2/5 Synthetic / harsh“I'd think the pond scum scent comes from whatever they are using in their crystal accord. I use lavender and Ambroxan extensively and never get that pond smell. As far as a house I just can't get into, I'd say it's Parfums de Marly. They are either uninteresting or use too much super ambers. Greenly is the closest to being ok, it's just kinda boring. Le Labo would maybe second on the list, but I do like Santal 33 and Gaiac 10 so it's not a complete miss.”
5/5 Everyday“Santal 33 is a masterpiece and … Bam !”
5/5“Love it. I like everything Le Labo does. I wear their scents when I want to know exactly what I'm going to smell like a few hours from now. It may mellow, but it doesn't change through the day on my skin. I also feel like most of their scents “feel” the same; mostly one note, but always a muted, quality expression. And I know they're big cosmetic owned. But I love wearing them, especially Santal 33, Vetiver 46, Matcha 26.”
2/5“THIS. I didn't love the scent on me but I also didn't get pickles… and then I read about it somewhere and now I only get pickles from Santal 33 and You Doux.”
+48 more owner comments
5/5 Summer“The ones that I've been loving lately for the summer that are flower-free are Black Salt, Eucalyptus 20, Vetiver Fauve (like a sophisticated Santal 33 if you like that one), The Noir 29, Imagination, Gaiac 10, Afternoon Swim, Orpheon EDT, Another 13 (I usually use it as a layer straight out of the shower), Bergamote 22, Alto Astral. Black Salt has been an unexpected hit on me with my family - they love it maybe even more than I do.”
5/5“Another example is I have no idea how anyone is smelling pickles with Santal 33. I love pickles. Santal 33 smells absolutely nothing like pickles haha but noses are weird and for some others that all they get.”
4/5 Unique“I ordered santal 33 direct from Le Labo and noticed the bottle smelled very different than the one from my discovery set. I emailed them to ask about it (never demanded anything or was mad about the smell. It still smells great just different than the discovery bottle) and they immediately re-shipped a brand new bottle for free. All that to say sometimes it pays to buy direct”
4/5“4/5 hours on skin, days on clothes. As I said, I am still debating whether to refill or purchase Imagination. Santal 33 lasts really long on me and projects - I only need 3 sprays and I am good. I am thinking on purchasing another le Labo, probably Baie”
4/5“Gotcha. I've tried Matia and it's a solid Santal 33 spin off (nothing essential though), and ghost pines looks interesting. But I haven't had anything to do with the rest of the line”
1/5 Night out“Oh nooo don't tell me another note I like = cat piss 😭 I only have 1 frag with passion fruit (Armani Power of You), I had no idea people hated it. I'm a "10 (15?) years late to the party" Santal 33 lover - that cardamom hit that everyone says smells like dill pickles and cat piss? I cannot get enough. Luckily I hardly ever go out, sooo I wear it happily for myself, and ignore the hate.”
5/5“I just got my bottle of Dark Imagination today! I love a smoky rose so it was right up my alley. I also really liked Lola. I also enjoyed Heathens. Folks compare to Le Labo Santal 33, but I felt it was more interesting than that scent, especially coming from someone who doesn't like Santal 33…They are all fun and I love the stories associated with each scent!”
5/5“Le labo was my first niche brand I've gotten into and no it wasn't Santal 33. I love noir 29 and their Tonka scent.”
4/5“That has happened a lot to me. One that comes to mind is Oud Toureg. Liked it in decant, bought the bottle, Hated it at first and then had it grow on me till now I love it. It goes the other direction as well. I have bought things I loved and fallen out of favor with them. I used to wear Santal 33 all the time until I got the pickle accord and now I cant unsmell it. I just trade them off for other things.”
4/5 Fresh & cleanOffice“Platinum is fresh af and probably my fave from the explorer line. I got asked one time at work if I was wearing Santal 33 even after 5 hours of spraying. Might get myself the extreme someday.”
4/5“Indeed it is very good Ive got energetically new york by zara and people say that it smells like santal 33 I'll give the zudio one a try Thanks”
3/5 Projection“I love it. It came recommended to me here and I got the the travel size. To me it's an almost identical dupe of Le Labos Santal 33. In fact, I want to sell what's left of my Santal 33 because this is so close. But I dunno, I don't consider it a skin scent.”
5/5 Unique“The other woody scents I use \- Pasha de Cartier EDP (note there are many flankers each smells completely different) The Pasha EDP is a boozy sandalwood. Still has a softness to it \- Cartier Oud & Ambre: the woody scent I'm most addicted to. I love this as a smooth, creamy amber scent. They also have an Oud & Santal version, very nice. \- Hermetica Amberoud \- Santal 33”
4/5 Unique“don't love this one on me at all but i'm not a smoky scent fan. however, all their other scents are incredible. i absolutely love lovely and a little twisted, it's one of my all time favorites. sublimity is such a unique well done coconut, lil softie smells perfect but the longevity is very poor, and i love somewhere but nowhere. somewhere but nowhere is great if you like more masculine scents, reminded me a lot of le labo santal 33! their bottles are also top tier in my opinion, they are soooo pretty!”
5/5“I love sandalwood, but Santal 33 does the pickle juice thing on my skin, unfortunately. My new favorite sandalwood fragrance is Ex Nihilo Santal Calling. It is smooth and a bit lactonic. Chloé Atelier de Fleurs Santalum is an airy sandalwood that layers well with other fragrances and can be worn year-round. These aren't Santal 33 dupes by any stretch, just beautiful, smooth sandalwood without the dill note.”
4/5“I was not really moved by Bergamote 22, but I have Santal 33 and Thé Matcha 26 that I really like, and I plan to buy Musc 25 that I looove as well on September!”
5/5 Value“Seconhand(FB groups/reddit) 90% of the time. Online discounters the other 10. Id love to go to a store, sample a few and take one home but the price difference is just too unjustifiable for me tbh. Example, I picked up my le labo santal 33 100ml retail bottle for under 200 basically full from fragswap, that same bottle would've been like 370 with tax in store. Then the SA would tell me they don't have any samples, sorry. I couldn't sleep at night knowing I paid almost double for a bottle.”
1/5“I agree! I bought the sample set. I hated all of them. Even Santal 33 smells awful on my skin I hate it. I didn't understand what I was missing.”
2/5“My bottle smells somewhere between Oud wood and Santal 33. I'm not very great at describing notes but it put me in the mind of those.”
5/5 Value“Bro I love all of them hence I bought them and not others? None of them were blind buys, I spent quite a long time choosing each one to the preferences I have. I don't go off designer brands or names I just choose what genuinely smells nice to me and what's in a reasonable price range. Of course I've smelt some really good ones like Santal 33 Le Labo which is unfortunately out of my price range but it's something I can work towards.”
5/5“I do love musc noir rose, and have it. It feels a bit more special like you allude to. But I could get Musc Noir! It's got that casual, easy feeling. And it makes me feel my age which I actually love. I'm 40 but I regularly get clocked as no more than about 32/33. I like being 40! I will also try the Le Labo! I have only tried santal 33, and it wasn't for me. But I've been very curious about their other fragrances. Thank you for the recommendations!”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“I have no idea what gave me this impression of it because I've never dated or been friends with anyone who wore it, but whenever I catch a whiff of Santal 33 I feel like I'm about to get lovebombed and gaslit. It's the smell of red flags to me lol”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) SweetnessFresh & clean“Valaya , Valaya Exclusif, Meliora, Cassili,Missing Person, Dama Bianca, Love-O-Matic, Wulong Cha, Clean Warm Cotton, La Mar, El Sireno, Rosario, Agua de Santos, Bal d'Afrique, Blanche, La Tulipe, Philosykos, Fleur de Peau, L'eau Papier, Car”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Value“Girl please sample first 🙏 I thought I would like santal 33, but it smelled like pickles to me. That'd be a very expensive blind buy miss if you bought a bottle and it happened to you too.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Value“been and still is a hardcore fan of the legendary Sandalwood scent i.e Le Santal 33 but i found a 20x cheaper alternative from Zara i.e Energetically New York...there are two lines from this, EDP one and Elixir one, I've tried both but i pr”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“But yeah Santal 33 I can't stand it on me and on others or on a paper or anywhere else. I used to work at a dispensary and some guy came in wearing what smelled like Shaghaf Oud.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“if you live in NYC and I have any chance of encountering you on the subway pls don't buy Scandal or Santal 33.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Batches & reformulation“No I agree, that's total bullshit. I've got a bottle of Santal 33, batch number literally 20-something from the first year it came out 2011, and it's worth more on resale communities than it ever was originally. Like, more than double. It was sitting in a bathroom medicine cabinet for all these years and never turned bad or went off.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“Esthetician here. I wear Taunt by DedCool or Santal 33 by le labo.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Compliments“None. If I'm getting compliments, I'm wearing too much. (I suppose Santal 33 once, but that was five years ago. And maybe Chloe Ylang Cananga once - but I'm pretty sure the compliment was actually for my Kerastase hair product and not perfume. 😂)”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Fall“Liam Grey, Khair Pistachio, Yum Pistachio Gelato, Lattafa Affection, Santal 33, Guaita 10, Santal Austral, Tonka Cola, Bouquet Ideale, Vanilla Woods, Lost Cherry, Bare Sueded Vanilla,Tease Creme Cloud, Pêche Mirage, Vanilla Skin, L'eau de Parfum by Cirque du Soleil, Angel's Share, Commodity Milk, BBW Milk, DK Cashmere & Palo Sanyo, Rllis BK Milk Wood, ELDO Soul of my Soul, Bade'e al Oud Sublime, BBW Champagne Apple & Honey, BBW Honey, Blanche Bete, Initio Psychedelic Love, Pear Gelato, Amorous Intense, and Guidance are all scents I wear often during autumn.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Compliments“I have at least half the scents mentioned in full bottles, larger decants and samples but never got complimented on them or anything else. I've had comments like "oh you're wearing Santal 33". I'm in NY though so I think most people who wear perfumes know what Santal 33 is. But never compliments.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Longevity“I have Santal 33 and it lasts forever. Same with the other samples I've gotten from them. They all last and last.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) SummerFall“Of the regular line, Bergamote 22 is another great base scent, The Noir 29 is amazing for fall, Rose 31 is a great spicy one if your skin likes cumin, Lavande 31 is my bedtime perfume, Eucalyptus 20 is just like their hinoki skincare line (”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Unique“I think full sizes can also have a slightly different scent between the same fragrances. For instance, I'm on my second bottle of Santal 33. My original bottle, my second bottle and all the samples I use when I travel, all have slight differences. It drives me crazy.”
Dupes and similar fragrances
- Le Labo Santal 33 vs Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540: 2 comments compare Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 with it (limited evidence).
Clone houses named next to Le Labo Santal 33 in "dupe/clone" comments: Zara (3), Dua Fragrances (1), Dossier (1).
Alternatives in the same family
- Burberry Burberry Hero — 3.1 from 15 owner comments
- Le Labo Thé Noir 29 — 3.0 from 11 owner comments
- Lalique Encre Noire — 3.4 from 20 owner comments
FAQ
How long does Le Labo Santal 33 last?
In the Reddit owner comments we analysed, 1 owner said it lasts well and 0 said it fades quickly. Longevity varies with skin, climate and concentration.
What season is Le Labo Santal 33 best for?
Owners mention summer most often (2 comments), followed by fall (2).
Does Le Labo Santal 33 get compliments?
3 owner comments in our sample report compliments while wearing it, and 1 report none.
Can I buy Le Labo Santal 33 on Amazon safely?
We did not find it sold by Amazon.com or by the brand's own Amazon store, so we do not link to it. Third-party fragrance listings carry a counterfeit and grey-market risk.
Keep deciding
- Le Labo fragrances ranked
- Best woody fragrances
- Best summer fragrances
- Best fragrances for everyday wear
- Best Unisex Fragrances
- Best Niche & Luxury Fragrances
- Buying guide shortlists · Methodology
Details
| Brand | Le Labo (Niche) |
| Fragrance family | Woody |
| Marketed for | unisex |
| Amazon listing | No listing sold by Amazon.com or the brand store found |
| Reddit evidence | 53 owner comments, 253 mentions in total across r/fragrance, r/FemFragLab and related subreddits |
| Last updated | 2026-11-03 |
Family and "marketed for" follow the brand's positioning and common fragrance references; flankers (Intense, Elixir, Parfum editions) are tracked separately or excluded.