#fashion labo

[msterpicasso]

@rileyshieldss

[devdas5z]

Dana Labo

[kingknull]

[warevol]

Le Labo

[alxyax2]

Celine is back but was she ever out?

[chineseredcarpet]

Liu Yuxin for a Dr Ci-labo livestream event

[socalscents]

Bergamote 22 by Le Labo

Bergamote 22 by Le Labo is a Woody Aromatic fragrance for women and men. Bergamote 22 was launched in 2006. The nose behind this fragrance is Daphne Bugey. The fragrance features amber, musk, grapefruit, vetiver, petitgrain, bergamot, vanilla, orange blossom and cedar.

[mrsjubb-blog]

Wedding anniversary trip to Seattle WA, One of many home away from homes. <3

[bon-bon-blog]

Unoa Freak 1, 2 and 3 [Review]

Summary

The Unoa Freak series is specifically written to celebrate and discuss Unoa dolls. Created in 2003 by Gentaro Araki, founder of Alchemic Labo, they were one of the first BJD available on the market. They are not as popular as they once were but Unoa dolls come in many common sizes, making these books a great resource to this day. The books also contain tutorials on face-ups, manicures, modding, stringing and more.

These books have been created with so much love and creativity, from the beautifully illustrated covers, to the fashion editorial style spreads for the patterns. They are one of my favourites to take off the shelf just to flick through the pages.

The number of patterns varies by book and each one has been created by different artists, so do take a look at the tables below before purchasing.

Details

Language: Japanese Author: Graphic Sha ISBN-10: UF1-4894253720 UF2-4798600261 UF3-4798609021 Patterns UF1: Pirate set,Mod set,Country set,Babydoll,Punk dress,Traditional fabric set UF2: Freie Shirt, shorts, socks. Honeymeryl corset body and skirt. Silver butterfly Jumpsuit. Elolita jacket, dress and bloomers. Dollsdrugkingdom Blouse, skirt, petticoat. Atri corset, garter, skirt, bustier, bra, stockings and miniskirt. Sekiguchi uniform set for girl and boy UF3: FLC shoulder bag,FLC Pants,FLC Socks,FLC Beret,FLC Suspender pants,Poupee Mecanique pants,Poupee Mecanique shirt,Silver butterfly jumper skirt,Hanon onepiece dress,"Galum shorts, sailor shirt, socks, beret",FLC Blouse,FLC Tunic,FLC ruffle shoulder blouse,FLC piping shirt,Atri bustier,Atri tutu skirt,Atri Skirt panties,Atri Panties,SilverButterfly sleeveless dress,FLC Cropped Pants ,FLC Denim pants,Poupee Mecanique pants  Sizes included: Unoa sister, Unoa boy, Unoa Zero, Unoa Fluorite, Unoa azurite, Unoa Ani, Unoa chibi

Visual pattern list

UF1

UF2

UF3

Pros

Gorgeous cover art with a partially transparent layer

A real must if you love Unoa dolls

The photography is superb

So many patterns for any size of Unoa doll

Includes a few accessories 

Tips and tutorials for common doll styling and mods

Cons

Minimal instructions for the patterns, sometimes just a couple of drawings

The patterns in the book don’t work for every size of Unoa doll, usually each pattern is designed for a particular body sculpt (cries in Unoa Zero)

My copy of UF2 had a few pages come loose from the binding - not sure if it's a common problem but something to keep in mind

Final thoughts

I don’t think I would recommend these as pattern books for beginners, as the patterns are sized so specifically and the instructions are quite minimal, but if you are an experienced sewer I think you will enjoy the variety of styles here. My main reason for recommending these books wouldn't be the patterns though - it's the peek into BJD history that make them special. I think they are a great addition to any bookshelf. 

[mamedorilabo]

My exhibition & Kakishibu dyeing

こんにちは。 この地に引っ越してきて半年、もうすぐ秋になろうとしています。

まだまだ暑い日は続きますが（日本の夏は本当に暑い！）、柿渋の染まり具合を見ていると秋が近づいている事を実感します。

Hello. It's been 6 months since I moved here and it's almost fall.

Although the days are still hot (Japanese summers are really wet & hot!) ), I can feel that autumn is approaching when I look at the dye process of the persimmon tannin.

My lovely friend purchased a my works' gown made of linen and dyed with persimmon tannin.

These are called myoga, Japanese summer herb, eaten pickled in vinegar. It can also be eaten raw.

私は本当に柿渋染めの色が大好きなので、布をどんどん染めなくてはと焦ります。 そしてこちらは最近の制作風景。柿渋が鉄と反応すると黒くなる事を利用して模様を描いています。

I really love the colors of persimmon tannin dyeing and I am in a hurry to dye more and more fabric.

And these pics are recent work in progress. I draw patterns using the fact that persimmon tannin turns black when it reacts with iron.

The deep black charcoal color, which is not just black, is very beautiful.　And it seems to have a very strong water repellent effect. さて、展示に向けてラストスパート！ 国内ではこちら。

MAMEDORI LABO. solo exhibition

「いままでも、これからも」10/7~10/27

ギャラリー水巣 新潟県柏崎市松波３丁目3-3-28

Next my exhibition in Japan is

その後、イギリスのセレクトショップ Beautiful fashion freal lab. さんへたくさんの作品を送ります。Beautiful fashion freak lab.とMAMEDORI LABO.の限定コラボ商品も制作中。 イギリスの皆様、何卒よろしくお願いいたします。

After that, I will send a lot of works to a select store Beautiful freak fashion lab. in England. I'm also working on a limited collaboration product between Beautiful freak fashion lab. and MAMEDORI LABO. Thank you very much for your kind attention to me in the UK.

[msterpicasso]

@tashteshtish

[devdas5z]

Dana Labo

[cleolinda]

Sandalwood without sandalwood: Santal 33 (Le Labo, 2011)

(lelabofragrances.com)

As I've said before, most times I go into one of these writeups trying to answer a question. What is musk, what is amber, why is licorice Like That? So my question for Santal 33 was, why is this thing one of the most popular fragrances of the twenty-first century?

I have worn it 5-6 times, and I honestly have no idea.

I'm not even trying to be salty about this; I am genuinely, neutrally perplexed. Right now, even as I'm typing this, something's occurred to me, though. See, what I was going to say was, "This is supposed to be a sandalwood fragrance. It's a failure. It smells like leather and cucumbers. I barely get any sandalwood at all." And then I remembered what happened with me and the current eau de toilette of Samsara: is Le Labo also using a synthetic sandalwood, a "big molecule" like Javanol, which I can't smell?

As you might recall, there are certain synthetic notes that some people are just anosmic to. Kind of the way cilantro just tastes like soap to some people; it's personal, and it's weird. I'm fine with cilantro, but the current Samsara EdT—one of the biggest (as in physically biggest projection that will knock you down) sandalwood fragrances ever—smelled subtle on me. Or rather, it smelled subtle on me to me. I don't have any data on what I smelled like to other people who can actually perceive Javanol etc. All I really got was what must have been a smaller amount of natural Australian sandalwood oil at the bottom. And that's what I think I'm smelling—even less of it—in the drydown of Santal 33. The rest of the time: leather. And salad.

Which blew my mind, because the first time I heard of this fragrance was an opinion piece that I can't find now, to the effect of "Everybody in New York smells like sandalwood now and I'm sick of it. Thanks, Santal 33." I can't find that link, but I sure can find these:

That Perfume You Smell Everywhere Is Santal 33 (2015)

Le Labo Santal 33: The Scent That Went From Ruggedly Cool to Utterly Basic (2019)

I Don’t Care If Le Labo Santal 33 Is the [Pumpkin Spice Latte] of Fragrance

Someone has to say it – stop wearing Santal 33 (2021)

“everyone in New York smells like Santal 33” (2023)

Le Labo co-founder Fabrice Penot: "We are lucky at Le Labo to have a few 'cults' in our collection. But Santal 33 is another level of success; it has had a stupid amount of success. As a perfumer, you always secretly hope, but you never expect, such an impact."

Why is everybody wearing it??

(I love "a stupid amount of success." He gets it.)

I mean, I live in Elbow, Alabama (please show me this magical world where everyone smells like sandalwood), and I never fucking leave the house, so I wouldn't know that "everyone" does. I think I also have to accept that I will never, through no fault of Le Labo's, understand the allure for myself if I can't even smell the sandalwood. To orient us, though, a nifty summary from the "Utterly Basic" article:

Though it's now difficult to recall a time when SoHo wasn't filled with errant whiffs of the instantly recognizable aroma, Santal has only been around since 2011. Le Labo was inspired by both its preexisting, similar-smelling candle, Santal 26, and the rugged Marlboro Man ads from the latter half of the 20th century. In a press release, the perfumery described Santal 33 utilizing the romanticism of the early American west: "An open fire… The soft drift of smoke… Where sensuality rises after the light has gone," decidedly masculine descriptors for a unisex scent that would come to represent the smell of the social and fashion elite.

Indeed, here's the Le Labo site description:

Imagine sitting in solitude on the rugged, wide plains of the American West, firelight on your face, indigo-blue night skies above. There is nothing around save for the soft, desert wind. You. Are. Free. From this defining vision was born SANTAL 33: a perfume that touches the vast and wild universality of this dream... that intoxicates... It combines a mix of cardamom and notes of iris and violet, which crackle in the formula. Added to this smoking wood alloy (Australian sandalwood, cedarwood) are some spicy, leathery, musky notes, giving this perfume its signature and addictive comforting scent.

The thing is, Santal 33 is also notorious for smelling like dill pickles on people. I actually did get a whiff of dill—the dry herb, not from a pickle jar—when I first wore it on my wrist. But when I wore Santal 33 on the back of my hand—a "method" I discussed here—suddenly a plain, watery cucumber came out. Consistently, in fact, the next four times I wore it, and it really changes the mood of the fragrance, particularly if you can't smell the sandalwood. (Like I said, I can smell a little in the base notes as time goes on, maybe a small quantity of natural oil. It leans more cedar than anything.)

Curiously, the official Le Labo description doesn't mention papyrus, which is a fairly key note in every unofficial listing I've seen (parfumo.com, for example). I wondered at first if the "cucumber" note I was getting came from the papyrus, but that’s said to smell "aromatic or woody, a little dry, earthy and spicy." Which fits the Santal 33 brief perfectly, and might be the herbal "dill" note.

And some people do claim that it's the papyrus, but a poster on r/fragrance said, "Violet and sandalwood together can produce a note that comes off as dill-like." So I google further into this, and I find that "violet leaf" is often Givaudan's aromachemical Undecavertol, which has a "green-floral, fresh, fruity" character, and that could account for the plain cucumber I was getting.

At that point I remembered that Nest's South Pacific Sandalwood has violet leaf, sandalwood, and vetiver, and I happen to have a tiny "discovery" bottle. Guess what? Cucumber. So I'm going to say that [violet leaf + sandalwood] is a strong hypothesis, with or without papyrus.

Does vetiver contribute to the Pickle Effect? It’s not listed in Santal 33, but this fragrance is, after all, named after the number of components that perfumer Frank Voelkl used, and clearly, Le Labo is not revealing all of them. Vetiver, like papyrus, usually has a smoky, earthy quality; other varieties, like an essential oil I have, and the vetiver I think must be in Kuumba Made's Egyptian Musk, smell somewhat watery to me. Like, not marine "aquatic," but "watery-vegetal." If Santal 33 happened to contain vetiver, that could also contribute to the cucumber scent, I don' t know. I feel like the cucumber and/or pickle aspect isn't intentional, unless cowboys really love a good Claussen; it was probably the smoky, earthy, musky facets of vetiver (if I'm right) that were meant to come forward.

Why is Santal 33 so popular, though? Again: I don't even dislike it, but I have no idea. It's a strange one, and if can't smell the note it's named after, there's clearly some revelation being withheld from me here. In fact, Santal 33 really makes me question my concept of "masculine" and "feminine" in fragrance, because, while we all know that Gender Is Fake Except For the Parts You Enjoy anyway, this perfume in particular renders those terms useless. In fairness to me, Fabrice Penot says, "We never thought about who was going to wear it in terms of gender at Le Labo. We are more thinking of the souls — perfumery has to be sexual to me — it has to create an attraction, an addiction."

Now, I only have half a post drafted about what "sexual" terms in fragrance ("sexy," "flirty," "carnal") are supposed to mean if you (I) would like write more inclusively about perfume, so we're going to have to table "perfumery has to be sexual," not to mention the rhetorical jump from "souls" to "sexual," for a moment. This is a whole Thing that deserves airtime of its own.

But even considering that. Santal 33 is extremely mild and neutral and cool on me. It is not the least bit what I, an allosexual, no really I'm sure, would consider "sexual." I know what Fabrice Penot is trying to say, probably, and my nose isn't getting it. Maybe I need to smell it on someone else! Maybe I need to smell the sandalwood!!! Perfume Shrine says it's meant to smell like Sam Elliott in a bottle? Yeah, no, on me, Santal 33 is this cool, tender, vegetal leather that reminds me of the deeply worn-in glove I played softball with as a teenage girl. No spice, no smoke, very little wood, no "crackling" florals.

I've actually been looking for the scent of that glove for a long time, and here it is. I truly have the (unhelpful) urge to say that this is a "feminine" leather. It is not the least bit rugged on me (one supposes that the sandalwood might have made a difference). But then you have to ask, what makes a fragrance "masculine" or "feminine" in the first place? I have two hypotheses that I'm researching, but they're basically 1) "hormonal skin chemistry, which both changes and is changeable" and 2) "antiquated bullshit," since we don't do gender essentialism in this house. Maybe Santal 33 is perfectly "rugged" in its tenderness and I just need to be thinking more Quincey Morris—or Annie Oakley, for that matter—than the Marlboro Man.

The "cool tender leather" smell did keep me coming back to Santal 33, though—I wore it five or six times, until finally the vial broke. Would I get a replacement and add it to my "gonna keep wearing" box? I'm not sure. Both Le Labo's co-founder and many, many user reviews I saw talk about the fragrance being "addictive," and maybe that's it. I felt pretty neutral about it, even disappointed, when I was wearing it... and then kept trying it again.

Is it the very strangeness that makes it popular? Is it the contrast between "soft, watery, vegetal" and the "rugged, masculine" vibe that Le Labo actually advertises? Does Santal 33 change to suit each wearer, and my particular chemistry wanted to smell like softball glove salad? Again, since I can't smell the "santal," I may not ever be able to figure out why New York smells like Le Labo. Maybe the more interesting question is, what's it going to smell like next?

Perfume discussion masterpost

[irisrowes]

molly   gordon.     she/her.     cis   woman.      ›      spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   iris   rowe   ,   most   likely   listening   to   hunger   by   florence   and   the   machine  with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty-six   year   old   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -theatrical   yet   +charming  to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   scattered   coffee   mugs   stained   with   red   lipstick,   midnight   tarot   card   readings   in   the   smoky   back   booth,   dried   floral   arrangements   swaying   from   the   ceiling,   candle-lit   dinner   parties   that   dissolve   into   seances   and   an   eclectic   theatre   backstage   full   of   various   haunted   knick-knacks    ,   followed   by   the   noir   29   by   le   labo   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   theatre   heiress   iris   rowe   spotted   on   a   series   of   romantic   european   dates   with   best   friend’s   ex-fiancee   ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .

* ㅤ stats ㅤ … ㅤ *

full name:  iris rosalind rowe

nicknames:  rowe

gender:  cis female

pronouns:  she/her

sexuality:  bisexual

aesthetics:  scattered coffee mugs stained with red lipstick, midnight tarot card readings in the smoky back booth, dried floral arrangements swaying from the ceiling, candle-lit dinner parties that dissolve into seances, eclectic theatre backstage full of various knick-knacks, cigarette smoke curling around red velvet dusters, midnight games of poker in her paid-for-by-her-parents new york city apartment, late night train rides, waking up at midday, stumbling over fashion magazines littered over the bedroom floor

age:  twenty-six

date of birth:  12th october 1997 at 9.17pm

zodiac sign:  libra sun, pisces moon & gemini rising

residence:  brooklyn, new york city in a one-bedroom loft apartment that her parents pay for. iris lives alone but has a revolving-door of friends that come and stay with her for extended periods of time. the living room is always a make-shift bedroom. she used to have a kitten, whisky, but she ran away

occupation:  iris is forever changing occupations - she's been a florist, a medium, a psychic to the stars (the one brief summer she spent in hollywood with her father at sixteen), a thespian, an actress, an artist, an interior designer, a summer camp counsellor and a writer. she was the costume manager for her fathers' latest broadway play a shriek! a cry! but was quietly fired after she disappeared halfway during production to jet-set across europe. she's now putting all of her energy into writing her paid substack column: new york haunting.

* ㅤ appearance … ㅤ *

faceclaim:  molly gordon

piercings:  two piercings in both lower lobes and a cartilage piercing on her right ear

tattoos: a matching love heart on her ankle with her best-friend, 1997 on her right forearm, two cherries underneath the 1997, a tiny cross on her ribcage

style:  lots of black, lace, velvet, silky slip dresses, accents of red, mary-janes, velvet headbands, multiple heavy gold cross necklaces, an eclectic assortment of rings, ribbons, plaid, very bohemian when she's at the theatre, long skirts,

* ㅤ personality … ㅤ *

traits:  theatrical, charming, imaginative, bold, confident, loving, flighty, deceitful, selfish, irresponsible, dramatic, obsessive, vain, assertive, curious, captivating, cultured, dynamic, idealistic

labels / tropes:  the thespian

likes:  sitting in wine bars with her friends, tarot readings, creating mysterious scenes, parties, always being on the go, card games

dislikes  feeling restless, not being the centre of attention, corporate spaces, prolonged weeks of work

fears:  she's not afraid of anything

hobbies:  hosting dinner parties, tarot readings, seeing her psychic, attending plays, tennis, poker, pottery, whittling

* ㅤ family … ㅤ *

mother:  carolina tucker rowe, the leading actress of all william rowe's early broadway plays before she began co-producing productions with him

father:  william david rowe, renowned broadway producer, writer and director

siblings:  only child

pets:  previously: a kitten, whisky, and her childhood cat, sutton.

notable close relatives:  her aunt mabel rowe-myer, an acclaimed independent film director; her uncle christian rowe, an award-winning broadway composer; her aunt elizabeth rowe, a fashion designer who started the label rower; her aunt may tucker, an actress who starred in mabel's early indie productions; her grandfather benjamin rowe, an acclaimed broadway director

best friend:  iris' best-friend was actress maya valentine, who she had been close with since their years of secondary-schooling. the friendship ended the night of a tarot-card reading at iris' apartment - both their lips have been sealed over what has happened but there has been a notable lack of content featuring the two of them on their social media feeds

* ㅤ backstory ㅤ … ㅤ *

01. iris was born into theatre legacy - her grandfather was an acclaimed theatre director who brought his three children up in the theatre. her father, william, was the rising-star amongst the three of them. her parents met on the set of william's first play

02. her birth was a scandal - her father was married to lucinda wright, a family-friend, while engaging in an affair with his lead actress, carolina. iris' birth brought the affair to the limelight. it took years for his divorce to be finalised and her parents weren't married until she was six

03. iris' childhood was marked by instability. william and carolina often got into explosive fights that could span months. their house was often full of tension. there were periods of time where both would pack their bags and fly to opposite sides of the earth, leaving iris in the care of one of their siblings, her grandparents or a nanny. most of her childhood was spent in the theatre: backstage, front-stage, side-stage

04. her first role in film was when she was ten. mabel cast her as the leading child actress in a horror film - it was iris' first taste of what a bad review was; the tormenting from friends and reviewers followed her for years, yet, she liked the taste of being talked about

05. she attended a series of new york city prep schools through elementary and secondary. the year she turned fourteen she was caught drinking on school premises, leading to an expulsion and a six-month banishment to a swiss boarding school. iris loves new york and new york loves her; she concocted a plan for a second expulsion so she could return to her city

06. her teenage years were marked by rebellious behaviour that went unnoticed by both parents - underage drinking, inappropriate relationships, flying to france on a whim, overindulgent spending, returning home in the early hours of the morning

07. iris attended nyu where she miraculously and lazily got a degree in dramatic writing

08. iris spent her early twenties engaging in all sorts of side gigs and tumultuous relationships but now she fears she's truly in love & all it's all with the wrong person - her (former) best friend's ex-fiancee; she's stuck between throwing herself all in and searching for her latest obsession somewhere else

* ㅤ secrets & scandals ㅤ … ㅤ *

01. she's been spending all her time chasing her (former) best friend's ex-fiancee around europe - she's in love! she's writing sonnets for him! she knows its wrong but its what makes it all the more exciting - iris can't resist the chase of what isn't right

02. her (former) best friend didn't stop talking to her because of her current entanglement but because iris presented the cards of death at a tarot reading, reciting a foreboding future that left maya in tears - iris wouldn't stop, even when she was asked, even when she was laying into territory that made a mockery of maya's familial deaths

03. iris still lazily engages in her psychic readings but has taken it from the stars to the streets. she has a pop-up shop hidden away in madame piper's shop. iris knows its all a lie but she'll take money from anyone who is offering and tell them all the most gruesome, troubling tales she can think of - she sees it as writing practice. what makes it worse is that she takes the stories of her patrons and exploits it for her substack column

* ㅤ wanted connections ㅤ … ㅤ *

here.