Reviews of Aldehyde 44 (2006)
by Le Labo

I was very excited to receive my decant of this obscure item (as someone mentioned, it is only available at the Dallas, TX Barney's). I'm not sure why Le Labo is keeping this so under wraps, but I can report it's good but perhaps not worthy of such exclusivity.

The opening is very reminiscent of the aldehyde laden opening of Chanel No.22. However, whereas No.22's aldehydic strength persists throughout most of the life on the fragrance, Le Labo's fades fairly rapidly. At first some florals and a touch of citrus lay under the aldehydes, and within the first 30 minutes or so the aldehydes fade, leaving a musky, light citrus/fresh/floral. Although pleasant, nothing distinguishes this Le Labo.

I'm not sure what Barney's Dallas charges for this, but based on the decant price it's somewhere around what they charge for Vanille 44 which is only available at the Paris boutique and somewhere around $500/100ml (per TPC's website). If you're looking for an aldehyde-rich floral I think Chanel No.22 is a much better choice, and at $200/190ml it's a significant savings over Le Labo.