Le Labo’s Most Elusive Fragrances Are Available For One Month Only
one month only
By Kiri Johnston | 25th August 2026There are fragrances you can buy anywhere, and then there are the ones that make you work a little harder.
Every year, Le Labo temporarily releases its City Exclusive collection beyond the cities each scent calls home. Usually available only from the Le Labo labs in their corresponding city, the fragrances become available globally for one month each September. This year, there’s a new addition to know: SHIU 25, created for Beijing.
Meet SHIU 25
Inspired by Beijing and its long tradition of artisanship, hidden gardens and contemplative spaces, SHIU 25 takes its name from Shiu, meaning “tree”. The fragrance is built around the essence of the Ho tree, with Le Labo describing it as the tree’s quieter expression and one associated with balance and inner peace.
I first smelt the fresh new scent at Le Labo’s James St boutique in Brisbane, where its softness comes through straight away. The composition itself is deliberately restrained, with ethereal iris and olibanum sitting above warm woods to create something woody, soft and meditative without becoming overly heavy.
Its home is Le Labo’s Beijing He Yuan Fragrance Lab, which opened in 2025 within historic House 19 at Wang Fu Central. Set inside a culturally protected site, the lab brings Le Labo’s signature wabi-sabi aesthetic together with traditional Siheyuan architecture, creating a fitting backdrop for a fragrance centred on stillness and contemplation.
It joins a collection designed as a tribute to cities around the world, with each City Exclusive developed specifically for its home destination.
The fragrances you usually have to travel for
Part of the appeal of Le Labo’s City Exclusives is their scarcity. For most of the year, each fragrance can only be purchased from Le Labo locations in the city it represents. There are no online orders or international shipping, meaning finding your favourite can ordinarily require a plane ticket.
Once a year, that rule changes. From 1 to 30 September 2026, the full City Exclusive fragrance collection will be available from Le Labo labs, select retailers and online, giving Australian fragrance lovers a rare opportunity to explore the collection without travelling overseas.
Samples and discovery sets are available slightly earlier, from 1 August to 30 September, both online and in store. Once September ends, each fragrance returns home.
For those who already own one, Le Labo also offers refills of its 50ml, 100ml and 500ml eau de parfum bottles with the same City Exclusive scent at selected labs throughout the year, at 20 per cent off the retail price. In Australia, 50ml and 100ml bottles can also be returned through the brand’s online refill program.
One worth knowing: Poivre 23
Among the collection is Poivre 23, Le Labo’s City Exclusive for London. Translating to “Pepper 23”, it is the brand’s take on pepper, built around Bourbon pepper and created specifically for the British capital.
It is deeper, darker and spicier than SHIU 25, and a reminder of how differently each fragrance interprets its city. Whether you already have a favourite or have been waiting to discover the collection for yourself, September is the one month of the year to do it.
Le Labo City Exclusives are available online, in Le Labo labs and at select retailers from 1–30 September 2026. Samples and discovery sets are available until 30 September.
