3d • Accords/Formulas
Formula Overview
Labdanum is my Love Language 🤎
Today I wanted to share the complete formula behind one of my favorite fragrances I’ve ever created—Labdanum is my Love Language. Now that it has been discontinued, I finally get to pull back the curtain and show you exactly how it came to life.
This fragrance was, and still is, my love letter to one of perfumery’s greatest raw materials.
Labdanum is rich, resinous, warm, leathery, ambery, slightly smoky, and naturally vanillic. It is one of the foundations of countless amber and chypre fragrances, adding an unmistakable depth and warmth that few materials can match.
Interestingly, this fragrance existed long before the Love Language collection was ever imagined. The name came first because, quite simply, labdanum really is my love language.
The goal was to create an amber fragrance that felt dark, mysterious, and comforting without becoming overwhelmingly sweet. Lavender Absolute softens the opening with an aromatic richness, while aged patchouli provides an earthy heart. Guaiacwood contributes a subtle smoky woodiness, and Tonka Bean was chosen over vanilla to introduce a deeper, hay-like warmth with gentle tobacco nuances.
One of my favorite discoveries while composing this fragrance was using Frankincense Absolute prominently in the opening. Frankincense isn’t just an “incense” note—it possesses a surprisingly vibrant, terpenic, almost citrus-like freshness that brings life and movement before the deeper resins begin to unfold.
Looking back on this formula, one thing I find particularly interesting is that I unknowingly created something that occupies a similar space to Grand Soir. There was never any intention to imitate it—I simply followed the materials where they wanted to go. To me, that’s one of the beautiful things about perfumery. Even when two fragrances share a similar DNA, the use of authentic natural raw materials can create an entirely different experience, full of nuances, texture, and depth that make each composition its own.
Sometimes the best way to understand a fragrance isn’t simply by smelling it—it’s by studying the materials that built it.
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