The 2011 holiday collection from Diptyque: Epinette in green ("Echoing the aromatic freshness of its needles and the resinuous notes of its pine cones, the Spruce Tree candle promises a wintry runaway in the depths of the wood."; in 3 sizes $32-$275) or Perdigone in red ("Concentrate of warm and fruity notes around a spiced plum that deliciously perfumes the house. Absolutely comforting in the depths of winter."; in 2 sizes $32-68)...

While sniffing hundreds upon hundreds of perfumes each year (many of them just plain cheap, ineptly blended, blatantly aiming to appeal to every human on earth), I’m grateful when a solid, good-smelling fragrance appears amidst the junk. I love the weirdo scents, the “characters,” the one-of-a-kind perfumes, but they are becoming rare. (We need a whole new crop of fragrance notes, don’t we? Or a whole new crop of perfumers…?)

Le Labo Santal 33, the aroma, started out as a popular Le Labo candle than I've never smelled: Santal 26. Apparently that backstory is not exciting enough for a perfume launch, thus:

Do you remember the old Marlboro ads? A man and his horse in front of the fire on a great plain under tall, blue evening skies - A defining image of the spirit of the American West with all it implied about masculinity and personal freedom. This man, firelight in his face, leaning on the worn leather saddle, alone with the desert wind, an icon so powerful that every man wanted to be him and every woman wanted to have him...the great American myth still a source of fantasy for the rest of the world... A perfume that touches the sensual universality of this icon... that would intoxicate a man as much as a woman…*

I do remember the old Marlboro ads and the rugged “Marlboro men.” Today those ads don’t fuel fantasy so much as fright...

Blech. Despite being born a May baby, I have never been a fan of spring. I'm sure it's different in the other parts of the world, but every year, people above the 39th parallel in Europe and North America stand on street corners at this time of year, leaning at a 75 degree angle into gusting drizzle, and insist: "It wasn't like this last year!" Trust me, it was. The mud, the wind, the Easter snow or hailstorm, the false hope of that one giddy day near April Fool's when the sun shone and the warm breezes blew, like in a laundry detergent commercial, before the rain and gray chill returned — it all happened last year. I am not a pessimist. It is merely that I believe in the motto of mothers everywhere: let's not get worked up here. Crazed displays of Birkenstock sandals and patio furniture will only end in tears. I support measured celebrations of spring's small pleasures. For one, it is ramp season. Perhaps you have received your tax return. The road salt has melted away and you can go to 2D movies without being subjected to aliens, robots or robotic aliens. And it is time for some of your freshest, prettiest, newest fragrances to grace the air.

Composing a Top 10 for this most uncertain of seasons, I have tried not to dwell on lost favorites or the flood of recent scents I've missed. Jean Patou Vacances, Gobin-Daudé Sève Exquise, and L'Artisan Jacinthe des Bois are all gone and it somehow felt irresponsible to include them in the list. I have vintage samples of the many spring classics that have been damaged or ruined by reformulation — Balmain Vent Vert, Caron Violette Précieuse, the silver fluidity of Diorissimo, the mysterious smoky-green of Worth Je Reviens, the original Dior Fahrenheit's honeysuckle-and-wet-blacktop — and I use them sparingly and despairingly. I have not tried MDCI Un Coeur en Mai, Byredo La Tulipe, ElizabethW Magnolia or CB I Hate Perfume Wild Pansy and am trying to convince myself that I don't need to do so. With no further excuses, my Top 10 of Spring...

Le Labo has launched Santal 33, a new unisex fragrance based on their popular Santal 26 candle. It is the first addition to the regular collection since 2009's Oud 27...

Le Labo is making their city-exclusive fragrance Gaiac 10, normally sold only in Tokyo, widely available for a limited time to benefit the Japanese Red Cross:

Gaiac 10, our Tokyo city exclusive perfume, will exceptionally be available in our NY, LA, London, and internet stores until May 15th, 2011...

What is it: A 50 ml bottle of Estee Lauder Wild Elixir + a 50 ml bottle of Estee Lauder Beautiful Eau de Toilette + a 30 ml bottle of Pacifica California Star Jasmine. Plus, your choice of one bottle from the Le Labo + Anthropologie collection. I have decanted small samples from each (I keep the samples, you get the bottles).

How do I get it: For a chance to win, leave a comment telling me that you live in the US. Also, please us either a) what movie you think will win the 2011 Oscars or b) what celebrity you think will get a perfume deal in 2011 or c) the name of the last fragrance you tried and loved.

Be sure to use the “Post a comment” box...

Niche line Le Labo will be holding a series of creative workshops in London with "synesthetic provocateur" Nicola Pozzani:

Le Labo Synesthetic Series is a series of 5 syneshetic workshops about perfume...

So, Le Labo has done a collection for Anthropologie.¹ On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. Le Labo's aesthetic, shown in its heavy bottles mimicking apothecary jars and labeled with a font reminiscent of an old typewriter, dovetails nicely with Anthropologie's tidy-bohemian image. A bottle of Le Labo Iris 39 would be right at home on a bureau adorned with Anthropologie's "antique" drawer knobs. Plus, a high-end designer working with a mall-type store can be a raging success. Look at all the fashion designers who put together sell-out collections for H&M.

But in the case of Le Labo's venture with Anthropologie, I have to wonder if Le Labo merely phoned this one in. Even the line's packaging is a little shoddy. Sniffing my way through the Le Labo + Anthropologie collection, I miss Le Labo's usual offbeat take on a fragrance. Sure, Bouquet Blanc is a heady white floral, but so are a dozen others — most notably Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower. Poudre d'Orient is an easy and warm powdery amber, but I'd recommend Kenzo Flower Oriental instead. Orange Discrète? A pretty orange more aldehydic than juicy. Go get Fendi Theorama. Chant de Bois? A fine wood in the two-by-four mold, but not so fine or interesting as too many others to list. Belle du Soir, on the other hand, is the one Le Labo + Anthropologie fragrance that hints at the who-cares-what-you-think attitude I love from Le Labo...

What is it: I have 2 complete sets (each set is 5 fragrances) of solid perfume compacts for the Le Labo + Anthropologie line. Two winners (from anywhere in the world) will get 1 set each.

How do I get it: For a chance to win, leave a comment...