Limette 37 San Francisco

This scent. When I read on Le Labo’s site that their SF scent wasn’t going to be a “chilly summer fog” essence I was a little bummed. I love SF and I love the fog. Everything about the city is magical and perfect to me. So fog or no fog I forged ahead and ordered a couple samples of this from Le Labo. Then I forced myself to wait until the city exclusives online event ended to smell it just in case I loved it. I love it ;___; I usually dislike citrus fragrances but this is....immaculate. The citrus is there and the flowers temper it. After a while the jasmine really shines through and while I know it’s *not* this - it reminds me of one of my favorite experiences in the city. Walking around the block and down the steep streets and seeing Devil’s Trumpet in almost every yard, some of their blooms on the sidewalk. They smell amazing and this jasmine kind of works as a stand in for them in the memories this scent conjures up. Balanced, creamy, musky, it’s simply a great smell. You do smell the spicy musk that does seem signature to le labo (i also have rose 31 and smell it there), but I like it. It almost lends itself to smelling like a classic men’s cologne (think Eau Sauvage) but without pushing it to be overtly masculine. The same way Rose 31 can be unisex if you’re willing to try it. Limette 37 is SO lovely that I would venture to say it’s probably one of the only safe blind buys from Le Labo. (I never encourage blind buys from ELDO or Le Labo - this is the exception) Anyway. I love it. It reminds me of San Francisco. Maybe one day I’ll be lucky enough to go back and purchase a bottle straight from the lab.

It has been TEN YEARS exactly since I last tried and reviewed Limette 37. When I tried it I hated it and didn't think it related to SF at all, and I still don't. But since I moved away from my hometown of San Francisco 6 years ago, I decided to buy a travel bottle while I'm home this summer. I popped into the store on Fillmore and ordered it without bothering to test it again. I sprayed it on immediately, hoping to create a scent association and draw comfort from it when I'm homesick. The result? I have fallen completely in love! I subsequently purchased a FB. It's a very salty fragrance of lime and vetiver, but something in it smells ultra classy. Reminds me of Chanel somehow. I stand by my original review that there was a chance here to create something more San Franciscan, but the Chanel-esque quality reminds me of SF old money. Despite the fact that many people probably think of hippies, there are old political families and socialites, same as New York or Boston. The Chanel quality somehow makes me think of all of that. Because Limette is also light and fresh, it makes me think of the lighthearted, energetic vibe of the City, especially when it actually IS sunny outside. I now love Limette and can’t be without it! I enjoy and respect it much more than I did 10 years ago.

I've come to appreciate Limette 37 and understand Frank Voelkl's interpretation of San Francisco. One reviewer mentioned "light peeking through clouds", this is a near accurate description not only of Limette 37 but also of San Francisco. I live in San Francisco and it's a beautiful, lovely and lively city. It's also terribly moody. It can change from foggy and cold to sunny and warm in the blink of an eye. Limette 37 is kind of like that, a blast of sunny citrus but as it settles on skin, a somberness begins to emerge, as if San Francisco's famous fog is starting to creep in. I enjoy this play between happy and somber. To me it is representative of San Francisco. I understand the disappointment from many reviewers only because San Francisco is many different things, I'm sure a different interpretation will still let some people down. Will I refill my bottle once I finish it? I don't think so. Not because I don't like Limette 37, I've come to kind of love it, but because the city exclusives' prices are just so darn ridiculous. I get the concept but not the absurd prices. Sure make it more expensive, but not THAT much more expensive. There's a spot for Limette 37 on Le Labo's regular lineup and I think that not only will it do well there, it will also be appreciated more.

Most boring perfume from Le Labo. I love the house and waited about 2 years for them to release the scent for my own hometown of San Francisco, a city that is far from boring. San Francisco is dynamic, innovative, multi-cultural, full of natural beauty, next to the ocean, and has a European vibe (as I've been told by countless French inhabitants throughout my life). So why is Limette so uninspired and flat? Here was an opportunity to use a salty note, spice, mysterious woods, or a French-style perfume with an American twist. Instead we get a Light Blue wannabe--citrus on a woody base. Couldn't be more plain and disappointing, leaving me with the impression that the perfumer has never even been to San Francisco.

I had the opportunity to sample this in the SF store last week and was pleased to walk around the city for the rest of the day with this fragrance wafting over me. It was unusually warm, and I think that helped enhance the projection, not to mention this scent best fits a warm, sunny day floating around in a sundress, possibly ending your evening with a picnic on the beach. It is bright LIME dancing with bergamot, with the flowers gradually peeped by out underneath. I thought it was unique and would love to own it someday, especially since San Francisco has a special place in my heart.

The longer I get to know this fragrance, the more it reveals itself. Limette opens very citrusy and bright but quickly dries down to a warm tonka based musk patchouli scent. So it feels more like a damp wet forest. It's not completely clean.. Jasmine and musk gives off a rather indolic funky vibe, uderneath it all. And it stays that way for a long time, especially on clothing. Though I'd have preferred this at the 30% extrait strength like the other city exclusives. I'm unsure as to why this doesn't have as much perfume oil as Santal 33, given the price point!

Limette 37 has that Petit Grain note that I love...It makes this composition zesty, sharp and clean in the opening. As time passes, the composition morphs into a very realistic Jasmine (on my skin) and becomes very floral. I do love Limette 37 very much but I certainly do not love its price...hopefully, I can find it on the grey market at one point in the future at a price I can afford. This truly is such a nice refreshing summer scent. Beautiful, balanced between citrusy clean, soapy, and white floral. A masterpiece!!

This would be wonderful to wear in a hot humid climate. I would have loved to have had this is with me if i was still back in Hong Kong or Singapore. A lovely fresh zesty lime. I definitely get the musk along with the lime and jasmine. A nice little kick from the petit grain, clove and vetiver. Very unisex. Some citrus fragrances can be too sharp but this avoids that with the help of the smoothing musk and tonka. Citrus notes by their very nature dont last long but this is has good longevity for its type.

I think this is an amazing Fragance. I don't know why all the hate. I honestly don't find it boring or simple. It's an extremely complex scent that changes a lot from clean to dusty, from white to gray. I find it in some way futuristic. I think if I were to make the connection to San Francisco it would be the fact that it has dual/double face with its history and its ultra modern and forward personality. I would totally buy this juice and I may do it sometime soon. Great job To Le Labo on this beauty

What I didn’t find in Aldehydes 44 I found it in Limette 37. It’s a straightforward lime and musk. Clean, easy to wear, inoffensive but mostly as a daytime fragrance. You can smell the petitgrain and vetiver here and there but as I wrote before this perfume is mainly musk and lime. And to that I say bravo!

So familiar, so refreshing. This is an indolic Jasmine citrus scent that is very wearable. So wearable that the price point is a shame, as it could easily be an everyday scent. It’s kind of a jeans and white tee kind of a scent. So perhaps if you are wearing that to a special occasion, Limette 37 is it.

A spicy musky lime freshness. Reminds me of classic men’s colognes done with high quality ingredients. It’s very easy to wear and enjoy.

For me, Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior is a far far better bang for your buck!!! Full review to come later!!!

Wore this to a wedding and got so many compliments. Such a strong refreshing citrus opening, love this stuff

Do we REALLY have to travel all the way to San Fran to buy it?

a musky jasmine citrus cologne...

My third attempt at Le Labo's City Exclusive line, Limette 37 harnesses the power of lime and bergamot at the top to bring a beautiful expression of these notes, saddled by musk at the base. So it is a pleasant scent that rings especially appropriate in the summer, but as others have pointed out can probably work for colder weather as well, since, in my opinion, it's dense enough to work through the winter air. However, it largely suffers from the same deficiencies as other City Exclusives---namely, not enough projection or longevity for the exorbitant ($290 for 50ml) cost, which is difficult to fathom. I'll attain more perspective when I try some of Le Labo's non-exclusive standouts (Bergamote 22, Santal 33, etc.), but for now, Limette 37 is another fragrance that, while doing lot correctly, nonetheless cannot be considered worthwhile due to the price. If it were cheaper, I might consider it. 7 out of 10

This one is a very clean and musky lime scent. It is borderline masculine leaning, but with the help of jasmine and something green and fresh (is that the petitgrain I’m smelling) it settles into a 100% unisex scent. It dries down to a juicy and slightly sweet lime, with a tea vibe to it. I love tea scent so I am not complaining about that at all. I guess it is the bergamot and jasmine blend that gives me that association. I never smell any of the vetiver, cloves, nor tonka bean in this. Not even after 4/5 hours when it is almost gone from my arm. It is just barely lingering as a jasmine musk on my arm. Nevertheless, the scent itself is perfectly good as it is without the three notes. It is not groundbreaking at all, but it is a fresh and versatile fragrance that can suit all seasons and occasions.

I originally wrote that the lime in this gives Virgin Island Water a run for its money. Maybe it's the decant atomizer, but I take that statement back. Virgin Island Water has a superior lime. This is more like Bergamot 22 with lime which is great, but not worth the city exclusive prices. I would consider it at around the 100 dollar price point. The citrus is very realistic, and they captured the rind of the lime pretty accurately in this fragrance. It sits on a green bed of petigrain with a soapy base. Maybe a hybrid of B22 and Eau Sauvage + lime would be the most accurate description. Unique citrus worth a try, but not a buy.

The citrus is very strong at first but after a few hours it becomes very pleasant and cozy. There seems to be something similar in the dry down of a lot of Le Labo fragrances that I really like. Somewhat floral, but not overwhelmingly floral. It just smells cosy and good but very distinctive and unique. I feel this is unisex but maybe more masculine especially at first. I like it, but it's not really me. I've worn it a couple times now and find that I am looking forward to the dry down and wanting the strong citrus notes to calm down a bit.