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.

Not sure how this relates to SF but I like this. It's like a better version of Eau Sauvage with lime. The lime is really good here too. I thought Creed had the best lime in Virgin Island Water, but this gives it a run for its money. Lime is not bright or powerful, but still great. Le Labo knows their way around citruses. I've tried them all and not one of them is sub par. They are all varying degrees of great. This one is really great. Got 2ml sample and I'm looking forward to wearing this tomorrow in the stifling Texas heat.

I mostly smell lime and vetiver, hints of jasmine peaking through with the classic musky Le Labo dry down. I live in San Francisco and this scent perfectly encapsulates SF for me. Perfect for both cold and warm weather which you get with San Francisco microclimates, and the lime and vetiver brings around scent memories of being in nature with a crisp ocean breeze rolling through. Walking through Golden Gate park and a little bit of sunshine is peaking through the fog.

It smells like Le Labo took Eau Sauvage, replaced oakmoss with musks, and lemon with lime. A very cooling, gentleman's summer release that smells refined and high quality. I think this also reminds me of Vetiver Babylone, it has those cozy pillowy citruses and musks combined with a grassy vetiver. Edit 17/06/25: I get petitgrain and cloves in the opening, the jasmine provides a nice cloudy feel along with the musk, the lime is sort of sharp and muted here

Tried this out and was pleasantly surprised! I have to say I'm not a big citrus person and found this really beautiful! Opens with...lime and bergamot (obviously) but it has this woody, musky dry down that was surprising and really nice. The dry down is a tiny bit too woody for my taste, I prefer florals so leaned more towards Citron 28, but this would be really nice on someone else. I would compliment them if someone wore this beside me.

Linear and pleasant lime-musk skin scent. Starts off pungent but settles quickly on the skin. I can detect a vetiver base and not much else. Quality ingredients and blending. Unisex with a mild feminine lean. Moderate longevity, which I found surprising. Not much sillage to write about. It does rise just off the skin if you’re sweating, but barely. And on that note, this barely makes 🙂 grade.

I mostly get the bergamot, jasmine and cloves in this fragrance. It's fresh air and citrus, but crossed with a vintage clothing store type feel. There's something softly spicy, almost peppery, combined with a suede vibe that mixes with the fresh citrus to create something quite moody and nostalgic. One of my favorite city exclusives so far!

Not very redolent of San Francisco. Soft citrus, jasmine, vetiver, simple and clear. Like a minimal eau de cologne with a touch of soap. A high quality fragrance but nothing particularly engaging.

7/10 Smells like lime hand soap from a super posh hotel. I'm an SF girl and I don't get San Francisco vibes, but it's alright. Wouldn't buy it at even half the price though.

If a lime tree was being shredded up in a wood chipper, it would smell like Limette 37.

This is a lovely lime scent, but not very original. Vastly overpriced.

First off I get: freshness. The zingy kind, but citrus too, not Irish Spring soapy. Hard to tell if I like it, since I can barely smell it. Would have to retry/rerate I suppose. Perhaps I should try it in The spring/summer, and it was a mistake trying in The winter. Wearing in The dead heat of summer tho I think it’s referred to as dog days and it smells pleasant! Fresh, but not too much so. Not too little. Not beachy not zesty not spicy not too citrus - just Pleasant. Seems The perfect dum reach

I'm perplexed by this one. I initially loved it because of the bright sparkling pop of lime and the somewhat familiar clean cologne type feeling, but the more I smell it, the more it smells a bit.. mature. As a native San Franciscan the part of San Francisco this reminds me most of is older Italian ladies dressed to the nines in North Beach. They've got style, and they smell good, but you also might be checking for a bit of lipstick on the teeth. Nostalgic, but not a love.

Unisex lime tonka musk, pleasant but a little uninteresting. Kind of a disjointed experience, it doesn't really feel like the lime and musk have much to do with each other, they don't feel matching or melded and they're mostly cordoned off from each other in distinct top note / base note phases. I don't really get the connection to San Francisco either, wish there was that ozonic quality of SF foggy weather instead, that'd be fun. This fragrance... just... why?

smells like fresh, slightly crisp air. lime isn't sour or sweet, it's subtle like a squeeze of lime in cold water. reminds me of a pitcher of water with limes floating in it. nothing about this screams SF, but it's nice. not sure who is buying this though. randomly got some sweet cloves but it's well blended and stays with the subtle, musk theme.

Opens with a light lemon hard candy scent and becomes a Jasmin forward lightly woody scent. Dissipates pretty quickly, pleasant light very characteristic le Labo base under the Jasmin that persists as a light skin scent. Nothing overly interesting for me, mostly just a light Jasmin scent which others have done in a more interesting way.

Lime with light florals and a bit of musk. Worth sampling but ATM 100 ml is $400. It screams warm weather and is unique but not $400 unique IMHO. Longevity is not asounding either making this less desirable, maybe for diehard Le Labo fans but not me.

Quite synthetic, opens like a harsh lemon with musk and smells like a very old fashioned perfume. As it dries down it becomes tolerable but nothing interesting. Tubereuse 40 and Citron 28 are way better in mixing citruses and florals.

So, if we take the 3 citrus city exclusives (Cedrat, Citron and Limette), this is definitely the weakest of the bunch. It's a lime-y, fuzzy, powdery musk. It's just not working for me. Gives me bathroom cleaner vibes.

My expectations for a lively, fresh and green fragrance with woody nuances and some deeper slightly sweet base notes were met with a very stern, dry and somewhat unforgiving old-school fragrance. Falling flat on my skin, it has tons of dry woody vetiver, nutty tonka, some jasmine and bergamot then very little lime. After the first 5 minutes I get a lot more of the base notes, vetiver and tonka with some petitgrain with hints of clove. Very odd. Not to my liking. Perhaps a good one for the vetiver lovers.

wore this over 12 hours plus and still smelled it after, for some reason it has insane longevity on my skin. The bad thing about this frag is its smell. It smells like an expensive soap at first which i didn't mind, but then for some reason halfway into the day started smelling weirdly like fresh milk, realistic fresh milk from the grocery store. even my friends agreed. weird.

BACKGROUND: I just got the 2015 sample set of the Exclusives from Luckscent and will wear one a day with a review for each - from a male perspective. Today I'm wearing Limette 37 on a sunny weekend (daytime). SCENT: A sweet lime and white floral from top to middle - within 20 mins the cloves and woods come through for an encouraging peek through the sweet, soft, citric blast. Within two hours it's pretty much all over, but you probably lost interest an hour ago anyway because the above is ALL that happened. OFFICE READY? Not on my watch, buddy. This is simply too feminine - and frankly, simple-minded a fragrance for any face-to-face encounters of the professional kind. If you must, save this for the weekend, as I have. Daytime, when you can forgive and even appreciate its goofy, friendly charms. NIGHT OUT READY? Again, no. You might think the opening makes you smell zesty and little cheeky, but the person you're talking to is probably standing there, thinking you have a low-to-average IQ - and can't quite put their finger on why they've come to that conclusion. BETTER THAN THE REGULARS? No, actually a duller composition and altogether less 'special' than Santal 33, Patchouli 24 or Vetiver 46. WORTH THE $440 (AU $600)? So you like your citrus, eh? Well get onto Luckyscent and sample the outrageously expensive, but exquisite citrus, Nio, by Xerjoff. It still costs less than this - albeit for 50ml. No citrus/ wood is worth a City Exclusives price tag. WORTH $240? If this became a non-exclusive, I still wouldn't bother. Look, this is a fun fragrance, I don't think it's art. No crime there, but I can have more fun with a bottle of Oban whiskey for half the price. HIGHLIGHTS: It didn't offend me. It has a punchy, fun opening - they got their lime top right in a big way, so congratulations for that.

This fragrance starts off with hard harsh splash of lime and bergamot. The bergamot is by far the winner of the duo at first but seconds after it settles, you get a fun and zesty super green lime that is ultra refreshing. However, it continues to develop by losing the green and allowing the jasmine, tonka, and cloves to make a slight debute. At this point most would love to stop right here because the scent is clean, crisp, sexy, and totally unisex so it’s mysterious and will smell like nothing else you have worn. Yet, a few hours later it softens and changes to a fresh light musk with a hint of lime and whatever the signature note is for Le Labo. You smell the undertone of this note in Roses 31, and Musc 25. The scent is officially minutes away from being a skin scent unless you splashed your clothes in the process or you reapply the fragrance. Then wait for it, wait for it the cloves, and vetiver join the signature note to give the same dirty note as Musc 25. I wrestled with calling out this combo because just when you smell it the lime kicks back in and freshens everything. This is a summer to late spring scent. Great for brunch and times when wearing all white is your option. If you want to make it stick try this trio ( Coach Citrine Blossom and Dior Homme in white bottle ) you will thank me later and get so many stops! I literally had someone say “ wow you smell deliciously fresh! What is that”

Got the chance to smell it on my skin, and I can definitely tell it's Le Labo! It's refreshing, zingy, cool. I love citrus so I must be biased. I also can't properly say if this is worth the price, but lowkey any perfume above $300 shouldn't even be considered, especially a citrus! I... might still buy it one day... because I am a capitalist's dream. I am the naive consumer. So sue me. This lime is really nice, but it's the same lime in Iris 39. I mean, that isn't reductive, but if the rumors of Iris 39 being discontinued is true, then this would make Limette 37 more desirable because it's the only source of lime! What a coincidence... I find it more linear than Iris 39, and doesn't smell like candles or more 'astringent' violets / iris. Iris tends to be a more sweet and creamy floral when the orris root is absent (on my skin), but what I'm trying to say is that Iris 39 is a more complex form of Limette 37 initially. I don't hate it! Love the lime. Over the course of the day, the vetiver becomes more apparent to me, echoing Terre d'Hermes. So, in summary, no this shouldn't be at the price they're asking for LMFAO what a joke!!! It's so pretty and I might become the village idiot to buy a bottle, but it is nothing new at all. Nothing. New.

I'm normally not a fan of lime in pretty much anything but thought I'd try to give this one a go. It surprised me, but in some ways didn't. Opener is straight lime, like you're smelling a bowl of fresh limes picked straight from the field. There's a bit of spicy intensity from what I think is petitgrain and oakmoss. From there the drydown drops into white florals and a regular orange (from le labo's site) which puts it into a nicer territory, but that unpleasant lime flavor is still lingering behind it in the back. The final base notes are a pretty nice black tea smell with a hint of citrus in the back, backed up by tonka and oakmoss. There's a kind of astringency that's mixed in throughout the whole way that reminds me of Chanel No. 5 but not in a good way. The person who said it smelled like a bursting lime tree being put through a wood chipper (and you can smell the diesel smoke) was dead on. Pass for me.

I like this better on my skin than bergamote 22. Less bitter and the lime is a lot more juicy and refreshing. The lime is realistic for me. Regarding how this relates to SF, I can see it, but like all city exclusives, I guess you have to be doing the right thing in the city. For me, I imagine this being perfect when riding around on an escooter around the marina and along the water to embarcadero. Picnicking at turtle hill. Drinks by the water in sausalito. Vibrant scent for a vibrant, ourdoor loving city (and something citrus to cut though the cannabis haze. Sure, the scent cannot encapsulate each part the city and you might have to drench yourself with black afgano when passing through the tenderloin, but I don’t mind it being focussed on the nice parts.

As a Le Labo fan, I must say Limette 37 is one of their least "exciting" fragrance. When I first smelled it, I thought it was so flat and boring. It's a citrus cologne. Yawn. As I wear it more often, I have come to realize that it is an uncommon cologne. It doesn't refresh you, instead it's a moody and damp cologne. I would use this analogy - it's grey among beige colours. It is understated, smells nice, a bit unusual, a little bit addictive, a bit classy, but still an unexciting cologne. It should be launched as their regular scent, for its price at $440 for 100ml, it's not worth it.

Gorgeous stuff. Top note of lime supported by some slight white florals and musks. Not a projection beast. But a nice citrus aromatic fragrance. Again, Le Labo has some sort of thing where their citrus frags smell a lot like bergamot 22 haha. I’d also say that they use so many white florals in their frags. This is another example but toned down. I like this stuff!

Reminds me a bit of Xerjoff Fiero, and xerjoff quality citrus in general. Very green and bright and authentic. Has a classic, almost dated vibe to me. Can't justify the high price tag, but a very well made constructed scent, albeit not very unique or super complex. Xerjoff Nio is in a similar price range, and is much better and more interesting imo.

Absolutely reminds me of Goldfield and banks pacific lime, just way toned down. The muskiness in this is very clean but not in a laundry detergent way, more like in a baby lotion or baby wipe way (which i actually really like). Overall not crazy about it but could see it being lovely on someone else!

The opening lime is really lovely, a kind of sugared lime, as if that wasn't a contradiction, but I love it. I thought Le Labo would be a surefire solution to my problem of disappearing citrus fragrances (why do we love the things that never stick around?), but I'm not so sure.