How does Berlin smell?

When it comes to the noses of the New York niche perfume label Le Labo: for lemon, ginger and ambergris.

From September the label will add the “Cedrat 37” fragrance to its exclusive city series, which will only be available for 30 days worldwide, but which will be sold in the city's own boutiques throughout the year.

Maria Wiesner

Editor in the Society department at FAZ.NET.

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So how did you get the idea that citronate lemons are blooming in Berlin of all places?

At Le Labo, people are covered.

New Yorkers are known for not loving advertising.

The success of the company, founded in 2006, is based on the fact that stars like Brad Pitt, Beyoncé and Duchess Meghan should have a bottle of "Santal 33" from the New York boutique in the bathroom.

For the jetsetter budget

The artificial shortage of the City Exclusive series does the rest.

Many a fragrance lover is said to have already booked a flight to Japan on the hunt for the woody Tokyo fragrance "Gaiac 10" - at a time when this was done frivolously with relatively loose money.

The fragrances are more for the jet set budget anyway, at more than 200 euros for 50 milliliters they are in the very upscale price segment.

The new publication “Cedrat 37”, for example, is available for 281 euros.

Regarding the new Berlin fragrance, it is only very briefly that the attempt has been made to capture “the energy, the vibe and the symbolism” of the city.

And one shouldn't ponder it, "Explanations destroy art".

Art is also the keyword for the two founders Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, who met while working for Georgio Armani's fragrance department.

“We wanted to do something that meant something,” says Penot.

They wanted to focus more on perfume production as a craft.

The packaging and glass bottles are kept simple, which corresponds to the minimalism trend of the past decade.

How long they sat on the Berlin fragrance, they are also silent about it.

All that remains is to get an idea for yourself and to research what you associate with Berlin when the scent of fresh lemons wafts around you, which after a while takes on the sugary note that citrons get in baked goods.

With the spicy ginger notes, a surprisingly warm fragrance remains, which could also hold its own against the Berlin autumn wind.