Le Labo vs Diptyque: which house to sample first

10ML sells four Le Labo perfumes and nine Diptyque perfumes as 3ml and 10ml decants, filled from the original bottle. This guide uses ten of them. It does not rank the two houses or say which is better; it tells you which vial from each to open first, depending on what you already like.

What 10ML sells from each house

Here are the four Le Labo perfumes and six of the nine Diptyques, with notes and stages as the catalogue's notes list files them, leaving out the notes no independent source confirms. A dash means none of the catalogue's notes for that stage is shown here.

10ML sells three more Diptyque perfumes that are not in the table. Our guide to the best Diptyque perfumes covers all nine.

Read the table across and a pattern shows. Both houses' rows name woods, tea, fig and musk, and each side also names notes the other's rows do not: leather, hay and tobacco on the Le Labo side, tuberose and tonka bean on the Diptyque side. The four pairs below follow that overlap.

Four pairs, matched by style

Each pair puts a Le Labo and a Diptyque that name the same note, then says what each list adds. Votes are what community voters say, not a promise about how a perfume will wear on your skin.

Sandalwood and cedar: Santal 33 and Tam Dao

Santal 33 and Tam Dao make the first pair, and the note lists explain why. Both name sandalwood and cedar. Santal 33's list also names cardamom, violet, papyrus and leather. In the catalogue's notes list for Tam Dao the two woods sit in the heart, and its accords include woody and creamy.

So the shared ground is the two woods. Santal 33 adds cardamom, violet, papyrus and leather; Tam Dao's accords add creamy, which none of Santal 33's accords is. Santal 33 launched in 2011 and Tam Dao in 2003, and Daniel Moliere is credited with Tam Dao.

Community voters most often pick Santal 33 for autumn, spring and winter. They pick Tam Dao for autumn and winter. Votes on Santal 33's longevity lean long lasting. Most community voters rate Tam Dao's longevity long lasting. If you like woods with cardamom and leather, Santal 33 may suit you. If you want woods tagged creamy, Tam Dao may.

Black tea: Thé Noir 29 and Eau Duelle

Thé Noir 29 and Eau Duelle both name black tea, and both also name bergamot and musk. After that they split.

Thé Noir 29 pairs the tea with bay leaf and fig, and its list also names cedarwood, vetiver, hay and tobacco; its accords include green and tobacco. Eau Duelle goes the other way: its list names pink pepper, elemi, saffron, juniper and cardamom, with Bourbon vanilla, musk and cypriol. Its accords are vanilla, spicy, woody and warm.

Thé Noir 29 launched in 2015 and Eau Duelle in 2010; Fabrice Pellegrin is credited with Eau Duelle. Community voters most often pick Thé Noir 29 for autumn and winter. They pick Eau Duelle for winter and autumn. Most community voters rate Thé Noir 29's longevity long lasting. For Eau Duelle's longevity, long lasting is also the choice of most community voters. Choose Thé Noir 29 if you want tea with fig and tobacco; choose Eau Duelle if you want tea with spice and vanilla.

Fig: The Matcha 26 and Philosykos

The Matcha 26 and Philosykos both list fig, and both list cedar. Thé Noir 29, covered above, lists fig too, so two of the four Le Labos name fig.

The Matcha 26's list pairs fig with orange and names matcha, vetiver and cedar. Frank Voelkl is credited with it, and it launched in 2021. Philosykos names the tree from fruit to wood: fig, fig leaf, fig tree sap and fig tree wood, plus coconut and cedar. It launched in 1996, and Olivia Giacobetti is credited with it.

Community voters most often pick The Matcha 26 for spring, summer and autumn. They pick Philosykos for summer and spring. Choose The Matcha 26 if you want fig with tea and orange. Choose Philosykos if you want fig from leaf to wood.

Skin musk: Another 13 and Fleur de Peau

Another 13 and Fleur de Peau both list musk and ambrette, and our wider musk guide includes both. Both are tagged musky, clean and powdery. Another 13 launched in 2010 and Fleur de Peau in 2018.

Besides musk and ambrette, Another 13's list names pear, apple, ambroxan, moss and jasmine, and it is credited to Nathalie Lorson. Fleur de Peau starts with aldehydes, pink pepper, bergamot and angelica, then iris and rose, and its list also names ambergris and sandalwood. The first adds fruit and moss to the musk; the second adds aldehydes, iris and rose.

Votes on Another 13's longevity lean long lasting. Votes on its sillage lean moderate. Most community voters rate Fleur de Peau's longevity moderate. Most community voters call its sillage moderate too. Community voters pick Another 13 for all four seasons. They pick Fleur de Peau for all four as well. Choose Another 13 for fruit and moss; choose Fleur de Peau for iris and rose.

Where Diptyque has what 10ML's Le Labo four do not

Do Son and Orphéon are tagged floral, as is Fleur de Peau from the musk pair, and none of the four Le Labos carries that accord in the catalogue. These two are the Diptyques here that no Le Labo pairs with.

Do Son lists tuberose and rose, with iris, musk and orange leaves. It launched in 2005 and Fabrice Pellegrin is credited with it. For Do Son's longevity, most community voters choose long lasting. Most community voters call its sillage strong. Summer and spring are the seasons voters most often pick for it.

Orphéon opens on juniper berry, and its list also names jasmine, cedar and tonka bean. It launched in 2021 and Olivier Pescheux is credited with it. Most community voters rate Orphéon's longevity long lasting. On sillage, the votes lean strong. In the season votes, autumn and winter come first.

If you lean floral, these two are why you would open a Diptyque vial before a Le Labo one.

Which house to sample first

Start from what you already wear and like, then take one vial from each house so you can compare them on your own skin.

• Woody and warm. Santal 33 from Le Labo and Tam Dao from Diptyque. Both name sandalwood and cedar. Community voters pick Tam Dao for autumn and winter. Santal 33's season votes include both.
• Tea and green. Thé Noir 29 from Le Labo and Eau Duelle from Diptyque if you want black tea. If fig and green matter more to you, The Matcha 26 and Philosykos, both tagged green. Community voters pick The Matcha 26 for spring and summer, among others. They pick Philosykos for summer and spring.
• Clean skin-musk. Another 13 from Le Labo and Fleur de Peau from Diptyque. Both list musk and ambrette.
• Floral. Do Son from Diptyque for tuberose and rose, or Orphéon for jasmine with tonka bean. None of the four Le Labos is tagged floral, so start with Diptyque here.

If you would rather not choose, a first three that covers three of the styles is Santal 33, Eau Duelle and Fleur de Peau: woods, spiced tea and clean musk, two Diptyques and one Le Labo. A second round follows from what you liked: if you reached for the woods most, add Tam Dao; for the tea, add Thé Noir 29; for the musk, add Another 13.

Wear it before you buy the bottle

Notes narrow the field, and your skin has the final say. So take a 3ml of each in the same style and wear them side by side, one on each wrist, then on separate days.

A 3ml holds around 60 sprays, enough to wear a perfume for a week or so, and a 10ml decant holds around 200, which is weeks of everyday use. Santal 33 in 3ml is €16.92 and Tam Dao in 3ml is €13.23, so a woods pair is two small vials rather than a full bottle. Once you have a favourite, the 10ml decant of Santal 33 is €51.12.

Our guide to what a decant is explains how the small bottles are filled, and how to choose perfume without smelling it covers reading a note list. For the wider picture of how houses like these compare, see niche vs designer perfume; for all nine Diptyques 10ML sells, the best Diptyque perfumes; and for tea beyond black tea, our guide to green tea perfumes.

The bigger picture: What does sandalwood smell like? Creamy, milky and dry woods explained and Eau de parfum vs eau de toilette (and extrait): what changes, and which strength to try.