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SymnUniomia – :
Absolutely does not smell of real tonka. Anyone surprised? Anyone? Didn’t think so.
I had forgotten the concept of the brand was to retail fragrances which smell nothing of the materials after which they are named.
Smells cheap; probably is. Suppose that’s ok if by ‘Fine Fragrances’ we really mean ‘rip off the customer.’ 270 dollars for a bottle which ‘might’ contain 10 dollars worth of juice (and almost certainly less) suddenly becomes justifiable.
Having said that, the scent is underwhelming, but fine. A good dollop of coumarin, some vanillin, cedar and woods; perhaps the drop of styrax if I hold my nose and close my eyes.
imaichik – :
Tonka 25: Floral, Fresh, Clean, Cozy, Dusty, Comforting and Versatile.
I was already aware that this wouldn’t be a typical gourmand style Tonka and I am here to confirm that this is rue. When I first learned that Le Labo created a fragrance named Tonka 25, some fragrances immediately came to mind: Tonka Imperiale by Guerlain, Mugler Pure Tonka, Hermes Vetiver Tonka to name a few. This is nothing alike the aforementioned fragrances. I bought this fragrance blindly based on my obsession for this house (bottle #18) along with several reviews and opinions provided by some of the most trusted noses in the community. I’ve worn this 4x in the last week and wanted some real insight before posting a review. On initial spray, I’m detecting a clean-crispy white floral (orange blossom) with a mild citrusy hue and I am immediately reminded of the orange blossom in Neroli 36 and Fleur d’ Oranger 25. This is fascinating to me for two reasons. One being that I have rarely found orange blossom to be an attractive floral when it is a prominent/dominant note in a fragrance and secondly, I have never liked Neroli 36 or Fleur d’ Oranger 25. Within two to three minutes, the scent develops from a citrusy floral to a powdery, soft, smooth, clean musk and the transformation is impressive. As the scent continues to evolve, the vanilla +cedarwood+musk+tonka juxtaposition emerge creating an irresistible and subtle, dusty, nutty-like, quality. I cannot keep my nose off of my wrists at this point. Full disclosure: I have caught myself moving around to catch wafts of the fragrance throughout the day…. : ) …… The fragrance is soft but tenacious and very comfortable to wear. The scent is long lasting. It is incredibly appealing in my opinion and I have received an unusual amount of compliments from family, friends, coworkers, and one stranger (today.) I’ve read some make a correlation between Tonka 25 and other scents in the Le Labo library and I can sort of relate: Vanilla 44 (dusty, musky, woody, dry), Another 13 (clean, crisp, musk), Neroli 36 (clean, bright, citrusy-florals.) All in all, Tonka 25 is a real pleasure to wear and I consider it to be a versatile scent that I can see myself wearing on a regular basis throughout the year.
wbg845speagoessenda – :
Le Labo Tonka 25 is probably the first Le Labo release I can remember (since fragrances became a hobby) being quite excited for, certainly of the main collection, if not the City Exclusives as well. Tonka is a fun note and is central in some fragrances that I love–particularly, deeply rich and sweet gourmand fragrances–so naturally, I was curious to see what Le Labo did with it.
Tonka 25 does not seem like it’d be an opulent gourmand, though, from the note breakdown list, and the actual scent confirms this prediction. In addition to the eponymous note of tonka, sweet and subtly nutty, there are strong contributions from cedar and musk, rendering the blend, fittingly, woody and musky. The musk is definitely of the “sweet white musk” variety, not animalic, and the cedar makes a fitting partner for a smooth, easy dry down, an easy partnership of sorts.
In the dry down, it’s darker, as well, the musk fading with the tonka actually becoming heavier and more enveloping, rendering the fragrance even more comforting as a whole.
As with most higher-end brands, Le Labo’s increasing pricing makes, with each year, for more challenging decisions of the value and merits of its fragrances. The saving grace is that the main collection (contra the city exclusives) is sometimes discounted by store-wide coupons (at, for example, Saks Fifth Avenue), so there’s some relief. The retail pricing of Tonka 25 is $270 for 100ml, $184 for 50ml. Le Labo at least retains the unique quality, among higher-end brands, of incentivizing the purchase of smaller bottles by offering to refill them at lower costs than the juice + bottle original price (exactly how much lower, I’m not sure) in lieu of buying wholly new bottles as replacements. Still, all of Le Labo’s offerings now fall roughly into the category of needing to love them in order to buy them.
Tonka 25 is an easy one for me to love, despite it not pushing boundaries in terms of scent profile (it’s agreeable, unisex, versatile) or performance (it’s good, more than just satisfactory, but not outstanding), but this is a clear winner from the house as its scent goes, as far as I’m concerned, and I’ll give serious thought to acquiring a bottle.
8 out of 10
lymnionilia – :
Something very medicinal in the opening on me, then drys to a lovely warm & sexy woody scent with still a hint of medicinal in the background. I definitely get Thé Noir 29 in there too. It’s classic Le Labo. I love it.
electrospeed – :
Mostly a soapy, slightly sour smelling orange blossom-honestly I thought it smelled like a not-very-lux hand soap. It then segues into a raspy woody/amber. I get nothing of the warm vanillic nuttiness of tonka bean. Aside from just not liking how it smelled, I also thought it was pretty dull. Probably my least favorite Le Labo to date. Had I been near a sink, I probably would’ve scrubbed it off, but fortunately it’s not a powerhouse so was able to ride it out til the end.
zero216 – :
I’m glad Estée Lauder hasn’t dumbed it down. It still feels true to Le Labos style. This ones quite musky and animalic. Reminiscent of Oud 27 with more sweetness added. It’s still dry for a tonka fragrance. I can smell civet and musk, alongside orange blossom in the opening. The dry down is very ambroxan, at one point smells close to Another 13. I think fans of Le Labo will be pleased! Definitely adding a bottle soon
sonic16 – :
Woody, sweet, resinous…plus benzoin, vanilla, and musk on a bed of soft, sexy smoke. Has just a gentle, magical hit of something animalic (or could be oud) that alights gently upon the bed of smoke. So it’s like wearing a cloud of bright, sheer innocence on top of a hot bed of sultriness. Le Labo Tonka 25 is beautiful but you’re going to have to spray it heavily.
SerjioSechinava – :
This is very woody on me. A little spicy and dry too, I would go as far as to call it Le Labo – Poivre Lite.
For myself, the cedar wood is a really big player here. If this was not named Tonka 25, or if tonka beans were not listed in the notes I would never guess that there were any in this fragrance.
Pros: it’s a new and different take on the tonka note (If you are able to pick up the tonka note, I can’t)
Cons: Terrible performance and sillage, a skin scent on me and might be one of the weakest in the line
I hoped for more from a brand I adore so much, however, this is very forgettable to me. Personally, this is a no from me. That being said, a friend did enjoy this a lot and compared it to Thé Noir 29 (I assume the woody aspects) so there’s that.
If you are expecting a delicious vanilla, tonka, gourmand type of scent you will be severely disappointed just as I was. I’m a huge Le Labo fan but the name of the fragrance gave me unnecessary expectations. Try to ignore the name and perhaps you may have a less biased opinion.
murad05 – :
I’ve been waiting for tonka25 to be released. I finally got the chance to wear it 2 full days. It wasn’t what i was expecting 🙁 what a let down. I get massive orange blossoms for the first 30 minutes then transitions to being a vanilla muscy fragrance. To me it leans more towards the feminine side.
Will i drop $184 for a 50ml? Probably not. 🙁
german1041976 – :
As usual for Le Labo, the fragrance is an absolute opposite to its name. It is citrusy, floral, with a big amount of crispy ambroxan.
It starts off with orange blossoms and other zesty citruses. The citruses merge into a combo of eucalyptus and modern tuberose (both are not listed). Tonka appear in the dry down making the fragrance rough (but not sweet!). The citruses zestness plays is alive during the whole life of the scents.
On my skin Tonka 25 smells as a mix of womens D&G Light Blue and Creed Royal Mayfair. Or as a very citrusy version of Perris Monte Carlo Cacao Azteque.
In the Le Labo line will play in the same niche as Bergamote 22 and will focus on the same lovers of fresh things.