Ask most people to picture Beijing as a fragrance, and you'll likely get the Forbidden City's red walls, the smoky scent of coal stoves drifting through hutongs, or the oily haze of a Peking duck restaurant. LE LABO's answer is something else entirely: the stillness of a camphor wood forest. This is "Bois de Camphre 25," the newest addition to LE LABO's City Exclusives lineup—a project that began in 2006 and now spans 20 cities in 2026.
Built around camphor wood, "Bois de Camphre 25" draws inspiration from the historical traces left across this ancient city—but the olfactory language chosen is understated: a soft base of laurel leaf, iris drifting gently on top, finished with frankincense and warm woods. The intent is a sense of quiet, peaceful calm rather than a symbolic, weighty "Eastern" statement—which, in fact, runs somewhat counter to the typical first impression people have of Beijing.
The City Exclusives series launched the same year the brand was founded, kicking off with "Tubereuse 40," a tuberose-centered scent by perfumer Alberto Morillas. One new city each year since—19 years, 19 fragrances, each tied permanently to its own city. Beijing's "Bois de Camphre 25" marks only the second entry in the series inspired by a Chinese city, following Shanghai's "Myrrhe 55." Placed side by side, these two cities—and their two very different olfactory logics—make for a far more interesting comparison than either scent viewed alone.
The rule behind this series has always been simple, and a little willful: each scent is, in principle, sold exclusively in its designated city—except every September, when all of them collectively "run away from home" for a month-long tour through other cities, letting a wider audience catch a whiff. For now, there's no word yet on "Bois de Camphre 25"'s exact release date, pricing, or whether it will be available in Taiwan. That part will have to wait for the brand's official announcement.
