Most of the time, this fragrance can only be bought in Beijing—more precisely, only inside the heritage-protected courtyard house at No. 19, Wangfu Central. Le Labo has written this into the release rules for SHIU 25: available year-round exclusively at Beijing He Yuan Lab, with brief appearances in other cities only during the brand's annual City Exclusive tour. This near-stubborn scarcity is, in itself, part of the story this scent is trying to tell.
He Yuan Lab is a space restored from a traditional siheyuan (courtyard house), where Le Labo has woven wabi-sabi aesthetics into the bones of the old architecture. SHIU 25 draws its inspiration from this very place—not the shape of the courtyard itself, but the quiet stillness it invites you to pause into.
The fragrance itself is deliberately pared down. Powdery iris and frankincense float lightly on top, resting above a warm, grounded woody base—without excessive decorative twists. Le Labo positions this structure as the "quieter, more serene side" of the Ho tree—Shiu, a scent vocabulary long believed to bring balance and inner calm. The brand describes the wearing experience as walking into a secluded courtyard, where light and shadow drift across worn wooden floors—soft, resinous, and settling.
Global Brand President and Creative Director Deborah Royer says the piece is "an invitation to find inner peace, reflect, and enjoy a moment of pause in a world that rarely allows us to stop." There's little marketing flourish in that statement—instead, it captures the logic behind the entire City Exclusive series: each city-exclusive fragrance is really selling a specific, quiet corner of that city.
The packaging stays true to Le Labo's signature industrial-apothecary aesthetic—glass bottles, minimalist metal caps, and typewriter-style labels that can be customized with the fragrance name, date, and owner's name. Display uses rough-hewn wooden crates that echo the wabi-sabi texture of the courtyard house, pairing practicality with understated luxury.
Discovery sets (1.5ml) and sampler kits launch globally starting August 1, 2026, while full-size bottles will only be available during the one-month window from September 1 to 30, 2026, through Le Labo's official website and select labs worldwide. Miss this month, and you'll have to wait for the next City Exclusive tour—or simply book a flight to Beijing.
