Gaiac 10 Le Labo 2008

Gaiac 10 opens woodsy, with a bit of smoke wafting in the distance. As it dries, it passes through a detergent phase before it sweetens, becomes powdery & more musky. Wears close to the skin with mediocre longevity.

Although classified as a masculine, Gaiac 10 strikes me as unisex and it definitely can be worn by a gal. In fact, it may be more suited to women with its powdery & sweet character.

Overall, my experience is exactly what Sybarite says on another forum: "Wishy-washy woods, over wishy-washy incense and detergent musks." He nailed it. It's pleasant enough and not without interest, albeit a bit boring and common. At this price point ... snooze-ville.

(-_-)zzzzz

This stuff has been my holy grail fragrance for over a year now since my Seattle trip last year, and I’m happy to say that now that I have a full bottle, it doesn’t disappoint. Gaiac 10 is a beautifully sharp green fragrance. It smells like the blade of an axe after cutting down a bunch of fresh, green, baby trees. It smells like you took a mercury bath and then had buckets of mowed grass dumped on you. It smells like you grabbed a scythe and went to town on a bush. It smells like you swam under a train bridge and a train car full of cleanly sliced rainforest vines tipped over onto you. It’s metallic, it’s green, its watery, its musky, it’s ever so slightly smokey, it’s got a hint of pepper, it’s clean, and it’s amazing. I know just last week I said that Kira Kira was the cleanest fragrance I owned but that was before this arrived so I’ll have to amend that, because the first time I wore this out to a friends house I got asked if I just took a shower. I love this stuff, but try before you buy.

I was at the Le Labo store last week to buy a gift for my brother's birthday and I decided to try Gaiac 10 as well - given that it is probably the most talked about out of the city exclusive line and I have no self-control. I tried it both on my skin and a paper strip, and to no one's surprise I loved it. The soft woody, slightly incensy cloud of my dreams.
I must've put the little paper strip on my bag and forgotten about it, but the next morning I was cleaning my bag and found it. And omg. THE SMELL. An intense creamy muskiness filled my nose. It was so strong, still so full, and it had been a full day since I sprayed it. From that moment, I left the strip in my nightstand and kept sniffing it for the next few days like a mad woman until there was nothing left to sniff anymore. lol.
I have never encoutered a scent so addictive, comforting, evocative in my life. I know it sounds like an overstatement, but it nearly brought tears to my eyes. I have a feeling this might be my favorite smell of all time.

I took a trip to Tokyo and got to sample this at one of the Le Labo stores in Japan. I really enjoyed it, but couldn’t justify the ridiculous price tag. I purchased a sample when I got home and I am so glad that I resisted buying a full bottle of Gaiac 10. It is a really nice woody/smoky scent that is subtle and pretty unique. However, in true Japanese fashion, this fragrance literally whispers off of the skin and disappears fairly quickly. For a fragrance that is more than $300, I’d have a hard time pulling the trigger on something I’m going to have to constantly re-apply during the day. If you have the means to purchase this and don’t mind dropping the coin, it is a lovely fragrance. It’s just too little juice, for too little performance, for too much coin for me.

Incredibly attractive, clean, light airy woodsy, mellow, lightly peppered, so smooth and a little creamy. There is a laundry like effect. This fragrance is incredibly long lasting and subtle but tenacious. Gaiac 10 pairs perfectly with Vanille 44. I almost always receive compliments when wearing this fragrance and it is one of my wife's favorite pick from my collection. It's in an entirely different league than Molecule 01. I have a hard time understanding how one struggles to smell it. I find it quite potent. 10/10