It’s that Le Labo City Exclusives time of year again! The French-American fragrance brand Le Labo is, I swear, the only retailer on Earth that isn’t afraid to keep an exclusive. Each Le Labo city has a signature scent—and those City Exclusives, as they’re known, are only available in their home city, except for the magical month of September, when all the City Exclusives are available at all the Le Labos (and online). August is not as magical as September, but it is the month when you can buy samples of the 13 city exclusive scents. They’re tiny, and so absurdly expensive ($13/10€), but extremely addictive.

Below, our ranking for all of the Le Labo City Exclusive scents — plus a rating for each scent’s suitability for its namesake city.

Note that the products are linked to product pages but they often won’t work except during August and September, for the reasons above.

#1: PARIS: VANILLE 44  

They say: “This theme is a subtle ambery, incensy, woody, sexy note that once acquainted with your premium pashmina sweater will release the finest of the vanilla bourbons that you’ve experienced. It’s vanilla disguised.”

We say: Literally our favorite fragrance in the world. It’s vanilla, but not the over-sweet variety: It’s the sort of vanilla worn in front of a fireplace in a library in an inn in the Scottish Highlands. It’s vanilla, but it’s woodsy and spicy and deep. It’s true love, not first love.

Suitability for Paris: 10/10 parfait

#2: LONDON: POIVRE 23

They say: “It is very warm, ultra spicy, truly oriental, and it’s only for London.”

We say: You know that thing a dog does when it’s trying to scratch its chin with its collar? A few days ago I sprayed this on my chest and spent the rest of the day doing that exact sort of move, trying to get my nose as close as possible to the perfume. It’s no joke: It is totally peppery on first spray, but moments later the pepper clears and you’re left with this rich, woodsy, slightly vanilla-y scent that’ll last deep into 24 hours. (After applying this in the morning, I went into a Sephora, forgot I was already wearing perfume, put on some Tom Ford Soleil Blanc—which I love almost as much as this—and then settled back into the Poivre 23, which lingered after the Tom Ford was nothing but a memory.)

Suitability for London: 2/10 — this is basically tied for me as my absolute favorite but I just don’t smell London in it!

#3: MOSCOW: BENJOIN 19

They say: “Benjoin 19 is a universal tribute to passionate spirits, to those determined to live their lives on their own terms[???]”

We say: Exceptional staying power, and a mixture of incense, amber, and the oldest of woods that made me think of  the darkest pew in the grandest church.

Suitability for Moscow: 9/10. 

#4: SHANGHAI: MYRRHE 55

They say: “Myrrh, which smells of incense with a strong licorice twist, is at the “heart” of this creation. Its partners-in-crime are jasmine and patchouli, all well-anchored on a bed of oud, ambergris, and of course, musk (don’t worry, all vegan notes).”

We say: Literally just the biggest, spiciest, patchouli-est jasmine you can imagine — like stepping into a city garden late at night in equatorial climes.

Suitability for Shanghai: 7/10

#5: MIAMI: TABAC 28

They say: “Smoky, seductive, alluring – Tabac 28 is Miami in a bottle.”

We say: Warm tobacco with a touch of sweetness and brightness from citrus. It’s smooth, easy to wear, and slightly festive. Think tobacco softened and made more approachable.

Suitability for Moscow: 8/10. Quite high! Not daytime Miami but nighttime Miami’s cigar bars.

#6: BERLIN: CEDRAT 37

They say: “A delicate balance of cedrat and ginger – fresh, acidic, and with an addictive candied sweetness – resting on a foundation of sensual Le Labo-ness which often means woods, musks, and a generous note of ambergris.”

We say: All I’m saying is that this is a very cheerful fragrance for Berlin.

Suitability for Berlin: 1/10. LA should be Berlin!

#7: HONG KONG: BIGARADE 18

They say: “You take the best bergamot and neroli petals there are and mix it with the best musks out there, add a drop or two of woods, et voila! The resulting tension is like a tug of war between the classical smell of citruses and the warm and transgressive hum of dark notes and woods where there is never a clear winner.”

We say: Like swimming through an oppressive cloud of the heaviest citrus scents (I love it).

Suitability for Hong Kong: 8/10. It’s like a beautifully scented humidity in a bottle.

#8: LOS ANGELES: MUSC 25

They say: “Musc 25 is angelic, very musky, aldehydic, and so intensely luminous that you will need to wear shades to approach it.”

We say: I think I literally laughed when I read the description of this as “luminous” — like what does that mean in a fragrance context??? But I actually love this — it’s made for late nights even if L.A., in my experience, sort of is not. As a city this reminds me of Berlin! But a tourist’s Berlin — like my Berlin, not advanced Berlin. Dirty, but not too much.

Suitability for Los Angeles: 4/10. I mean, I get it, but my experience of L.A. is so sunshine-centric, nature-based that I can’t totally connect it to the musk.

#9: MEXCIO CITY: CORIANDRE 39

They say: “With the first spritz, a zing of spicy lime and aldehydic cilantro leaves (coriandre in French) set the stage for quieter crisp watery notes to peek through. Fresh, green florals enter, then stick around for an intoxicating musky dry down.”

We say: Fresh! Light! Sort of like cilantro! This is not at the top of my list for very, very expensive perfumes, but it’s quite nice.

Suitability for Mexico City: 5/10.

#10: TOKYO: GAÏAC 10

They say: “Gaiac is a very hard, greenish wood that isn’t as dry as cedar, but is as subtle, profound, and stable.”

We say: Definitely a more subtle experience than most of the selections: woody and chic, by which I mean

Suitability for Tokyo: 7/10. Honestly I didn’t make the connection at all but I read someone else’s account the very chilled-out minimalism of this is totally in tune with Tokyo, and that makes so much sense that I bumped up that score from a 3.

#11: SAN FRANCISCO: LIMETTE 37

They say: “You start off with a view, with bergamot’s freshness and light, before plunging into the warm and welcoming effects of jasmin, petit grain and clove that roll into luscious softness with vetiver, tonka beans and musks… Limette 37 is an olfactive roller coaster, mingling an impression of cleanliness, freshness and well-being with that definite feeling that you are smelling special.”

We say: It smells like detergent, but like the best possible of all detergents. It’s like if you owned a mansion, on a Greek Island, and that mansion was extremely, extremely clean—it would smell like Limette 37. And it would be amazing.

Suitability for San Francisco: 3/10 — all that citrus makes me think of Naples?? Even L.A.

#12: AMSTERDAM: MOUSSE DE CHENE 30

Obsessed with the fact that mousse de chene (oakmoss) is a lichen.

They say: “Moss and patchouli are paired with their most incisive synthetic boosters – crystal moss and clearwood. Cinnamon, pimento bay oil, and pink pepper spice it up to create timeless elegance that is reassuring yet surprising, tense, and addictive.”

We say: At first it smells like the back of a drawer in an old oak cabinet. Then it smells like a lemon drop candy found at the back of a drawer in an old oak cabinet.

Suitability for Amsterdam: 5/10??

#13: DALLAS ALDEHYDE 44

They say: “The scent is a small wonder – a mix of aldehyde overload that gives a unique cleanliness, a sublime floral composition built around narcissus, jasmin, and tuberose (all absolute, in case you wondered), and a bed of musk notes tied with a hint of vanilla. The result is esthetically admirable and unique.”

We say: Like if the whole city of Dallas got a custom-mixed version of Chanel No. 5 just for them.

Suitability for Dallas: 3/10 — I think this is a really pretty scent but I don’t smell Dallas there. Maybe it’s the florals?? I don’t think of Dallas as such an intensely floral place, the way that Miami or L.A. is?

#14: NEW YORK: TUBÉREUSE 40

They say: “Tubéreuse 40, like most of our scents, barely deserves its name. It is of course full of tuberose (absolute, and nothing less), but what hits you from the start is a wave of bergamot, tangerine, and orange flower.”

We say: Weirdly I actually agree that this is the perfect scent for New York (read: Manhattan) — it’s like the ideal fragrance for waiting for a Hinge date in the UBS gallery lobby on Sixth Avenue. That sounds kind of d***ish and I don’t even mean it to be, it’s lovely, light, fresh, extremely long-wearing, and modern.

Suitability for New York: 9/10. Very Ayn Rand/age of the skyscraper.

#15: KYOTO: OSMANTHUS 19

They say: “First impressions are notes of incense and aromatic lavender, before the titular flower emerges… creamy and uplifting, with woody, resinous tonalities close behind.”

We say: Maybe I’m losing my mind but I smell this as a variation on London: peppery at first and then settling into something floral, though I never would have identified it as lavender before reading the description.

Suitability for Kyoto: 4/10

#16: CHICAGO: BAIE ROSE 26

They say: The main story behind this fragrance refers to music – jazz music, in particular. There is a direct correlation between the sharp pepper and some of the more upbeat sounds of jazz, and the soft back representing the simpler, soothing side of the music.”

We say: A baie rose is not a rose: It is a pink pepper. So there’s rose in there, but it’s made into something other than rose thanks to the addition of pepper and musk. (This is not Diptyque’s Roses.) You may like it! I find it really boring.

Suitability for Chicago: 3/10 — if they say so? I don’t totally see it.

#17: DUBAI: CUIR 28

They say: “Like a classic motorcycle without the sweat and gasoline – blending leather, wood, and musky notes to give it a very powerful, dark, and memorable personality.”

We say: The most masculine-posturing of all the fragrances?

Suitability for Dubai: 2/10

#18: SEOUL: CITRON 28

They say: “In the beginning, Citron 28’s early code name was “Citron Boheme”; we wanted a real lemon perfume that wasn’t just lemon, but a twist on this icon of citruses.”

We say: TK — I just bought this!

Suitability for Seoul: ?/10 — this is the one city I haven’t visited! Is Seoul a lemony city?