Le Labo Another 13 EDP
What Does Le Labo Another 13 EDP Smell Like?
Expert Rating
4.4 / 5
Scent Overview
Imagine opening a freshly printed fashion magazine while sitting on clean, warm skin: dry paper, a faint inky-mineral sharpness and smooth musk, with a little pear and jasmine hovering around the edges. Another 13 is dominated by Ambroxan-style warmth rather than a conventional bouquet. Le Labo itself describes ambroxyde as the core, supported by jasmine and moss.
The scent can feel extremely intimate and transparent, yet people nearby may still notice a persistent trail. That contradiction is central to Another 13: some wearers find it remarkably strong and long-lasting, while others report that they can barely smell it at all. Magazine paper, clean skin, salt, musk and polished synthetic woods are recurring community comparisons.
Quick Profile
|
Fragrance Family |
Amber, Musk, Woody |
|
Gender |
Unisex |
|
Gender Leaning |
Perfectly Unisex |
|
Seasons |
Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter |
|
Wear On |
Casual, Daily Wear, Date Night, Office |
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Vibe |
Airy, Clean, Intimate, Minimalist, Modern, Musky |
Performance Ratings
Longevity
4.0 / 5
Sillage
3.4 / 5
Versatility
4.7 / 5
(0 - 15 min)
Opening
The first 5 to 30 minutes of Another 13 are surprisingly difficult to describe in conventional perfume terms. Pear, apple and citrus can provide a faintly fresh, almost transparent fruitiness, but the dominant sensation is already musky, dry and mineral. Rather than smelling juicy, the opening can resemble cool skin, glossy paper or the clean synthetic smell of something newly unpackaged.
Jasmine adds a slight floral brightness without becoming recognizably jasmine-heavy, while moss introduces a muted green dryness. Some people immediately smell a strong, almost metallic musk; others perceive little more than a soft clean aura. This unusually variable perception is part of what makes Another 13 both fascinating and risky to sample only on paper.
(15 min - 3 hours)
Heart
As the initial freshness settles, the fragrance becomes warmer, smoother and increasingly skin-like. Ambrette introduces a soft musky texture, while jasmine and moss provide subtle floral and green contrast. The composition does not suddenly bloom or become sweeter; instead, the separate elements seem to dissolve into one clean, slightly salty cloud.
This is where Another 13 most strongly resembles warm skin, expensive paper or freshly opened fashion magazines. There can be a dusty, powdery quality, but it is different from cosmetic iris powder. It feels more like dry paper fibers softening the harder edges of the synthetic woods and musks. The overall character remains deliberately abstract, polished and difficult to assign to either a traditionally masculine or feminine style.
(+ 3 hours)
Dry Down
The dry down is dominated by dry synthetic woods and musks. Iso E Super contributes a smooth cedar-like transparency, while Cetalox and other musk materials create the warm amber-mineral effect associated with the fragrance’s ambroxyde core. Traces of fruit, jasmine and moss become increasingly abstract rather than remaining individually identifiable.
Performance is unusual because personal perception varies dramatically. Current community averages indicate good longevity but more moderate sillage, yet individual reviews range from barely smelling the fragrance to finding it extremely persistent and detectable after washing. This makes Another 13 difficult to judge from a single quick test. Its strength is the distinctive clean-skin aura and effortless versatility; its weakness is price and the possibility that the wearer may perceive far less of it than people nearby.
Pros
- Distinctive Ambroxan-driven skin scent combines clean musk, dry woods and subtle floral-fruity details without smelling conventional.
- Good longevity allows the musky dry down to remain detectable for many wearers.
- Exceptionally versatile unisex character works across seasons, offices, casual wear and understated dates.
- Magazine-paper, mineral and salty-skin facets give it more personality than a simple clean musk.
- Transparent construction can create noticeable presence without relying on heavy sweetness, spice or dense florals.
Cons
- Some wearers report being able to smell very little of the fragrance even when others can detect it.
- Premium Le Labo pricing is difficult to justify for buyers who experience the scent mainly as a simple Ambroxan-and-musk base.
- Synthetic, metallic or sterile facets can feel chemical rather than luxurious to some noses.
- Development is intentionally subtle, so people expecting dramatic Top/Heart/Base changes may find it linear.
- Its clean Ambroxan skin-scent style has become much more common since Another 13 launched, reducing some of its original novelty.
FAQ
Le Labo Another 13 smells clean, musky, woody and slightly mineral, with an Ambroxan-like skin scent surrounded by faint pear, jasmine and moss. Many wearers compare its dry synthetic texture with glossy magazine pages, clean skin or expensive paper.
Another 13 can create a glossy-magazine impression because its dry synthetic woods, musks and mineral Ambroxan-like character can resemble fresh paper and printing materials. Magazine paper is not an official note, but the comparison appears repeatedly among wearers.
Some people report that Another 13 becomes extremely faint or almost impossible for them to perceive, while other wearers experience strong projection and longevity. Because reactions vary so dramatically, a proper skin test is more useful than judging the fragrance from one quick spray.
Le Labo Another 13 generally has good longevity, with current community data placing persistence above average. Individual experiences vary unusually widely, however, so one wearer may perceive it for most of the day while another becomes unable to notice it much sooner.
Another 13 is a unisex fragrance and does not lean strongly toward traditional masculine or feminine perfume conventions. Its dry woods, mineral musk, pear and restrained jasmine create an abstract skin scent that can work naturally across different styles.
Another 13 and Not a Perfume share a prominent clean amber-musky character, so the comparison makes sense. Another 13 is more layered, adding pear, jasmine, moss and additional musky-woody materials around its Ambroxan-style core rather than behaving as such a stripped-down composition.
No. Another 13 is a risky blind buy because perception varies dramatically: some people find it addictive, clean and long-lasting, while others smell something metallic, overly synthetic or almost nothing at all. Sampling it on skin first is particularly important.