Laboratory Perfumes

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Laboratory Perfumes is a small London house making unisex fragrances from natural oils, built around British flowers, herbs and coastal botanicals. Nothing in the range is sold as men's or women's — the scents are

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11 products

About Laboratory Perfumes

Laboratory Perfumes was founded in London by Aaron Firth, and it is still run by a small team there. The range draws on the flowers, herbs and aromatic plants of Britain, with the odd excursion further afield — Atlas takes its name from the Moroccan mountains. Everything is made in Britain, cruelty-free, from natural oils.

The thing that sets the house apart is that none of it is gendered. The scents were built to be worn by anyone from the beginning, which was unusual when the brand started and is the reason it developed the following it has. The packaging follows the same logic: plain brown card, clear glass, and candles poured into what is essentially a laboratory beaker.

Laboratory Perfumes eau de toilette

Two are stocked here. Samphire is the green one — juniper and verbena over citrus, basil and rosemary, drying down to amber and oakmoss, and the most straightforwardly wearable of the range for daytime. Helios is the brighter, more citrus-led of the pair.

All the fragrances are formulated to evolve rather than sit still, which is worth knowing if you are used to scents that smell the same at six in the evening as they did at eight in the morning. These do not. The Discovery Set of five 5ml vials is the sensible way in if you have not tried the house before — fragrance is the one category where buying blind rarely works.

Laboratory Perfumes candles, soaps and creams

The Gorse and Atlas candles carry the same scents as the fragrances in a 200g pour. Gorse is the coastal one — citrus and coconut with a soft floral middle, closest to a summer's day; Atlas is the earthier, woodier option for colder months.

On the body side, the Gorse and Amber creams and soaps let you layer the same scent rather than wearing it only from the bottle, and the Lifestyle Set pairs a cream with a soap. Amber is the house's original fragrance and the warmest thing they make — balmy and woody rather than sweet.

Browse all grooming and fragrance at Yards Store, or see what we have in our Manchester and Sheffield shops.

Laboratory Perfumes FAQs

Yes, all of them. The house has made gender-free fragrance since it started and none of the range is sold as men's or women's. The scents are formulated to react with the wearer's own skin chemistry, so the same fragrance develops differently on different people — which is the argument against splitting them by gender in the first place.
They are built in layers — top notes you smell first, a heart that comes through after twenty minutes or so, and a base that lingers. Laboratory Perfumes uses natural oils rather than synthetics fixed to hold one note, so a fragrance shifts noticeably across a day rather than staying put. It is why the brand recommends trying before buying.
The Discovery Set, honestly — five 5ml vials of the signature scents, which is enough to live with each for a few days. If you would rather commit, Samphire is the green, herbal, easy-to-wear one and works year round; Gorse is citrus and coconut and suits warm weather; Amber is the warmest and the house's original.
In Britain. The company is based in London and the fragrances, candles and body products are made here from natural oils, cruelty-free, with recyclable packaging.