5 Reasons to Buy le labo another 13 from Bloomingdales

Why I Decided to Share My Fragrance Journey

If you are anything like me, you have probably spent countless hours standing at crowded beauty counters, spritzing dozens of paper blotters until your nose goes completely numb. For the longest time, I was on a seemingly endless quest to find a fragrance that felt like me—not a walking bouquet of overwhelming florals, and certainly not a heavy, headache-inducing cloud of intense spices. I wanted something subtle, magnetic, and completely unique. That was exactly my mindset until the day I first experienced le labo another 13. It was an absolute revelation. Instead of wearing the fragrance, it felt as though the fragrance was wearing me, enhancing my natural scent rather than masking it behind a wall of synthetic odors.

The beauty of le labo another 13 lies in its almost ghostly presence. It is famous for being a “skin scent,” a classification of fragrances that rely heavily on synthetic musks that adapt to the wearer’s unique body chemistry. Some days it smells like crisp, fresh magazine pages, and other days it radiates a warm, cozy, ambery glow. But knowing what to buy is only half the battle. Knowing where to buy it is just as critical. The luxury fragrance market is flooded with unauthorized third-party sellers, questionable discounters, and flat-out counterfeits. That is exactly why I decided to write this comprehensive guide. If you are going to invest your hard-earned money into a high-end, artisanal fragrance, you need to ensure you are getting the authentic experience from a reputable authorized retailer. Below, I am going to break down the five defining reasons why purchasing le labo another 13 from Bloomingdale’s is the smartest move you can make for your olfactory wardrobe.

The Magic and Mystery of the AnOther Magazine Collaboration

Before we dive into the logistics of shopping at Bloomingdale’s, let us take a moment to appreciate the history of this remarkable scent. Back in 2010, Jefferson Hack, the publisher of the iconic AnOther Magazine, visited Le Labo’s boutique in New York City. The result of this creative meeting was an exclusive collaboration. The “13” in the name represents the exact number of ingredients used to compose the scent. The star of the show is Ambroxan, a synthetic animalic musk that mimics ambergris. If you want to understand the deep science behind why Ambroxan is so universally loved in modern perfumery, I highly recommend reading this detailed guide on Ambroxan by Byrdie, which breaks down its chemical allure perfectly.

It is a fragrance that plays hide-and-seek. You might spray it on your pulse points in the morning, forget you are wearing it by noon due to olfactory fatigue (anosmia), and then suddenly, a barista or a coworker will stop you at 4:00 PM to ask, “What are you wearing? You smell incredible.” This intermittent sillage is what makes the scent so wildly popular, earning its place among the best modern perfumes, as often cited by authoritative fashion publications like Harper’s Bazaar.

5 Reasons to Buy le labo another 13 from Bloomingdales

Reason 1: Ironclad Authenticity and Trust

The internet is a wild west when it comes to luxury fragrances. A quick search will yield dozens of websites offering a “steep discount” on high-end niche perfumes. Let me be the one to tell you: if a deal on a luxury fragrance seems too good to be true, it absolutely is. The counterfeit market has become incredibly sophisticated. They can fake the heavy glass bottles, the minimalist labels, and even the batch codes stamped on the bottom. What they cannot fake is the intricate, high-quality juice inside.

When you purchase from Bloomingdale’s, you are buying directly from an authorized retailer. Bloomingdale’s has direct supply chain agreements with the brand parent companies (Estée Lauder Companies, in this case). This means the bottle you pick up has traveled through a controlled, temperature-regulated environment straight from the lab to the department store floor. There is zero risk of receiving watered-down, expired, or chemically dangerous fake products. For something you are spraying directly onto your skin, this peace of mind is priceless.

Reason 2: The Loyallist Rewards Program

One of my absolute favorite things about shopping at Bloomingdale’s is their Loyallist program. If you are going to drop a significant amount of money on a niche fragrance, you should be getting something in return. The Loyallist program is free to join, and it genuinely rewards you for your purchases. Unlike some boutique-specific loyalty programs that take years to accumulate enough points for a free sample, Bloomingdale’s allows you to rack up points quickly, especially if you time your purchase right.

Throughout the year, Bloomingdale’s hosts “Triple Point” events or offers promotional gift cards (e.g., “Get a $25 Reward Card for every $125 you spend on Beauty”). Since a 50ml or 100ml bottle is a premium investment, purchasing it during one of these events often yields a substantial reward card that you can immediately use on a restock of your favorite moisturizer, a new lipstick, or even homewares. It effectively brings the net cost of the fragrance down in a way that independent boutiques rarely match.

Reason 3: Impeccable Customer Service and Fresh Blending

There is a specific theater to buying this brand, and Bloomingdale’s captures it beautifully. Many Bloomingdale’s locations feature fully equipped, in-house Le Labo counters. This means you aren’t just taking a dusty box off a shelf. You are witnessing the bespoke compounding process. The trained associates mix the essential oil concentrate with the alcohol and water right in front of you.

They then print the personalized label on the spot, allowing you to add your name, initials, or a short message (up to 23 characters). The customer service at Bloomingdale’s elevates this process. Their beauty advisors are not pushy; they are highly educated on the scent profiles and are usually more than happy to provide you with a small sample vial of another scent—like Santal 33 or Rose 31—so you can explore the house further without committing blindly.

Reason 4: Exclusive Beauty Events and Gifts With Purchase (GWP)

Department stores have a major advantage over standalone boutiques when it comes to promotional events. Bloomingdale’s frequently runs comprehensive Beauty Events. During these periods, purchasing a qualifying amount in the beauty department nets you an incredible tote bag filled with high-end, deluxe-sized samples from various luxury brands—think La Mer, Charlotte Tilbury, and Tom Ford.

When I bought my last 100ml bottle, it coincided with their fall beauty event. I walked away not only with my freshly compounded bottle of my signature scent, but also a curated bag of skincare and makeup samples that easily carried a retail value of over $150. You simply do not get that kind of peripheral value when shopping elsewhere. It turns a standard transaction into a massive beauty haul.

Reason 5: A Flexible, Customer-Centric Return Policy

Fragrance is incredibly subjective, and skin chemistry is a fickle thing. What smells like a masterpiece on a paper blotter in the store might turn sour or overly powdery on your skin after a few hours of wear. Standalone boutiques often have incredibly rigid return policies—some refuse returns entirely once the plastic seal is broken.

Bloomingdale’s, on the other hand, is known for its excellent customer service and reasonable return policies. While bespoke, personalized items can sometimes have specific return caveats, Bloomingdale’s overall approach is heavily skewed toward customer satisfaction. If you communicate with the beauty associate, they will often advise you on the best way to test the fragrance (such as using the provided sample vial before opening the main box) so you can ensure you truly love the way it reacts with your skin before committing permanently. This lack of buyer’s remorse is a massive reason why Bloomingdale’s gets my business every single time.

Cost vs. Value: Analyzing the Investment

Let us address the elephant in the room: this is not a cheap fragrance. It is a luxury, artisanal product that commands a luxury price tag. However, as an avid collector, I evaluate fragrances based on “Cost Per Wear” (CPW) rather than just the upfront retail price. Because this specific scent has monstrous longevity on clothes and solid longevity on the skin, you do not need to over-spray. Two spritzes are more than enough to last you an entire workday and well into the evening.

When you break the math down, the 100ml bottle offers the best long-term value, bringing your cost per wear down to under 65 cents a day. When combined with Bloomingdale’s Loyallist rewards, that value proposition becomes even stronger, making the upfront investment much more palatable for the savvy consumer.

Comparing Skin Scents: How Does It Stack Up?

The “your skin but better” fragrance category has exploded in recent years. To help you understand where this specific masterpiece sits in the broader market, I have put together a comparison with some other heavy hitters in the skin-scent genre, including high-end niche alternatives, popular mainstream picks, and fantastic accessible dupes like imixx perfume.

While the imixx perfume offers a brilliant alternative for those who want the skin-scent experience on a strict budget, there is an undeniable, multidimensional depth to the original that keeps me coming back to the Bloomingdale’s counter. The interplay of the pear and the jasmine against the heavy ambroxan base simply cannot be perfectly replicated by cheaper aromachemicals.

My Personal Tips for Wearing and Layering

Over the years of wearing this scent, I have developed a few tricks to maximize its potential. First and foremost, you have to understand that this is an enhancer. Because it is so heavily reliant on musks, it layers beautifully with almost anything else in your collection. If you have a vanilla fragrance that feels too sweet and cloying, spraying this underneath it will instantly dry it out and give it a sophisticated, woody edge. If you have a bright citrus scent that disappears in twenty minutes, using the ambroxan base will anchor the citrus notes and stretch their lifespan by hours.

My second tip is to avoid burying your nose in your wrist. Because the molecules are so large, smelling them up close instantly fatigues your olfactory receptors. You will think the scent has vanished, but I promise you, the person standing five feet away from you can smell it perfectly. Spray it on the back of your neck or behind your knees. Let the scent waft up to you naturally throughout the day, catching you off guard in the best way possible.

Final Thoughts: A Bloomingdale’s Staple

Finding a signature scent is a deeply personal journey. It is about discovering a scent profile that aligns with your personality, your body chemistry, and how you want to present yourself to the world. For me, the crisp, mysterious, and undeniably modern aura of this fragrance hit every single mark. And when it comes to replenishing my supply, the authenticity, rewards, and unmatched customer service at Bloomingdale’s make it the only logical retailer. Whether you are treating yourself to your first niche fragrance or you are a seasoned collector looking for a reliable restock, you simply cannot go wrong combining this legendary scent with a world-class department store experience.