Geranium 30

The Verdict

Le Labo made only one hundred bottles of Geranium 30, sold exclusively through Opening Ceremony as part of a collaboration with Belgian floral artist Thierry Boutemy in 2014. It is now discontinued. Those facts alone position this as a niche fragrance curiosity, but what makes it genuinely interesting is the quality of what perfumer Barnabé Fillion actually created inside those hundred bottles — a spicy, green, end-of-summer floral that most reviewers describe as surprisingly compelling on the first wearing and reaching for regularly after the second. It deserves a better fate than its vanishingly small production run consigned it to.

What It Smells Like

The note listing — Geranium, Floral Notes, Green Notes, Spicy Notes — is unusually abstract for Le Labo, which typically lists individual ingredients. The opening, though, is described with consistency across reviewers: a spiced, peppery accord with an aldehydic fruity quality, something between faint green melon and sweet-sour grapefruit. It reads as more complex than the listing suggests, because Fillion is working with a spice-and-grapefruit bridge into the geranium, rather than leading with the geranium itself.

The heart is where the fragrance's character emerges. Reviewers describe semisweet florals and galbanum appearing alongside mostly jasmine and rose, with the geranium itself occupying a background position rather than dominating. One Basenotes reviewer noted a quality reminiscent of Frédéric Malle Geranium Pour Monsieur — "perhaps more wearable and longer-lasting" — which is genuine praise for a limited-edition that likely had a fraction of that fragrance's budget. The Comme des Garçons 2 comparison also surfaces: similar territory, but less abrasive.

There is something in the drydown that some reviewers flag as an acquired taste: a slightly vegetal, almost decaying-floral quality, the kind of note that suggests rotting petals in the bottom of a flower vase. It's unpleasant to some and evocative to others. The official description of "a garden late in the season" is exactly right — the spices, the fading florals, the slightly overripe background. One Colognoisseur reviewer admitted they wanted not to like it and couldn't manage it.

The scent is genuinely unisex and performs well on both.

When to Wear It

Warm weather is the natural context, but this isn't a beach or poolside fragrance. The spicy-green character suits outdoor situations where you want to smell interesting rather than obviously floral — casual city days in spring or early summer, garden parties, or creative-professional environments where a talking point is welcome. It is light enough not to overwhelm enclosed spaces and interesting enough to reward proximity.

The end-of-summer character means it also works in early autumn, when its fading-garden quality feels seasonally coherent.

Longevity & Projection

Community accounts suggest good longevity for a light floral — several reviewers report it detectable on the wrists throughout a hot day, which outperforms many comparable sheer florals. Projection is modest: this is a fragrance for the wearer's immediate vicinity rather than a room-filler. The sheerness is part of its character, not a defect, and wearers who prefer this style will find it appropriately restrained.

One practical note: the extreme rarity of Geranium 30 means that even if the performance is strong, finding a bottle to test let alone purchase is genuinely difficult. Samples occasionally surface on fragrance trading communities, and the price has climbed significantly above the original retail since discontinuation.

The Community Says

The fragrance community treats Geranium 30 with the affection usually reserved for things that got away. Reviewers who found it at Opening Ceremony describe being pleasantly surprised — expecting a typical Le Labo exercise and receiving something with more warmth and approachability than much of the brand's lineup. The spicy-peppery floral direction is noted as departing from Le Labo's sometimes austere tendencies.

The main criticism directed at the fragrance is not the scent itself but the artificial scarcity of its production. Community members were vocal about the absurdity of making only one hundred bottles. One reviewer noted that at that production scale, the fragrance "won't even get past employees and their immediate family, let alone to any stores." Even admirers who considered purchasing a spare bottle found the secondary market prices difficult to justify. Mark Behnke at Colognoisseur hoped the new Estée Lauder ownership would enable a proper release — that never happened.

Who Should Buy This

If you come across a sample or decant, try it. It belongs in the Le Labo discography alongside Santal 33 and Rose 31 as something that demonstrates the brand's range, and its unisex wearability and approachable complexity would have found a much larger audience with a proper release.

For collectors with deep pockets, a full bottle represents a genuine piece of niche fragrance history from a productive collaboration between a skilled perfumer and an unusual creative brief.

The Bottom Line

One of the more regrettable discontinuations in recent niche fragrance history — not because it's the most extraordinary fragrance ever made, but because it was good, genuinely wearable, and interesting, and it was made in quantities that guaranteed almost no one would ever smell it. If you find a sample, wear it in summer with low expectations and you'll likely understand the frustration.