Violette 30 is how to get through February

This morning I stepped outside and immediately regretted having a body. Biking through Amsterdam in early February feels more like a personal endurance test than the whimsical transportation it’s revered as, I thought, as my ears froze off upon my first meeting with the outside air.  

I’m sure other European cities are also in the stronghold of seasonal depression with streets reduced to grey twigs and dead leaves, numbing fingers and toes numb while they hurt at the same time. But then, on a balcony owned by someone who probably has a small white dog and knows their neighbours a bit too well…  A tiny violet? A tiny violet! Fragile, purple, stubbornly alive despite the frosty tiles it grew between. Almost orchid-esque in its confidence, the colour feels wildly out of place against the sticky winter background that it thrives in. It felt like a reminder: if this little flower can keep its head up above the snow, so can we!!!

Which is more or less how Violette 30 from Le Labo wears. A violet scent, starting off as green and fresh, softened by white tea and aldehydes, then grounded by cedar, guaiac wood. When it dries down it’s a comfortable musky scent. It’s floral, but not precious; bright, but not naïve. A delightfully paradoxical bouquet of meaning, Le Labo explains, the violet both stands for “burning passion and wide-eyed innocence, steadfast strength and poetic delicacy.” 

Florals for spring? (Not so) groundbreaking. Florals for winter, though… a whole different story. It’s a light scent that, upon description, might feel slightly counterintuitive in winter, but is actually exactly right for it. When everything feels heavy and dark, you need something comforting on your wrist to get through the day without adding to the gloom. One spritz has me holding onto the idea that even the most warm-blooded and tropical among us can make it just a little longer.

Wanna read more about perfume? Here’s a list of perfumes worth going offline for, here’s a collection of perfumes to match your culturally appropriated hot-girl-drink, and here are perfumes for people who romanticise the wrong things.