Ink Review: J Herbin Scented Ink Sample Set

[Chrissy]

I thought I would do something a little different and review the J Herbin scented ink sample set as one main review.

I have the sample set of 5 x 10ml bottles, but these 5 scented inks can be purchased separately in 30ml bottles

 

This is what J Herbin say about them on their web-site:

"These exquisitely charming inks, lightly scented and presented in elegant semi-frosted bottles, are perfect for fountain pens since they are naturally scented and do not contain pigments.

J. Herbin scented inks are made from floral water (hydrosols) of rose, orange, lavender, apple and violets. The hydrosols used by J. Herbin come from Grasse, France, a Provencal town long associated with the perfume industry, and famous for its floral scents.
Scented Fountain Pen Ink Sampler

Fashioned with great care, scented inks are inspired by a tradition that began in Italy in the 19th century. J. Herbin and other manufacturers used to collect different scents from the perfume industry and add them to their inks.

Known as “Les Subtiles” (The Subtle), each ink matches fragrance and color: bleu/parfum lavande/10; vert/parfum pomme/34; amber/parfum orange/41; rouge/parfum rose/68; and violet/parfum violette/77"

Some of these inks are the same as inks in the standard collection, but have added fragrances: Amber/parfum orange/41 is "Ambre de Birmanie", Rouge/parfum rose/68 is "Rouge Opera", and Violette/parfum violette/77 is "Violette Pensee".

 

Unusually I found that my sample of Rose scented ink has more of a pink tinge to it than my sample bottle of Rouge Opera does.

The fact that I have already reviewed the first two of those inks was also a factor in selecting to review these scented inks together. I used my pilot Plumix pen with it's steel stub nib. It seems to have had the effect of making some of these inks dry more quickly than when I did the previous reviews with my Lamy Nexx M nib.

None of these inks are meant to be waterproof, but I noticed that both Rose and Violette are quite resistant.

[lapis]

Nice review! I use all 5 (as the 30-ml jobs) occasionally, not just because of the scent but because I also like the colours (which don't look all that much like those you mentioned, IMO). They also make a nice present for FP keeners.

 

Mike

[Chrissy]

Nice review!

 

I use all 5 (as the 30-ml jobs) occasionally, not just because of the scent but because I also like the colours (which don't look all that much like those you mentioned, IMO). They also make a nice present for FP keeners.

 

Mike

Thank you, you're welcome.

 

Which colours look different and do you think they all look darker than my scans? I tried to match them all to what they looked like on my paper.

[Pira]

I was just given this set and all the inks look like the shades you gave me.

 

I just isolated the violette because it's so strong that it is overwhelming all the other inks when stored together. Hopefully when kept seperate they will finally settle down to their repective scents.... I know the rose is very nice as I recieved a letter written with it and still smelled of roses after a number of weeks (which is why I covetted this set...) but the violette makes everything else smell like floral soap :/

 

As an aside....I used a dip nib with all these inks on Stillman&Birn Zeta paper and Violette hates that paper (which is designed for ink)....feathers like crazy! The others are well behaved as you mentioned. Thank-you for the review

Edited November 12, 2015 by Pira

[Misfit]

I got this set as a Christmas gift from friends. Glad to have found your review. Thank you for adding J Herbin's remarks about the scents.

 

Your review was very thorough, and it's neat how you include other inks with each review.

[lgsoltek]

I was just given this set and all the inks look like the shades you gave me.

 

I just isolated the violette because it's so strong that it is overwhelming all the other inks when stored together. Hopefully when kept seperate they will finally settle down to their repective scents.... I know the rose is very nice as I recieved a letter written with it and still smelled of roses after a number of weeks (which is why I covetted this set...) but the violette makes everything else smell like floral soap :/

 

As an aside....I used a dip nib with all these inks on Stillman&Birn Zeta paper and Violette hates that paper (which is designed for ink)....feathers like crazy! The others are well behaved as you mentioned. Thank-you for the review

 

I have the same observation as you Pira. The Violette has an overwhelming smell that I can't bear. And it feathers horribly. It's the most feathering ink in my whole collection.

 

I also noticed the blue one fades quickly.

[DrDebG]

Very nice review. I had not tried there but was still considering them. While your review is great, I do not find the colors very interesting or different from others. And I do not prefer scented inks. Thanks again, though!

[Charles Skinner]

A friend gave me a bottle of J. Herbin Encre Blue Myosotis ink. Is this the same ink as has been reviewed here? I like the color, but there is really a lot of "show through" on the paper I use, much more than my other inks. Your thoughts please. C. S.