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

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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.

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[naimitsu]

Nice review, as always :)

I have the same sample pack! Your notes on the Rose was pretty much my exact thought! I had the rose in my TWSBI 580AL Orange back in January before putting Yu-Yake in it. To this day, the pen still smells like rose water! Though I started noticing how the red spreads much more than the intended line out of a nib.

I currently have apple in a highlighter pen, and I was beginning to wonder if it was just me getting such a faded color out of Lavender. I had high hopes for it since it seemed rather dark in the bottle. The color of the orange I hated at first write, so that got gifted to a coworker pretty much immediately. He loves it, especially the orange flower scent.

If nothing else, the bottles are cute and once I go through the inks (or get impatient enough to deposit the ink into spare vials), they will make fantastic frankenink experiment bottles ;)

[Uncle Bud]

For me, apple is just lovely

[Chrissy]

Nice review, as always :)

I have the same sample pack! Your notes on the Rose was pretty much my exact thought! I had the rose in my TWSBI 580AL Orange back in January before putting Yu-Yake in it. To this day, the pen still smells like rose water! Though I started noticing how the red spreads much more than the intended line out of a nib.

I currently have apple in a highlighter pen, and I was beginning to wonder if it was just me getting such a faded color out of Lavender. I had high hopes for it since it seemed rather dark in the bottle. The color of the orange I hated at first write, so that got gifted to a coworker pretty much immediately. He loves it, especially the orange flower scent.

If nothing else, the bottles are cute and once I go through the inks (or get impatient enough to deposit the ink into spare vials), they will make fantastic frankenink experiment bottles ;)

Thank you, you're welcome. :)

I agree with you that the Blue/Lavender looks quite a faded shade. After being slightly less keen on the first 3 inks, I preferred Violette, then when I started writing with Rose, I thought I definitely saved the best till last.

These sample sized bottles are the same size (10ml) that you get in the 4 ink sampler pack of J Herbin standard FP inks. In those you can select any 4 colours from the range.

[naimitsu]

These sample sized bottles are the same size (10ml) that you get in the 4 ink sampler pack of J Herbin standard FP inks. In those you can select any 4 colours from the range.

Ah, good to know! I might have to take a closer look at their normal colors ;)

[Laura N]

These sample sized bottles are the same size (10ml) that you get in the 4 ink sampler pack of J Herbin standard FP inks. In those you can select any 4 colours from the range.

Ooooh, intriguing. I have bought the 10ml size individually from Jetpens, but I haven't seen a select-your-own sampler pack for the regular inks. Do you know where that is sold here? At Jetpens, the 10ml bottles are $4.75, which may be pricey compared to buying an entire bottle, but seems a good deal compared to a small 2ml or 3ml sample. I probably would only have bought 10ml bottles if they were available when I had first started.

[Chrissy]

These sample sized bottles are the same size (10ml) that you get in the 4 ink sampler pack of J Herbin standard FP inks. In those you can select any 4 colours from the range.

Ooooh, intriguing. I have bought the 10ml size individually from Jetpens, but I haven't seen a select-your-own sampler pack for the regular inks. Do you know where that is sold here? At Jetpens, the 10ml bottles are $4.75, which may be pricey compared to buying an entire bottle, but seems a good deal compared to a small 2ml or 3ml sample. I probably would only have bought 10ml bottles if they were available when I had first started.

Hmmm it would seem that this 'Pick and Mix' 4 X 10ml bottle sample tube might be a UK only thing. On the J Herbin web-site they say that 10ml bottles are for sale Here (http://www.exaclair2.com/show_stores.php?id=597)

This is the set (http://www.bureaudirect.co.uk/j-herbin-picknmix-mini-ink-bottles/p3793) we can buy here in the UK. Perhaps he just makes his own tubes to sell them in. However, it's cheaper for US buyers to buy your single bottles at $4.75 each

[Neo]

$4.50 here, free shipping over $35. https://vanness1938.com/?q=jherbin10ml

[Laura N]

$4.50 here, free shipping over $35. https://vanness1938.com/?q=jherbin10ml

Excellent; another source. And the Vanness people seem so nice. I guess I should have mentioned that Jetpens has free shipping over $25, if people are like you and me and shop by price. :)

[migo984]

10ml bottles are a very expensive way to buy Herbin inks. In the past I've done a "bottle share" of the larger sizes with 3 other people. Mind you, I don't do that now as I'm not a Herbin fan generally. I only like 3 of their colours, and the ink can be a bit naughty in storage.
:)

[reprieve]

10ml bottles are a very expensive way to buy Herbin inks. In the past I've done a "bottle share" of the larger sizes with 3 other people. Mind you, I don't do that now as I'm not a Herbin fan generally. I only like 3 of their colours, and the ink can be a bit naughty in storage.
:)

I know it doesn't really make sense dollar-wise, but I've started purchasing the smaller 10 mL bottles precisely because the ink has become so naughty in storage (the new formulation is just awful as far as SITB goes). The smaller bottles get used up more quickly and so I figure the chance of contamination and of having to toss a bottle of ink is lower. There are also some Herbin colors that I like but I don't like that much, at least not enough to commit to 30 mL of the stuff. As a bonus, the cute little glass bottles turn into excellent sample vials/mixing bottles after they get emptied out.

[migo984]

10ml bottles are a very expensive way to buy Herbin inks. In the past I've done a "bottle share" of the larger sizes with 3 other people. Mind you, I don't do that now as I'm not a Herbin fan generally. I only like 3 of their colours, and the ink can be a bit naughty in storage.
:)

I know it doesn't really make sense dollar-wise, but I've started purchasing the smaller 10 mL bottles precisely because the ink has become so naughty in storage (the new formulation is just awful as far as SITB goes). The smaller bottles get used up more quickly and so I figure the chance of contamination and of having to toss a bottle of ink is lower. There are also some Herbin colors that I like but I don't like that much, at least not enough to commit to 30 mL of the stuff. As a bonus, the cute little glass bottles turn into excellent sample vials/mixing bottles after they get emptied out.

Yes I can see the benefit; although bottle-sharing achieves the same thing (no need to have loads of ink in store to turn grotty), but who gets the empty bottle? :)

[Laura N]

10ml bottles are a very expensive way to buy Herbin inks. In the past I've done a "bottle share" of the larger sizes with 3 other people. Mind you, I don't do that now as I'm not a Herbin fan generally. I only like 3 of their colours, and the ink can be a bit naughty in storage.
:)

I know it doesn't really make sense dollar-wise, but I've started purchasing the smaller 10 mL bottles precisely because the ink has become so naughty in storage (the new formulation is just awful as far as SITB goes). The smaller bottles get used up more quickly and so I figure the chance of contamination and of having to toss a bottle of ink is lower. There are also some Herbin colors that I like but I don't like that much, at least not enough to commit to 30 mL of the stuff. As a bonus, the cute little glass bottles turn into excellent sample vials/mixing bottles after they get emptied out.

I also prefer the 10ml bottles. As you say, less worry about SITB. And it also it lets me buy an ink I wouldn't use 30mls worth, but do enjoy. Which, to be honest, these days, is almost any ink. I am over-inked -- my fault, not J. Herbin's. That's also why I buy 30ml bottles of Diamine, instead of the 80ml bottles.

The J. Herbin person told me they've solved SITB, so I'm sorry and discouraged to hear you've had bad luck with the newer bottles. I haven't gotten it in any of my newer bottles, fingers crossed, but it's a worry. I check each bottle before I use it.

[Chrissy]

I much prefer to buy newer J Herbin inks that I haven't tried in the 10ml bottles. They are super little bottles, and they have wide enough necks to fit my Lamy Nexx M pens in which sadly, the Diamine plastic 30ml bottles don't.

On the other hand I completely forgot this fact when I was filling one of my pens with J H Terre de Feu. So my Lamy Nexx M section fell in and ink came out of the neck of the bottle like lava from a volcano. :facepalm:

I really like the way J H are an ink company that supply 3 bottle sizes, mini 10ml for inks you want to try, 30ml bottles for inks that you like and sometimes use, and a few 100ml bottles for those inks that you can't live without.

It's also good that Diamine make 2 sizes. It's very handy to be able to buy 30ml bottles that are lightweight to ship, and less expensive to make than glass bottles. So these bottles are quite economical to buy. In fact there aren't many Diamine inks that I have bought in 80ml bottles

[migo984]

The J. Herbin person told me they've solved SITB, so I'm sorry and discouraged to hear you've had bad luck with the newer bottles. I haven't gotten it in any of my newer bottles, fingers crossed, but it's a worry. I check each bottle before I use it.

It's not necessarily a manufacturing issue of course. They don't use preservatives so it only takes a speck of bio-contaminant introduced during use & the ink reacts badly, being more susceptible. I'm extremely wary of these inks.