New Herbin Bottles

I saw a whole new bunch of Herbin bottles today. I saw "Herbin
Sapphire" and several others.
Does anyone know if this is a repackaging of the regular inks or a new
line?

Nancy

Karen Traviss wrote:
Having checked my ink collection, they have a range of new colours as well
as the originals

I thought so! I saw sapphire. Have you tried it? Has anyone?
Is it like Penman Sapphire?

but the shape of the bottles is the same demi-courtine with
the pen rest - it's just the labels that are different. (I don't know if
that's the case in the US, (snip) The labels have lost that charming
retro look - they're a bit more minimalist now.

Yes they come in boxes now and the labels are staid and boring. Those
old bottles were so retro and pretty. Is it my imagination, or are they
a teensy bit smaller now too?

The new browns are stunning, especially Black Tea and Terracotta. (I
think they're new, anyway; I've never seen them listed before.)

I asked for a color chart, but the store didn't have one and I didn't
want to re-buy a color I already have.

Herbin scented inks are in a totally different style of bottle - a round
base and frosted glass. Again, I can only speak for the UK.

Yes I've seen them here in 3 colors - an apple green, an amber, and a
reddish color. It comes in the frosted glass here too. I don't like
the metal cap because it doesn't always seal quite right.

I get mine from The Writing Desk, and the bottles are pictured here
http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/herbin/herbin.php

Great color chart! I've never seen one like that before for Herbin.
Oddly they showed the new colors, but didn't show the boring new bottle.

BTW, I've seen the Herbin Ink for Man that's on the site and the
fragrance didn't seem masculine. Just the fact that it's scented seemed
like something for women. How big is the market for scented ink that
they had to put one in a stunning pressed glass well and call it "for
man"? I'm waiting for it to go to clearance before I buy that pretty
ink well for myself to use and then refill with a favorite color (for
women). ; )

Thanks Karen!

Nancy

On Sun, 03 Aug 2003 17:47:46 GMT, (Nancy Handy)
wrote:

BTW, I've seen the Herbin Ink for Man that's on the site and the
fragrance didn't seem masculine. Just the fact that it's scented seemed
like something for women. How big is the market for scented ink that
they had to put one in a stunning pressed glass well and call it "for
man"?

If fountain pen ink smelled like a cinnamon roll I bet my hubby would
use it. :-)

Read an article years ago on what fragrances really are uh..
inspiring.. to males and females. It's not the flowery foofy things
the perfume industry would have us believe. Apparently men are more
aroused by the scent of cinnamon roll (presumably the sugar, cinnamon
and vanilla smells in concert.) for women it was something equally
mundane.

I believe you can get cinnamon-scented ink from one of the
distributors (pendemonium?) might be fun to do sometime.

The Sapphire is a true blue but definitely not Penman. (I have it in my Xezo
pearl and paua shell FP even as we speak.) I'm a bit of an Aurora girl
myself so I prefer blues on the violet side. Now, the Violette Pensee is
divine if you like purples.

There are about seven or eight scented inks now IIRC - I have the
rose-scented red, the violet-scented purple and the oriental Midnight Blue.
But...in the gorgeous tins-within-a-tin of cartridges, there are other
scented inks that you can't get in bottles as far as I know, like the Cafe
des Isles. They don't smell that strong on paper, if at all, but it's nice
to sit and sniff the nib. (Hell, they can't arrest you for it. I really must
get out more; too much writing messes with your mind, man...)

Yes, that cut glass bottle "for men" is rather spiffing. I'm not sure how
I'd react to a man who told me he used scented ink ("You did, Oscar, you
did...") but the fact that he used ink at all would be a big plus. But if
you're weird enough to care what ink smells like (and I do, obviously) then
you're well beyond worrying about men using violet fragrances. I have
synaesthesia, so colours/smells/sounds/ textures are inextricably linked for
me, which is why some of the scented inks make me shudder because they're
not the way my brain is wired to smell that colour - like lavender-scented
blue.

I don't think the new bottles are smaller, but I haven't checked. It's worth
trying the browns. Cacao de Bresil is spot-on for Penman Mocha (which was my
all-time fave ink, and ne'er a clog in sight) and Lie de The (Black Tea) is
more like the Sheaffer Brown as was. Rose Tendresse (oddly translated as
Raspberry) is gorgeous as a highlighter/note ink and Bouquet d'Antan is a
lovely dusty pink. But Poussiere de Lune is still the best of the reddish
shades. Real aubergine.


Cheers
KT

--
Karen Traviss

Upcoming books : CITY OF PEARL (HarperCollins/Eos March 2004): GETHES
(HarperCollins/Eos): A GIFT FROM TIME (HarperCollins/Eos)
Short fiction now in August REALMS OF FANTASY - Does He Take Blood?
http://www.karentraviss.com

"Nancy Handy" wrote in message
.. .
Karen Traviss wrote:

I thought so! I saw sapphire. Have you tried it? Has anyone?
Is it like Penman Sapphire?
, but didn't show the boring new bottle.

BTW, I've seen the Herbin Ink for Man that's on the site and the
fragrance didn't seem masculine. Just the fact that it's scented seemed
like something for women. How big is the market for scented ink that
they had to put one in a stunning pressed glass well and call it "for
man"? I'm waiting for it to go to clearance before I buy that pretty
ink well for myself to use and then refill with a favorite color (for
women). ; )

Thanks Karen!

Nancy

On Sun, 03 Aug 2003 14:59:52 -0500, kcat said:

kcat On Sun, 03 Aug 2003 17:47:46 GMT,
kcat (Nancy Handy)
kcat wrote:

BTW, I've seen the Herbin Ink for Man that's on the site and the
fragrance didn't seem masculine. Just the fact that it's
scented seemed like something for women. How big is the market
for scented ink that they had to put one in a stunning pressed
glass well and call it "for man"?

kcat If fountain pen ink smelled like a cinnamon roll I bet my
kcat hubby would use it. :-)

kcat Read an article years ago on what fragrances really are
kcat uh.. inspiring.. to males and females. It's not the
kcat flowery foofy things the perfume industry would have us
kcat believe. Apparently men are more aroused by the scent of
kcat cinnamon roll (presumably the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla
kcat smells in concert.)

arouse the appetite, maybe. [who did they ask? homer simpson?]
sexually aroused, no.

perfume would work better on me. dunno if that's because people wear
perfume and i therefore associate sexy experiences with the smell, or
because the stuff is inherently arousing. i suspect the former.
nevertheless, what works works.


and besides, is that stuff really safe to put in your pen? it seems
to me that putting a drop of perfume on the paper could achieve the
same effect and would be safer.


--


But maybe that stuff turns you off so you rent "Power of Myth." Made
me feel really good.... for about TEN MINUTES.

On Mon, 04 Aug 2003 11:54:42 +0900, Garglemonster
wrote:

arouse the appetite, maybe. [who did they ask? homer simpson?]
sexually aroused, no.

nope - not the appetite. It's been about 10 years since these
findings were reported and who knows how accurate the study was. I
wish I could recall what the triggering scent was for women. but it
wasn't a perfume.

perfume would work better on me. dunno if that's because people wear
perfume and i therefore associate sexy experiences with the smell, or
because the stuff is inherently arousing. i suspect the former.
nevertheless, what works works.

yup - it think it depends greatly on what you associate the scent
with... example: The smell of cocoa butter immediately conjurs up
images of a day at the beach when I was young and didn't know about
the dangers of frying the skin (a silly attempt for a redhead anyway.)
Pleasant memories and therefore relaxation.

and besides, is that stuff really safe to put in your pen?

really don't know - since it takes only a very small amount of one of
these scents to make the ink fragrant I doubt it would be that
detrimental. Most "essential oils" are very intense - a toothpick
dipped in the oil then into a large bottle of ink is probably more
than enough. Still, I wouldn't put it in a valuable vintage pen.

it seems
to me that putting a drop of perfume on the paper could achieve the
same effect and would be safer.

for me the point isn't what the recipient will smell when they receive
the letter/card/whatever but for the aesthetics of the writing
process. especially since many of these fragrances have faded by the
time they reach the recipient (unless it's in the envelope glue.) My
reasoning that a cinnamon scent would spur hubby into using a fountain
pen remains. otherwise, he's just a mechanical pencil dude with his
green engineering computation paper.

and not that I would do any of this really

I actually associate perfumes with people I used to work with that
tried to "hide" their nicotine habit by steeping in strong designer
fragrances. Plus, they just make me ill to smell them. I gave up
using a [US Chain Dept Store] credit card because they seem to dip
their billings into vats of Oscar.

so - all this comes back to - is the Herbin ink Scented for Men so
that men can essentially give a fragrant love-letter to their SO? For
their own enjoyment doesn't make sense (no pun intended) based on what
little I know about men.

who knows - as you say, what works works.

On Mon, 04 Aug 2003 12:24:24 -0500, kcat said:

kcat I actually associate perfumes with people I used to work
kcat with that tried to "hide" their nicotine habit by steeping
kcat in strong designer fragrances. Plus, they just make me ill
kcat to smell them. I gave up using a [US Chain Dept Store]
kcat credit card because they seem to dip their billings into
kcat vats of Oscar.

ahh... the associations are different with me.

kcat so - all this comes back to - is the Herbin ink Scented for
kcat Men so that men can essentially give a fragrant love-letter
kcat to their SO? For their own enjoyment doesn't make sense (no
kcat pun intended) based on what little I know about men.

maybe it's for women writing to men. a particularly hard-boiled
friend of mine once had a girlfriend who sent him perfumed letters.
despite being the type you'd expect not to care, he was quite
impressed.


--


Four thousand different MAGNATES, MOGULS & NABOBS are romping in my
gothic solarium!!

Karen Traviss wrote:

The Sapphire is a true blue but definitely not Penman.

; (

Now, the Violette Pensee is divine if you like purples.

I like Violette Pensee. I love purples!

Yes, that cut glass bottle "for men" is rather spiffing. I'm not sure how
I'd react to a man who told me he used scented ink

Any guy who is a fountain pen user immediately impresses me so if
they're using scented ink, I don't find it odd. Well... no more odd
than the fact that they're using fountain pens in the first place.
We're an offbeat and eccentric bunch of people and I mean that in only
the nicest way.

I have
synaesthesia, so colours/smells/sounds/ textures are inextricably linked for
me, which is why some of the scented inks make me shudder because they're
not the way my brain is wired to smell that colour - like lavender-scented
blue.

I've heard of that, but have no idea what it must be like. I don't have
much of a scent of smell at all.

It's worth
trying the browns. Cacao de Bresil is spot-on for Penman Mocha (which was my
all-time fave ink, and ne'er a clog in sight) and Lie de The (Black Tea) is
more like the Sheaffer Brown as was. Rose Tendresse (oddly translated as
Raspberry) is gorgeous as a highlighter/note ink and Bouquet d'Antan is a
lovely dusty pink. But Poussiere de Lune is still the best of the reddish
shades. Real aubergine.

I have an aubergine I like that is called "Aubergine" by Walthaud Bethge
which is a high end offshoot of Herbin. It is one of my all-time
favorite colors because it is understated and elegant.
I will try one of the new browns.

Nancy

kcat wrote:
so - all this comes back to - is the Herbin ink Scented for Men so
that men can essentially give a fragrant love-letter to their SO?


I've sent scented letters out, but never smelled a letter a few days
later that was written with scented ink.

Does the ink stay scented when you receive it a few days later?

Nancy