Bergamote 22 (2006)
by Le Labo

This is a nice summer scent, but not an eye opener great one by any means. It has hints of bergamot and petit grain throughout and is quite lone lasting. Still though, for the price it is essentially a well composed, clean, crisp citrus that you can find similarly or better done from other houses.

8th February, 2012.

An average quality green bergamot supported by a well done citruses opening and laying on a woody vetiver base. Not particularly exciting but surely enjoyable throughout its 8+ hrs lasting.

Honest and pleasant except for the price.

19th December, 2011.

This is another scent I quite enjoy. On me, it's a half-and-half affair, one half being a rather traditional citrus cologne of orange and neroli over petitgrain and orange blossom (I never smell much upfront bergamot, personally). The other half of its personality is a very bright leafy green vetiver over rose geranium. If you can imagine layering a good citrus cologne like Eau d'Hadrien with Guerlain Vetiver, you'd end up with a fairly good idea what Bergamote 22 smells like. This makes for a very appealing mix, and is in my opinion the best of the extremely citrus-heavy vetivers out there.

It's a bit summery, and can feel a little trite or simple in colder weather when thoughts turn to smoky wood scents and heartwarming gourmands, but as a mix of bright vetiver and greens with happy citrus, it's perfect for a hot summer day.

7th December, 2011.

This cologne makes me think of sitting on a veranda on a summers evening in the Texas Hill Country. Cicadas chirping, hot dry wind blowing through the cedars, scrub, and limestone canyon. Citrusy and Dry. I like it a lot.

12nd May, 2010.

I had high hopes for this one after some of the other great Le Labos, but I'm sorry to say that it's a disappointment. The opening is great - a juicy, tart citrus reminiscent of Frederick Malle Bigarade Concentree and Odin 03. Unfortunately, after half an hour I start to get a distinct off-note of mothballs with a whiff of compost, and the overall effect becomes a bit unpleasant. Longevity is citrus-like, i.e. not so great, though perhaps that's a plus in this case!

I don't think I'd pick Bergamote 22 over either of these others.

10th March, 2010.

This is the holy grail of citruses.

Bergamote 22 quickly ends an ambitious search for the ultimate Bergamot citrus. It's simple enough to almost be an accord, but mixed up with enough diversity to stand on its own. By itself, it's an intoxicating blast of citrus (bergamot), with a decent amount of grapefruit that lends enough of a tart pang to give it some attitude, with a hint of woods and clean-factor with vetiver. In the dry down, the bergamot cuts through as an actual base which is rare. The longevity of this core lasts a significantly long time - 12 hours or so.

With Bergamote 22 being so focused on its intent, my hope, and discovery has been that it can layer with an insane amount of other stuff. And how true that is. Bergamot and Vetiver are in a tremendous amount of fragrances. So A) you can punch up the citrus in anything that has it at the open but dies in no time, B) you can mix this in with other non-citrus scents and make something unique or like other brands without having to buy even more stuff. I can see layering this with a good 20 other colognes and perfumes easily and creatively. This is up there with the other key layering scent I've found - Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver.

4th March, 2010. (Last Edited: 8th March, 2010.)