Bergamote 22 - No.6

Bergamote 22 is Le Labo's take on citrus done properly - a sharp, uplifting bergamot and grapefruit opening that most citrus fragrances would let evaporate within the hour, held in place instead by a cedar-and-vetiver base with unusual staying power for the genre. It is prized precisely because it defies citrus fragrances' usual reputation for fading fast. Match Perfumes' No.6 draws on the same simple note list - bergamot and grapefruit up top, orange blossom at heart, cedar and vetiver underneath - and the first twenty minutes on skin are a genuinely close match: bright, zesty, uplifting. The difference shows up in the staying power that makes the original worth its price. Where Bergamote 22's woods anchor the citrus and let it linger close to the skin for hours, No.6's base note reads thinner and more generic, and the whole composition fades toward bare skin much sooner. It is a fine, cheerful summer citrus in its own right, just without the technical trick that makes the original last.