Bond No 9: 3 posts

Bond No 9 Madison Square Park : Perfume Review

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Madisonsquare

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

The Bond No. 9 concept of celebrating New York has always appealed to me, as did a number of fragrances from this house — fragrances that beautifully explored the spirit of the city’s many distinctive neighborhoods through their olfactory profiles. The peaches and incense of Chinatown, the dramatic musky roses of Broadway Nite and the bitter patchouli coffee of New Haarlem remain among my favorite fragrances to this day. Madison Square Park, a tribute to one of Manhattan’s most vibrant and trendy locales, is the most recent addition to the Bond No. 9 collection.

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Bond No 9 New Haarlem : Fragrance Review

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I am a tea drinker, preferring to save coffee for mornings when the extra jolt of energy is absolutely essential, yet I cannot resist the dark aroma of roasted beans. It is the childhood memory of my father having what he called “a soldier’s breakfast”–coffee accompanied by a cigarette. Of crowded bars in Venice where the coffee aromas would marry the scent of white bread used for tramezzini, delicious triangular sandwiches. Of Istanbul coffee stalls where the curvy copper pots were slowly brought to boil in the hot sand. Of the rich cloud surrounding Starbucks I would pass downtown Chicago on my way to the office.

As much as I love the fragrance of coffee, in perfume I prefer to avoid the overly photorealistic vision of a steaming cup. Bond No 9 New Haarlem created by the perfumer Maurice Roucel offers one of my favorite takes on the coffee notes, a composition of alluring darkness concealing a fresh herbal twist.

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Bond No 9 Bleecker Street : Perfume Review

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Magnolia_cupcake

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

In honor of the new Bleecker Street boutique about to open in September of 2005, Bond no. 9 is releasing a new fragrance named after the new location. Created by Dave Apel of Givaudan, it is going to feature notes of violet leaf, black currant, jasmine, cedarwood, cinnamon, oakmoss, suede, patchouli, amber and vanilla. As Laurice Rahmé, founder and owner of Bond No. 9 stated in W magazine, “When I went to visit Magnolia, the kids who served cupcakes asked me, “When are you going to make a perfume that smells like cake. So, I asked Dave Apel, the perfumer, if he thought we could make a sensual perfume that reminded us of cupcakes. We worked with vanilla note and other dessert notes, like cinnamon.” Bleecker Street is “the first gourmand fragrance that’s also woodsy and oriental, which is very untraditional.”

Bleecker Street has a subtle gourmand feel, with a delicious green blackcurrant note providing a juicy touch. The drydown is an oriental base of amber and sandalwood laced with green thyme and cinnamon. The patchouli note is rendered as rather subtle, but very appealing. Considering that I enjoy Nuits de Noho with its voluptuous patchouli note, I like the subtle patchouli of Bleecker Street. While not exactly reminding me of Magnolia cupcakes, the dry down seems to have an edible quality that makes it a fall release to be anticipated. I am tempted to buy Bleecker Street for the bottle alone, which is truly a pièce de résistance—signature Bond no. 9 bottle ornamented with a starburst pattern of gold, green and purple, recalling peacock feathers.

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