Bond 9's Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue: Annie's Review
It is better than Chinatown

Lexington Avenue is the third in the Warhol fragrance series from Bond 9. Lexington was chosen due to Andy Warhol living in various apartments on the avenue in the 1950's. He was working as an illustrator for the shoe company I.Miller. These illustrations provided the inspiration for the Lexington Avenue flacon. This bottle is whimsical and fun.

I thought I knew what to expect when I sprayed the tester of Lexington Avenue.
This fragrance exceeded my expectations and made my soul twirl. I made two calls.
The first was to Patti aka Cavewoman. The second call was to Shawn at the Bond store. I reserved my bottle. I am not sure if there is a waiting list in place but I had to get on it immediately.

Why am I chomping at the bit?

This is better than Chinatown.

What I have said is blasphemous to friends and old timers from the makeupalley fragrance boards.
Lexington Avenue takes the Chinatown idea of a floral woody chypre and tweaks it.
The tweaking starts off with a glorious opening of top notes. It begins with Blue Cypress. Wood notes generally appear in the drydown . I love that the comfort aspect of the fragrance arrives first. The woods are joined by a licorice-like Fennel note. Slightly anise-like but with more smoke. It is joined by the Chinatown Cardamom. This is where you will notice the similarities of the two fragrances. The comparison fades with the appearance of the genius addition of roasted almonds.

This is where my mind reeled.
I can not even begin to describe what this does to this fragrance formula. This is the home run part. Somehow it just smooths the spices out. This is the way a gourmand should be done. This is for the woman who wants to smell delicious but not like a cupcake.

The middle floral notes are a big bold pink peony, with a rooty orris and an Amelie worthy Creme Brulee. This is not saccharine sweet. You can almost taste the burnt crust. The fragrance ends in Chinatown fashion with pimento berry, patchouli and sandalwood.
This scent is so damn good.
I did not think the house could top Chinatown.
They managed to do it flawlessly in a quiet way.

Sillage and lasting power is not as strong as Chinatown but I will have no issue reapplying throughout the day. You just want to douse yourself with this fragrance.

The fragrance will be available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bond No 9's four NYC boutiques, and online at www.bond9.com

The launch date is September 2008 and the retail price for a 100 ml bottle will be $195. The 50 ml bottle will be $135. There will be a limited edition flacon available for the holiday season. This bottle will have Robert Lee Morris sterling silver shoe pendants of Warhol's shoe designs on a sterling silver chain. This will retail for $575.

Credit: Bond 9

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Bond 9