I Love New York by Bond No. 9: A Review

I Love New York by Bond No. 9

Bond No. 9 is starting a new fragrance series in their collection. After the great success with the collaboration with the Warhol Foundation, Bond is partnering with the I Love NY brand for a series of 15 fragrances. This series will center on scents inspired by the Empire State. I have no idea what future scents are planned but the idea of a Hudson Valley or Catskills fragrance sounds appealing.

The series begins with three fragrances. I Love New York For Her (Pink Bottle), I Love New York For Him (Blue Bottle) and I Love New York For All (Black Bottle). I have been pledging my allegiance to all three fragrances during the labor day weekend. My first favorite was I Love New York For All. It is wildly quirky and compelling. It is a gourmand that centers on coffee,cocoa, creamy chestnut with a drydown of patchouli and vanilla. The overall effect is a cup of coffee with a dollop of thick cream and chocolate. Traditionally delicious. The drydown takes a turn into green pastures. A mixture of hay or grass. The ending  note is all about leather.  Buttery soft.  The whole thing is kind of a weird and kooky perfection. 
Promise me that you will give this scent a whirl.

I Love New York For Her is the crowd pleaser at my job. The ladies love feminine fragrances. Anything that veers masculine is given the "side eye". The notes for this fragrance is mandarin zest, spicy nutmeg and the boldest blueberry note ever captured in a fragrance. The middle notes are just a cornucopia of pretty. It is a bouquet of roses and pink peonies. The drydown is patchouli, musk, vanilla sandalwood and a naughty touch of leather. The lasting power of the blueberry note is much too brief. I wanted it to last forever.

I Love New York For Him was a runaway hit with the men in my office. They have tested fragrances for me in the past. But never have they bickered over who would keep the lab bottle. One co-worker offered me $25. I laughed the offer off. He proceeded to stare me down in a bullying way. The opening notes are ginger, juniper berry and grapefruit zest. It is a bright green. Peppy and full of energy. The middle notes are a lavender(soapy), geranium, patchouli (rooty) and leather. The drydown is a cloud of sandalwood, labdanum, musk and amber.

The lasting power for the three fragrances are good. I have found I Love New York For Her to be too fleeting on me. It lasted splendidly on my co-worker Gela. This made me jealous. I Love New York For Him was a smash with drydown and silage. The bully co-worker got compliments from men and from women. I Love New York For All has a very powerful drydown. You will smell chestnut and coffee all day.
Price points for the 50 and 100 ml. eau de parfum will be $105 and $175, respectively.

I LOVE NEW YORK by Bond No. 9 arrives on counter September 18th at Bond No. 9 boutiques, Saks Fifth Avenue and select Nordstrom stores. The limited edition, charm 100 ml bottles will be $255 each. These bottles will arrive November 1st, 2011.

Credits: Bond No 9 PR
Disclosure: Bond No 9 lab bottles were provided by the company