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

40 Days and 40 Nights of Fragrance Notes: Grapefruit

Grapefruit Review by Patti F

When it comes to fruity notes in fragrances, I like stone fruits like plum and peach. I've never been a fan of big citrus notes, especially lemon-peel types. Maybe the proliferation of lemon notes in household products is what causes me to dislike most citrus scents. I especially dislike lime notes in scents, although I love the taste of fresh lime and I use it often in cooking and just floating slices in a glass of water.

But as always with perfumes, there is an exception, and for me it's a big one. I absolutely love a good grapefruit note in a scent. I reach for these when Spring arrives and sometimes in the dead of Winter too, when it's just been too long since we had a warm sunny day, and my spirits need a lift. Lift is what grapefruit does best. Juicy, fizzy, happy, optimistic, the grapefruit note sparkles on the top of some of my most beloved scents. Here today I will do a little Show And Tell for you about my favorite grapefruit fragrances.

My first encounter with a real grapefruit-based scent was Yves Saint Laurent's In Love Again. I was attracted to the cute harlequin design on the cap, because I'm a visually-oriented person, and packaging is important to me. It is the first part of a perfume encounter, we're attracted by our eyes before the scent gets out of the bottle. I had never owned such a happy scent! In Love Again blends the grapefruit with apple, rose, and white florals on a light musk base. It is just as optimistic as its name, hinting forward, not looking back. And believe me, I surely do not want to look back at the past Winter! In Love Again is the nicest companion to greeting Spring. I am sad that the harlequin cap is no longer available on this scent. The other In Love Again that I own is Fleur De La Passion, beautiful with the addition of star anise, peony, and sandalwood with other fruits and a touch of vanilla. And the bottle shape, a heart which only appears when viewed from above, seems to reinforce the love theme. It's love from above! YSL has a way with bottles, as seen in the toy spinning-top Baby Doll, another grapefruit based scent. It's a playful presentation for a youthful and playful scent.

It's no secret to Blogdorf readers that I love Lancome fragrances. Although Miracle does not list grapefruit as one of its notes, I know it's in there! This is my third bottle of Miracle. It's a staple in the Summertime. Spiced up a bit with pepper and ginger, it's lush and zingy and I never get tired of it.
Juicy Couture's Couture Couture (can anyone please explain the name? the name?) is a grapefruit-white floral scent with a gorgeous base of sandalwood. I have to admit that I like all of the Juicy scents, although I am sure that as a 60 year old Grandma, I'm not quite their target audience!

Two of my grapefruit loves came from Bergdorf Goodman many years ago. Friends of mine may remember a presentation of Quelques Fleurs Royale one morning in the Bergdorf Cafe. We had heard of the launch by Houbigant and so many of us were eager to try it. Right during the presentation I stuck out my wrist to the company representative who was holding the bottle and talking about the rich history of Houbigant perfumes. I was too eager to try it to be embarrassed about my bold move. I bought it that day, and I'm on my third bottle of this exquisite, sophisticated floral blend. On another visit to the perfume counters at Bergdorf, I spotted the adorable round pink Lulu Guinness Pink Pearls tester, and I tried it. Love! Lush with pink grapefruit and apricot nectar, a heart of pink tulip and orange flower, and a base of tonka bean, amber and sandalwood, Pink Pearls is sweet and foody without being the least bit heavy or cloying. My Bergdorf fragrance SA told me they were sold out. He'd call me when the perfume was back in stock. I did not wait for the call. I ordered two bottles from a Canadian ebay seller. My Bergdorf buddy never did call.

Bond No. 9 is one of my favorite fragrance brands. The Scent Of Peace is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside, a grown-up grapefruit with a light lily-of-the-valley note, and blackcurrant, cedarwood, and musk. It is worn by both men and women, but I'm not sharing what's left of my bottle with my man. He has his own Bonds, including the iconic subway token bottle of Eau De New York. It reminds me of many happy rides through Manhattan in the similarly-clad Bondmobile! My husband has come a long way in his taste in fragrances. When we met, he wore only one scent, Jovan Musk For Men. I'm happy to report that he never wears that one any more. And most days, he reaches for a Bond.

The husband and I both have new Chanels to love, both of which have grapefruit notes. His is Bleu De Chanel, which I gave him for his last birthday which coincided with the launch of Bleu at our local counter. Peppery and rich with vetiver, incense, ginger and sandalwood, I wear this one too. I know you're thinking it's not fair of me to wear his and not let him wear mine. Just a little tidbit of info, the cap is magnetized so that the CC's always line up side to side with the shape of the bottle. Go see for yourself at the men's fragrance bar of your local store!

A few weeks ago, I was talking to my lovely Chanel SA, Chris, at her counter. We were discussing the impending launch of a new group of lipsticks, but I was distracted. What WAS she wearing! Her fragrance was something I'd never smelled before. She told me it was Chance Eau Tendre. How did this scent escape me? I thought I knew all of the Chanel scents and all of their nuances between concentrations, but I did not know Eau Tendre. I sprayed, I sniffed, I bought. With the fizz of grapefruit on the top, a heart of the jasmine that is so important to most of Chanel's scents, iris and hyacinth as if to bring Spring a little closer, and base notes of musk, amber and cedar, Chance Eau Tendre is my newest Chanel love. It made me forget all about the new lipsticks.
I can't stop wearing it and I know it won't be long before I have to purchase the larger size.

Do you love a grapefruit note in your fragrances? Do you have a favorite? Tell us all about them!

Disclaimer: The fragrances in the photos and in this review were all purchased by the reviewer, with the exception of two items that were gifts.

Reviewer: Patti F aka Cavewoman

Graphic Credit: Melanie Parker

40 Days and 40 Nights of Fragrance Notes: Bergamot

Something About The Sunshine
by Patti F

The lovely, light bergamot note in perfumes is not usually seen on its own. Unless you take a little trip to Sicily, where you can find a bottle of Bergamotta from a street vendor for about $5 USD. This citrus fruit is grown in the south of Italy in the Calabria region and also in Sicily. From what I've been reading about bergamot, the fruit is grown mostly for perfumery purposes and it is not eaten at all. The scent of bergamot is used to treat depression! And its essence is used as a cure for malaria! On the tree it might more resemble an orange, and is actually categorized as an orange, but the scent of bergamot brings forth a freshly squeezed lemon, peel and all. In the little bottle of Bergamotta, I smell lemon tree flowers. Bergamot notes in fragrances can smell like fresh lemon juice or lemon peel, or sometimes like lemon leaves or lemon tree blossoms. But it is different from a regular lemon note, which can tend to smell sometimes like household cleaning products




In perfumery, bergamot takes its place along with oakmoss and patchouli, the Holy Trinity of notes that make a fragrance a classic chypre. I've loved chypre scents even before I knew the word chypre. Back then we called them woodsy-mossy. My first chypre was the original formula of Cachet by Prince Matchabelli, still absolutely beautiful if you can find it, but stay away from the reformulation that bears no resemblance to the original. My Mom bought me a bottle of Chanel No. 19 when I was a teen, and we both still love and wear it. Chanel also uses bergamot in its lovely, fresh Cristalle. I have a bottle of Cristalle, which I purchased when I found out that Chris Noth (Mister Big) once said that this fragrance can bring him to his knees. Just in case I ever run into him, I'm tucking a vial of Cristalle in my purse.

Dior loves to use bergamot in its fragrances. The Escale series started with Portofino, a breezy, clean scent you might want to try if you wish to capture the feeling of standing on a balcony in the fresh air of that Italian port city. Dior is famous for its green Diorella, a classic chypre with beautiful florals. Guerlain's timeless Jicky starts with bergamot before it brings forth the lavender that is loved by its wearers. One of Guerlain's oldest scents, it still seems totally modern. You'll find bergamot in the hauntingly lovely Apres L'Ondee, too. That is, if you can even find Apres L'Ondee at all.

Bergamot tames the heaviness of the rose notes in Fragonard's Baroque. It adds a lemony-peppery feeling to Acqua Di Parma Profumo, which contains three types of bergamot (source: Barney's website.) Profumo is a fascinating scent that delivers so many levels and layers, starting with the light lemony fizz, and moving through rich florals, ending in satisfying woods. Be careful, though, I've read that there is now a reformulation. I hope it's not true. From Italy you will find many scents with bergamot, including Aqua Di Genova Lady (with a sad wave goodbye to Takashimaya, where I found this gem.) From the markdown tables at TJMaxx, Borsari's Il Mio Sogno was a happy discovery, with light white florals and oakmoss. You'll find bergamot in many Italian perfumes, since it's grown right there in Italy.

The lemony bergamot note dominates the opening of my beautiful Zen by Shiseido. Hard to find, to say the least, Shiseido has lent this name to at least two new fragrances, both of which have nothing at all to do with the original in the gorgeous black bottle. This white floral blend has been a favorite of mine ever since my college roommate insisted that I borrow it from her for a first date with a new beau. She was so worldly and glamourous, of course I took her advice! I dated that young man for a year and purchased my own bottle of Zen. Chinatown by Bond No. 9 begins with bergamot before it gives you its heart of beautiful florals.

Bergamot in fragrances gives an initial appeal, but is not too fruity or clinging. It is not meant to linger, but just to entice. Chances are that many of the perfumes on your own fragrance tray have bergamot in them. From the first known perfumery blends to the latest launch, bergamot is a very important ingredient in perfumery and well-respected as a fragrance note in perfumes all over the world.

Do you have a favorite perfume that contains bergamot?

Disclaimer: All bottles in these photographs were purchased by the writer, with the exception of Jicky and Diorama, which were gifts.
Reviewer: Patti F aka Cavewoman
Photo Credits: Patti F aka Cavewoman
Graphic Credit: Melanie Parker
Title: Ann Margaret's Something About The Sunshine

40 Days and 40 Nights of Fragrance Notes: Rose

Everything's Is Coming Up Roses
by Patti F

My relationship with the rose had a rocky start. My next-door neighbor, many years ago, had asked me to come to dinner with her and a few other ladies, and I accepted gladly. That is, until I got in the car with her. I asked her what fragrance she was wearing, and she happily said "Ombre Rose." I was nauseous before we even got to the restaurant. I figured I hated rose scents and that was that.

Fast-forward about twelve years. My sister was in New York City with 40 of her fashion merchandising students from Indiana University. She asked me to meet her there, and I was privileged to tag along to some of their scheduled events. We headed to Bloomingdales one afternoon to meet Mary McFadden in the lingerie department where she was launching her new line of sleepwear. On our way to the escalators, a fragrance SA asked if she could spray my wrists with their newest scent, and I said yes, it seemed so chic to me and I was so caught up in the whole experience that I did not even stop to ask what it was.
We met Mary (charming! Bloomingdales would not allow us to take photos, even though Mary had given her approval) and ooh'd and ahhh'd over her pretty designs. When our event was finished, we headed back down to the beauty floor. And I headed to the SA to purchase whatever she had sprayed on me, I smelled divine. That scent was Paris by Yves Saint Laurent, and I had no idea what was in it, but I had to have it.


I was now a rose scent lover. And for the last 28 years, I've worn and loved Paris. I have used up more bottles of Paris than any other scent I've ever had. I continue to love it so much that it delights me now as much as it did that first day. I wear the Springtime editions too, and I especially love the pretty bottles. Nuit De Fete is what you see in the photo, my favorite of all.

Of course, being a fragrance lover, I wanted to try other rose scents. The failures were many. Nahema by Guerlain, Lutece by Houbigant, and Tea Rose by The Perfumers Workshop were all too pungent and bitter for me, as was Guerlain's Rose Barbare. Others were too green, like MAC Dejarose, Jo Malone Red Roses, and Creed's Fleurs De The Rose Bulgare. Some were more of a floral blend than a real rose scent, like Quelques Roses (another Houbigant) and a few of the Rosines. I liked Caron's Rose but not enough to have it in my collection. I was thinking maybe Paris was the only rose scent I would ever really love. And then, in 2000, at the Lancome counter at our local department store, my SA showed me a pretty teardrop-shaped bottle and insisted that she try this fragrance on me. She said she'd never smelled anything like it and that it was a rose scent. I bought the bottle that day. The next day I went back and bought a second one. That scent was 2000 Et Une Rose, and was a limited edition to commemorate the end of the 90s and the beginning of a new century. (Yes, I know, technically it was the end of the century.)

2000 Et Une Rose is a magnificent, full-bodied, luscious rose scent with a peppery note that has never been duplicated. Nothing else smells like this scent. It is spicy and mysterious, memorable and incredibly satisfying. And gone from the counters within a week. I rationed myself with my two bottles, only an ounce each, and treasured them as long as I could. And then, in 2006, Lancome relaunched the fragrance with the new name, Mille Et Une Rose, and offered it for a too-short time in a beautiful 1.7oz Eau De Parfum along with several other older Lancome scents. Of course you know I repurchased. More than one and that's all I'm saying about that. The love affair continues.

Now, in my pursuit of rose scents, I've discovered so many more, that my friends now consider me to be "the one who loves rose perfumes." They send me sample vials of rose scents and tell me about new launches. I'm happy to show you a few that I love right now. Bond No. 9 has three of my favorites, West Side (a sophisticated rose blended with sandalwood and peony,) Harrods Rose (with a touch of narcissus and tuberose) and Saks-En-Rose (voluptuous rose with spices, woods, and amber.) I discovered the fabulous limited edition Givenchy Harvest 2006 Very Irresistible Rosa Centifolia at Nordstroms and have loved its unusual balance of soft rose petals and deep woods. That one came and went so quickly that it is almost impossible to find any more. And subsequent rose "harvests" have never made it to the perfume counters in our area.

Lately, some perfumers are blending the rare oud note with roses. They balance well with one another. Bond offers their Signature Perfume and the new New York Oud, and from Kilian, the gorgeous Rose Oud that captivated me so instantly that my wrists were barely dry with the sample vial dabs that I was already on the computer, making my purchase!
I'm always on the lookout (or is it sniff-out?) for new rose scents. Of course, not all of them are going to end up on my dresser tray, but after my Paris encounter at Bloomingdales, I know I'll try every rose scent that I can. Maybe some day I'll fall that fast in love again with another rose. In the meantime, I'm happy to wear the beautiful rose scents in my collection.

Tell us which rose scent is your favorite!

Disclosure: The reviewer has purchased the perfumes mentioned in this post. Some might have been gifts.

Day 3: Roses

Reviewer: Patti aka Cavewoman

Photo Credit: Patti F

Graphic Credit: Melanie Parker

Title Credit: Everything's Coming Up Roses" is a song from the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheimm and music by Jule Stynee.

Review: Bond No. 9's Madison Square Park

By MUA's Cavewoman

It is no secret that I have been ranting about our terrible Winter since the beginning of December when it wasn't even officially Winter yet.We started getting snow and bitter cold around that time. I think I've seen the grass on our lawn maybe twice since then. Every day, wondering if I could get out and run errands, drive to my Zumba classes, or get myself over to my Mom's house, it's been depressing and too, too long. The park across the street from my house is bare. Brown limbs attempt to reach for bits of blue in the sky, they seem heavy and tired, too, as if longing along with us humans for a little sun, maybe a leaf of crocus popping through what seems like a thick crust of ice piled everywhere along the pathways. We wear black. Or maybe gray. We wear our heavy-hitting scents because they seem right in the cold and dark. We try to cheer ourselves up with a bright scarf or a new lipstick, but we're tired. We want some Spring and we are beyond ready. I'm fortunate to live within the city, for all that is good and bad about it, it's still home. But I am even more fortunate to have Mill Creek Park right across the street. Within a few weeks, I'll be seeing joggers and runners, dogs happy that their owners can finally take them for a run, elderly people with a bit of a spring (Spring!) in their step. Little children on their bicycles, brighter clothes, spirits lifted, flowers blooming and trees budding. And the scent of freshness in the air. We will gladly store away our dark clothes, and our dark scents, and reach for the colors and scents of Spring.

Greeting Spring in proper style, and honoring a beautiful park in another city, Bond No. 9 will soon present its latest New York City neighborhood tribute, Madison Square Park. Created by one of my favorite perfumers, Laurent Le Guernec, this newest Bond scent is Springtime in a bottle, from its hot pink "dress" to its pretty bright green flowered necklace! The scent itself is as bright and happy as the bottle itself. Balancing perfectly between its floral and green notes, when I smelled the scent I totally understood the bottle design. What I loved most about the Madison Square Park fragrance is what makes it different from any other scent I own. Immediately on the skin, all the notes are present. From the dry grass notes to the florals of rose, tulip and grape hyacinth, to the lush teakwood and vetiver root, it is as if the park itself, as you see it all at once, is completely present from start to finish in this perfume. Imagine yourself in the park, with the trees, grasses, and flowers in your view. Imagine all of those things together at once, in a scent. That is how Madison Square Park feels to me. I'm so amazed at how the perfumer was able to capture this in scent. Madison Square Park is not a green rose, it's a rose, with green. It sparkles with brightness and freshness, and at the same time, it has depth and personality. I can't stop smelling my wrists!

Spring is 17 days away. I'm hoping that the crusty ice of our miserable Ohio Winter will soon melt away, along with the long dark days that came along with it. I can't wait to see the tips of the tulip leaves push through the earth and show their promise of the beauty of Spring to come. I will wait eagerly for the launch of Bond No. 9 Madison Square Park, on April 15th. I want to slip that flower collar onto my wrist ( a shout out to the fabulous Shawn who designed the flower bracelet-pin!) and head out into the park for a long walk in the fresh air. Thanks, Bond, for reminding us that even though it's been a long Winter, we'll soon have a gorgeous new Bond scent to celebrate the return of Spring!

Notes for Bond No. 9 Madison Square Park:
Grape Hyacinth, Huckleberry, Prairie Dropseed Grass, Red Leaf Rose, Red Hunter Tulips, Hoptree, Teakwood, and Vetiver Root.
A press sample was provided to the author of this review by Bond No. 9
Credit: Bond 9 PR
Review by Cavewoman

I Got The Spring Fever Blues

I feel so lazy, can't do a thing
My mind is hazy just like a smoke ring
I think of nothing but lying in the hay
I got the spring fever blues

The sun is shining right in my room
I feel like I was the man in the moon
I'm riding high on the clouds way above us
I got the spring fever blues

I wish that spring were back again
To satisfy my lazy yen
I miss those days of dreaming
If birds were nestlin' in the trees
And leaves were swayin' with the breeze
My heart would keep on beaming, who-o-oh

I hope the south wind blows past my door
And leaves me someone whom I can adore
I think of nothing but love and romance
I've got the spring fever blues, I mean
I've got the spring fever blues

Credit: I Got The Spring Fever by Ella Fitzgerald
Photo: Bond 9 PR (The new bottle for Madsion Square Park)
Review forthcoming from Cavewoman!

Oud To Saffron

Bond No 9 is launching a third oud based fragrance for Valentines Day. This oud is less masculine than the previous incarnations. It begins with a rich plummy top note followed by a truly spectacular saffron note. The saffron note just "sings" and is lightly peppered with orange zest.

The mid-intermission stars the oud note. This oud is thick and syrupy. It is mixed with a nosegay of roses, rooty orris, and a dirty patchouli. The earthy dry down is musky with smooth honey and vetiver. Each note is uncluttered and perfectly orchestrated. All the notes are given time to shine and shimmer!

The star bottle is gunmetal grey with glints of gold. The inspiration was the New York streetscape at twilight. Bond 9 New York Oud will retail for $310 and will appear at Saks counters and Bond stores in February 2011. This might be the perfect Valentine scent gift for your sweetheart!

Visit http://www.bondno9.com/ for more details.

Credits: A press sample/lab bottle of New York Oud was provided by Bond 9.

Just the memories of walking through Washington Square

Bond No. 9's Washington Square
Review by #1 BondGirl, Patti.
Also known as Makeupalley's Cavewoman

Many years ago, as an art student at Youngstown State University, I had the opportunity to do a six-month internship at our local museum,
working with my professor on photographing artwork from the permanent collection as well as works from new exhibits,for brochures and promotional products.
Our local museum is a masterpiece of art in both its contents and its appearance. The Butler Museum Of American Art is the only museum in the United States that is solely devoted to American art and American artists. I'd walk across the street from the art department building every day,
and it was always so exciting to see the majestic marble building and all the treasures it held.

The building was designed by the famous architectural firm of
McKim, Mead and White. It is the heart of our city's lively, thriving, and creative world of artists and all the people of Youngstown who love art. It's a gathering place for visual and performing arts, music, parties, and weddings, and a lovely place to spend a leisurly afternoon.

It was during this time as a student that I was given a class assignment. We were instructed to produce a slide show, topic of our own choosing, and present it to the class as our final project. I was leaving for a trip to New York City, to spend a few days with my sister and her group of fashion merchandising students from Indiana University. I packed a huge bag of my camera equipment (35mm! Yes, real slide film! Kodachrome!) and off I went with my plans for my "I Heart New York" slide show. While Regina was off with her students to visit showrooms and designer studios, I set off to explore the city through the lens of my camera, tripod hooked over my arm, and not even trying to pretend I was not the city-struck, neon-dazzled tourist that I surely appeared to be. Native New Yorkers indulged me kindly. I snapped seven rolls of film in three days.

One of the loveliest places I visited was Washington Square. I walked down a narrow street into the open space of the park, and it literally took my breath away. The famous arch is a gateway to one of the most important green areas of the city, a space filled with activity from the nearby university and the people who live in the Village. I approached a group of men who were seated at the checker tables, and they smiled and allowed me to photograph them. I sat on one of the old wrought-iron benches and took it all in, on sensory overload, feeling the history and tradition and the modern bustle of city life all in one space.

When I got home, photos developed and arranged on my light table, I started to sort through the images. I needed to research a bit to give information on all my pictures as I would narrate the slide show. In my research, I found out that the architect for the arch at Washington Square, Stanford White, was part of the firm McKim, Mead & White, who had designed The Butler. I remember feeling quite amazed at the connection I felt between my city and The City, and how excited I was to know both structures in my time as an art student.

Now, over 20 years later, I connect again. This time, not with visual art, but with the art of perfumery. Bond No. 9 has created a fragrance for Washington Square. I'm flooded with memories of my visits there. The perfumer for Washington Square is the amazingly talented Laurent Le Guernec (who has created about a dozen Bond scents, as well as many others including my beloved MAC Air Of Style.) He's taken all the diversity of the location, and blended it into a bottle of fragrance that evokes sight, sound, and scent. Washington Square, the fragrance, is a beautiful, warm-hearted rose fragrance with a little honey for sweetness and a little leather for edge. These are the most prominent of the notes on my skin. Le Guernec has a particular knack for adding spice to floral, and his addition of tarragon gives the floral notes a quirky little twist, and vetiver in the base delights me because it is so unexpected in a women's scent. I love vetiver on my husband and now I can wear it, too. I'm learning that rose-based scents are my favorites and are as varied as the flower itself. The rose note in Washington Square is as velvety as the petals of the flower. The familiar star-shaped bottle looks like a watercolor painting of the arch in pretty, misty blues and soft purples, a hint of the purple rose note inside.

It's been too long since I visited New York. I miss my friends, the excitement, the street vendors, the food, I miss it all. I hope to get there soon. But for now, I think it's time I headed over to The Butler to pay a visit to this old friend. I'm going to wear Washington Square for my visit. I will remember the connection between the art building and the arch, between Youngstown and New York, and between art and the art of fragrance.

Washington Square Eau De Parfum
Top Notes: Italian Bergamot, Geranium, Tarragon
Mid Notes: Purple Rose, Honey, Vintage Amber
Base Notes: Leather Accord, Vetiver, Musk

Disclosure: Press sample provided by the company.
Photo Credits: Bond 9 and Cavewoman
Title: from the song Washington Square by The Counting Crows

Tournament Of Roses

Bond 9's Harrods Rose
Review by Cavewoman

If you had asked me early in my perfume loving years if I were a rose-scent lover, I would have said no, and I would have said it emphatically! I have always been a big white floral lover, the bigger the better. My first impressions of rose scents were formed when my neighbor lady soaked herself in Ombre Rose and its scent-twin, Lutece. She was a lovely lady and a good neighbor, but when she wore these perfumes, I could barely be around her. Silly me, I thought all rose scents smelled like these two perfumes. I didn't like them at all, to put it mildly, and therefore declared to myself that I hated all rose fragrances.

A few years later, on a trip to New York City with my sister, we were in Bloomingdales for a Mary McFadden event (I have to say this because she was so cool!) and as we walked through the fragrance department, a very chic and sophisticated sales associate offered to spritz me with a new scent from Yves Saint Laurent, and the name of that scent was Paris. She handed me a silk rose petal that she had sprayed with the fragrance. I carried the petal around with me during our time in Bloomingdales, and before we left the store, I purchased a bottle. All thoughts of the offensive Ombre Rose were gone. This is what rose fragrances are supposed to smell like. I have used up six bottles of Paris, and several of the Springtime and special edition versions as well. A rose-scent-lover was born that day! And it was me!

Since that revelation-revolution of rose, I have sought out and loved many rose-based perfumes. I've shared samples and raves with a few other rose lovers, especially Jessica, who is the first person I think of when I try something new in the rose category. We both love Bond No. 9 West Side! Recently the Cleveland Gang assembled for some fragrance counter perusing and wrist-testing, and I discovered (and bought, in record time I might add) the beautiful Bond No. 9 Saks-En-Rose, and it brings a smile to my face when I remember one of the gang following me around the store remarking over and over again that this was indeed a perfect scent on me. I'm glad I caved on the large size bottle. I've been wearing it so often that I am worried about the level in the bottle!

And so, when I read on the Bond No. 9 website that Bond was launching another rose scent, I could not wait to try it! When my sample arrived, the box was opened and the juice was on my wrist within a New York minute. And I was instantly in love.

Harrod's Rose begins and ends with the rose. There is no crispy breezy top note of the stuff you always wish would dissipate quickly so you can get to the heart of the scent. This fragrance gets down to business immediately, sweet and delicious, womanly and big. The sweetness comes from the white narcissus enhanced with tuberose. White roses are the main focus of the scent, powerful and proud. This is the big white floral, rose-dominated, that I have come to love over the years. In the base, musk is listed as one of the notes although I don't detect it at all. Ambrette seed and cashmere woods are the other base notes. The wood notes are the perfect compliment to the florals. They appear quickly and hold up the rose as if presenting the prize bloom to the wearer.

The bottle design is an adaptation of the Harrod's Bond bottles, originally designed by my friend Shawn, this time in the softest pink with gold lettering. I love the shape of the Bond bottles, the way they feel in the hand, and did you know that the bottles are made in Italy? Just a little tidbit there for you!

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Bond No. 9. I have purchased many Bond fragrances over the years. I like to think I'm their biggest fan. I am beyond thrilled to give Harrod's Rose this rave review. Harrod's Rose is a drop-dead, devastatingly feminine scent, self-assured and voluptuous.

As I turn 60 today, I've been thinking of how I would mark a birthday that ends in a zero. Starting the day with a big cup of coffee, chatting online with friends, talking to Mom on the phone, watching some fun television shows, and ending the day with TurboKick class, that is just how I want to spend the day. I'll be wearing Harrod's Rose all the while. I'll always associate this fragrance with this milestone birthday. A big day deserves a big perfume!

Editor's Note: Happy Birthday to my dear friend and frequent contributor to Blogdorf, Patti aka Cavewoman. Have a wonderful Bday!

Disclosure: A sample vial was provided by Bond 9

From nobody to upstart.
From upstart to contender.
From contender to winner.
From winner to champion.
From champion to Dynasty.
quote from Pat Riley


Congratulations to Laurice and her team at Bond No 9.
Last night they took home two FIFI awards.

Women's Nouveau Niche - Bond No. 9 Astor Place
Men's Nouveau Niche
 - Bond No.9 Brooklyn


I am so happy and excited for the Bond family. Today I am wearing Bond's Brooklyn in their honor.

Bond 9's Andy Warhol's Montauk

I'm just trying to be honest about being a misanthrope
(Dazed and Confused)


I have been testing the new Bond 9's fragrance Montauk. This is the fifth in the Andy Warhol series. It was inspired by Andy Warhol's summer compound called Eothen.

Eothen is a twenty acre estate that was a magnet for celebrities. The Rolling Stones stayed there during their 1975-76 tour. We can only imagine the debauchery that happened in those five blue shingled 1931 clapboard houses.

The fragrance is described as a twilight beach scent. The bottle design is from Warhol's iconic Sunsets dating from 1972. The setting suns series consist of 632 unique screen prints of highly stylized, abstracted sunsets. Bond chose 4 sunsets to feature on the bottles. They put you in the mind of the sunsets that were painted on vans in the 1970s. Slightly trippy and laid back. You can almost hear the opening of Slow Ride by Foghat.

The fragrance opens with wild bergamot and settles into a tart blueberry. Bluberries might be the my new cardamon! It settles into a floral explosion of a hyacinth, lily of the valley and honeysuckle. It is stemmy and green. The drydown is filled with a salty driftwood and warm ambers. It leans more masculine than feminine. My male co-workers flipped over Montauk. One is pretty blatant on his desire for my decant bottle.

I am not sure he deserves it.

Montauk launches June 1st at your local Bond 9 Saks Fifth Avenue counter.
The 100ml bottle will retail for $220. The 50ml bottle will retail for $145. Visit www.bondno9fragrances.com for more information.

Credit: A sample vial was provided by Bond 9 fragrances
Photo Credits: wikipedia

The Days of Bond and Roses

Review for Bond 9's Saks-En-Rose
by Cavewoman

Yesterday I was walking in the mall with my gang. We had started the day with lunch, meeting at our regular table, greeting each other with hugs. The girls commented on how lovely I smelled. And continued to admire my fragrance all through the rest of the day. One of them even said "you get great sillage with that scent!" - she said it at least twice. I'll back up a week and tell you about it.

We were shopping in Cleveland last Sunday. It had been ages since Ms. Blogdorf and I had been able to spend the day with the gang, and we were eager to see the girls and hit the stores. With no real agenda for the day, we set out to hunt, gather, sniff, and test. We're really good at browsing. We stopped at Saks to check out what was new and noteworthy and were lingering over the Chanel counter, and I turned around to say hello to Barb, the lady at the Bond counter. We chatted a bit over how adorable the new High Line bottle was (first time I actually saw it in person, it's just beautiful) and then I spotted something else. It was familiar and yet odd. It was the Saks Fifth Avenue For Her bottle, but with a pink subway token in the center instead of the usual black-and-white token. I asked Barb what this was, and she said "oh, it's the new Saks but in a rose version." Rose. The magic word, for me anyway. I love rose scents. I sprayed, I fell in love, I caved.

I was not even aware that Bond was releasing a new Saks scent, and Barb told me that this was to be a Mothers' Day promotion but the fragrance would be a permanent part of the Bond collection. I was so captivated by the fragrance that I didn't even remember the list of notes she had told me as I was spraying. For the rest of the day, my gang commented on how lovely the fragrance was on me, and I smiled as I carried around my little Saks bag, precious box tucked safely inside. I had truly stumbled on a winner. I can't even remember the last time I fell so instantly and completely in love with a fragrance. And aren't roses the ultimate flower of love?

Bond has done a few rose-based scents in the past, and they are all part of my collection. Bryant Park is a breezy, youthful rose, and I wear it mostly in the warm-weather months. West Side is a sophisticated, womanly rose with depth and maturity. Broadway Nite is a devastatingly feminine rose-violet fragrance that is as exciting and dramatic as a rose scent can be. Saks-En-Rose is modern and complex. There is a hint of green, some subtle spice, a heart of the rose, and a woodsy base. Notes of dry dates and mace combine to give the top an exotic but restrained sweet-spice and keep the green from becoming too prominent. In the heart, the combination of tuberose and rose is unusual and perfectly balanced. And in the base, soft sandalwood, my most favorite of all wood notes, and my favorite wood to combine with rose. I think they're perfect together. The amber is barely there, just for a bit of richness, and on me I don't get much of the musk at all.

The perfumer for Saks-En-Rose, Laurent Le Guernec, has created some of my other favorite fragrances, many Bonds (including the gorgeous, spicy Harrods) and the fabulous MAC Air Of Style. He likes the nutmeg. So do I.

So now it is day 8 of owning this beautiful fragrance. I have not worn anything else since the day I bought it. It has (GASP!) replaced Chinatown as my all-time favorite Bond scent. I never thought I would say that! A huge thanks to Laurice for this new fragrance!

Disclosure: This perfume was purchased by the reviewer

A Prairie Perfume Companion

High Line by Bond 9

Spring is really coming. You can smell it in the air. It is a mixture of damp earth and grass. This gets me in the mood for spring fragrances. I put away the incenses and thick ambers and fully embrace the flowers. I want to smell pretty.

High Line is bringing the pretty. This fragrance was inspired by the High Line park system. This green sanctuary hovers 30 feet above the street level of the meatpacking district. Wild flowers pepper the railroad tracks and concrete planks. Bond wanted to create a fragrance that captured the park setting amidst the city grit.

High Line is a green fragrance. It is not a traditional grass scent. This is not the freshly mowed lawn from your back yard. The grass is called Purple Love Grass. It is a prairie land perennial. It is dry and hay-like. This note is evident throughout the drydown of the fragrance.

As it settles, an earthy rose and Indian Rhubarb note appear. Rhubarb smells like a tarted up strawberry.

The middle stage of High Line is aquatic. It smells like water. Nothing like the Hudson. It does not smell like grime or metal. More like a pond filled with lily pads. Very prairie marshland. This watery vibe is created with sea moss and musk notes.

The finale is a heady mix of woods.

The official list of notes are bergamot, purple love grass, indian rhubarb, red leaf rose, orange flower water, tulips,grape hyacinth, sea moss, teakwood, musk and bur oak.

High Line will be at Bond counters at Saks Fifth Avenue this month. A 50 ml bottle will retail for $145 and a 100 ml bottle will retail for $220. Visit www.bond9.com for details.

Disclosure: A sample vial was provided by Bond 9
Credit: Bond 9

Bond 9 New Fragrance High Line Launches in March 2010

The new Bond fragrance, High Line will launch in March 2010. It is named after the High Line, an elevated public park system in NYC. It is a renovated green space on a 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure running from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street on Manhattan's West Side. There are 210 plants species featured in the park. 161 plants are native to New York. Bond was inspired by these plants to create a NYC themed fragrance that evokes "the Hudson river, urban wildflowers and a hint of industrial grit".

This scent mixes bergamot with a note called prairie grazing weed or purple love grass. The fragrance also boasts an Indian rhubarb note, that will delight many of my fragrance friends. There are serious rhubarb fans out there.

The heart of the fragrance is a red-leaf rose, lady jane tulips and grape hyacinth. I have a great weakness for the hyacinth plant. No fragrance has really captured the heady flower. The drydown of High Line is Bur Oak(a High Line park tree),sea moss, musk and teakwood. The sea moss gives me pause, because aquatic notes and me do not get along.

It will retail for $145(50ml)and $220(100ml)at your local Bond counter at Saks Fifth Avenue or one of the four Bond boutiques. Visit http://www.bondno9.com/ for more details.
Also visit http://www.highline.org/ for more information concerning the park.
I have not visited the park yet, but have it on good authority(my beloved friend Shawn) that it is lovely.

Bond 9 Bottle Signing at Saks Fifth Avenue

Join Laurice Rahmé, Bond No. 9's founder, at Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC on Saturday, December 19, 2009, from 12pm- 5pm.

There will be perfume, bubbly and signing of the Bond bottles. If you are a perfumista...take a whiff of the fragrance Laurice is wearing. Chances are she is road testing a new creation. That is how I experienced and fell in love with Chinatown, Saks for Her, Lexington Avenue, Westside and countless others. She gives good sillage.

Tell her Blogdorf Goodman sent you and that I miss her!!!! Hopefully a trip to NYC in 2010 is in my future!

The deets:

When: Saturday, December 19, 2009, from 12pm- 5pm

Where: Saks Fifth Avenue
First Floor Cosmetics and Fragrances
611 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Who: Laurice, Bond 9 ladies and gents, fellow perfumistas, and Gerald. He is the dashing man who drives the Bond mobile.

Sweet Smell of Success from Bond

Review for the Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York

I knew that I would adore this new offering from Bond 9. It contains all the notes I love.
Plus my friend Shawn called me and said that I would flip my lid for it.
He knows my nose too well.

From the initial spray I was hooked. The whiff of the heavenly Bond Chinatown Cardamon note to a toasty Lexington Avenue Nutmeg are all hallmarks of success for the brand.
No one does it better.

It was the mid notes that changed gears and marked the departure from Chinatown and Lexington Avenue. The notes read like a floral explosion but the effect is light and whispery. The rose note is quite pretty and candy like. The jasmine note was also tamed and well behaved. I could only detect a whisper of a trace.
I desperately wanted to recognize the pimento note but alas... I failed.
My nose is a novice.
The tuberose is so quiet and mingles so well with the nutmeg. This is where the perfume just "does it" for me. The opposite pairing is so well matched and genius.
Like the great duo Myrna Loy and William Powell.


The drydown is a concoction of a very rich & creamy vanilla with warm patchouli and benzoin.
Success launches in October. It will be available at all Bond locations and at Saks counters. The prices will be $145 for 50 ml bottle and $220 for a 100 ml.

Credit: Bond and Wikiepdia

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

I'd asked around 10 or 15 people for suggestions.
Finally one lady friend asked the right question, 'Well, what do you love most?'
That's how I started painting money.
(Andy Warhol quote)


The following is a press release from Bond. This is a scent that will launch in October. I have not been lucky enough to sniff it yet. I have it on good authority that I will love it. It has cardamom and corinader notes with an oriental drydown.

Perfumes have always trafficked in the elusive and the taboo. And since nothing could be more elusive than money, particularly in our current economic downturn, we’ve made cash the inspiration and focus for the latest in the Bond No. 9 series of collectible Andy Warhol eaux de parfum. Appearing on both sides of the bottle is an image of one of Warhol’s iconic subjects, the almighty dollar sign created by Warhol in 1981, while inside is a fittingly rich and beckoning scent we’ve named Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York . Prophetically, Warhol’s first assignment in the ‘50s as an illustrator was for a Glamour magazine article entitled “Success is a Job in New York.” The title was later used for a book about Warhol’s early career. Through hard work and leveraging his immense talent as a draftsman, Andy Warhol would become one of the most successful commercial artists in New York City thus laying the foundation to become one of the most important fine artists of the 20th century.
Wearing it will bring untold wealth.
(Just kidding, but in this economic downturn we all need a sense of humor.)

So here is the world’s first money-oriented perfume. Success breaks the rules of romantic perfume subjects, but it suits the Warholian consumer sensibility. Throughout his career, Warhol was fascinated with the connections between art and money. In the ‘60s, he painted Pop Art canvases with grids of banknotes, and he stuffed dollar bills into soup cans. Then in the early ‘80s, just as Reaganomics and Dynasty got under way and paintings became consumer items, he isolated the image of the dollar sign—sinuous yet with that ominous slash down the center—in a series of silk-screened “portraits.”

The Bottle
The Warhol image we chose for the Success bottle is not your typical banker’s dollar sign. Instead, this one has an in-your-face, trembling quality, dripping with paint and with seemingly tentative border outlines revealed—as if uncovering the connection between art and money. The colors we selected from the Warhol series of Dollar Signs in 1981, tongue-in-cheek neons (in fashion this fall), are unorthodox too: coral for the front of the bottle, bright blue for the back.

The Perfume
Just like money, the scent is genderless—a warm and spicy gourmand. And just like money, it lures and intoxicates all who give it a sniff. Its spicy-citrussy top- notes—coriander, cardamom, mandarin, bergamot—lead into a throbbing heart of jasmine, tuberose, rose, plum and pimento (of all things) that eventually segues into an oriental base of vanilla, patchouli, and amber.
Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York, will be available in October 2009 at all four Bond No. 9 stores in New York and at select branches of Saks Fifth Avenue. It will retail for $220 (100ml) and $145(50ml).

Mothers Day at Bond 9

During the week preceding Mother’s Day (May 10th), Bond No. 9 fans are invited to sign up their favorite mother for a unique Mother’s Day raffle gift.... a year’s supply of Bond No. 9. This means one bottle per month of the eau de parfum of her choice.

It is like a "wine of the month" club for perfumistas. I suppose I should have wrote "Book of the Month" or "Cheese of the Month"...but there you go. I would be more delighted with 12 bottles of wine than a hunk of cheese.

All you need to do is stop at any of the Bond 9 counters at Saks Fifth Avenue or one of the 4 Bond 9 boutiques from Sunday, May 3rd - Saturday, May 9th. You supply your name and contact information on a raffle ticket to be left in a hatbox. At the close of business on the 9th, the winning raffle at each store will be drawn at random and the winner informed that evening—just in time for Mother’s Day.

From Bond PR: Who qualifies as an eligible mother? The regular, old-fashioned, all-forgiving, chicken-soup mother, to be sure. But also the career mother, the vamp mother, the shopaholic mother … any female on whom we’d ordinarily bestow a Mother’s Day gift. And hey, self-satisfying types are welcome to enter their own name. (We do not judge.)

So you do not need to prove that you are a mommy or you can count your cats as children.

Enter to win at any of the four Bond No. 9 boutiques in New York City:
9 Bond Street, 680 Madison Avenue, 897 Madison Avenue, 399 Bleecker Street
and nationwide at Saks Fifth Avenue stores.

If you enter let us know!!!

Blinged Bottles for Mother's Day




Bond 9 is offering some bedazzled bottles for Mother's Day.
They are The Scent of Peace (amethyst),Chelsea Flowers (topaz) and Nuits de Noho(sapphire).

The bottles are encrusted with thousands of tiny Swarovski crystals. They shimmer and gleam like no one's business.
So if your mother has a love of sparkle and shine, visit your local Saks Bond counter or call the Bond store for details at 877-273-3369.

Bond Bling Bling........

Santa baby, I'm a little afraid I really do need the deed
To a platinum mine
Santa baby, hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie, fill my stocking with a duplex and checks
Sign your X on the line
Santa cutie, hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany's
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me
Boo doo bee doo



Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing
A ring, no I don't mean on the phone
Santa honey, hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight
Please hurry down the chimney.. tonight
I love you Santa

Happy Holidays from Blogdorf Goodman!