Bond No.9 Perfume Oud
Bond No. 9 (2009)

When someone, decades from now, writes a history of early 2000's perfume, this one should be featured, if for a bad reason...

In the big history of the popularization of oud, there were the early years, where ouds were the real thing, Eastern attars and oils, and the occasional (usually expensive and obscure) perfumes and brands like Montale that included them. Then Givaudan developed their artificial oud base, making it possible to make an oud-smelling perfume without sourcing the unreliable and often questionable real thing. But perfume companies are greedy, so these artificial oud perfumes usually came with higher prices because "oud is expensive", despite not containing actual oud. This bullshit pricing lives on to this day, but it was Bond No 9 Perfume that really took it to the next level, because this is the perfume that proved that an "oud" perfume didn't even have to smell like oud to be sold at a wild price, paving the way for every single mall and discounter perfume brand to put out fake "oud" scents that were really just pedestrian fruity florals and cheap sporty aquatics at jacked-up prices.

So what does Bond No 9 Perfume smell like? "Woody amber" aquatic chemicals mostly, like rubbing alcohol or Windex. Brightened on top with lemon and given woody elements underneath by patchouli and what I'm assuming is Cashmeran, with its hints of rubber and forest. This could be any discount men's masculine, though I suppose Bond deserves a sliver of credit for at least keeping the concentration higher than you usually get from scents of this formula. Thumbs way down for both the smell and the onslaught of garbage this made possible.

It is called "Signature" now, not "Oud Perfume".

It's a nice rose/oud: it's very commendable they have managed to tone down the oud to a level that might actually make it sell to westerners.

That's why I'm rating this positive. Appropriate dosing is something I can really appreciate.

All other ouds or rose/ouds I've tried so far seem like they all have the oud dosages at Middle Eastern or South East Asia strength.

Of those, only Montale Black Aoud gets away with it by adding a gourmandish sweetness. If find the latter and Bond No.9 Signature equally worthy, just depends on your taste.

Something unique from the house...

When I smell this fragrance, it occurs to me that, although the notes themselves are in no way unique, the way they are put together is. What I mean to say is, I think this fragrance delivers on a unique smell which I haven't experienced from other similar "types" of fragrances.

Bond No. 9 - Signature is a Rose-Oud combination unlike that which I have smelled before. I say this because, I find it light and refreshing, but still interesting enough to be unique in smell. There seems to be a refreshing citrus quality here (probably bergamot) which then transitions onto rose (an extremely pleasing and full but refreshing rose note) along with soft oud and woods, before being enveloped by a white musk. This fragrance is not sweet, nor is it too floral, nor is it too dark or woody. In fact, it has a "Goldilocks" factor in that it is "just right".

Now, for people looking for more (IE a heavier rose, darker oud etc) then this may not be for you. If someone is looking for an animalic style musk, then they wouldn't find it here. It is very well balanced and unique so in terms of smell I find it very pleasing and intriguing, just don't expect a loud punch with this one.

As with all Bond No. 9 fragrances, I would recommend trying or sampling first. However for uniqueness I believe this fragrance has it, but not for power or strength of scent. I do believe that this is very versatile and can be worn any time any where. It's a good effort and should be tried first, before making a decision.

If you are expecting a typical rose/oud combo frag you will be sorely disappointed with this one. The scent is decent enough, but it's more about the light tonka and white, clean musk than anything else. I think I might detect a tiny amount of rose, but absolutely no oud. Longevity and sillage are ok but I would not pay full retail for New York Oud. It's a safe scent, maybe a little too safe, but a definite try before you buy in my opinion. I'm giving it a thumbs up, but it teeters the line between nuetral and thumbs up.

A soft plasticene rose with a bit of synthetic oud that hides pretty quickly. Closer to a rose fragrance than a middle eastern oud. Performance seems below Bond standards. I really don't see how this fits in their line as the signature scent?

Bond can be so good at times, and then they throw out a bucket of slurry in a kitschy bottle, and still believe it's worth your $300.

This smelled fantastic in the store and I could not wait to get home and try out the sample on myself.

Complete and utter disappointment. On me, it smells like a mix of Clinique Happy and Axe Body Spray. I was embarrassed to be wearing it to dinner, because its so offensive and has such strong sillage.

It's too bad. I have grown to appreciate some of their scents despite being turned off by the tacky packaging. For me, this scent was tacky as well. I hate to think that this is a "signature" for Bond.