Jones Beach
Bond No. 9 (2019)

Opening is bright orange blossom sunscreen, but this stage only lasts five minutes or so on my skin. Almost immediately the violet takes over, turning sunny vibes dank and musty. Like a wet swimsuit that was balled up and forgotten in the back of a closet. I guess it really is evocative of a beach experience in that way, though it’s not an overly pleasant scent. Anyone who smells you will likely think you left your clothes to mildew in the washing machine before drying them.

A strong performing white floral beach scent. It's actually not super-synthetic, so that's good. My wife immediately liked the smell from a distance, saying it reminded her of “Paul Mitchell Hair Spray”. I'm not familiar with the product but such an immediate and detailed description is telling.

Leans just slightly fem to me. Daytime, warm weather appropriate.

Excellent performance, with noticeable projection and all-day longevity.

As noted by the brand, Jones Beach is a fragrant representation of sand, surf, sunshine, bare skin and bare feet. In this reviewer's opinion, Bond No. 9 has remarkably and very successfully achieved its goal.

Like the similar (but noticeably different) Fire Island, Jones Beach conjures up coastal breezes, salty air and most cleverly the lightly sweet musky scent of skin that has been in the sun. Where Fire Island goes heavily for a just applied 'sunscreen on skin' vibe, I think Jones Beach instead opts for how your skin might smell at the end of a day at the beach. That is, once your sunscreen has mostly worn off.

Looking at the brand's published notes, aside from the white musk, you would not expect a combination of Calone, Orange Flower Absolute, Ambrox & Violet to achieve such a clear representation of skin that is not shower fresh clean, but not dirty either. It's the smell of skin that has been in and out of salt water and since dried in the sun. Although not listed as a note, I swear that I detect a small amount of tuberose here as well.

As I have come to expect from Bond No. 9, the performance is outstanding. On my skin it lasts an entire work day and I can still clearly smell it when I'm changing out of my work clothes at the end of the day. I've now worn this several times to work and out on the weekends and at least a few of my friends and colleagues have commented positively about how nice it smelt. It's not nearly as powerful as Fire Island, but that OK with me. I think that Jones Beach is meant to be a more understated fragrance.

This is a very fun, relaxed and not too serious offering from Bond No. 9 and it gets 2 thumbs way up and 5 stars from me.