Manhattan
Bond No. 9 (2012)

A forgettable mix of fruit and musk. To be fair, I don't like fruit scented fragrances, but This was a mess. like Old Spice and plums stewing on a stove with some spices thrown in.

The opening consists of a deep nutmeg mixed with a fruity pear-plum note that lasts for the first couple of hours. This is followed by a luscious drydown of jasmine, honey and rich gingerbread that is bringing back memories of wintery Christmas evenings. In spite of its richness, this scent is never intrusive and never too sweet. On my skin the base is a dyad of white musk and vanilla, again not of unpleasant sweetness, and towards the end close to my skin. Silage and projection are good, and the overall longevity is a splendid ten hours. Not without some originality and well-made, it is a nice not-too-obtrusive winter-warmer in the office.

Bond # 9 have set of ‘bad penny' notes. They are identifiers and if they were pleasant, they'd be considered signature notes, like Guerlinade. But this set of ‘house notes' is unpleasant They seem to fall within a gourmand, oriental, woody ambery range. They have an unsettling quality of hitting a point in your head, toward the back of your sinuses, that feels like a crossroads of the central nervous system. This tone, this confluence of notes manages to assault your physical senses, your mind and your soul simultaneously. To borrow very loosely from ayurveda, it's an affront aimed at your higher chakras.

I won't entirely rule out preference in this case. I do dislike this particular range of neo-gourmandery, but the problem runs deeper. Reliance on the same set of aromachemicals that have a broad common denominator of volume, pervasiveness, legibility/recognition, and force starts to look lazy. As if someone stumbled on a quick fix and is now using it in every situation possible for maximum profit. This tone is less a signature or an olfactory emblem and more of a tendency run amuck, a habit that's both unrecognized and unbroken. Bond may just have run into a problem that I imagine afflicts many of the bourgeois customers they court: they haven't ever heard the criticism they need. Nobody ever tells them no.

OK. I've read Bond and their customers. Easy shot, easy target. Ridiculously so, actually. Makes picking on Creed seem the work of a trained assassin.

But the perfume, Manhattan, and the others that fall into this range (Coney Island, New York Musk, Sag Harbor, Nuits de Noho) are flawed. Reliance on this tone and range of notes, let's call it Bond-ade, or Band-aid if you prefer, has lead to a line of perfumes that all smell the same in the way that all muzak sounds the same. Manhattan has the impenetrable sweetness of a combined musk/fruit/amber/oiliness that, when combined with “spicy notes” (ie a chemo tuning fork held to your head)drive the chakra spear home.

The dull, lingering sweetness of the drydown comes as a reprieve after the direct attack of the topnotes.

This fragrance has grown on me tremendously. Layered with New Haarlem and I couldn't stop sniffing myself. Gourmand lovers this is a different take and diverts from the overdone notes.

Wonder why it has taken Bond so long to get round to 'Manhattan' as a name? The top accord is delicious and gourmandy and was sort of waiting for it to fall apart afterwards, but it just got better and better -- using a honeyed fruit note to guide you to a sweetish lush finish. I love the bottle also. I'm gradually beginning to change my mind about this House -- especially if they serve up more fragrances like this.

Update 10 April. -- I have worn for a full day now and I think this may be Bond's version of AVENTUS (it had to come) -- I detect' New York Pineapple'

I Love this Wintry scent by the House of Bond no 9 in NYC.

The scent is made of a warm olfactory seductive cocktail of gourmand notes: nutmeg, saffron, coriander, peach, plum, gingerbread and vanilla.

The scent is very comforting and potent and will keep you interested and wrapped up for hours; the bottle is also beautiful.

If you would like to try the candle and body silk, you will also fall in love with them in an instant.

Great longevity and sillage!

Thumbs up!