New York Patchouli
Bond No. 9 (2013)

The notes I pick up on most are bergamot, rose water, litchi, lilac, and musk. These notes are supported by the typical Bond No. 9 amber, woody, musk base found in most of their fragrances.

Ironically, I do not smell much patchouli in this composition. For me, this is actually a good thing. I associate patchouli with head shop incense and cheap essential oils. I realize there are different aspects to patchouli; however, when I think of patchouli as a note, I tend to think of dirty patchouli, so I ignored this scent for a while. The patchouli used in New York Patchouli is a clean, leafy patchouli, but it is not very noticeable. I finally tried this fragrance after a Bond No. 9 sales rep gave me some Bonbons and this was one of them.

When I first sprayed New York Patchouli, I was instantly reminded of another fragrance, but I couldn't put my finger on what is was. I still cannot quite figure out what this reminds me of. It bears some similarities to Creed Himalaya, but I wouldn't go as far as saying they smell alike or that this is Bond's attempt to clone Himalaya. When you first spray this, it does have a fresh, generic smell that is most likely why I find it familiar. The top notes remind me of Himalaya, although Himalaya's top is all citrus so it has more bite to it. With New York Patchouli, the rose water and litchi give it a richer, more rounder opening. The similarities to Himalaya end at that point.

The heart is where the fragrance has more of a green, floral quality, although I find the heart somewhat difficult to identify. There is a clean patchouli note and lilac. I don't pick up on the lily. The base has a similar vibe to other Bond No. 9 fragrances. It is mostly musk, with some cedar, a touch of amber and sandalwood.

At first this smells like something you would wear in warmer weather. It gives off that kind of vibe, but this is a thick fragrance. It would best for cooler weather, like spring and fall. You could also wear it in winter if you wanted a fragrance that smells like a warm weather fragrance, but will hold up in winter. I personally do not wear this in the summer, it is too dense and thick for the summer heat.

I bought a 100 mL bottle of this about a year ago and it is one of my most worn fragrances. I find it can be worn in any situation or occasion. The longevity is actually very good on me, which is to be expected with a parfum concentration. I get great performance from all of my Bond No. 9 fragrances, but this one beats all of them except for New York Oud and Scent of Peace for Him.

This fragrance marketed for men and women, but I find it to be more on the masculine side. I have received more unsolicited compliments with this fragrance than I have with any other in my wardrobe, including Aventus! One day at work, I received 4 unsolicited compliments from women in a matter of about 2-3 hours. Until that point, I'd probably gotten 4 compliments from coworkers on all my fragrances. I was shocked to get that many in just a couple hours. Each of these were from women passing by me, then walking back over and telling me I smell really good.

I do not understand all the bad reviews this fragrance has received. I enjoyed this before hearing women tell me they like it. After the reception I got with New York Patchouli, I like it even more. I think it has a great scent, with good performance, and it's incredibly versatile. The only area that this fragrance suffers is that is not that original.

I took another reviewer's suggestion and tried layering New York Patchouli with Sag Harbor. This brightens up the New York Patchouli while making Sag Harbor a bit more masculine. Sag Harbor is one of my favorite warm weather Bond No. 9's, but I find it a little on the feminine side. When they are layered, it smells like a new scent rather than two scents blended together. I have seen other layering suggestions with New York Patchouli, but I have not tried them.

This is one of my most worn Bond No. 9 fragrances. The only one I have worn more is Scent of Peace for Him. My favorite Bonds for the cooler weather include this one, New York Oud, Signature, and New Haarlem. You really have to try this on your skin to see how it evolves. When I sprayed it on paper, it didn't last too long. On skin, it the projection and longevity is greatly improved.

In the opening I get some patchouli that is quite intertwined with bergamot. Later on I get lots of lilac with lily and a transient whiff of rose. The Bond-ing base of musk, amber and wood - jtd's Bond-ade - is duller on my skin that in other scents of this house. Limited silage and projection with three hours of longevity - nice in spring; not a bad fragrance but overall more on the mediocre side.

Thanks to a tiny beauty supply store near me that stocks the line, I've had the chance to sample many of the perfumes in the Bond no 9 line at my leisure over the past few years. Having done so, I feel safe saying that I don't like the Bond no 9 line very much.

The first perfume I tried from the line was Chinatown. I bought it, love it and wear it to this day.  Exceptional perfume.  Since Chinatown, I've tried many others. Silver Factory is interesting (same perfumer, Aurélien Guichard). A portion of the line is innocuous and costs a lot. The bulk smell bad and cost a lot.

New York Patchouli falls somewhere between the latter two categories.  Top notes, innocuous. A hint of butterscotch, a large dose of root beer a bit of patchouli.  Heart notes and dry down, a slender helping of Bond-ade, the house note and a heat mirage-like shimmer of cream soda. The Oriental is certainly nothing new in perfumery. The more recent gourmand/Oriental is similarly not untried.  New York Patchouli is nothing new in perfumery, but specifically is nothing innovative in a line composed mostly of gourmand/Orientals. In this case, NY Patch skips the earthy, cold, dusty aspects of patchouli and focus on its upper register, which coincides with Bond's 'house' note. 

Name aside, Bond-ade is the key note in New York Patchoulu. I've written about Bond-ade in previous Bond reviews. To summarize, it is a woody-amber-based lingering note somewhere between gourmand and resinous. It combines a shrillness with vertigo and is difficult to tolerate in sustained exposure. New York Patchouli has a smaller portion of this note than many others in the line.  It smells more like fruity hairspray than motion-sickness. 

Christ. I just read that last sentence. While writing it, in my head I was trying to say something nice about this perfume. Apparently I don't have the wherewithal.

I'll leave it at that.

a bit on the femenine side due to the floral opening soon it takes a woody /amber /patch drydown duration is above 9 hours, sillage is good ..this has won me over for a 180 degrees turn.. great juice!

Retro! Retro! Retro Masculine! But Where is the Patchouli?

This scent is a recreation of what barber shop scents used to be like in the 80's.

The start is very fresh, with citrus, ginger and cardamon notes. There is already a masculine wintry dusty quality to it; think hats, coats, gloves and dark clothing attire. Is there already a bit of leather peeking through?

The heart is full of strong musk that will envelope you for ages. This note will then become the main note in the drydown along with possibly moss with some hints of leather.

The Longevity and projection are good.

I would describe this scent as a Fougere, not as Oriental.

I would have called it New York Musk!

Pros: Unique for a Bond own creation

Cons: Not the usual Lux Bond Bottle.

Thumbs up !