New Haarlem (2003)
by Bond No. 9

I'm not sure of the Rochas comparison. Rochas is strawberry shortcake sweet and this is roasted, burnt coffee and honey. I actually enjoy this and I usually don't like these.

Delicious creation that is a must-have for the lovers of Gourmands.
Basically same ingridients as in Rochas Man (shame on you, Maurice!) but way more concentrated.
It seems almost too sweet at first, but the drydown is such a pleasant wear. Suprisingly masculine!

My gf likes to use this one too, although she is generally not a fan of perfume at all.

Cedarwood and coffee flash is reminding me A man pure coffee. But this one is better blended and more successful though these greens do not make a nice back ground to exhibit a coffee note.

Reminds me of prune Danish pastry with some mocha added. Very strong, and doesn't develop. After a while, it started to smell like pastry that had something wrong with it. Very cloying. I'm a big fan of gourmand orientals, but this may be too close to food for me, so I suggest sampling first, even if you are a big gourmand fan too. For me, NH supports the idea that if a fragrance is too close to smelling like food, it gets sickening. A*Men, for example, with the tar note, prevents this situation, and I like A*men (once in a while, not every day). I don't like Rochas Man either, but I think it's because of the sandalwood in it, making it too "perfumey" for me. However, I can see that some might like the qualities that NH possesses, so I'll give it a neutral.

From the notes listed above, I thought I might LOVE this fragrance, but alas, the coffee note is off (this is not Peets Espresso Roast, but Sanka freeze dried crystals) which was a big disappointment since I love the smell of coffee. The next insult to my sniffer was the combination of coffee with lavender. I love the weird and creative thinking behind that combo, but I'm afraid it doesn't work, at least in this fragrance. Maybe if the coffee note was a little richer and full bodied instead of sharp and acidic? Or if the lavender was sweeter, the kind of lavender that goes into pastilles? I don't know, but for me, on my skin, it just doesn't work. The coffee and lavender go to war, and both come out bloodied, anemic, and exhausted. I won't give a thumbs down because this scent gets bonus points for creativity.

Update: I'm now loving this. For some reason (New neural connections in my brain? Don't laugh--it can happen! Even over 40!) I'm getting a rich Peets Espresso Roast coffee background, and a warm foreground of the cedarwood and vanilla and tonka and only a hint of lavendar--just enough to add interest, not enough to turn the fragrance weird. FBW!

Oh yeah, loving this. So far, New Haarlem and West Side are the only Bonds worth buying for me.