Reviews of Chinatown (2005)
by Bond No. 9

Fie upon the note pyramid! I don't believe one word of it. This is a sweet, hot, spicy gourmand frgrance. I don't usually like gourmand fragrances, but this one I do. It is a crazy juxtaposition of ingredients: deep, sweet, rich caramel, strong chile powder, and dried fruit (maybe lychee, tamarind, or mango) and a good deal of peanuts. I let my Korean friend smell this, and the first words out of her mouth were, "That smells delicious," as in "edible." I agree. It is a strange dish, like Mexican mole, but one that keeps you coming back for more. The drydown smelled of peanut butter cookies, slightly overdone, fresh out of the oven. Please excuse me if I'm missing something, but it is neither a floral fragrance nor a patchouli one. It is a strange, unique, gourmand fragrance fully worthy of note.

very foody, nice in the first start, unfortunately not well balanced enough to resist on my skin. it is a scent that is as comfortable as smelling fresh washed baby skin, nothing to worry about and maybe because of that so attractive.
after ten minutes what remains on me is only the sweet milk of matin calin csp.
nothing more. could have been my sweet lullaby-on-my-pillow-scent
but I miss the class that would justify a bottle

I got a sample of this late last year, & didn't much care for it. I recently rediscovered the sample & tried it again, with no high expectations, but was very pleasantly surprised. I think this may need warm weather to 'work' on me... I like it so much more now than I did half a year ago. The initial impression is a tad fruity for my tastes, but it morphs rather quickly to something warmer & more interesting than that peach salute. And it lasts, drying down to a very pleasant scent... some other reviewers have described it as 'creamy' & that fits with my experience. It's a bit too soon for me to predict whether this will become a tried-and-true staple, but I do expect to enjoy its charms at least until the weather gets cooler.

light, transparent and beautiful.......i love the combination of translucent florals mixed in with earthy vanilla and slight coffe beans....Some people contend it to be a female fragrance, I disagree.....to me its a very well crafted, easily worn, floral gourmand unisex scent that is created for perfect sunny days...I guarantee you, spray this one on enough and you will get positive attention....Especially from women.

Sniff this one before you buy it - mileage varies. I really dislike this - to my nose and on my skin it is just sweet, sweet and boring. This is one of my few scrubbers, I just can't stand the cloying aroma. I know it has a huge fan base, I don't smell why.

Chinatown is an odd fragrance on me. Initially it did nothing for me, perhaps because, from looking at the bottle, I was expecting a luscious cherry-bomb of an Oriental. So Not That! I kept trying it, because so many had raved about it, and finally, after a 3rd or 4th try, and after about an hour on my skin I realized that the scent is the recreation of a smell from childhood memories: It's the scent of the inside of a small shop in Chinatown (San Francisco) that sold incense, lucky cats, cheap plastic toys, gag gifts, magic boxes, fireworks & sparklers, all kinds of other kitschy items (it was packed with stuff). As a child this store was a wonderland to me, and I still have a beautiful wooden puzzle box that my parents purchased for me there. What a fun memory! I can't help but wonder if the nose who created this frag. had a similar store in mind! :-) It's a very fun mix of sweet, jasmine, wood, incense, and even a little plastic. Brilliant!

This is a lovely floral gourmand. When I called Bond no. 9 for some samples, the SA warned me that Chinatown was a little on the feminine. Just to test that fact out, I gave the sample a full wearing. Gourmands must love my skin because things like Rochas Man, Endymion, Hanae Mori, Ciel Mon Jardin, etc just seem to project more than anything.

I smell vanilla and chocolate with spicy florals that I can't name since I'm not familiar with them. A dry, spicy drydown that keeps the vanilla going to the end.

New to the world of perfumistas, I bought a few untried scents that seemed worth the risk off eBay (a short, but expensive, phase), mostly on reviews from Perfumes: The Guide by Sanchez and Turin (I love that book!) A bit discouraged, I tentatively opened my Bond No. 9 Chinatown, and I AM IN HEAVEN! I am so happy to have found this scent. I will wear it with pleasure for a long time and highly recommend anyone to at least give it a try. It is wonderful to read the other reviewers comments here, as well. There is so much to learn and experience about this fascinating and compelling art.

I like many of the notes in Chinatown so in theory I should love it but unfortunately I just can't get on with it. The spicy dry down is too spiky for me. I got a second sample from another source just in case the first one is off but no joy. Longevity is good though, I've had to wash it off each time I've sampled it. I'm disappointed this one's not for me.

To me this smells smokey, sultry, woodsy with peach blossoms- actually I thought it was cherry untill I read the notes.. I love this scent. It remind me of the notes Guerlain uses alot but in a different direction.

What a great disappointment this one was! I've never been a big fan of Bond No. 9 fragrances but I had hoped that Chinatown would be the exception.

However, not only didn't it work well with my body chemistry (this is the only house in where I’ve constantly experienced this) but it was a tad too feminine for my tastes. Also, sillage is way below average and its longevity is not as great as many have stated. As for the apricot note, it failed to add any real edge to what is already a mediocre fragrance.

Well, that’s one less fragrance house to worry about...

Chinatown is unique. Chinatown is weird. Chinatown is powdery/fruity/pungent/sweet all rolled in one. Chinatown is GOOD STUFF! One of the very few unique scents from this house. For dishing out over $200 for a bottle, the very first thing I look for is the uniqueness of smell- and this fits the bill perfectly.

I thoroughly enjoy the opening … I get a lot of vanilla, less wood, and a little floral and spice. It’s very nice — it’s a good combination, because the vanilla doesn’t get overly sweet or cloying and the accord is well balanced and attracting. This very well done vanilla accord hangs around for a long time and the development of Chinatown doesn’t move very far except that it gets more floral. The vanilla is long lasting. I agree with Ipaidforthisname that Chinatown is essentially a vanilla scent — a vanilla scent with a wood and white floral background. It’s quite a pleasant fragrance and what it does, it does well. It is charmingly youthful, and I find it somewhat more feminine than masculine. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have very good longevity, but its charm and originality earn it a thumb’s up, anyway.

At first, I was worried that it would be too feminine just from the packaging (which is definitely feminine) after sampling it in a standard vial. However, I found a great deal on the Swarovski bottle and figured I could easily sell it if it didn't work for me. I must say, though, that silly sparkly bottle is going to find its home in my wardrobe.
It's incredible.. It starts as candied peaches but evolves into something creamy, close, and sweet while retaining a touch of spice and wood. It's got a surprising citrus feeling that really sparkles.
I've worn it out of the house only once but received a huge positive reaction. It may sit on the feminine side of unisex, but really tends to impress all.

Award winning in every way ~ except I do not like to wear it! (What the heck?) I love to inhale Chinatown from a white paper test strip spritzed with this delicate juice. Ripe peach paired with bergamot is an uplifting opening. Each note in this blend fully enhances the next, and each are lucious and light. I especially appreciate the floral notes being subtley infused. If they were 'in your face', like some white florals can get, the whole composition would be ruined. The bottle is a cultural work of art ~ and accurately reflects the contents held within. Restraint and simplicity make this fragrance outstanding!

Not so much "Chinatown" to me as Mme. Butterfly: all delicately powdered, a bit fragile, and veiled in exoticism; all of which hides an unexpected inner strength. I love the peach (fruit, not blossom,) top notes, and the transition into white florals is masterfully handled. After that it hangs tight for a while: peach pulp, tuberose, gardenia, vanilla, and a bit of spice. I think it's too floral to be gourmand, despite the peach and vanilla.

Chinatown starts to dry down after about two hours, revealing a spicy base that smells of cinnamon, cardamom and very smooth woods. This is the most interesting and original Bond No. 9 scent I've tried to date. I'll be buying a bottle for my wife.

Thank god I only bought a small decant. This stuff is way too floral to be a unisex fragrance. I like sweet smelling fragrance and not am not opposed to florals but this one stinks.

I received Chinatown as a sample and I thought WOW! I ordered a decant and was practically in tears when I sprayed the last drops. I could not get to Saks fast enough to purchase the largest bottle. I completely adore this fragrance and no it is not fresh or clean smelling and I love that about it. When I have Chinatown on I can envision sitting in my favorite Thai restraunt with a nice big plate of Pad Thai infront of me sipping my Thai iced tea and I have a beautiful fragrant flower in my hair and the scents are all swirling and converging around me...that is Chinatown to me.

I read many rave reviews about this fragrance. I liked the scent, which mostly seemed like a spicy peach to me, with some floral notes at the beginning. I usually don't like peach; when it was very popular in candles and room sprays, it came off like cat spray to me. But here it is delicate and sweet. It reminded me a little of Elizabeth Taylor's Black Pearls, which also has a peach note and I really like. I would have liked Chinatown to linger longer than it did.

I like the scent, but I have hestation of the true smell of peach blossom in this bottle. It is very peachy, very fruity and fairly sweet. I couldn't detect the tuberose and my guess was it has been overtaken my the fruity topnotes. Chinatown boils down to a very soft fruity creamy vanilla scent. It has a superb sillage and staying power.

Frankly, I bought Chinatown because of the bottle. I was completely sucked into it when I was in the department store. During Chinese New Year, families would go to the flower market to buy flowers for decoration. Each type of plant brings different good fortune. Peach blossoms enhance romance, while tangerines with leaves intact help ensure long-lasting relationships and fruitful marriages. Isn't it adorable to have a bottle of peach blossom as my guardian angel sitting at home to safeguard my relationships.

Enough of the side-tracking... I will buy this again if my current 50ml bottle runs out.

I was excited to test this frag as I read about it and in general I liked the notes. Top Notes:Peach Blossom, Bergamot. Middle Notes: Gardenia, TUberose, Peony, Orange Flower. Base Notes: Patchouli, Cedarwood, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Cardamom, Guaiac Wood. At the first meeting/whiff it smells like Nymphea Il Profumo, sweet, but then some 30mins later you wonder where did it go? From Chinatown to Notown...Pitty, for such an expensive frag. Staying power low....And can not see this as a unisex frag! not recommended

I just bought this today and was sure I was smelling cinnamon. I had to check out the ingredients to find out if I was right and I wasn't. I can't get technical like the other reviewers here, but it is a lovely warm, woody scent, rather like a less fruity Mitsouko. By the way, what is sillage? Even the guy in Saks didn't know! I love the fact that it is so different from the usual new offerings and that it is unlikely that anyone in the north of England is going to have it.

Simply the BEST fragrance I've ever tried and now proudly own. Chinatown is an elegant, sophisticated oriental/floral scent that even migraine sufferers(myself) can wear. On my skin, the dry down is clean and creamy. I love it and highly recommend everyone to at least try it.

Opens with a sweetness of five spice blend – comfortable yet strange, bizarre and juicy from hints of a lusciously sweet peach. A complex floral heart of white florals that are hard to identify and of which the gardenia is most dominant, underlined by a coarse-voiced murmurs of, warm, dirty patchouli and burning Buddhist sandalwood incense joss sticks. Slightly fishy, like the dried exotic seafood sold by the merchants in Chinatown, softened by the powderiness of vanilla and musk. Dry down of cedarwood, and the hints of smoky, rosy guiacwood. Chinatown might need some time getting used to and is a very unique and unusual scent. Caution: do not wear in extreme heat and humidity.

Having been disappointed by many of the Bond no. 9 releases that I have experimented with in the past, its great to see that the two recent tries have been thumbs-up worthy...first, New Haarlem, and now Chinatown. Just like New Haarlem, Chinatown is a sweet, almost gourmandy fragrance which has enough variance in its notes so as not to become an overwhelmingly saccharine and cloying fragrance.
Upon initial application, its the peach note which is the most noticeable; Chinatown then incrementally transforms to a sweeter stage after hitting each of the succeeding note levels. The basenotes introduce a floral component but I smell a tangy orange note in the mix too. The base is quite woody and sweet thanks to a cardamom, vanilla, patchoulli and sandalwood mix...but amongst this nectareous syrupy mix, you can still detect the peach and orange notes. Longevity and sillage are great, although the bottle is a little too feminine for my taste. A great warm weather and comfort offering, Chinatown ranks as one of the best from Bond no. 9.

This fragrance is actually quite sweet and buttery. It has many interesting notes, and many which offer contrast, sweet and bitter, sharp and smooth, and so on. However, it was just a bit too much for me, a little overwhelming. During the right season, to a party, it might be perfect.

I found the peach blossom opening delicious and just a little exotic. Unfortionately, the drydown was a pretty dull floral for a non-floral person like me. Too bad since the bottle is so pretty...

this is beautiful of course alone..but i stumbled into a great accident yesterday combining with Little Italy..its impressive.

Whoa ho! I agree with these other reveiws but these are exactly the facets that have made me insane for this fragrance. It is sweet, creamy, coconutty, floral, with a hint of herbal spice that reminds me of my favorite Thai restaurant. No, it's not fresh, no it's not clean and soapy, yes it's got vanilla, and yes there is a bitter note twining in the dessert for contrast.
I can't claim it's a masterpiece of development. It is what it is, full-on, full-blown, immediate gratification. It lasts forever so I get delayed gratification as well. I absolutely grunt with satisfaction when I catch my own sillage later in the day.
So was it worth 110 dollars for my way cute 1.7 oz bottle? You betcha!!!!!

The notes tell me I should love it, but my skin refuses to believe them. Chinatown is very pretty, but it's not as fresh as it sounds like it will be. There's an undertone to it that reminds me of cooked vegetables. It smells like a dining room that has fresh flowers on the table, but the smells of food sneak through the florals. I think the note that goes off for me is probably the cardamom, which is a favorite flavor to eat, but not to wear. The bottle is beautiful.

I loved this scent!!! From the description of the notes, I thought it would be much more floral. But, the cardamom really came through well- along witht the vanilla. It ended up being a spicey, sweet scent. The Gardina was almost butter-like, also. I have tried almost all of the bond #9 fragrances. This has been my favorite. So good! Give it a try!

Chinatown is a very nice white floral fragrance with a lot of sweetness thrown in to offset everything. I can’t help but feel that it’s more of a vanillic fragrance with hints of white floral notes. I smell a kind of peppery note buried very deep in the blend, but nothing ever really comes of it; the sweet drydown takes over everything this. To me, this is what Angeliques Sous la Pluie would smell like if it were made for 17 year old girls. Is it nice? Yes. Is it worth 178 dollars? Absolutely not.