Bleecker Street (2005)
by Bond No. 9

Just experienced this intriguing scent today and I had to wait a good half hour before smelling my hand again. The initial spray and opening was a bit too much for me, rather harsh. But the middle and the finale that is the base and full dry-down, I am in love. It's amazing how much of a transition this fragrance makes. Definitely one that needs to be sampled on skin to get the full experience. When it was sprayed on their tester paper I couldn't make anything of it except pure alcohol.

It's tough for me to commit to a full retail price purchase with the Bond's as the amount of juice you get doesn't sit well with me. This is one I'll pick-up when I come across a great deal or discount.

24th January, 2012.

Bleecker street opens with a delightful berries note, so fresh, so natural. After a few minutes this fruity aroma mixes with a semi-sweet tone leaving a invigorating impression. A friend of mine pinpointed a interesting comment, he said that this one resambles L'eau D'Issey, and I have to agree, at least the floral notes do remember this Issey Miyake but here they are softer and sweeter.
Sadly this nice opening combination does not persists at full power in the drydown.

9th January, 2012.

I was recently going through a rather dreary series of tests on some free samples I had gotten of Bond No. 9 stuff at Saks......meh.....meh.......meh.....ick.....meh....when
I came across Bleecker Street. "What is that?" I asked myself. "I mean what is that?
I found my answer in an ancient text written in 2010 by Odysseum the wise in which he identifies the offending entity while at the same time invoking the dreaded name....... "Grey Flannel." Grey Flannel. Yes the ghastly aura-fading spirit-bleeding horror that is Grey Flannel. I recently talked to a man who had doused himself with the stuff. He was quite corpulent and probably the happiest man I've ever met and I suspected part of the reason was he was so proud of the way he smelled. I looked in his eyes and wanted so badly to tell him that I could save him from himself and more importantly save the rest of us from him. All he'd need to do is hand over the material to me so I could dispose of it. But I didn't. I was polite. Getting back to Bleecker Street. Verdict: meh. No wait.... what am I saying? Yuck.

14th December, 2011.

Oh boy, this opens up with citrus and slowly reveals vanilla, and woods, and some green...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz, then yuck

I don't want to be too much of an ass here, but seriously, this falters. Somehow the smell mellows out into a bland mish mosh of the vibrancy that is the opening. And afterwards, the smell just starts to go off. It's a sourness that I can't quite explain, but I know for sure that I don't want it on me.

7th August, 2011.

Smells like fresh cut grass and is a very green fragrance. Problem is that this has been done before and doesn't offer a vast enough improvement to come even close to justifying it's price. If I had the choice of 212 or this I'd take 212 in a heartbeat. $60 vs close to $200 dollars. Another failure from Bond.

6th July, 2011.

After seeing the comparisons between Ralph Lauren Purple Label and Bond No. 9 Bleecker Street, I stopped and did a sample on paper. At first blush, it's 'similar' but by no means an exact replica. The top and base note likenesses were where the similarities ended. Which brings me to the more intriguing aspects of the Bond No.9 frag. First, the scent changed back and forth through all the notes, not simply a dry-down and transformation from top to base. The heat of the warm summer day on skin brought out a completely different personality; the coolness of an indoor location transformed it yet again. I found it pleasant and interesting throughout the continual transition. If I had to pick a fragrance that gave me cause to pause, this would be the one. Then there's the sillage, which I found to be far better than the Purple Label, which is logical since the RL is an EDT and the Bond an EDP, along with a hefty price differential. People would know some hours later that you were wearing the Bond, whereas the RL vanishes within minutes. Longevity is fantastic. My choice is very clear in that as much as I like Purple Label, Bleecker Street has more to offer as a woody oriental.

2nd July, 2011.