Bleecker Street (2005)
by Bond No. 9

Certainly unique. Violets, berries, like a field of grass. Perhaps the tie-dye cover explains it well. It has a hippie vibe. It's a bit powdery too and somewhat synthetic in its notes. It would've been amazing if a better fragrance house executed the concept but it's still very good.

4/5

03^rd February, 2015

For me, this is a hard fragrance to review, because it changes so much. It starts off with one of the best citrus openings I can remember, combining a smooth violet note, and a slight medicinal feel from the thyme. Then it transforms into a lot of jasmine, which is a note I have a strong disliking for. Eventually the top notes comes back, but a little less powerful, some woods there, before meshing with the green grass, and pepper, that makes this fragrance so green, that everyone talks about. With wafts of suede and cinnamon poking in and out, and a kind of nutty like smell in the base. It makes for a unique take on simple notes.

David Apel, a perfumer I am not too familiar with, really takes my nose on some twists and turns here, yet maintains the overall appeal. By keeping the citrus and green notes up front, and the more unconventional notes that don't really fit in, like the cinnamon, and suede in the back, yet still noticeable. I think the blueberry I am smelling is the note of cassis, which I am not very familiar with, but it keeps things very interesting.

Although it is nothing like Nouveau Bowery, note wise; they sort of resemble one another to me, at least with their citrus notes. Bleecker Street is far more complex though. As it dries it reminds me of Polo Modern Reserve, without the heavy oakmoss. Until the long and final dry down where I smell tagetes mostly, although not listen int he notes. These are the little orange, red, yellow flowers that have a citric smell. This smell just lasts and lasts and lasts. It makes for a different dry down. I don't often smell citrus in the end of a fragrance.

Price point just doesn't justify what I get here. I'd say 85 bucks for a big bottle would be a fair price. Bond #9 prices are just way too inflated, and that's my biggest problem with this house.

14^th September, 2014 (Last Edited: 15^th September, 2014)

The gently-floral-blackcurrant opening is a delight. Later in the drydown a herbal note is accompanied by a nice jasmine, but the wood notes that follow remain a bit indistinct on my skin. The base is more convincing, with gentle amber and patchouli eventually merging into a subtle vanilla finish that lasts for the final hours. This is a restrained and discrete scent, but in spite of poor silage and limited projection I get an excellent longevity of seven hours. Just in the positive score realm and nice in spring.

12^th July, 2014

Genre: Woody Oriental

Boooooring, if you ask me. Run-of-the-mill citrus top notes, tart but also juicy, soon joined by a faint and blurry floral note. Elements of powder and sweetness emerge and meld in with the flowers. The resulting accord seems confused and indistinct until a woody base note slides in to ground it. Then, in no more than an hour, Bleecker Street is into its drydown: all powder, sandalwood, and vanilla. It persists for some time as a gentle skin scent, trailing off gradually into just the faintest whiff of powder. Final analysis: The bottle is far better than the scent.

11^th June, 2014

One of Bond's best. An absolute delight from start to finish and on my skin I get about 8 hours. With Escentric Molecule Molecule 01 I get 4 hours more and a incredible twist. Must have.

05^th May, 2014

Absolutely Beautiful

What a beautiful fragrance.

I thought nothing could replace my #1 designer fragrance or my #1 niche fragrance, but Bleecker Street has done it.

I originally received a sample vial of it when I bought Chez Bond as my first Bond (and first Niche fragrance). I tried it (along with a few other Bond samples) and was immediately intrigued by the presence of Oak Moss. When my sample vial ran out, I immediately went online and bought a full bottle. I have received compliments from males and females and my wife loves this on me, too!

This is a definite "try" for the serious hobbyist and is, by far, the best Bond I have ever smelled.

Pros: Longevity, The Smell, The Dry-down
Cons: The Price"

03^rd September, 2013