Reviews of Brooklyn (2009)
by Bond No. 9

I didn't care much for Brooklyn during a prior sniff, but darned if it is speaking to me today.

The grapefruit top note is just what I needed for a sluggish Monday morn--a bit of pleasant, bright smelling salts to open my eyes. An impetuous judgement (“masculine!”) sparked by the juniper note, is being pushed aside as I welcome the cardamom. I can enjoy this scent for a day. Not $-worthy, but Brooklyn deserves credit for working with my finicky skin and narrow preferences.

I can see where others might think this fairly pedestrian, but it's the kind of routine frag I hope the civilians (non-BNers) choose to wear.

[size=3][b]Bond No. 9 [color=turquoise]Brooklyn[/b][/color][/size] was my sole impulse purchase from the Boston BN get-together in August 2009. It's marketed as unisex, but seems to me to trend more traditionally "masculine." I can see how this could smell fairly pedestrian as a 'masculine' this year (2009 seems to be the year of 'cardamom in guys' fragrances') but on me, it's a lovely light cardamom/transparent floral and leather. I also pull up any and all sweet notes in this, so it's LOTS of fun! I envision walking past someone with a good nose who stops in their tracks as I pass, turns over their shoulder and thinks, "Wow - She's *interesting*..."

[b] Brooklyn notes:[/b] Grapefruit, Cardamom, Cypress-wood, Geranium Leaves, Juniper Berries, Cedarwood, Leather and Guaiacwood.

A very "dim" and "timid" spicy/woody scent.
Cardamom and Cypress are the stars, and the overall impression is dissapointing and totally unworthy of being named after the borough.
Bitter, boring, and lame are not what I expected from that note pyramid.
Another total yawner from Bond no.9.

Bond No 9 have a reputation for plagiarism, which is not entirely unjustified, but at least that is a thought process. No thought has gone into Brooklyn or maybe just ' knock out a safe one'. It's a little bit fresh, a little bit green, a little bit woody, but a whole lot of mediocrity. I mean this could be a 'Hugo Boss' bargain box chuckout. Why would you want to spend £100, but smell like £5? Avoid like the plague is my advice.

Oops!

After a long wait, many of us were excited about Brooklyn by Bond 9 but this scent is a great disappointment!

All I get is geranium and as SirSlarty stated "gritty" geranium.

I can barely smell it on my skin. It has the worst lasting power of any Bond 9. I hate to be blunt but even some Jo Malone scents last longer than Brooklyn on my skin.

After 10 minutes, Poof! gone

Such a beautiful bottle, yet such a disappointing fragrance!

I liek the word "griity" here. It really described the scent. I think it's due to the geranium leaves plus some leather. I like the woody notes here. Makes it feel dry and gritty as well. But overall, I'm not for this scent. Unique, yes but I can't shake the feeling that it's familiar. I likened it to ck One when I first tried it but I knew that was wrong. Then I thought it was similar to Banana Republic Classic but that was brinier. The concept is the same: make a truly unisex scent with just enough edge to it to make people think it leans a tad feminine or masculine. Well it worked and it feels like it leans to the feminine side. Like a bad girl scent. Unisex frags usually share a few things in common like citrus and wood notes. I've worn this several times and cannot comes to llove it. It just feels all wrong on me.

I got a sample for myself and found it to be too masculine for me. The citrus-y geranium freshness calmed down to a masculine woody base that was a little too much for me. This feels like a great summer scent as it's not too intense and the base really sticks around a while. I'm gonna try to get my male friends to wear this. I think this is a great scent for a guy who wants something a little different.

After the citrus/fresh blast (OK, if you are looking for a car freshener), it settles to a traditional clean masculine laced with the smell of lit firewood. But not a fresh, green woodsiness, more like a weak campfire. Where's the leather? I don't get leather here. A boring fragrance, although the bottle asserts that it's not.

Brooklyn is that quirky, gritty, creative and newly remade and rediscovered urban area that I would love to have found in this fragrance - But NO. The only part of Brooklyn in this creation is the artwork on the bottle. Nice artwork! The fragrance smells very clean and fresh, but it is less of Brooklyn and more like Shaker Heights, or North Dallas. As neighborhood character goes, this Bond is an ultra sanitized upscale neighborhood with nicely appointed wood and new car leather freshness. Definitely not Brooklyn! But, setting aside the clashing imagery for a moment, this is a nice fresh aquatic wood scent that will be great for spring or summer.

Brooklyn opens with grapefruit over cardamon with a juniper chaser for a fresh lightly aquatic wood feel. This freshness covers a light leather/wood base for a pretty good imitation of the smell of new car leather. The leather is a very light iris gaiac wood leather similar to the leather in Dior Homme but covered with the ctrus woods. Really there is not enough leather in here to claim leather, but you have to give a label to the dry softness in the middle of the citrus green and woods. A very clean fresh woodsy scent for summer. Give it one thumb up!

Bond No. 9 Brooklyn

Laurice Rahme’s Bond No. 9 line has explored most of the neighborhoods of Manhattan and now under the creative direction of perfumer Laurent LeGuernec, in 2009, the line takes a trip across the bridge into Brooklyn. Brooklyn is marketed to be a woody oriental which is to “tilt towards the masculine”. I picked up the graffiti covered bottle, which is fabulous looking, hoping to be as impressed by the juice contained inside. The top of this is grapefruit but more the tanginess that comes from the rind of a grapefruit and not the juiciness of the pulp. In compliment is the lemony smoothness that cardamom brings. This top note lasts much longer than the normal citrus top note and I was able to sniff it on paper and my wrist hours after application making this one of the longest lasting grapefruits scents I’ve worn. When I tested this on paper and on my wrist the middle notes listed of cedar, juniper and geranium never appeared and I kept sniffing to try and find them. Things were much different when I did my usual full-body application. After multiple sprays I do get the cedar and juniper but they are very subtle on my skin and I’m not sure if I wasn’t hunting for them that I would be talking about them. Mainly because as the grapefruit finally burns away the base of this is really quite nice; as first a leather note comes in followed by guaiac. For a note which is getting as much use as guaiac is lately I am finding its versatility to be quite astonishing. Here it adds a clean edge to the supple leather and doesn’t overwhelm as it has in other guaiac containing scents I’ve sniffed lately. I can see where this does slightly tilt towards the masculine but this would be easily worn by a woman who likes a woody scent as the wood is not layered on with a heavy hand. With a graffiti covered bottle I think I was hoping for an edgier scent with more modern sensibilities, what I got was a surprisingly long-lasting woody citrus that I think will be just right in the warmer weather. Unlike the graffiti on the bottle I won’t be trying to scrub this off my walls.

Yum yum yum! This smells really great on me, and I got compliments in the elevator leaving the mall. Next I walk into a local fav eatery of mine and get a few more compliments. Nice! In fact, I had to hide this one from a friend of mine, I let him test it and the next thing I know he is bathing in it. Really glad I took the time for this one, it will be a staple for sure.

Blind-bought this based purely on sentiment and the list of ingredients. A true winner for me...the citrus/geranium opening moves smoothly into a fresh green woodsiness (Prospect Park!) and the leather is fawn gloves. Also love the graffiti bottle - hope it isn't replaced.

I had fairly high hopes for this Bond, a house whose unisex line is usually too feminine or exotic for my taste. Brooklyn is not a complete letdown. Were it more reasonably priced, I would probably buy it. But this juice doesn't reek of exquisite blending or high quality ingredients. It starts off with a heavy dose of cardomom tempered nicely with grapefruit. The cardamom lasts well into the drydown, where the fragrance peters out. Like Bond's description, no one note shines. It certainly smells nice, and more masculine than anything else Bond has done, with the exception of the extraordinary Riverside Drive. I could see myself wearing this work, but thats probably it. It lacks the decisive edge I expect from fragrances priced this high. Unfortunately Brooklyn seems like another high-priced-but-average outing from Bond.