Bond No. 9 New Haarlem

[stevef]

I smelled this stuff over the weekend and wow. Just wow. I was seriously worried that I was going to take a bite outta my arm by the end of the night. Browsing through some of the old messages, there seem to be many who share my opinion.

Unfortunately, a 19 year old in college working overnight stock is unable to afford any Bonds at this time. Are there any fragrances that are similar/come close?

[Trasker]

Personally I don't think there is anything out there that comes close to this one. I've sang its praises here before as have onthers. You may not be able to afford a full bottle of this lovely but surely you can afford a decant from some of the fine purveyors here at Basenotes or from eBay?

[stuigi]

GREAT STUFF!!! PERHAPS THE BEST GOURMAND SCENT IN RECENT MEMORY... I LIKE THIS MUCH BETTER THAN A*MEN, WHICH DESPITE WINNING THE BN AWARD AND GETTING ALMOST UNIVERSAL PRAISE, IS IMHO MORE SUITED TO A ROOM SPRAY THAN A COLOGNE! (YES, I AM PREPARED FOR AN ALL OUT ATTACK...LOL!!!)

[sbbbjm]

i'm a college kid too, and i think a more affordable substitute would be HM Hanae Mori. they are similar in that they are both gourmands, but i think HM is a more chocolatey as opposed to New Haarlem's syrupy, coffee scent.

HM has a sweet fruity beginning and it dries down to a chocolate, smokey woods, with a tinge of lemon and a tiny bit of sweet floral.

i've had both and received great compliments! . . . although i'm a little more attached to the HM

[wedge]

I smelled this stuff over the weekend and wow. Just wow. I was seriously worried that I was going to take a bite outta my arm by the end of the night. Browsing through some of the old messages, there seem to be many who share my opinion.

Unfortunately, a 19 year old in college working overnight stock is unable to afford any Bonds at this time. Are there any fragrances that are similar/come close?

I share your pain [smiley=cry.gif] but I second the recommendation for HM.

[GnuGnuAntiloop]

Try Rochas Man. They are not identical scents, more like cousin scents. Rochas Man is sweeter, creamier and not as dark as New Harleem, but yet smells distinctively similar - at least to my nose.

-T-

[rjrober22]

Try Rochas Man. They are not identical scents, more like cousin scents. Rochas Man is sweeter, creamier and not as dark as New Harleem, but yet smells distinctively similar - at least to my nose.

-T-

I agree, the closest thing to NH is RM.

[aj]

try it with a hint of of Little Italy and tell me what you think?

[WindyCity1014]

Rochas Man is as close as you're going to get. I must respectfully disagree with the HM recommendation - I think it smells like Lemon Frosted Flakes.

Better yet, save up and buy 1 ounce of the New Haarlem for around $90, which includes a refillable bottle.

[sentient]

Oops huge egg on face [smiley=tongue.gif]. I meant Rochas Man (the dildo bottle) not Hanae Mori. Sorry for the confusion. Modified Hanae Mori to Rochas Man.

Rochas Man is a very good low budget alternative. Sort of ironic, since it is New Haarlem that rips off Rochas Man. There are differences between the two as pointed out. Both start out exactly the same with a coffee sweetness. After that they diverge a little bit. Haarlem becomes spicey, I was slightly reminded of Gantier creations - Eau De Illes, Santal Noble - in the coffee spice woody mode. However it is housed within the gourmand framework. Rochas Man settles into a milky vanilla creaminess. So strictly speaking RM would be the more gourmandy of the two. New Haarlem is a tad more spicier and has more complexity. Strangely, this spiciness keeps coming and going making the difference even smaller overall. New Haarlem is the stronger - concentration of oils - of the two. Same rip-off scam from the bond company. Paying retail for bond company product is taxation on the gullible.

[stevef]

Funny, both HM and Rochas Man are on my list of "to-buys".

I'll probably go with Rochas Man before HM. Does anyone else think Rochas Man seems like a more simple(not worse though) version of A*MEN?

[stevef]

Oh, and funny the mention of Little Italy, when I went with my gf, that was her favorite while NH was mine. Interesting idea...

[Carlos3]

Funny, both HM and Rochas Man are on my list of "to-buys".

I'll probably go with Rochas Man before HM. Does anyone else think Rochas Man seems like a more simple(not worse though) version of A*MEN?

Yes, I'm finding Rochas Man to be a bit one note in my use.

[madgradrx]

So what's the best place online to buy Bond9? Is there *any* place that has it at discount?

[The Bark]

So what's the best place online to buy Bond9? Is there *any* place that has it at discount?

If you order from beautycafe.com, and use basenotes as the coupon code, you'll get 10% off your purchase. For the price of these, you'll get free shipping, too--and that's about as good as it gets!

[MorningOil]

Ordering from beauty cafe looks like a great idea! I tried NH in Harvey Nicks here, and I was knocked out - both by the fragrance, which is gorgeous - and by the price, which at 130GBP emphatically is not. Whereas it's 119USD, including shipping, with the basenotes discount, from beautycafe.com.

Does anyone have any experience with ordering from this company to the UK? They say they can't ship via air; so, how long does it take / is a box of fragrance likely to get snarled up in customs?

Cheers

Alex

[asylum]

www.lusciouscargo.com has it for $110. Although, I ordered some samples from them a month ago and they never came.