Brooklyn, which launches next month, will be Bond no. 9's 33rd fragrance. As is the case with many of the brand's recent offerings, the packaging is half the fun; some people objected to the graffiti-covered bottle as a representation of Brooklyn, but I'm in love. Really, Bond ought to start letting their customers choose the bottle they'd like with their favorite fragrance, don't you think? And as long as we're dreaming, have all the empty bottles available in, say, 15 ml?
Brooklyn is a unisex fragrance from perfumer Laurent LeGuernec, and is pegged as a woody oriental. Overall, it's a much fresher scent than you might expect from that designation (the notes: grapefruit, cardamom, cypress wood, geranium, juniper berry, cedar, leather and guaiacwood). The opening is crisp, bright grapefruit, and a burst of cypress joins in shortly, along with a fair dash of spice. It's slightly green, and the juniper berry lends a sort of gin-cocktail vibe in the early stages. While the leather and guaiac wood are not as heavy or dark as they sometimes can be — Brooklyn feels very much like a spring/summer fragrance to me — it does, as advertised, "tilt towards the masculine", more so the longer it's on skin; still, a woman could easily wear it.
It's an easy-going, casual scent, not so daring as say, Andy Warhol Silver Factory (still my favorite of the line so far), and perhaps not the artsy sort of thing I expected they'd do for Brooklyn, but pleasant and nicely done. I predict it will do very well.
Bond no. 9 Brooklyn will be available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum; for buying information, see the listing for Bond no. 9 under Perfume Houses.
Zizan is the latest from Ormonde Jayne. It's being marketed as a men's fragrance, but is arguably slightly less masculine than Brooklyn, so take your cues accordingly.
As it went with Brooklyn, Zizan is not the most daring scent in the Ormonde Jayne line, nor even the most daring offering for men (that honor would go to the lovely Ormonde Man). It's something of a modern vetiver scent (the notes: lime, lemon, bergamot, clary sage, pink pepper, juniper berry, bay, violet, jasmine, vetiver, cedar, musk and amber), with lots of sparkling, peppery citrus in the opening. The early stages are more juicy than crisp, and the citrus lingers long into the dry down. The juniper here doesn't really call to mind a cocktail, but like Brooklyn, Zizan has a fresh, summer-y feel. The vetiver is noticeable without being deep or even especially earthy; the longer Zizan is on skin, the more it wears like a variation on Ormonde Jayne's Isfarkand.
Zizan is an enjoyable fragrance, very wearable, nicely done — but not, perhaps, as unusual as I'd hoped given that Isfarkand seemed to me to already fill that slot in the Ormonde Jayne line. Personally I prefer Isfarkand by a hair, but that is a matter of personal taste.
Ormonde Jayne Zizan is available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum; for buying information, see the listing for Ormonde Jayne under Perfume Houses.
The Brooklyn I grew up in was covered in graffiti, so I have no objection whatsoever. And the scent is wonderful, too. I agree – the bottles are definitely part of the fun. I can't wait to get this one.
I do like that Brooklyn bottle! The fragrance doesn't sound like my thing, but I'm intrigued and I'll probably have to try it now. I haven't found any Bonds I really love except Chinatown and because of the cost I only have it in sample sizes. I agree that it would be great if they were available in 15 ml bottles … and love your idea about choosing your favorite bottle!
I suppose some people felt it was emphasizing the negative — all depends on your outlook, I suppose. I think it's great fun.
Did you try Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue? I think that's the one that's come closest to pleasing the Chinatown fans. But then again, given the cost, perhaps you're best off with only 1 lemming from Bond.
You know, I'm not totally sure, but I don't think I've tried that one. I know I tried Union Square and Silver Factory. I'll have to check it out. But yes, they're so darned expensive, I'm almost afraid to love another one!
I want that Brooklyn bottle madly.
I wonder what Bond no. 9 will offer next: A Staten Island fragrance with a picture of the (now-closed) landfill? An Eau de Bronx with bullet holes (painted, obviously) on the bottle? Because, you know, lame stereotypes are so fun and ironic and cool!
I'll take my business elsewhere from now on. Would anyone like my bottle of Chinatown?
I'm looking forward to a sample of Brooklyn I won to arrive, but I'm not expecting anything super special. That green-citrusy-woody thing isn't all that exciting to me anymore — I realized that this weekend when testing Azzaro Homme & Creed Bois du Portugal (not that I expect Brooklyn to be anything like those two). All depends on how it's conceived, I guess. It may knock my socks off. Ormonde Jayne just makes me remember that I already have about a zillion very nice vetivers to choose from; I know that's cynical, but it's all I can come up with at the moment. 😉
As for the so-called bottle controversy: Oh, good grief. I thought grafitti were considered a valid art form nowadays, not a scourge or mark of shame. Cue high drama.
I've only smelled a couple of the Bond no9 fragrances. Nice but I'm not throwing a party or anything. I rather imagine that this will be another interesting Bond fragrance but in end both Joe805 and I will both still have our socks on.
As for the bottles—they're cute but I have this same little itching sensation in the back of my brain that I get when clothing, purse, shoes etc. (read: marketers) are trying to manipulate my buying. Cute bottles are just fine, I like a cute bottle as much as the next person….but I feel like Bond is trying to make it about “must have collectible bottles” .
Hey, I think “Fresh Kills” would be a great name for a perfume!
maybe….but then they'd want to do a flanker for the rural folk called “Road Kills” …..and no, you don't want to hear about the top, mid or base notes!
A good dose of civet and musk in the base, I've no doubt.
if by “civet” you mean: opossum and by “musk” you mean: raccoon….you may be correct!
It's not a dupe of Chinatown, but it has some of the same elements. Might be interesting to try, and then hopefully you'll hate it 🙂
Me too! But also want the AW Silver Factory & Lexington Ave. And wouldn't mind having a few others, for that matter — Eau de New York, for instance.
Elizabeth, you find the bottle so offensive you're going to boycott the brand?
I really like cypress, and this has lots of it — I find it enjoyable. Not sure I'd say it knocks my socks off, but very little knocks my socks off these days. I sort of thought they'd do something more artsy, as I said, but seems churlish to complain given that it's better than 90% of the recent mainstream men's launches (and so is the OJ).
Yes, but I can live with that…beats putting out one boring bottle after another, doesn't? I mean, they're ALL trying to manipulate the buyer — I'd just as soon end up with a cute bottle as not.
Okay, okay…always you with the rational argument just when I was building up a nice froth!
If they'd cut their price in half I happily allow them to manipulate me and even give a chipper “thank you!” 🙂
Where does the skunk note come in?
oh, they're saving that for the NEXT flanker: “Road Kills Noir”
Yes, hopefully! Although, price and all, it's always so exciting to put another lemming on the list … Actually, I used to really like So New York, but only had a bon bon of it, and then, sadly, it turned on me, became kind of shrill and overly sweet. So there's a full bottle I'll never have to buy. 😉
Can't wait!
the brooklyn i grew up in Red hook also was covered with graffiti, and bood stains. The only art back then was making it home in one piece. I also rememeber the co mingling ofa dozen ethnic dinners at around 6 pm. and the smell of the salty dirty water. That Brooklyn was infiinitely more interesting had tried to capture it.
clearly we are a couple of country gals 🙂
Hey R! I have been out of my perfume loop (big stuff going on- and all for the best…) But you like the Brooklyn? How much more do you like the silver factory on a perfume scale of 1- 10?
I think that orange OJ packaging is wonderful and decadent- even if this is not the scent that catches my fancy- do they all come wrapped up like so?
I am so bad at number systems…that would burst my brain! I'd buy AWSF if I wasn't on a budget — I think it's a great scent but the price is too steep for me. Brooklyn really wouldn't tempt me…it's not unusual enough, although I'd wear it if a bottle dropped from the skies. It's nice and I might give it as a gift to someone who wasn't after “unusual”, which, after all, most people aren't.
The outer packaging on the OJ scents is great — very pretty, yes, all done like that w/ black tissue paper inside.
LOL — yes, I'd buy quite a few of the Bonds if they were half the price. As it is, I don't yet own a full bottle of any of them.
I took my decant to a perfume party locally. Is it wildly innovative? Nope. But it smells really, really good — I think all the ladies liked it and several mentioned possibly buying it for their mates — with the idea that they could, you know, borrow it 🙂 As I said before, it may be cliche, but it's a cliche I like. I was worried it would be too fresh (I don't know how they make “fresh” but it's often very sour on my skin) and this didn't do that at all. Pretty.
Yeah, that's a good summation. And agree, it isn't at all “FRESH” as in massive synthetic ozone note.
But wait — a perfume party??? Is that like a swap meet?
yes, I'm afraid when it comes to Bond, a 5ml decant is about it. Although I'm currently trying to decide which L'Artisan I want in a FB (tough to narrow down, but I must have one) and there's a CdG I'm gonna have to have too…..oops, just got a nasty cramp in my credit card…poor little dear will be in full traction by the end of next week!
Ahhhh meow mix, love it!
I don't see whats wrong with the graffiti….
Maybe to older people it has negative connotations to older people, but to people around my age its more considered to be edgy and artsy.
Maybe calling Brooklyn edgy and artsy is a stereotype but I don't see how its a *lame* stereotype
especially since people also complain about gentrification
I didn't mean to say “older people” twice btw
and I also think its funny that perfumes rely on stereotypes *all the time*, but the first time anyone finds it offensive is when a perfume called Brooklyn has a graffiti bottle.
make that le Meow Mix Extreme, don't forget: we're classy 🙂
thanks to you (and Ormonde Jayne), my husband was compelled to try Zizan (compelled by me). Hallelujah, a scent he actually LIKES. It has a gentle spiciness that is more atmospheric than a loud statement … perfect for him. I guess the next bottle purchase goes to him. Darn it. xoxo
I'm not sure OFFENSIVE is the word I'd use, but annoying for sure, esp. if you live in Brooklyn, as I do, and encounter this kind of reductionism all the time. I have always sort of rolled my eyes at the fact that almost all Bond no 9's “neighbordhoods” are in Manhattan. Brooklyn is NY's most populous borough, from end to end 12 miles long – compare with some other fragrances in the line: Great Jones is 100 yards from Bond St, which is 100 yards from Bleecker; Union Square is 2 blocks from Gramercy Park. You can start to see how it's a little silly that a line that's supposedly celebrating the neighborhoods of NY has slapped a single label on a 70-square-mile, vastly diverse borough, and reduced the whole concept to “graffiti”.
And Staten Island and the Bronx and Queens DO deserve their own fragrances – certainly before another landmark of upper class lifestyle.
Again, I'm not outraged because you know, it's a perfume company, but what this does say to me is that the NY reflected in the Bond no. 9 collection is basically Rich People's New York. Not something to get out your picket signs for, but certainly an unappealing aesthetic, at least to me.
Don't think they've done any of the “neigborhoods” in a realistic mode, and perhaps sales-wise that is best 🙂
Well, I'm quite sure this isn't the first time it's happened…we see similar complaints here quite frequently!
I perhaps don't take it as seriously since I'm not a NYer, but would agree with “Rich People's New York”, certainly. But then, they're a niche perfume house, in the business of selling perfume to people who can afford to spend nearly $200 on a bottle of perfume. It doesn't seem all that different to me than YSL giving us romanticized versions of “Paris” and “Rive Gauche”.
Gosh — is this his FIRST?
Haha, true – with those price tags I guess there's not much doubt about the intended audience. I hope I don't seem to be taking it terribly seriously! They're certainly free to do what they want – it's not as though they're funded by tax dollars.
Well, and I hope I didn't seem to flippant about your concerns…I just think you can't take the world of perfume too seriously. Most perfume advertising is sexist (on both sides of the coin), and much of it is vaguely ridiculous. If you're looking for social justice of any kind, you need to look elsewhere, you know?
No, you never seem flippant – I see you as The Great Diffuser of Comments Tension, and am constantly marveling at your peacemaking powers. Social Justice EDP is yet another great Prix Eau Faux idea though. At $200 a pop, why *shouldn't* it right all earthly ills?
Road Kills Noir! ROTFL!
Soooooo my life. My husband likes to comment, “Well, it's a shame that one got away,” every time he sees a groundhog on the side of the road. He's a farmer and would prefer to only see groundhogs in their flattened state, as their holes are broken-cow-leg and busted-tractor-azle hazards.
aah, a man for my own heart! I grew up with horses, cows and any other furred or feathered thing my mother could drag home. With 200+ acres of pastures and hayfields I totally understand the hazzards of groundhogs…. I think they make darn fine speed bumps! You like the Les Parfums de la Countryside, heheh, like Les Parfums des Parfums de Rosine all based on rose…..I'll stop right there so Robin doesn't have to drop in and tell me I'm a bad influence, which of course I most likely am…
I”ve been seeing guaiacwood in notes a lot more recently. Is it the new sandalwood?
You couldn't do some consulting for my diehard soap-loyalist partner?
That was my complaint years ago with Chinatown. A lovely light floral? Uhhhh, that's not the Chinatown I remember. Granted the smell of chinese food and food markets wafting out of a bottle is probably not a good selling idea, but why not a nice spicy oriental. And while I'm at it, the Japanese Cheery Blossom bottle never fit either! A blood red bottle w/ gold cording design would have been perfect.
yes! Thank you! the red and gold would have been much better! I had wondered if I was the only one who looked at the bottle and saw a Japanese motif instead of Chinese —-not that the Chinese culture doesn't have a lot of cherry blossom things going on but that bottle evoked “japan” for me. oh and more spicy would have been better too.
It was! There were … 12 of us? And food and champagne? And people like Fishbone/Nancy and Louise brought *boxes* of stuff. We sniffed, swapped and bought. Funny how well it worked out.
Gosh, I'd call Chinatown a spicy oriental, although granted it isn't a heavy one.
What fun!!! Wish I knew even 2 local people I could do that with.
Aw, that's nice, thanks. Hey…start working on your ad copy! Although the PEF is looking to be really late this year.
I don't know…I hadn't even noticed that it was appearing more frequently! Will have to start keeping count.
don't get me wrong —I like Chinatown (not FB, just a decant) but on me it's more sweet than spicy. Everything gets sweeter on me than the notes would seem to indicate….must be my sweet personality, hmmm? (snicker)
That's interesting … the longer I wear Chinatown, the more it smells like a cedar chest on me … which I love! It's not very sweet on me at all. Skin chemistry is everything, I guess!
oh shoot! now I'm going to have to check—I've been trying so many samples lately…..usually 2 to 4 a day and I may be confusing chinatown with another—one wrist turned very sweet….and the other smelled just like a cedar chest!—back to the decants!! (tomorrow: since today I've got bois d'Iris on one arm and lipstick rose on the other…at least I shouldn't have too much trouble remembering which is which with these two!)
I got a little enthusiastic and ordered over 75 samples about a month ago….I want to try them all on at once!
LOL … I hear you. I go through sample-happy periods every so often where I'll have like three scents on each arm! 😉
yup…some days it's like I just can't stop! Right now I'm trying to figure out the “most economical” place to buy Frederic Malle fragrances….darn these niche perfumers! So hard to find at a decent price! and I want so many of them too! Egad, I think I need an intervention!
I have actually put a post-it note on my sample container that says “you have time!” to stop me from putting on more than one at once, because I was having this very problem and ended up confusing my nose and hating everything. Re: FM, *bay has a lot of the 10 ml bottles for sale – more expensive per ml but less overall financial devastation.
this is my favorite of all the bonds. fruity chypre… and the bottle with the shoes, the factice alone… Bond will be introducing five new graffiti bottles btw JUST FOR BROOKLYN .
thanks Regina….I”m looking around there now…I sure wish the perfume shoppe (in canada) carried FM —as it is she carries some of my favorites and with the canada/USA exchange rate it's like saving 20% right off the top. My view is that a dollar I save on bottle#1 is a dollar that goes toward bottle#2 (believe me there is always another bottle wanting to be bought by me!)
Anyhow, my worry about *bay is that I don't know how it's been stored—I guess that what everyone worries about—but really with perfume, one really bad review would be devastating. So I'm giving it a try. (crossing fingers)
the rest of their line doesn't interest me
If I hadn't decided I didn't want to go to art school, I would be in Brooklyn right now and next year I might be living in Queens.
So I may see this reductionism that no other place in the entire world experiences.
I agree with you Joe. Geeze, if Lois Vuitton can do it, why not Bond?
I would rather a perfumer using the same boring bottle for all scents with different labels and keep the costs down. For me, it is all about the perfume.
Doesn't the packaging remind you of Hermes?
I agree completely! Frankly, those plain, boring bottles fit more neatly in storage where space is at a premium. Plus I usually buy 100ml bottles and then decant into 10ml or 15ml atomizers for daily use. It may take me several years to use up a full bottle and they stay fresh in the dark and chill. My bottles are not on display ever.
However, from what I've read, it seems many of us do like to have some bottles on the dresser to look at …..wouldn't it be great if you could select when you make a purchase? pay a premium for the juice in the decorative bottle or a discounted price for the same juice in a plain container? I'd take the plain one every time.
Same here! I think that sounds like great fun! Not only would I love to have friends locally who are as rabid about perfume as I am to have “try-it/swap-it” parties with but I wish I had a couple perfume-rabid friends to purchase/share full bottles with!
It would be TOOOOO COOOL! sigh….
Okay, I have to say that I love the Bond line, and I grew up in Brooklyn. When I was growing up, the grafitti was everywhere, it covered the subways and anything else you can think of. So, speaking as someone from Brooklyn, who considers Brooklyn to be my home, who lived there during the graffiti years of the 70s and 80s, I'm not even remotely offended. I think the bottle is fun and colorful and cool. I can't comment on the actual scent, but I've written and asked for a sample and since I've dropped BANK there, I'm presuming it's on the way!
Hope you'll love your sample – and glad to hear from a Brooklynite that loves the bottle.
I bought Zizan for my boyfriend – who I have to say wears it regularly enough that he must quite like it! I'm a fan of most of Ormonde's sents and i was very impressed upon taking his shirts out of the washing basket that they smelt absolutely lovely. the dry down is top rate.
Glad it was a hit w/ your boyfriend, that's nice.
I tried Brooklyn a few days ago.
Whilst I thought it a pleasant enough fragrance I was shocked by how short it lasts!
3 hours and it was virtually gone.
Even Hamptons lasts longer than that I and I thought that was short lived.
Anyone else had a similar experience?
I didn't have that problem at all, sorry!
Nope, most last very well on me, especially Eau de NY.
If you are looking for a fragrance to introduce you before you enter a room, this is not the one for you.
This fragrance whispers to you: “You have arrived. No need to tell people who you are, they will remember” Brooklyn is an EdP which keeps repeating that mantra.
Just when I thought I could not longer hear the whispering, Brooklyn would say; “I am still here.”
The composition of this fragrance was design to be experience all at the same time. I normally look forward to how a fragrance takes you on journey with each stage of development (top, middle & base notes).
I thought I was headed on a journey of development for each stage of the notes, as you would expect from any EdP. This was a non-stop travel. There are no layovers on each fragrance note destination here. Brooklyn allows one to feel refresh and able to take on anything upon your arrival.
I didn’t find it as linear as you did, but it’s a relatively simple composition I guess.
This bottle is so beautiful! Too bad the scent is disgusting! It smells like burnt grass!
Oh dear, burnt grass! Although actually, burnt grass sounds kind of good to me. At any rate, I liked it much better than you did 🙂
I just got a bottle of Zizan based on your review. I do like it. Thank you. I also got the set of samples from Ormonde Jayne. I look forward to trying them and sharing them with my wife.
Thanks Robin. You are the best.
Clarke
Glad it worked out, and hope you like the rest of the sample set — do report back!