Bond No. 9 has made it their mission to scent all the neighborhoods in NYC. Their newest scent is inspired by the largest most populated neighborhood in the city: the global village. With the ability to email or instant message people it previously took days, even weeks, to reach we have become more connected. Now that people have the ability to Skype or Face Time, we can see where they are and what they are doing. Our furthest friend or family member is only a click away. Timed to coincide with the company’s tenth anniversary, BondNo9.com is simply named with the company’s URL (website address on the Internet) which is the only place you can order it from.

Even more than the streets of Midtown at noon, the Internet is constantly packed with digital travelers hurrying from one site to another, chatting in online forums or “following” one another and Bond wanted to capture the spark and energy of this fast paced “neighborhood”. This perfume comes in a bright chartreuse colored flacon emblazoned with a royal blue QR code. A QR code directs someone who scans it, with the reader application on their cell phone, to somewhere they can get more information on a product or company or be entertained with ads and media. That is what the strange symbol is one sometimes sees on products or in print ads. These are a way of reaching a passive audience and engaging them, much like the fragrance does. BondNo9.com even comes with a matching phone cover (Droid or iPhone, 4 or 5) in both bottle sizes, so you can remain stylish while your device is protected and safe while you’re surfing the net.

Bond has captured the essence of the fast paced activity with an opening of tart yellow bergamot, sweet pineapple and aromatic sharp green juniper. With bergamot keeping it bright and pineapple adding sweet deliciousness, this is fruity; yet the two yellow fruits balance each other elegantly. The addition of juniper is a delightful green and fragrant foil for the otherwise sticky mess that could have evolved. Many will find the opening similar to a fragrance rich in pineapple, released by CREED a few years ago; however, I find BondNo9.com to be far less leathery and not quite as smoky as that one. This one’s aroma is also much drier and more unisex. Many times pineapple notes will “sour” on my skin (usually when jasmine is also involved) but here it is just right and keeps it tangy refreshing aroma for quite a while. At this stage, it reminds me of a warm fruity tropical manscent, until…

The arrival of crisp notes of tartly sour green apple and sinfully ripe dark currants, both generally found in many fragrances’ top notes, manage to keep this fruity. I was expecting to smell floral notes in the heart (Fruity is usually followed by floral, is it not?) but all that greeted me was more crisp and juicy fruits tempered by warm wood. A subdued cedar, keeps tartness and sweetness in check, with its comfortable scent that reminds one of tall trunks and soft green needles. Without any flowers whatsoever, BondNo9.com manages to capture the high-pitched and mercurial nature of “the Web” and its visitors with the fruity accord and manages to keep it close to home and comfy with the woods and greens. As it begins to settle even more, it begins to have a soft smokiness to it, while remaining lively and entertaining.

Many will sniff this and say it is too ubiquitous. I, on the other hand, love the way it is a fruity AND green woody aromatic that dries to a moderate balance of chypre and oriental-without getting dated, heavy, generic or too earthy. By the time the ultimate scent lays on the skin, it has become a refined but down-to-earth scent that still manages to invigorate. Patchouli adds just enough darkness, while white musk keeps it intriguing in a clean and friendly way. Light soft mossiness is contrasted by dry resinous golden amber. The result is just enough of everything and not too much of anything. Though the note list sounds formulaic, Bond No9.com takes many things, much as the worldwide web does, and combines them, synthesizing something new from notes we have all smelled before only here the architecture has changed a bit. Modern and edgy, without being too weird, Bond No. 9 has shown that while there may be nothing new under the sun-there are still a few novel combinations of ideas out there.  

At this point in time, the world is our oyster. We can see just about anywhere we would like to journey, via Google Earth. We can have group video calls from people residing on three continents and even pay for our lattes with our online mobile devices. Technology is catching up with life…or is it the other way around? Bond No. 9 was thinking outside of the box on this one, and I find it so very cool that someone has finally released a perfume that celebrates the reason many of us even know each other, how many of us acquire our fragrances and how we reach so many wonderful readers, let alone how you reach back and share some of yourselves with us. “Virtual” may not be “real” but if the friends and colleagues I have made, in the worldwide perfume community, are any indication-“real” may just need redefined.

BondNo9.com has average sillage and slightly below average longevity.

Disclosure: Reviews based on bonbon samples sent to me by Bond No.9.

Thanks to Bond No. 9 we have two bonbons to giveaway of BondNo9.com to giveaway. To be eligible leave a comment naming your favorite Bond No. 9 fragrance or your favorite non-perfume website, because we know what your favorite perfume website is…right? This draw is US only and will end on Aug 3, 2013.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

–John Reasinger, Senior Editor