The Guest Nose: Bond No. 9 New York Amber

By Stefush

Okay, so Bond No. 9 has this new EDP called New York Amber. I know this because on a recent visit to NYC, I was at their shop during a ridiculous rainstorm that had me trying to huff strips while my clothing dripped all over the countertops.

New York Amber is not what I’d call an amber. It’s what I’d call a soup. Specifically, hot and sour soup from your favorite Chinese take-out place, complete with the added comfort whiff of the jasmine note standing in for the little plastic ladle they serve it with. Somehow this amber, with its predominant notes of oud, saffron and rose, comes out smelling exactly like the first course at the Szechuan Dragon.

Waiter, there's an oud in my soup!

Now, mind, I like this. It’s kinda cool to wear sprayable soup. Maybe I’m just remembering the “eat it or wear it” rule from my childhood. And my inner child has no problem with smelling like Szechuan take-out appetizers all damn day if he wants. And he will, because New York Amber has absolutely no intention of leaving the skin at all. Not even by the next morning, when, admittedly, no one wants to rock that sexy soup style.

The other odd thing about this new Bond is that it’s pretty linear -- that soupiness doesn’t really go anywhere, at least on me. There are some sandalwood and myrrh notes that arrive a little more on the drydown, but not by much. So I guess what you get at the end is the woody tang of the chopsticks you’ve been playing with while waiting for the broccoli beef platter to arrive...?

New York Amber is a fun spin on the usual gourmand trip: I don’t know many other fragrances that immediately bring soup to mind, but maybe that’s just an untapped marketing angle waiting to happen. (Tom Ford Tom Kah Gai, anyone?) But as a perfume, it’s a stretch. It doesn't seem like a scent that’s worth paying the near 300 dollars for a bottle -- it’s just not that complex. I’d say grab a sample like I did, enjoy the ride, then use that cash on a real meal so you can splurge on drinks and dessert.

New York Amber is available from Amazon.com and BondNo9.com starting at $264 for 1.7 oz

Looking for a fragrance recommendation? Visit Fume Finder: the Katie Puckrik Smells fragrance app.

Hot and sour soup via

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We've been experiencing those curious 80 degree January days here in Los Angeles, the kind accompanied by dry hot wind loaded with freeway dust and desert viruses, livid tomato sunsets and mutterings of “earthquake weather.” It's a sneak preview of summer before the winter rains start in earnest, and this is the meteorological setting in which I reflect upon some of my favorite sensory diversions of the last few months.

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