Perfume Review: Fire Island by Bond No 9
Fire Island is the newest offering by Bond No 9, a perfume house that creates scents dedicated to New York neighborhoods. Quoting the marketing flyer, it features the notes of: “CARDAMOM gone wild, electrically charged OZONE, normally sparkling NEROLI in a languid frame of mind, WHITE MUSK, misbehaving as usual, SKIN MUSK – musk that really knows no limits, TUBEROSE that can’t get enough of the musk… so it steams up and stays steamed up, PATCHOULI in its own prancing little sexy, non-stop pout.”
Upon first sniff, it’s a burst of musk, neroli, and ozone. The ozone is definitely “electrically charged” – the kind that makes your throat tickle. It’s like a burst of fresh air by the ocean water, except there’s also lots and lots of musk (misbehaving indeed!) to the point where it gets almost unbearably soapy. The whole mix gets softened by cardamom but it’s not very prominent. When the ozone finally subsides (after good 20 minutes or so), tuberose kicks in, making the scent take a 180 degree turn. The effect isn’t so fresh and marine any more. The scent is said to resemble the smell of “premium Euro-sunscreen”. I’m not sure exactly what Euro sunscreen smells like (when I lived at home, I didn’t used to believe in sunscreen) or how it’s any different from the typical American brands but I clearly smell it but only in very top notes. The drydown is more musky floral. The tuberose isn’t creamy or buttery. Patchouli is said to be one of the base notes but I somehow can’t find it. Overall, it’s a nice musky skin scent which does indeed fulfil its promise to “approximate smell of skin in the sun” and bring out “the sensual stirrings of a body in heat”.
The official release date for Fire Island was July 1, so it can be purchased at Saks Fifth Avenue, Beautycafe, Beauty & Scents.
16 comments July 2nd, 2006