I am a born and raised Brooklynite. I’m one of the many that screams out in the party when the DJ asks, “Is Brooklyn in the house.” Every time someone mentions they’re looking for an apartment, I recommend Bk. Why, because its a borough rich with history, culture, food, multitudes of people, etc., etc. The borough has made me who I am and I’m so proud of that. So when I heard Bond No. 9 was launching a fragrance called Brooklyn, I couldn’t have been happier.
I recently received my press kit with all of its literature and my sample, but I had to sit with this and really let it do its thing. I respect Bond and love many of their scents but if you’re going to rep for Brooklyn, I really wanted to see what they were going to come with.
Let me start by saying I am not a fan of the bottle’s grafiti design. Brooklyn is gritty, for sure, and that sort of expression is part of the boroughs history; but there’s so much more beauty that represents its character. What would be cool is if they commissioned some Brooklyn-based artists to design some limited edition bottles with proceeds going to local charities.
At first, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the scent because of its very distinct nature. However, as I sat with it, it grew on me and I realized how much I appreciated its composition. Its very earthy and up front, I really pick up sweetness with grassy and leafy notes. That can be attributed to the Juniper Berries, Guaiacwood and Geranium Leaves. But the body of the scent is nicely rounded out with woods, namely Cypress Wood and Cedarwood.
What comes to mind for me as the scent nestles in are mossy wet woods and the sound of rustling leaves that saturate the air of Prospect Park. The earthiness and strength of this scent makes me wish I had a yard to rake. I find the scent to be extremely masculine but not in a traditional, bravado kind of way. There is virility here in a classic sense, i.e. men work with their hands. But it also possesses a softness to take off the edge. I can really see how a woman could really take to this on a man because it has a natural feeling about it without being overly perfumed.
Brooklyn by Bond No 9 will be in stores in March.
fragrantmoments.net 
B-
You’ve made me want to smell this fragrance!
The graffiti bottle is more reminiscent of late 70’s Bronx, than of the Brooklyn I know, but I understand what they were trying to express with the packaging… a gritty interpretation of something beautiful – I suppose.
Superb review…let’s see what my nose tells me! 🙂
Dexter
I would have hoped that a company from NY, who uses the NYC token as their logo (excellently, I might ad), would have taken the time to have created a better representation of the borough, instead of reducing it to a graffiti riddled pejorative. Still, after reading the description of the fragrance, I am extremely interested to experience it! And despite my reservations about the bottle design, I am very proud to be from a place that Bond No.9 felt inspired to create into fragrance. Looking forward to its’ release.
Brooklyn.
Leave it to Bond to raise the bar, create something fresh and new and get us talking… Brooklyn’s been on the map of course, but for a leading perfumer to pay homage on a global scale is what’s up. B — is fragrance uni?
Making change,
T
Tiffani, since men and women’s body work differently with scents, I think it can be. However, it definitely leans more on the masculine side to me. A woman would have to ignore her initial reaction and judge it on the dry down. Give it a test and let me know what you think.
B – your description MAKES me put this on my ‘need to check this out’ list. Thanks for the heads up. I actually like the bottle too. The photo got my attention right away.
Cheers.
Wow! This sounds like something I would like, especially the Cypress Wood and Cedarwood. Your description of this fragrance is wonderful. I’ll have to try it.
I think the design is great the way it is and I’m very interested in finding out what it smells like. The scents listed are some of my favorite!