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Saturday, June 24, 2006

Fire Island - Bond No. 9 - Review


Notes:
Top: Cardamon, Ozone
Mid: Neroli, White Musk
Base: Skin Musk, Tuberose, Patchouli

Launch Date: July 1, 2006

Bond No. 9 Press release description:

Fire Island: Bottling the Scent of Bronzing
"Imagine freshly bathed skin, doused with a coating of premium Euro-sunscreen then warmed up by a midday siesta on the beach - and the sensual stirrings of a body in heat. That's the premise behind Fire Island the latest eau de parfum by Bond No.9, purveyor of New York-centric neighborhood scents.

Fire Island is an experimental scent - the beach equivalent of Proust's madeleine dunked in tea. In this case, the memories conjured up are the sights, the touch, the smell of soaking up the sun the old fashioned way - lying naked, or close to it, on the beach. We know, we know: those UV rays aren't safe. So we thought, why not approximate the smell of skin in the sun, and recapture the bronzing sensation within the safety of a scent? To make Fire Island authentic, we took a risk and summoned forth the distinctive spicy-sweet aroma of the most sought-after of vintage Euro-bronzing oils - whose iconic smell has wafted all across the Mediterranean, summer after summer, for decades, defining the body on display, with its daydream hints of sex on the beach. Even when savored at a respectable distance, Fire Island is a reminder of skin sniffed close up.

The sent's barrier-island namesake, 90 minutes from Manhattan by train or ferry, is the hideaway where New Yorkers come in droves to let their hair down and uncover their skin. Fire Island may be made of sand dunes, but it's got distinctive New York-esque neighborhoods (Kismet ... Saltaire ... Atlantique), a heavy-duty night life, shopping (natch), and a history, in the 1920's, as a Bohemian retreat. In other words it's home not too far away from home. So it's a legitimate part of our scent repertory." (Image and description used with permission of Bond No.9)

So what does it smell like? Well it's a warm, sexy, soapy, skin scent. And not at all what I was expecting. I guess what is expected after reading the above is a suntan lotion type of scent, but that is not present here. No Coppertone, Banana Boat or Hawaiian Tropic. Since I don't think I have ever never smelled "premium Euro-sunscreen", I can't say if they have indeed captured the essence or not. But if that sunscreen is a light a spicy, sweet floral then they very well may have. I guess they may be referring to Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee, and ok maybe there is a hint of that.

Fear not the Ozone note here, it is light and merely hints of the beach. I don't think you would categorize this as a beach scent as much as you would a skin scent. The Neroli combined with musk are the big players. And although the tuberose is a base note, to my nose, it makes a brief appearance at the top, then quickly melts away. The drydown is a light patchouli musk. Overall it stays closer to the skin than most Bonds. Reminding you of your daydreams of escaping to the beach, but projecting to others a clean skin scent.

If you like white musk and sexy, clean skin notes, you will love this one. I love it, and think it is the most distinctive, different from the rest of the collection.

Available in 50ml for 110.00 and 100ml for 178.00

9 comments:

Marina said...

Soapy, clean skin? :-( Not what I expected from the description. Thanky uo very much for the review, now there is no danger that I'd purchase thsi unsniffed.

Victoria said...

Hi Colombina, yes I would advise sniffing before you buy, it is different than the perception. However, I'm sure it will be a very plesant surprise to many.

Anonymous said...

How does it compare to Thierry Mugler Cologne?

Victoria said...

Hi CV, I barely remember Thierry Mugler Cologne, but doesn't it have a light citrus opening? No citrus here, and much more soapy - at least to my nose. Less cool, more warm. The neroli smells very soapy, even though I can tell it's neroli, if that makes sense. Maybe it will seem more neroli and less soapy to others. We'll see.
:O)

Anonymous said...

Victoria,
You make it sound great. I was almost hoping to not like this one (buying too many things lately) but it seems to be just what I am looking for in a summer scent.

Victoria said...

Well it should be at Saks on Saturday! Let me know what you think!
:O)

Victoria said...

I don't know The Baron.

I just had a friend say she thought it was beachy. I really get more soap than beach. But maybe that is just me. It is obviously supposed to be beachy.
:O)

Anonymous said...

I've fallen in love with Fire Island! I got a sample from Luscious Cargo and after trying it, I immediately went back and ordered a small bottle from them. Then, I saw that ebay had a great buy on the large bottle, so I got that one too! I do think it smells like an expensive French suntan oil...it's definitely not Bobbi Brown's Beach which smells more like Coppertone to me. Do you think this is a year round scent or one to save for summer?
This is my 1st Bond scent but I do have samples here of Scent of Peace, which I like, Little Italy, which I haven't tried yet and Chinatown, which I also love. Decisions, decisions, which one of these to buy a full bottle of next?

Victoria said...

Hi Nancy, I do like this one, but I didn't find I had to own it. I do however own Scent of Peace, Little Italy & New York Fling. I also have a nice decant of Chinatown, so it sounds like we have similar tastes! The bottle for Scent of Peace is so gorgeous!