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If you care about scent (and why else
would you be reading this?), you’ve
probably noticed the recent trend in oud.
Oud? Literally, oud is the Arabic word
for "wood," but that definition alone
doesn’t begin to explain the
centuries-old fascination with this
potent resin that forms in the heartwood
of the agarwood, a conifer indigenous to
southeast Asia. So important and
powerful is oud to the nose, mind, and
soul that it is referenced in one of the
world’s oldest written texts, the
Sanskrit Vedas.
Introduced on Valentine’s Day, 2011,
Bond No. 9 New York Oud proved that
Cupid comes in a bottle. Or so it was in
this house. Maybe it’s the potency of
New York Oud: a 30% concentration
(instead of the 20% industry average)
that insures sillage long through the
day and night, and into the pillows,
satin sheets, and tousled hair. As soon
as he came in the door, as soon as we
hugged, he said, "Umm. Yum. You smell
good." Now, really, how often does that
happen?
The House of Bond has experience with
ouds. Their first oud, Harrods Swarovski
Limited Edition, was introduced in 2008
(and proved to be the London emporium’s
best-selling fragrance) - and then, for
their tenth anniversary last year, the
house released Bond No. 9 Oud. With each
re-interpretation of oud, Bond No. 9 has
retained elements that evoke both the
East and the West: the spice, the
incense, the musk, the wood.
Bond No. 9 New York Oud opens with a
beautifully balanced burst of red plum,
honey-like saffron, and citrus. Almost
immediately, you feel saturated and
slightly woozy, as if you’ve sipped from
a deeply complex Bordeaux. At the same
time, there’s the sense of something
warm slipped around your shoulders - a
velvet mantle, perhaps, of deep crimson
- as the fruity top notes meld into a
mid-note bouquet of red roses and orris,
with a touch of patchouli.
At this point, you’re about to sink to
your knees. The creamy combination of
patchouli and orris is arrestingly
hypnotic, and particularly as it segues
into a sensual dry-down of earthy musk,
syrupy honey, and resinous vetiver.
You’re supine at this point: as sated as
Dorothy in the poppy field - and deep
under the spell of Bond No. 9 New York
Oud.
This is a highly androgynous fragrance,
a mixture of downtown girls and Moroccan
boys with Arabian nights and those who
love all three.
As for the signature Bond No. 9 bottle,
it’s done in a smoky, gunmetal gray with
flecks of gold: a brilliant amalgam of
New York twilight and the souk at dusk
as smoky incense rises into that sky
that bonds us all. Sink into the embrace
of New York Oud - and you won’t soon let
go.
PRICE: $310 / 100 ml
LINK:
Bond
no. 9 : New York Oud |
