Andy Warhol Silver Factory

As I sit in a heaven of Silver Factory, I contemplate my initial dislike for this scent. Dislike being a weak word - I couldn't imagine why someone would want to smell of stinky smoke. Pricey, stinky smoke, at that. I moved on and kept sniffing, though a lingering smokiness persisted until I could smell some nearby coffee beans to clear my senses... I decided recently to play around with a bunch of scent samples, and I picked this amongst a plethora of others... Beyond an elementary description of smokey, I find it difficult to capture the true essence that defines this fragrance. Mixed with it is definitely a balmy, waxy, resinous quality. Remember church incense? The way the burning fire (burnt) mixed with the incense (sweet & resinous) to create something magical? I know, church incense is probably NOT high on your list of things you want to smell like, but remember, this is but one unique aspect of this stuff... Sillage and longevity are incredible. Having recently acquired a full bottle I have been able to play around with this. The results have been amazing. First and foremost, you get the incense, smokey, very fresh wood-chip quality that never really seems to go away. It does fade gracefully, but that odor is always detectable. Nicely done. There's something archaic about this. Perhaps it is the memories of long, long ago when I went to church in catholic grammar school, or perhaps something else. During the drydown of this scent, and it only takes about 10-15 minutes for me to smell, the cedar gradually pokes its head out and grows stronger with time. I do detect some jasmine and lavender behind all of that smokey incense. Even with the notes in front of me, I'm having a hard time picking out the other floral notes. I find this scent enticing, alluring, and captivating. If someone passed by me smelling of this, I'd have to wonder - or even stop them to ask - what in the world they're wearing. Because this scent is different, well-composed, and beautiful. And it's 100% unisex; I would have a difficult time deciding who this smelled best on. I love it. My only con to this is longevity. I get about an hour to an hour and a half of this beauty.

According to the description here on fragrantica, Andy Warhol asked to be buried with a bottle of this perfume so my expectations were high. I'm a fan of this house and I've been dying to try this, but prices for legitimate bottles are insane. So after many years I finally found a genuine bottle for a great price. This is a very elaborate fragrance with many notes that pop-up. First impression is that this reminds me a tiny bit of Warhol "The Face" which is masterpiece level fragrance. I'd swear I get that famous plum note here (but very faintly) even though it's not in the notes. This could be my imagination. Citrus is not as prominent as I thought it would be in the opening, as I can almost always pick up grapefruit. However, I'm fairly certain this also contains some tobacco and castoreum, maybe even some oud. It comes on strong as a resinous and almost boozy amber and tobacco. There's iris and lavender prominently running through the opening and mid, along with violet and possibly rose. Beyond that, it becomes more resinous and woody, before changing to the final act of mainly amber and incense. Amber on it's own I typically find boring, but the resins, incense, wood, and other notes keep their presence to keep the drydown interesting. Longevity is very strong as is projection. One of the most complex scents from the house of Bond No. 9. I feel like Warhol may have had some direct input into this one because it's very intricate. Scent 8/10 Performance 8.8/10

Until I smelled this at the counter at Saks, I assumed fragrances were basically variations of Acqua Di Gio and that bright, clean citruses were what fragrances smelled like. I'll never forget how the sweet, metallic iris and frankincense of Silver Factory hit me. I could instantly feel the parameters of my understanding begin to push outward. This became my gateway scent. I overwore it if we're being honest; so intoxicated by its opening that I would layer it on itself. People must have smelled me a mile away. After going through a 100ml bottle in just under 6 months, the novelty wore off, allowing the more subtle aspects the composition to come through with more disciplined and less frequent application. There is a distinct grapefruit note in the base I notice every time I wear it now. I love the way the citrus is employed as a basenote. Silver Factory is a winter fragrance. The colder the air, the sharper it cuts, and has a warming effect on the wearer. One of the shining achievements of Bond No. 9's heyday.

Hard to believe this doesn't have a tobacco note listed, because it's the stand out note to me, along with a delightful incense, some other resins and a citrus twist in the opening and some leather in the dry down (another note I don't see listed - maybe I'm losing it?). I find longevity isn't amazing with this, 4-5hrs and it doesn't throw that far, but the scent itself is delightful in my book. Not as sharp as many of the serious incense offerings and the citrus helps this fragrance lend itself somewhat to the warmer months as well, something I don't think many incense fragrances would claim. I'm not one for analogies, so I'm unsure what this has to do with Warhol, but it's a lovely scent if you're into tobacco and incense. Can't say I've found the pair playing together too often and I'm sure some will argue with me on the tobacco note, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Thumbs up.

My bottle is sadly not the Andy Warhol design, but the one that simply says "Silver" that came right after BN9 lost the license to the Warhol name for this line. The notes are the same, though, and it smells incredible. It opens with heavy frankincense that is fairly smooth (which is good, this note doesn't work well on me) but still somewhat animalic. It's got a bit of a barbershop spiciness in the opening as well but I feel that it offsets the frankincense in a really pleasant way. The drydown is pure ambery resiny goodness, and lasts for hours. This is not a safe blind buy, and as it leans slightly masculine it might not be for everyone, but it certainly smells divine. It's getting harder and harder to find but worth it if you come across a bottle for a good price!