Bleecker Street

Youtube reviewers would have you believe this fragrance is a great option for spring and I fell for the hype. Dont get me wrong, I do love this fragrance, but the collective classification of this composition as a ‘green’ fragrance is misleading. There is a green backbone but I find it to be more gourmand than green. A green gourmand if there ever was a thing. Its more on the linear side but at the opening I get a nondescript fruity note that one could assume is a combination of the blueberry and jasmine. Its sweet in the opening but I can’t definitely say its similar to blueberry or jasmine but just a vague pleasant sweetness. As it develops, the sweetness remains but fall to the background and a synthetic but smooth violet leaf, oakmoss, suede, caramel and musk blend come forward with a slightly green backbone. Of this combination, the notes that are most prominent to my nose are the violet leaf, suede and caramel with the caramel and suede taking the lead mixing with a creamy musk. Because of the caramel musky suede mix I’d personally consider this more gourmand. To me, although this can be worn during the spring, I wouldn’t classify this as a dedicated spring fragrance. It’s a little too heavy for a warm spring day with the heavier suede caramel and musky notes. To me this is more of a late winter, early spring and fall fragrance. Times during the year where the weather is pleasant but not too warm. If you’re looking for a spring fragrance I’d look more to Chanel Platinum Egoiste, or Dior Eau Savage for example. I do love this fragrance but I think the reviewers on Youtube should stop misleading people. The hype around this fragrance being a quintessential green spring fragrance or ‘King of Spring’ is a long stretch. I highly recommend but just dont fall for the hype folks. Sample first to see how a fragrance will work for your lifestyle and the environment you live in.

"Alexandria Fragrances" was out of their "Emerald Street" and since I had been picking up "Tribeca" on Jomashop I figured I'd get this one as well. (testing on paper) Wow...now this is a fruity booming and loud fragrance! This is so very smooth, but loud and pleasant! I get a very strong woody-fruity feel from this fragrance. The "Violet Leaf" blends perfectly with the "Blueberry" and gives the most refreshing and uplifting fruity-fragrance experience. With this being as powerfully aromatic as it is, I get the feeling that this may not layer well with my creamy vanillas and that I'll have to layer it with a more aromatic and bold aromachem-vanilla instead. I'm perfectly fine with that because it gives me a reason to NOT use "Bianco Latte" for layering with everything...lol. This will be a hit in the Spring of 2024, I'm going to hold on to it until then...well, I'm going to try. I'll probably wind up wearing it before the spring, but if I do...I'll update this review. EDIT: (Impromptu skin test...lol) I didn't make it. Got home from the Death Star and immediately started playing with this fragrance. Got a little on my hands and then let the wife smell...SHE LOVED IT!! She actually threatened to steal it, so I know it's awesome! Put a spray on each inner elbow and WOWIE...this is N-O-I-C-E !!! This is majestic! More green and fruity than I could have desired, Woodier than "Dead Sexxy" but much MUCH rounder, Smooth as silk, Powerful as a bull and everything I dreamed it would be! Needless to say, I'll be wearing this to work tomorrow layered with "Sweetly Known". :D

I'm going to come right out and say it; This is a jacked up version of Ralph Lauren's Purple Label. That's WHY I'm getting it. I love Purple Label but the performance is pretty dismal. I tried a couple of decants of Bleecker Street just to be sure and yeah, I'm sure. The price is a bit stupid but that smell is just too good. This one of those frags that even though you know it's wrong you still gotta get it. *****will come back and update on arrival***** EDIT/UPDATE: Okay, I've had it for a few days now and have gone back and forth with the Ralph Lauren. Yes, they are slightly different when compared side to side but not enough to say they are significantly different. They smell like two different "strengths" of the same fragrance. The Bond frag is just stronger. That lavender and blueberry top is what keeps me coming back though and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. I'm an east coast kid (50 yrs ago maybe) and blueberries have always been something I love since my earliest childhood memories eating wild blueberries with my cousins until we got sick. No regrets though. I'll wear this anytime, day or night and it's just a fresh, clean and elegant scent that fits with anything from jeans to a suit. Fragrance - 9/10 Strength - 7.5/10 sillage - 7.5/10 Longevity - 8/10 Overall I recommend this but have to dock it a point for the price. A sturdy 8/10 minus the cost variable.

Finally getting around to writing up my collection, and figured I'd start with one that earns its spot every year — Bleecker Street. This one's a bit of an odd duck in the best way. It opens green and cool, that violet leaf really leading the charge, with a blueberry note that pokes through for the first 15-20 minutes before it politely bows out. After that it settles into a clean green-woody thing with a soft suede underneath that keeps it from feeling like a basic freshie. Yeah, it lives in the same neighborhood as Ralph Lauren Purple Label, but Bleecker has a little more body and better legs on the skin, so I reach for this one. For me it's a locked-in summer scent. It actually breathes when it's hot out instead of collapsing, stays crisp, and never tips into that sticky sweetness. That's exactly what I want when it's 90 degrees and everything else feels like too much. Performance is the sneaky type. It's not a room-filler, but it hums along close to the skin for hours and the people who do catch it always do a little double take trying to place it. Longevity's genuinely impressive for something this fresh and green. Only real knock is the price, which stings for a fragrance this breezy. But it's unique enough that nothing in my rotation really replaces it. Easy 9/10 and a permanent part of the warm-weather lineup.

This one makes me very happy. It embodies a certain innocence. Not a mawkish innocence, but rather one that makes me yearn for the best things of every season: The new greenery and flowers of spring. The boardwalks and kiddie pools of summer. Having some ice cream with a friend or lover during an autumn sunset. Window shopping for Christmas presents in the snow of the city. This fragrance envelops me with the best feelings that the best experiences of life have to offer. Bleecker Street is not dated in any sense of the word, but something about it makes me, a man of 27 years, want to take a walk or hop a trolley to the corner drugstore for an ice cream soda. It takes me to places I've never been. Places I never want to forget. I have sampled both RL Purple Label and Bleecker Street and while both are VERY similar, the latter holds something a bit extra. More oomph and more zeal. I detect mainly blueberry, cedar, and a little violet before I completely lose myself in its transportive nature. Sillage is very good. It radiates and lingers in the air wonderfully. Longevity is 8+ hours per application. This is a great scent for anyone, male or female, who understand the joys that the innocent simplicities of life can bring.