Chinatown

Some years ago now, I had a moment of random inspiration, and I decided that I was going to start seriously exploring perfume. I had always enjoyed wearing it, and I always had a little rotation of three or four different scents that I picked out mostly on impulse, usually because I read a magazine piece about something that sounded interesting; or, back in the good old days, I tried something random at a department store counter and found something I immediately loved. Considering the randomness of buying perfume before the internet, I had a pretty good batting average; I found treasures like Bulgari Black, Fracas, YSL Paris, Annick Goutal’s Eau d’Hadrien, and the original Parfum d’Hermes just because they were there and easy to find. But then, when I was running out of a treasured bottle of Creed Tubereuse, I realized it was time for something new. I went out looking in the usual places, and it seemed like the variety and quality of perfumes that I used to find on retail shelves wasn’t there anymore. I needed help. So, being the bookworm I am, I went to Amazon and found something to read . The book with the best user reviews had rather pedestrian title of Perfumes A-Z. So I bought it (the Kindle edition because I love instant gratification), hoping for a little guidance and inspiration. That book changed my life and ruined my bank account, and possibly contributed to the demise of my already shaky marriage. I became obsessed. Before I really dug into the book, I bought—on a whim, unsniffed—a bottle of Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue, which wasn’t in the book, but even a cursory skim showed that the book’s the authors had a thing for iris, and Prada’s Absolue convinced me that I did, too. Since the book’s authors were right about iris, and even though they dissed my beloved Creed (which I replaced anyway and still love today), I ignored all sensible advice and started buying some of their other recommendations, flying totally blind. Parfum d’Empire’s Ambre Russe blew my mind. Mugler Alien did, too. Clearly something had been happening out there in the world of perfume, and I wanted in. Along with Ambre Russe, the book’s rave review of Chinatown led me down the garden path to the world of niche fragrance. So Chinatown was my second niche purchase, also bought blind, and it did not disappoint. It was another complete revelation. I had always assumed that patchouli was for stinky Deadheads, so finding it in the context of a glorious white floral in a gorgeously ornamented bottle (no, I didn’t get the Swarovski crystal edition; I could barely afford the preowned tester I got from eBay) blew my mind. II didn’t know a pink chypre from a hole in the ground, but I knew I had found my new favorite perfume. I’ve always had a passion for tuberose, and Chinatown fit right in with many of my old favorites from the 80s—Poison, Loulou, and my grandmother’s vintage Jungle Gardenia and White Shoulders had all been special loves—so it fell right in with my growing collection of what all the internet perfume reviewers called Big White Florals. But Chinatown had a lot more going on than just its fantastic, neon-caliber tuberose. It was teamed up with a stunning, brilliant peach that added a juicy dimension to its florals, and that irresistible combination was accented with a sweet incense that reminded me of Loulou—and then there was the spicy zing of that formerly fearsome patchouli, which I learned had actually been an element in some of my favorite perfumes all along. It was exhilarating to learn new things about perfumes that I already knew and loved, and even more exciting to find whole new worlds opening up as I started piling up samples, decants, and bottles with all the zeal of the newly converted. But in those early days of new love, Chinatown became my spirit animal, and the yardstick by which I measured most of my new purchases. On the basis of that one single buy, I decided that Bond No. 9 was going to be the first perfume house I would explore top to bottom, but the timing could not have been worse: Nordstrom was in the process of dropping the entire line, so their selection was severely limited, and nothing else I I could find from the house was even remotely as interesting as Chinatown. Also, Bond’s prices—even for their adorably wrapped samples—made risking any more blind buys from the house prohibitive. Besides, there were literally hundreds of other perfumes begging for my attention and my money. Nordstrom’s decision, frustrating as it was then, turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it forced me to give up that particular fixation and move on to different perfumes and other houses. And time, experience, and lots of testing have convinced me that Chinatown is still the best perfume in Bond No. 9’s gigantic and extravagantly priced lineup. Smelling it now, with the benefit of experience, I realize what a lucky purchase that was. Some of the perfumes I bought in those early days haven’t held up, but Chinatown has. When I bought my bottle, word on the perfume boards was that it had been reformulated, and it was allegedly a shadow of its former self. (I suspect that this might have been, in part, because fresh bottles, especially freshly shipped bottles, never smell right, and people are quick to assume reformulated without giving their bottles a chance to settle down ). I don’t know when the juice in my bottle was made, or if it was reformulated or not (especially since Bond’s batch codes are notoriously opaque), but my Chinatown smells fantastic. The florals and fruit have integrated beautifully with the patchouli, which smells spicier than it used to, and to my nose it seems more like a true chypre—now that I know what that’s supposed to smell like—than it first did, with its layers of tuberose, rich peach, and incense all distinct yet beautifully bound together into a delightful, playful, but exotic blend on a classic base of gorgeously aromatic patch. It’s still dazzling, and I find something new to love every time I wear it. With spring here, I’m putting it into the small group of perfumes I keep out for seasonal rotation, and it still commands the same attention, enthusiasm, and affection I had in my early days of perfume obsession, and smelling it brings back the passion and excitement of new discovery from those early days of a hobby that I now know will be with me for the rest of my life. I’m eternally grateful to Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez for setting me on this road, and I hope that reading this review will remind old hands of their own early discoveries and also encourage newbies to take chances and keep exploring. And for goodness’ sake, get your hands on a sample of Chinatown if you’ve never smelled it, because it’s one of the greats. I think it’s gorgeous on anyone of any gender—its spicy profile works a treat on masculine skin, especially for evening wear. It easily merits five stars out of five, for being still unique, absolutely beautiful, perfectly composed, performing like an athlete at the top of their game (I’m serious; it’s strong as heck and it lasts forever), and for being so much darn fun. It’s a serious perfume in all but attitude, and a perfect antidote to dark moods, depressing news, and pretty much anything else discouraging that the world can throw at you.

Bond No 9 Chinatown EDP opens with a moderate projection of sweet, and floral notes. The opening is aromatic, delicate, feminine, and very pleasant. The floral is by far the most prominent note in this fragrance and each seems to contribute with something; the peach blossom brings a mix of white floral and peach accords, aromatic and delectable; the tuberose and gardenia add an intense white floral, dense, honey-sweet with green touches; the orange blossom is two steps behind and its notes are not as intense as the first two. As the fragrance commences to dry-down, the guaiac wood, cardamon and vanilla start developing boosting the fragrance from a moderate to a strong projection, the fragrance seems to catch new energies. The sandalwood and the vanilla create a noticeable, dry, aromatic, projecting, and very sweet accord; the cardamom also creates a noticeable projecting accord without overpowering the floral notes. The fragrance has some interesting opening to dry-down changes, the opening brings mostly peach blossom notes, but it isn’t long before the rest of the notes start developing and projecting, also and towards the dry-down, the fragrance develops a soft powdery but very projecting accord. Once Bond No 9 Chinatown EDP has reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a strong projection, very sweet (vanilla, sandalwood), floral (tuberose, gardenia), and spicy (cardamom) fragrance with woody, and faint green accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, bold, casual, comforting, commanding, creamy, delectable, delicate, delicious, dense, dry, elegant, energizing, exotic, expensive, feminine, floral, formal, fresh, high-quality, imposing, intense, invasive, inviting, long-lasting, mature, modern, natural, nicely-blended, playful, slightly powdery, refined, rich, romantic, spicy, very sweet, syrupy, versatile, woody, and very pleasant. BATCH REVIEWED: 2020. WOW RATING: 10/10. An impressive and well-blended fragrance. DISLIKE RATING: 3/10. It is very sweet, and the floral notes are very prominent. UNIQUENESS: 9/10. The resulting scent is unique. MASS APPEAL: 8/10. This is a fragrance that most people will enjoy, particularly mature wearers. PROJECTION: 5/10. Very good, about 5 feet around the wearer. SILLAGE: 10/10. Outstanding, 10+ feet behind the wearer. APPLICATION: 4 atomizations. LONGEVITY: 10/10. Outstanding, about 10 hours with a very good projection for about 4 hours. SEASONS: Winter, spring, fall, colder days, and climate-controlled environments. OCCASIONS: Formal events, outdoor gatherings, gym, office, casual, holidays, vacations, romantic, dating, clubbing. This is an office-friendly fragrance. VERSATILITY: 7/10. A versatile fragrance ideal for any occasion, and any season except summer. GENDER: Advertised as unisex, the floral notes are very prominent, they lean the fragrance to the feminine side. AGES: 30 and above. The dense floral notes make it ideal for mature wearers. RECOMMENDATION: Bond No 9 Chinatown EDP can be purchased for about $120, its performance is outstanding, a unique scent, perfect for those that appreciate sweet and heavy white floral fragrances. This is a great buy. BLIND-BUY: No, sample it first. SIMILAR: These are examples of fragrances in the same genre. AllSaints Sunset Riot is a very sweet, amber, orange blossom, and pink pepper fragrance; Amouage Reflection Man's EDP contains white flora, woody, and powdery accords, and it is very good; Bond No 9 Greenwich Village EDP is a fantastic, very sweet gourmand vanilla, praline, musk, ambroxan, white floral peony, water lily, jasmine, and litchi fragrance; Bond No 9 Hamptons, is floral, citrusy, powdery, musky, and woody fragrance; Bond No 9 West Side EDP is a great and projecting, very sweet vanilla, sandalwood, amber, ylang-ylang, rose, and peony fragrance; Cartier Declaration D'Un Soir is a spicy, soft floral, and sandalwood fragrance; Chanel Les Exclusifs Boy is spicy, floral, powdery, and citrusy, but also leaned feminine; Chanel Les Exclusifs De Chanel Jersey is an aromatic, floral, and musky fragrance, leaned to the feminine side; Creed Jardin D’Amalfi features mandarin orange, apple, spices, and woods, a great nice fragrance although very pricy; Guerlain Musc Noble is powdery saffron and musky fragrance with soft woody accords; Mancera Gold Prestigium Unisex EDP is a high-quality fragrance that contains leather, rose, and vanilla notes; Montale Orange Flowers is a white floral, citrusy and white musk fragrance; Moschino Toy Boy is a unique, sweet, ambery, magnolia, woody, and floral fragrance; Grand Parfums Chinatown is an excellent clone with outstanding performance; Bond No 9 Chinatown EDP is outstanding, it features very sweet vanilla, sandalwood, floral, tuberose, gardenia, and spicy cardamom. SUMMARY: A strong projection, very sweet (vanilla, sandalwood), floral (tuberose, gardenia), and spicy (cardamom) fragrance with woody, and faint green accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, bold, casual, comforting, commanding, creamy, delectable, delicate, delicious, dense, dry, elegant, energizing, exotic, expensive, feminine, floral, formal, fresh, high-quality, imposing, intense, invasive, inviting, long-lasting, mature, modern, natural, nicely-blended, playful, slightly powdery, refined, rich, romantic, spicy, very sweet, syrupy, versatile, woody, and very pleasant.

I sprayed this morning. A few sprays on the usual points, a spray on my hair, and a spray on clothes. All in all possibly 4 total sprays. What's great about this is, the scent is so pleasant, that it's very hard to over-spray. I wanted to keep spraying as I loved this beautiful gourmand. The initial is a cacophony of spices (the cardamom), vanilla, coconut (I smell fresh coconut oil for whatever reason), tuberose, and some sandalwood. 5min- The spices remain strong, however, we get a bigger whiff of the vanilla now, and that beautiful incense like sandalwood. I usually dislike incense smells, however, the incense smell in this perfume is addictive. 1hr- The above smell continues and a hint of patchouli and possibly cedar 3hrs- Scent is still strong, the spices subside, and the vanilla, incense, and that coconut smell is stronger. 5hrs- The above vanilla, incense, coconut smell remains, however the incense is beginning to now subside. 8hrs- I can still smell the perfume quite well on my self- not in just whiffs. The coconut vanilla scent is very prominent. 10hrs- I feel like the vanilla has subsided now, and I'm left with a a coconut oil scent, which is fine and comforting. Had I not changed, I think the scent would have continued to 10 hours. I think this is a lovely smell. It's very inviting. The initial spicy, incense like notes in the initial few hours make this perfume quite sexy. Is it ethereal and beautiful? It's beautiful, but it doesn't make me daydream, possibly because it's so gourmand. However, I love it! Smell: 8.5 (I loved the incredible beginning (first 5-6 hours or so), but after a while, the coconut oil smell became kind of overwhelming) Sillage: 7- I don't think this is a sillage monster, however, I like that. People 2 or 3 feet from you can smell you, but I don't think you'll fill up a room. It's very inoffensive. I can't see why anyone would dislike the smell of this beautiful perfume. Longevity: 9.5- (8 hours solid until I changed clothes, even after I get whiffs of it from my hair at around 10 hours. See my update for new comment on the scent) I love it! 4/5/2019 Update: Two days ago I used a blanket and immediately smelled this fragrance. I realized I used the same blanket the day I wore this perfume, and sat in my sofa. This perfume is incredibly long lasting. Updating my longevity score.

I already mentioned my love for this fragrance based upon a generous decant from a Fragrantician. I now own 2 1.7 oz bottles - I purchased it on my own, completely forgetting that I had "suggested" it as a Valentine's gift from my husband. I am fine with that, as I do indeed love it. I am very perplexed by many reviews here, and I'm going to have to chalk it up to reformulation. Having never tried the original, my reformulated bottles smell incredibly beautiful to me. To me, that magic lies in the incense vibe and how it softens to make room for some florals but never disappears. The cardamom is very strong, and on my skin, that in combination with sandalwood are intensely present from the moment I spray it on. However, reading the reviews here of the "vintage" version has left me desperately wanting to get my hands on a decant! I love white florals, and yet I can't really detect any tuberose, let alone gardenia! It's clear to me that they must have muted the white florals, instead choosing to really amplify the woods and spices, perhaps to give it a more "Asian" vibe in connection with the name. Or maybe I'm so used to white florals that they no longer stand out in the way I'm used to! Vintage Poison is the perfect example of how difficult it is for me to pick out tuberose when many other notes are present. It's considered to be a big, honkin' tuberose, but I just can't find it in there as it competes with other note. And yet, I still love it. The point of all this is that I get no tuberose and want to sample the vintage to see what, if anything, I'm missing. In the meantime, I will continue wearing it as it is because I really do love it. EDIT 9/6/2021 I somehow accidentally ordered a big bottle - a tester - and I am almost positive that it's the original formulation. This one has a depth the other one doesn't seem to have. They absolutely smell almost identical but something about my tester makes it stand out more. I gifted my mom one of my other bottles and reach for this one almost exclusively. Though I don't find myself having to respray often, I keep the smaller bottle in my purse. No matter what, I still find this to be a most extraordinary fragrance!

I have frequented the Chinatowns of NYC, Chicago, LA, and San Francisco, and never once did I smell anything like this at any of them. Which, I guess, I should find peculiar. China is the world’s largest producer of peaches; they’ve been growing them for thousands of years. You better love peaches to love Bond No. 9’s Chinatown. This fruity floral chypre is bound and determined. Energetic, actually. The hustle, bustle, vibrancy, and drama that seems to infect every Chinatown I’ve been to is present here. Once the sweet, effervescent, juicy peaches in the opening dispense the tuberose and gardenia of the heart layer are loud and clear with their diva qualities. Fleshy, creamy, nutty, a touch musky animalic, a sharp edge here or there, a bit of silky orange blossom to keep the fruity lean - it’s big, it’s loud, and it’s going to pull you right in. It’s a ruse, though. This isn’t a chypre. What is it? Damned if I know. I want to call it gourmand. The sweetness, the fruit, and the creamy and vanillic florals all give way to a white chocolate, straight vanilla and patchouli base mixed with creamy sandalwood. Perfumers and houses have long held this fascination with wanting to make sandalwood seem edible, and Chinatown makes no secret of this intent. Consider my appetite whetted. Is that my stomach growling? Gardenia and tuberose have long been easy sells for me, and I don’t know why. Even the classical or jazz devotee likes some saccharine pop music track or two. I’ve never wanted to eat them though. Corny. Cheesy. Crass. Puerile. Bordering on slapstick comedy. A Three Stooges sketch of a food fight. Darn good fun to wear.

Chinatown is sublimely weird and uncategorizable. It starts out firmly in the “fruity chypre” genre, like Jubilation 25; fuzzy-dark patchouli mixed with sweet-overripe-dirty Prunol. I also get a dark labdanum aura, and maybe a sweat-like cumin scent. Evil, funky, indulgent, and reasonably sophisticated: yes please. A few minutes in, I’m noticing that it’s strangely...cool, despite all the dark-and-sexy stuff. Like a dark gray river rock in the shade beside a brook. There’s a camphorous smell going on here. Really, like Tiger Balm. Very cooling and sharp. And also a spice-and-incense-and-sandalwood thing. A few hours in, camphor, spice, and the dark patchouli are most of what I smell; the amber-and-Prunol just winks in and out occasionally, like a string of Christmas lights on a dark night. It’s a lot of fun. It doesn’t smell at all to me like the conventional, sweet fruity floral that the notes and online reviews suggest. Chinatown is a grown-up fragrance, pulling in a bunch of different directions in perfect balance (sweaty funkiness, spicy electricity, camphorous-medicinal bite, patchouli gloom). I’m in my happy place. I actually think this is genderless; yes, it has a sweet note, but it’s so intense and weird that it’s just as unconventional on a woman as a man. This is one of those scents you wear because you like the smell, not for the social impression it creates. If you’re a camphor-loving freak like me, there are very few perfumes that really scratch the itch, and Chinatown is one of them.

Over a decade ago, I had a small lotion sample of a dupe of Chinatown. I fell in love and the scent would come to mind every time I thought of that special trip I took when I wore it. This year a friend gave a me a sample of the authentic perfume and I waited for the weather to cool to use it. Fragrancenet classifies Chinatown as a Oriental Floral. As I wear it, I keep thinking how similar in character it is to a chypre. Mitsouko comes to mind - which I have, respect, and appreciate. When I wear it, I honor the vintage fragrance. Chinatown, with its fruity peachiness, bergamot, spices and woods, reminds me of Mitsouko. But instead of sitting Mitsouko's presence in honor I am reveling in Chinatown's comfort cloud. Chinatown is both alluring and comforting. It works for a man or woman. It's got a vintage vibe and yet it feels current as well, rendering it timeless. On my skin, peach is definitely there, but it's warmed subtle, and in the background. So are the flowers, soft and floating. The spices are indeed at the forefront - cardamom is primary, supported by a bit of soft cinnamon, possibly some saffron? There is, as another reviewer stated, a beeswax candle snuffed out smell that is really pleasant, and soft velvety woods. The notes list patchouli, but I pick up zero. This scent is so beautifully blended, evoking wonder and reverence, and ranks up there with some of my favorites ever, definitely full bottle worthy. A beautiful bottle, that is.

I have worn 2 x 2ml samples of this to try and pin it down. It is a complex scent and it has taken me a while to articulate what is going on and how I feel about it. It is peachy, incensy and it has lactonic white floral. However, I would not say that this is a floral fragrance, or a fruity fragrance or an incense fragrance. Whilst there is sweetness from the fruit and florals, there is also a non-sweet note that makes this very distinctive. It is not sharp, sour or savoury... more a woody non-sweet. Or perhaps the fresh peach has become dried peach and now gives a tart quality. It reminds me a little of that unexpected note of decay in Lyric by Amouage. Whatever it is, I find it essential in stopping this fragrance from becoming too sweet and cute, and helping it become distinctive and original. I love lots of Aurélien Guichard's fragrances - from Piguet to Narciso - and I sense his fingerprints: a creamy, lactonic structure and good use of fruit and spices. I second the idea that this takes inspiration from the original Gucci Rush. This is really good. A hybrid in terms of genre - easy to wear but enough going on not to get bored. It is pricey but I would love a bottle of this and get plenty of wear out of it.

There's no other perfume I've consistently loved as long as I've loved Chinatown. The notes and composition suit me perfectly. I'm on my third 100 ml bottle and we're still going strong. It's like my perfume soul mate. I get loads of cardamom over top delicate peach blossom (tangy chalk candies), creamy gardenia/tuberose along with incensy woods, patchouli and vanilla. Though it smells complex, Chinatown wears mostly linear. What you get to start with is pretty much what you get the whole time. It remains simultaneously fizzy, creamy, woody and incensy throughout the entirity of its wear. It turns a little sweeter, less fizzy and more vanillic/patchouli heavy way down deep in the base. It wears all day long with two or three sprays and often goes into the next day on skin. My current bottle is from 2015 or earlier so I don't know about claims of it being reformulated. I hope not. Chinatown never lets me down. It hits the spot every single time. Even though I know what to expect at each turn, it is a joy ride and an experience and I never get bored of smelling it. It holds a very special place in my perfume-loving heart. Smells the absolute best in colder weather.

Chinatown. I've had this scent for a year but haven't written a review yet because it's a complicated perfume. I've read so many reviews and agree and disagree with bits of many of them, good and bad. It's so many things that are common- sweet, white floral, syrupy, spicy- but the waxy, snuffed-candle feel that is laid over the scent by cardamom and guaiac wood sets it apart entirely. Yes, it's sweet, but the smokiness renders it utterly inedible. Yes, it's floral, but the waxy incense feel means it's better suited to deep winter than fresh spring. Yes, it's peachy and the bottle is youthful, but the hazy cloudiness makes it feel equally at home on a woman with gravitas. It's an unconventional chypre but a chypre nonetheless. It's beautiful yet strange, formal yet comfortable, flirty yet meditative. It's not right all the time, or even half the time(is that a hint of Crayon I smell?)...but when it is, it's so very right. For some reason I associate this perfume with February- the month when quiet, meditative, smoky winter turns its heart and thoughts to sweet spring and unopened buds are weighed down on their boughs by melting snow.

WOWSA! What a strikingly, beautiful spicy, somewhat incense-y, creamy, gardenia-type vanilla, sweet fragrance! There are not enough adjectives and exclamation points to describe how much love I have for this fragrance. Many of the reviews are spot-on. The positive reviews are what convinced me to blind-buy this perfume. Let me tell you dear members, I am so happy I did. I love that I could smell it on me throughout the day when I moved. If I wasn’t moving, my nose was stuck to my wrist or sniffing my shirt. Thank goodness my family members “understand” me and perfume quirks. Lol! The scent journey on my first day of wearing this beauty was like a roller coaster. After initial spray—coasting up the track in anticipation, hesitant because it’s very spicy, Scared going downhill, because I’m feeling I wasted my money on another blind buy. Screaming with excitement throughout the rest of the ride because after about 5-10 minutes, I’m getting it—I’m getting the positive reviews now. It’s absolutely lovely and a keeper! I’ll need to re-arrange my top shelf faves now. It’s definitely worth a try!

this made me start wearing perfume . so elegant and romantic, id spray this on a love letter . opens with almost fizzy peach blossom and cardamom, & resolves as mostly a woody, semisweet dry floral this wont be a gourmand vanilla, but theres nods to something like chai from the cardamom, its just not milky or lactonic (thankfully) . beeswax is also listed in the heart lending to the waxy nuances of the tuberose and gardenia . i can tell theres peony but not really orange blossom . it is more accurately an exotic floral chypre . its different from organza in that organza has an undeniable amber base, a certain nuttiness, also more outrightly vanilla . this has a bit more mystique and polished nature to it that can be worn more universally . i believe the base notes are meant to mimic the effect of benzoin or myrrh . a scent that says youre the cream of the crop ! a french guy i dated bought my first bottle of this & so i forever associate this perfume with the song ‘joe le taxi’ also if you watch married to medicine on bravo, this is Toyas signature scent lol

This is one of my all time favorite perfumes, well deserving of the “Masterpiece” classification it received from Luca Turin (his review perfectly captured the essence of this). It’s absolutely unlike anything out there, with its expertly blended white florals mixed with a big hit of cardamom and the fruity top notes giving it a peachy vibrancy and lift. One might expect, reading the notes, for this to be another ubiquitous fruity floral, but oh how wrong you would be! The overall effect here is a spicy white floral but blended with such genius that it magically captures the beautiful quirkiness that IS Chinatown, a place near and dear to my heart that I’ll never tire of exploring when in NY. Sadly, my bottle is down to its last drops and the current Bond Prices are ludicrously high, so I’ll have to weigh buying another bottle very carefully or hunt the discounters for a more reasonable price, because I can’t imagine being without a bottle of this spicy white floral work of art!

This one surprised me. I had gotten a tester from Bond No. 9. When I put it up to my nose, I pulled away quickly. It was kinda strong. Reminded me of the smell of incense burning in a Chinese gift shop. What actually came to mind is the movie Gremlins and the shop where the father purchased Gizmo. I imagined that shop smelling like my initial impression of Bond No. 9's Chinatown. Of the Bond testers that I have, this was probably the last one that I actually wore. Applied it, waited for the dry down... Fell in LOVE! Fortunately, the harshness fell away and it softened beautifully! I'm into fruity/floral and gourmand scents. Chinatown is like nothing I've ever worn...or even smelled before, to be honest. This is a very unique scent! I've heard people mention peach when speaking of it but I don't get that at all. Spicy is what I get. I purchased a bottle and, come Winter, will alternate between Chinatown and my previous beloved Winter scent, Flowerbomb Nectar.

Intrigued by the box and the names: Bond No 9 and "Chinatown", I picked up the body silk this past fall. Now that it's March I'm wearing it and the perfume sample that accompanied the lotion. All I can say is that it lacks something, perhaps spice beyond the powdery cardamom, a bitty drop of black pepper, clove, or cinnamon, or even sesame, the smallest inclusion of which would make this perfume live up to its name. However, it is everything peach blossom and creamily floral that Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls is not. It's not remotely harsh to my nose, not screechy, not offensive, and not disappointing as a gourmandish floral. I am elated this doesn't go into fruity floral at all, as it lacks any orchard fruit or citrus note. Is it worth buying a full sized bottle? Definitely not, unless it's layered perhaps with one of the later incarnations of YSL Opium or even Donna Karan's Black Cashmere. Chinatown just needs a kick of something to make it whole.

Chinatown was my 2nd Bond no 9 perfume then... And it gave me mixed feelings. The juice itself is very unique, there was only one perfume that smells the same as Chinatown, it was my late grandmother's perfume, though i don't know what perfume she's wearing, she wore perfume only for special occasions, and Bknd no 9 Chinatown is a deadringer to her perfume, but i really have no idea what perfume it was, since i was still a little kid and wasn't really into perfume. So, yeah, Chinatown reminds me of my grandmother, and conjures up happy memories with her. It is really a vintage floral, sweet, a bit incensy, like a chinese potpurri kept in a closed cabinet. For me, Chinatown and Central Park West are two strongest perfumes from Bond no 9. It could be pure perfume instead of eau de parfum. Initially i wear 6-7 spritzes, but for these 2, 4 spritzes are about enough to fill the room for a day.

I finally had an opportunity to test this courtesy of a lovely and generous Fragrantician from a recent swap, and I am completely smitten. This is magical and mysterious to me. I have always been a loved of white florals, but with few exceptions, once you've smelt one, you've smelt them all with varying degrees of quality and nuances. I would never call this a white floral of that sort. The first note I really detect is cardamom, somewhat milky and very smooth. After that, it just unravels in so many different directions while maintaining harmony... I don't know. This isn't really a review, and I suppose I should have waited to give more information, but I am thus far madly in love with this fragrance - it's an easy top 10 if not top 5 for me. I will be purchasing it today, and will continue to review as I get to know my new love better!! A true masterpiece.

This was my favorite fragrance purchase of 2020. I blind bought it guessing I would like it from the reviews. For me, it is an extremely comforting scent. It reminds me of my 96 year old grandma in all the best ways, but it is not a granny scent. It reminds me of the Sen-Sen mints she carried in her pocketbook, which smelled like licorice. I don't know what perfume, powder, or bath oil she wore at that time, but whatever it was, was not expensive, and yet smells like this amazing concoction. When I smelled her beauty products in her farmhouse wood closet, this is what comes to mind - the cardamom, incense, a little sandalwood, vanilla, and other mysterious things. This also smells like expensive incense sticks burning in a sandalwood holder, or cones burning in a brass container. All these things wrapped into one perfume make this a must-have love for me.

Katie Puckrik either got it spot on or she frontloaded my perception. Chinatown is chockablock with creamy white floral stereotypica - "tuberose," I suppose? If that's enough, do not pass GO, do not collect $200, go directly to Nebras. The Bond product justifies its triple digit pricetag with incense and spices that travel over and above the already smile-inducing wave of white. As Ms. Puckrik articulates, a strong and nostalgic aroma of lacquered wooden Asian tableware comes to mind; all those Grant Avenue knickknack shops are brought to the fore of consciousness. I don't know if the formulators of Chinatown got a little too literal with the lacquer component. The cap has a habit of gumming up on the congealed and solidified overspray. I don't think it's very unisex. It's quite feminine, but it's also too good for that to impede me from smelling good.

FULL BOTTLE WORTHY. The epitome of soft. The softest woods I’ve ever smelled. Just beautiful. To my nose, this smells like a refined/incense-y/much less sweet/little more creamy Hermes Twilly. Similarly powdery, but I declare that Chinatown has perfected the powdery perfume. An exquisitely equalized blend of florals, citrus, woods, and spice. A bit difficult to pick out individual notes, but now that I know there’s gardenia, cedarwood, and vanilla, those are what I detect most. Some combination of notes gives me the slightest hint of marzipan. I think cardamom may be the master’s touch here, making this such a stunner. An easy reach for all occasions, I say. Enchanting, distinctive, sultry, soft, warm, cocooning. I can’t stop smelling my skin. It’s got its hooks in me. Onto the top of the full bottle wishlist she goes. MASTERPIECE.